The Exercise of Agency

“Agency is an eternal principle. It is through the exercise of agency that personal progression in the gospel sense is possible. It was the Prophet Abraham who reported God’s purpose concerning the exercise of personal agency: “And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them;” (Abraham 3:25). So integral is agency to God’s eternal plan for us, that the presentation of a counter proposal that would have subverted the agency of God’s spirit children while they were living in mortality was in and of itself an important factor in Lucifer’s fall” (Post #47, June 15, 2010).

Progression in the gospel sense is dependent upon our learning, understanding, and obeying God’s laws relative to our becoming eventually and ultimately as He is. Such progression is dependent upon our ability to make choices that are consistent with God’s laws i.e., the commandments, ordinances, and covenants of the gospel of Jesus Christ. One of our hymns says it simply: “Choose the right when a choice is placed before you.”

However, the natural man who is an enemy to God (Mosiah 3:19) sees his personal agency in much different terms. His freedom of choice makes himself a free spirit uninhibited by constricting rules and laws except for those which he chooses to obey for reasons of personal gratification or out of fear of punishment by some threatening governmental agent. God’s expectations of him, if there be such, are poorly understood, unclear at best, and their consequences are for him irrelevant or quite inconsequential, and certainly far distant. The years proceed rewarding him with “the good life” or something less that he partially is able to explain in terms of decisions and rationale he more or less understands in natural terms and through prevailing conditions.

At the heart of such thinking is the very basic and false assumption that external rules and laws if obeyed amount to restraints on the freedom of the spirit, of the individual’s exercise of agency. I am presently reading a bestseller by Matthew B. Crawford entitled, Shop Class as Soulcraft. As I do, my mind keeps slipping back to a bestseller of years ago entitled, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Crawford refers to the mistaken understanding of agency as “freedomism.” He writes: “The errors of freedomism may be illuminated by thinking about music. One can’t be a musician without learning to play a particular instrument, subjecting one’s fingers to the discipline of frets or keys. The musician’s power of expression is founded upon a prior obedience; her musical agency is built up from an ongoing submission. To what? To her teacher, perhaps, but this is incidental rather than primary--there is such a thing as the self-taught musician. Her obedience rather is to the mechanical realities of her instrument, which in turn answer to certain natural necessities of music that can be expressed mathematically. For example, halving the length of a string under a given tension raises its pitch by an octave. These facts do not arise from the human will, and there is no altering them. I believe the example of the musician sheds light on the basic character of human agency, namely, that it arises only within concrete limits that are not of our making. These limits need not be physical; the important thing is rather that they are external to the self” (64).

Eternal progress requires an ascendant struggle toward the mastery of our thoughts and actions consistent with the requirements of the Lord’s gospel or in other words, the demonstration of a growing diligence towards conforming our behavior to laws that are external to ourselves namely, God’s laws.

"Navigating Your Way Through Life"

While serving as a counselor in a stake presidency in early 1990, I was asked to speak at a stake single adults fireside on the topic of “Navigating Your Way Through Life.” The suggestions I made to those attending that evening have been and remain the basic tenets that have given my life its direction. They are offered here for whatever benefit they may be to others.

Consideration one

If we are honest with ourselves even at an early age, we understand that the course of our life has been largely determined by the choices we have made. In our retirement years, this truth concerning the importance of our life’s decisions is so obvious as to be glaring, except for the delusional. Given that our rational decisions will be dependent upon and generally made within the scope of our core beliefs, establishing our belief system as early as possible in life will work obviously to our personal advantage and the advantage of those who yet will come to rely upon us. I can think of no better basis for a personal belief system than the gospel of Jesus Christ learned in its particulars and applied in our life to the greatest degree possible.

Consideration two

Secular matters in all their variety, importance, and attraction should remain of lesser importance in our lives than leading a family, living the gospel, and providing church service. In my college years when my thoughts turned to possible future professions, a potential life-long endeavor was almost immediately dropped from consideration if it would require me to spend much time away from my wife and children, make regular observance of the sabbath day with them difficult, or encumber me from serving in any church calling I might receive in the coming years. These were givens. There was no room for compromise. The same considerations applied to any sport or avocation in which I might become interested.

Consideration three

I distinguish between the gospel and the Lord’s Church. The gospel of Jesus Christ is absolutely true in all of its particulars. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord’s only true and restored Church upon the earth, but it is filled entirely with imperfect members. It is impossible to live a life that conforms as much as possible to the gospel without being a member of Christ’s Church. When we are baptized into the Church, we covenant with God to serve Him and to keep His commandments (Mosiah 18:10), and King Benjamin taught clearly that serving God means to serve our fellowmen (Mosiah 2:16-17). Now while it is commendable and encouraged that we serve our fellowmen through secular pursuits, our covenant with God requires that we serve our fellowmen through the building of the Kingdom of God first and foremost.

Consideration four

This point is related to the one above. No member of the Church will ever be given the opportunity to undermine my testimony of the gospel. The gospel is true, and all members are imperfect. I know and have known far too many members of the Church who, at one time or another, have allowed some unfortunate experience with other members to repel them from active participation. This is not to say that I have not been affronted by members over the years, because I have been. However, their conduct is their problem, and I will not allow their problems to become mine.

Consideration five

Responsibility for myself and my family is mine. I love my wife very much, and we are a strong partnership. However, when God wants an accounting of what we have done as parents, I am fervently convinced that the onus of the report will be more mine than hers. Thus I am not only fully accountable for myself but have the Priesthood responsibility for our family as well.

Consideration six

I am unfavorably impressed with the number of Saints in the Lord’s Church who appear to be comfortable receiving far more than they are willing to give within the context of building the Kingdom. At baptism, we covenant to serve and not be served by our fellowmen. I recognize that the day is probably coming when I will be in greater need of assistance from others than what I will be able to provide. However, until that time comes, my basic mode of life will be to give far more than I receive when speaking of human relationships.

Consideration seven

My long-term goal is to be found worthy of eternal life. There is no more important consideration in my life than that. For me, life’s choices are made with this paramount objective not only in mind but as a determining factor.

The Age of Accountability

There appeared recently in our local newspaper [The Seattle Times of October 25, 2010] a report that two boys ages ten and eleven may not stand trial for a violent attack and robbery they are accused of perpetrating on a community bus because they may be too young to know the difference between right and wrong. Quoting from the article, prosecutors will “have to prove in court that they [the youths] have the intellectual, moral and psychological development to fully understand the crime they’re accused of committing.” “Under state law, a child between the ages of 8 and 11 is presumed to be incapable of committing a crime unless a judge determines the youth has the ‘sufficient capacity to understand the act . . . and to know that it was wrong.’ ” So much for about six thousand years of God’s instruction on this subject.

With the restoration of the fulness of the gospel and the Kingdom of God in this final dispensation, the Lord made clear once again that the age of accountability is eight years of age unless, of course, an individual’s mental development is seriously impaired. Concerning what is necessary for salvation, the Lord revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith the following: “And you must preach unto the world, saying: You must repent and be baptized, in the name of Jesus Christ; For all men must repent and be baptized, and not only men, but women, and children who have arrived at the years of accountability” (Doctrine and Covenants 18:41-42). The year was 1829. Two years later and subsequent to the restoration of His Church, the Lord revealed His will very specifically. “And again, inasmuch as parents have children in Zion, or in any of her stakes which are organized, that teach them not to understand the doctrine of repentance, faith in Christ the Son of the living God, and of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of the hands, when eight years old, the sin be upon the heads of the parents. For this shall be a law unto the inhabitants of Zion, or in any of her stakes which are organized. And their children shall be baptized for the remission of their sins when eight years old, and receive the laying on of the hands. And they shall also teach their children to pray, and to walk uprightly before the Lord” (D&C 68:25-28).

There are those parents who are members of the stakes of Zion as organized that do not see fit to follow the Lord’s revealed will on this matter. Possibly, they seek to shelter their children from the effects of their being accountable for their misdeeds. Unfortunately, however, their children remain accountable while they themselves are unaware of the consequences of their state. The Lord makes it clear that such parents will be held accountable for this sorry situation. I suspect that not a few of these delinquent parents are rationalizing their position by thinking that the Prophet Joseph Smith really did not understand the will of God given that nowhere in the scriptures previous to this dispensation is there a confirmation of age eight being the historic standard. And then again, perhaps they believe that they can better judge their children’s capabilities and maturity as opposed to any arbitrary standard set through revelation.

Therein they would be mistaken. For we learn in the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible that age eight has been the age of accountability since at least the days of Abraham. “And I will establish a covenant of circumcision with thee, and it shall be my covenant between me and thee, and thy seed after thee, in their generations; that thou mayest know for ever that children are not accountable before me until they are eight years old” (Genesis 17:11 JST). Now if this is the age of accountability for the descendants of Abraham in all subsequent dispensations to the end of the world per the Abrahamic covenant, may we assume anything else other than this was the standard from the days of Adam until the time of Abraham? I think not. Thus the age of accountability being eight years of age was not a measure determined by the Prophet Joseph Smith nor was it set for this dispensation alone by heavenly authority. This is our Heavenly Father’s standard that was established for the benefit of His mortal children living in all dispensations.

Justification and Sanctification

Over the years in mostly classroom settings, an apparent lack of clarity in the minds of some members on the concepts of justification and sanctification moves me to this writing. While the subject matter of both is very much related, they are to be clearly distinguished from each other in their particulars.

The Prophet Enoch taught his people concerning the plan of salvation using the revealed message Adam had received from the Lord on this subject. “That by reason of transgression cometh the fall, which fall bringeth death, and inasmuch as ye were born into the world by water, and blood, and the spirit, which I have made, and so become of dust a living soul, even so ye must be born again into the kingdom of heaven, of water, and of the Spirit, and be cleansed by blood, even the blood of mine Only Begotten; that ye might be sanctified from all sin, and enjoy the words of eternal life in this world, and eternal life in the world to come, even immortal glory; For by the water ye keep the commandment; by the Spirit ye are justified, and by the blood ye are sanctified” (Moses 6:59-60).

While it is well understood that one purpose of the Holy Spirit of Promise or the Holy Ghost is to testify of the truth and reality of God the Father and of His Son, Jesus Christ, and of their purposes namely, “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39), He is also the great justifier. It is He who places His stamp of approval on the performance of all gospel related actions and ordinances necessary for the salvation of mankind. Without His ratification, all actions taken in this world are of no effect beyond this mortal realm (Doctrine and Covenants 132:7).

This brings us to a discussion of possibly the most misunderstood verse of scripture in our standard works. As a temple sealer, I have the opportunity almost every week to seal living couples for time and eternity, but it is clear that far too many couples so sealed in the Lord’s temples each week throughout the world misunderstand the consequences of the sealing ordinance performed in their behalf. I have thus come to discuss the matter briefly with those whom I seal in an effort that they may more fully understand the real consequences of the ordinance in which they are about to participate. The key to a proper understanding of a temple sealing is to be found in verse nineteen of Section 132 of the Doctrine and Covenants. What we sealers do in the Lord’s temples is not binding for the eternities until the Holy Spirit of Promise places His seal of approval upon the lives and actions of the couple so sealed thus making their “calling and election sure” (D&C 131:5). The key words in that verse are “and it is sealed unto them by the Holy Spirit of promise.” What we learn from verse nineteen is that until we have so lived our lives subsequent to our temple sealing in such a worthy manner as is required of us by our Heavenly Father so that the Holy Ghost may ratify our temple sealing, we have no promise of eternal life. For Saints, that means we must live worthy of our Father’s promised blessings to the end of our mortal probation. For almost all Saints, it will not be until some point after this life that we will receive the required and sought after assurance from the Holy Ghost.

Sanctification is the process of bring our daily lives into conformity with the laws of the Gospel in such a manner as to be forgiven and cleansed of our sins through the atonement of Jesus Christ. The Prophet Moroni ended his writings with an admonishment to all the followers of Christ to become sanctified. “Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God. And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins, that ye become holy, without spot” (Moroni 10:32-33).

"Why?"

Several days ago, my wife and I returned to Utah when it appeared that our friends from Germany would soon be able to return home. Medical arrangements were made to ensure as much as possible their safe passage from a hospital in Salt Lake City to a medical facility in Berlin. We returned to be with them at the end of their stay in the United States in order that proper good-byes might be said, to assist in any way possible with the particulars of their departure, and to personally thank those who have assisted this couple in our absence.

As we reminisced over the events of their "vacation" in America that was ending in a manner inconceivable just a month ago, her husband concluded that they had learned several important "lessons" from this horrific experience, one that is still far from over. The most important of these was "that asking 'Why?' is not appropriate." He explained. “We try to live the best lives that we can and then have faith that our Father in Heaven is in control. We cannot know why some things happen as they do, but we have faith that from our experiences we will learn the lessons He intended for us.”

His insight is compatible with Elder Richard G. Scott's remarks quoted in a recent blog post entitled, “Job: Our Exemplar Amidst Trials and Tribulations.” “When you face adversity, you can be led to ask many questions. Some serve a useful purpose; others do not. To ask, Why does this have to happen to me? Why do I have to suffer this now? What have I done to cause this? will lead you into blind alleys. It really does no good to ask questions that reflect opposition to the will of God. Rather ask, What am I to do? What am I to learn from this experience? What am I to change? Whom am I to help?” (Elder Richard G. Scott, Conference Report, Oct. 1995, 18).

Having been with them through the most trying days of this prolonged experience, we too share in his "lesson learned."

In Remembrance: Blood Sacrifice and the Sacrament

During His mortal ministry, the Lord Jesus Christ introduced the ordinances of the sacrament into the worship practices of the membership of His Church. After His resurrection, He introduced these ordinances to the members of His Church in the Americas. We may safely assume that He did the same during the time He spent with His additional sheep that were neither to be found in America nor in Palestine at that time (3 Nephi 16:1-3). By partaking of the blessed bread and the wine, members of His Church were able to renew the covenants they had made at the time of their baptism and confirmation. While in the modern Church, we partake of the blessed bread and water, the purpose of participating in these sacred ordinances is unchanged from that of Christ’s day.

If down through the ages since the time of Adam baptism and confirmation have been the only means by which the children of God have been able to accept Jesus Christ as their savior and accept His gospel, then by what means were His followers in ancient times able to renew their covenants made upon entry into the Kingdom? They did so through the ordinance of blood sacrifice. Saints of old looked forward to the time of Christ’s atoning sacrifice; the Saints during the meridian of time and of this dispensation look back to that event with the same reverence.

A thought concerning the subject of sacrifice is appropriate here. This is a complex subject of which I know but little of the particulars. Further study on this subject might profitably begin with a careful reading of the relevant entry in the Bible Dictionary found at the back of our Church sponsored publications of the Bible. For purposes of this writing, I have reference to only one form of blood sacrifice namely, the one practiced by members of Christ’s Church from the days of Adam down to the time of Christ’s ministry whereby they renewed their introductory covenants of baptism and confirmation.

A wonderful illustration of using blood sacrifice to renew gospel covenants is found in the scriptures reporting the preparations taken by those planning to attend the presentation of King Benjamin’s famous address: “And it came to pass that after Mosiah had done as his father had commanded him, and had made a proclamation throughout all the land, that the people gathered themselves together throughout all the land, that they might go up to the temple to hear the words which king Benjamin should speak unto them. And there were a great number, even so many that they did not number them; for they had multiplied exceedingly and waxed great in the land. And they also took of the firstlings of their flocks, that they might offer sacrifice and burnt offerings according to the law of Moses; And also that they might give thanks to the Lord their God, who had brought them out of the land of Jerusalem, and who had delivered them out of the hands of their enemies, and had appointed just men to be their teachers, and also a just man to be their king, who had established peace in the land of Zarahemla, and who had taught them to keep the commandments of God, that they might rejoice and be filled with love towards God and all men” (Mosiah 2:1-4).

Be careful and do not allow the phrase “that they might offer sacrifice and burnt offerings according to the law of Moses” throw you off track. The descendants of Lehi's emigration were all members of the tribe of Joseph according to the record. Indeed, no reference is made anywhere in the Book of Mormon of Levites playing a role in any of their societies and worship. Under those circumstances, none of them were living according to the dictates of or under the auspices of the Aaronic and Levitical Priesthoods. Thus it appears safe to assume that King Benjamin’s followers were not living by the carnal commandments inherent in the law of Moses given to the children of Israel after their fall in the wilderness. In fact, the writers of what became the Book of Mormon justify over and over again the conclusion that they possessed the fullness of the gospel made possible only through their exercise of the Melchizedek Priesthood.

Those who responded to the call to hear King Benjamin’s address were to be taught gospel truths and called upon to repent of their sins. Having properly repented of past sins which would include asking God for forgiveness for their wrong doings, the people would have done what we have the opportunity to do in each sacrament meeting we attend through the partaking of the sacrament namely, they sought to renew their baptism and confirmation covenants through offering blood sacrifices.

A Vacation to Remember

For the past few weeks, I have not made posts to this blog at the usual, regular intervals. The reason is simple. We have been on vacation. In seventy years, this vacation stands out as being the most exceptional. And even though we are home again, it is not really over. Its ramifications still preoccupy our minds, and its effects will be felt by some for possibly years to come. Some of my impressions of our experiences these past few weeks are the contents of this writing.

Since the middle of September, we have been entertaining friends from Germany. While they have been to the Americas on several previous occasions, they took the opportunity on this trip to visit Church sites in Illinois, Missouri, and Iowa before coming to spend several weeks touring as yet for them unknown areas in the West. We planned to spend three weeks with them visiting sights in Western and Central Washington State, Yellowstone National Park, and then end our adventure in Salt Lake City where we would attend sessions of the Church’s General Conference in the Conference Center for the first time.

The wife of our guest couple had been experiencing some health concerns since before arriving in the United States, but a medical examination in Seattle showed no major health problem that would impede our travel plans. In West Yellowstone, her health took a turn for the worst. With not so much as a health clinic in the town, we were forced to make a night run for the nearest hospital emergency room located in Rexburg, Idaho. So dire was her condition, that she was soon placed on a med-evac helicopter and transported to a regional medical center in Idaho Falls. Subsequent tests showed her true condition required treatments to be found in Salt Lake City where she was transfered by a properly equipped jet. At the moment of this writing, she is still in a hospital bed in Salt Lake City awaiting medical arrangements to be completed in order that she and her husband may be flown to their home city of Berlin where she will be placed in an appropriate hospital in order that the required treatments might continue. Her future health condition is quite unknown at this time.

She is alive today for a number of reasons. Most importantly, it is God’s will. She has been blessed also because of the faith and the prayers of her family and friends. There have been many doctors and nurses as well as pilots and medical technicians who have all performed their specialties with skill and caring. Many others will yet have her in their keeping, and we pray that her health will be restored to the best quality possible in order that she may live to bless her husband, family, and friends with love and caring as she has done in the past.

From the experiences of these harrowing days, many events and impressions crowd my memory. In times to come, useful applications of things experienced and learned now will make themselves manifest at appropriate moments. But two lessons can already be appreciated. First, there were moments of frustration when arrangements we believed were necessary could not be completed according to our plans and wishes. Then in due course as events continued to unfold, it became clear to us that the desired but failed arrangements were truly not in our best interests. Thinking back on these circumstances, I am reminded of the scripture “be still and know that I am God” (Doctrine and Covenants 101:16). All too often, we pray for God’s direction and blessings and then attempt to tell God the means by which He should bless and direct us. We need to be more patient and discerning when awaiting that for which we have prayed. From this experience, I am also reminded of the importance of living day by day as best we can that we might always be worthy of God’s promised blessings at any time and under any appropriate circumstance.

Earlier, I mentioned that this was our first General Conference attended in the Conference Center. Given the number of years that the Center has been the site of these sessions, it may be properly assumed that attending Conference in person has not been a major draw for me. Only rarely do my wife and I willingly seek out crowded venues. More than 21,000 participants in an auditorium qualifies as a crowded venue. I felt excitement in anticipation of the beginning of the first session we attended there. However, the speakers were so far away from where we were sitting as to be mostly unrecognizable except for the enlarged images hanging on the wall before us. Their voices seemed to be more directional than surrounding. It was an interesting experience but not a really personal and spiritual one. This same finding was borne out by our friend’s comment upon returning to the hotel after he had attended a subsequent session. He noted “that one can feel very much alone in such a large congregation.” I think there is value in his comment to this extent. Spiritual experiences may occur in a vast variety of different settings. Some may feel the spirit while sitting in a vast congregation, while others would rather seek the same experience in a more personal setting. I must confess that listening to Elder Holland’s address during the first session while sitting on the foot of my bed in a hotel room almost brought me to tears. Feeling the Spirit is a personal matter, and I believe a more personal setting makes having a spiritual experience easier.

My point here is simple. For those who find it difficult if not impossible to attend a session of General Conference personally, know this, that you may still have the Spirit bear witness to you of the truthfulness of what is being said and done by our leaders if your personal preparation and physical setting are appropriate to receive such a blessing.