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I think most men need to re-think the way they treat women:

“You [sisters] belong to the great sorority of Saviorhood. You may not hold the Priesthood. Men are different. Men have to have something given to them to make them saviors of men, but not mothers, not women. You are born with an inherent right, an inherent authority, to be saviors of the human souls. You are the co-creators with God of his children. Therefore, it is expected of you by a right divine that you be the saviors and the regenerating force in the lives of God’s children here upon the earth.”

- Matthew Cowley (”Matthew Cowley Speaks,” p. 109)

… for women have perhaps the most sacred calling in our eternity.

Agency is one of the oldest institutions in the history of our eternity: it was before the world, as we know from various scriptures such as Moses 4:3. We also know it is one of our most precious gifts, one that cannot be revoked by God. It’s the only one that we alone can surrender to the adversary (by addiction, etc). Because it was decided in the council in heaven before the Creation, agency is one of the fundamental laws of our universe, even as gravity and relativity are. Unfortunately scientists don’t talk about it too much.

Too often we throw around the term “free agency” as if prepending the “free” implies freedom. This is a false charge, as agency itself is the definition of the freedom we have to make a choice (D&C 29:36). “Free agency” then is like saying “Free freedom” or likewise “Free lemonade” — costing nothing. Agency was certainly earned both by us and paid for by our Savior, Jesus Christ. We fought for God’s plan in the life before this one, with “one third part” cast down without agency in a body as a consequence of the war of ideas. And the Atonement works to compensate the flaws in ourselves because of our agency: for without the Atonement, our agency would be cause to destroy us in the eternities, because our natural selves are not able to become clean and perfect before God.

Another facet of agency that’s interesting to look at is governance – perhaps another law of the universe, ordained to man before the world was. We know the idea of government is God-given too, as Adam was charged with “having dominion over all the land,” and the Constitution of the USA arose from inspired men as stated in D&C 101:80. He gave us government to allow our agency to prevail in an organized society.

I don’t intend this blog to be political, but may I interject that while both [US parties] have pros and cons, there are “right and correct” values in the way of thinking that offers to the citizens more control than the other, because of agency’s sacred role. For example, we ought to be wary of petitions and policies that provide more power to the government, for that limits what the citizens have control over: a concept that is contrary to what God intended. Ever wonder why all three pillars of eternity (Creation, Fall, Atonement) revolve around agency?

“When we allow the State to replace the Creator in our minds as the source of our freedoms, we invite the government to treat our liberties as temporary favors, rather than irrevocable properties of our human existence. To seek for prosperity at the hands of government is a mockery of our most sacred and solemn virtues. To attempt to delegate authority that is not ours to give is neither just nor sensible.”

- Brian Ensign

We know also in 1 Nephi 13:12-19 that this country, the United States, was founded for the allowance of man’s agency and freedom in the world, a land where Christ’s Gospel could be restored because of the agency allotted to man by government.

Agency is also our power against the devil. We can choose to not follow him and instead follow the one and only true God who knows us better than we know ourselves. That is what makes our judgment fair. It is not an accident we have it. I can’t imagine a world without it. These things, along with what was mentioned in the last post, are what make agency so sacred and important.

Before I quote President Howick, I’d like to comment on his use of the words “free agency.” Man’s agency is not free, nor has it ever been. It was certainly paid for. Personally, I think the use of the term “free agency” is a misnomer and it should be referred to just as “agency:” the ability to choose. Here, now, President Howick offers some great insight on this said subject.

“Some people want to believe that free agency means there should be randomness in our Father’s plan — as if it’s important that we have the ability to surprise Him — even though, in my mind, that would undermine faith.

“However, to add spice to the discussion, let me throw a wrench into your example. D&C 137:7:  ‘All who have died without a knowledge of this gospel, who would have received it if they had been permitted to tarry, shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom of God.’  By the same reasoning,  all who die without the opportunity to choose for themselves in mortality will be assigned whichever Kingdom suits them based on our  Father’s knowledge of how they would have decided had they been permitted to tarry.

“Too often we fall into the trap of believing that the only reasons we are here are to get a body and be judged.  But we are also here to gain experience. D&C 130:18, ‘Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection.’ In a very real sense, we are not here to prove ourselves worthy of a particular Kingdom — our Father knew before the world was made which kingdom each of us would attain — but to prepare ourselves to serve in the kingdom we receive.  There would be no value in handing us the proverbial keys of the kingdom, even if we deserved them, had we not first been prepared to receive them.

“And yet, it would seem that some do not need this experience.  When I was young, I believed that the revelation of D&C 137:7 was unfair because it granted the Kingdom to people who hadn’t lived to earn it. But as I grew, I learned that we simply don’t yet know everything about that revelation.  Mosiah 29:12, ‘Now it is better that a man should be judged of God than of man, for the judgments of God are always just….’  The judgment of God will be fair and those who did not experience this life either didn’t need it or will yet receive it in another way — and whether my belief is right or wrong, I know that I will be judged fairly, and that is enough for me.”

- President Howick

In a later post, I will add some more commentary on the topic of our agency: why is it not “free agency,” how does the mere fact of having agency affect our salvation, and what does a truly fair judgment imply? Go read it.

If only today’s national leaders could honestly say to us:

“Behold, I am Moroni, your chief captain. I seek not for power, but to pull it down. I seek not for honor of the world, but for the glory of my God, and the freedom and welfare of my country.”

- Alma 60:36

Our founding fathers (of the United States) had this conviction. Imagine if today’s presidents did. Do they? I suspect not. If they cave to believe the corruptness of the people, then it’s not “politically correct” for them to have this conviction.

If a leader truly had this conviction, they would declare it; for it defines who they are, and they would not lie, being whole with integrity and revering God.

What if Clinton revered God? Obama?

Hopefully all men in the Church who hold the priesthood know and understand what that really implies.

“The rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and that the powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only upon principles of righteousness. … They may be conferred upon us, it is true, but when we undertake to cover our sins or to gratify our pride, … behold, the heavens withdraw themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the priesthood or to the authority of that man.”

D&C 121:36-37

And what is a without the priesthood, that God-given authority and power? “… Behold, he is left unto himself.” (v. 38)

How do I destroy my enemies?

If I make them my friends, then who are my enemies?

Why do bad things happen to good/covenant people? Doesn’t God love His children?

Yes, of course God loves His children. The Lord reminds us in D&C 121, 122, and 123 why afflictions are allowed on good people by our loving and devoted God. From these sections, I can conclude at least six main reasons for them.

1. Sin — Transgressing God’s law will bring negative consequences.
2. Experience — Trials bring to our spirits vital experiences through which we learn new things.
3. Agency — Man has the freedom to choose, and God must allow it, and He cannot forbid it. It was decided upon in the Counsel of Heaven before the world was.
4. Covenants — The righteous are rewarded for keeping them, and those who falter are offered the way to make it right through trials.
5. Trust — Trials build a relationship between the Godhead (our Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost) and an individual.
6. To condemn the wicked — Tribulation caused by wicked men who persecute the righteous dominion can then be judged accordingly.

Items 2, 5, and 6 are particularly interesting. Many non-members, or those who are unfamiliar with the Gospel are frustrated or mad at a god that could send destruction and other bad things to righteous or innocent people. The Gospel of Jesus Christ, as proclaimed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, answers these types of questions.

What other questions have the teachings, doctrine, and scriptures of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints answered for you? Or, if you are not a member, what questions might you have?

“Shall we not go on in such great a cause?”

- Joseph Smith, prior to his martyrdom in Carthage, IL

For my own personal reference, I make this note on the difference between prophecy and prophesy. One is a noun and the other is a verb. I will probably get it wrong if I haven’t already, but here it is:

- PROPHECY: Noun. (”prah-fess-ee”)
- PROPHESY: Verb. (”prah-feh-sigh”)

As far as I can tell this is accurate… correct me otherwise.

Isaiah prophesies of the coming forth of the fullness of the Gospel in such detail as to mention the things spoken to Joseph Smith during the First Vision:

“Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men.”

- Isaiah 29:13

Now we see this prophecy fulfilled.

“… they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.”

- The Lord Jesus Christ, as revealed to Joseph Smith, a modern prophet, explaining the need for the opening of this dispensation of the true gospel of Jesus Christ. JSH 1:19

The true Church is indeed upon the earth — we have it here, in its fullness, and its complete truth: all we need to know pertaining to our salvation and the proper worship of our Lord and God, who are defined as two separate and distinct beings (”… and I saw two Personages … and [He] said, pointing to the other — This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!” -JSH 1:17, emphasis added). There is much to be had in the Gospel of Jesus Christ with faith, proper study, and humility to accept it. With these things, the Spirit will touch the hearts of souls seeking the truth.