Understanding the Power God Gives Us: What Agency Really Means - Hardcover

McConkie, Joseph Fielding

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1590382331 ISBN 13: 9781590382332

Publisher: Deseret Book Co, 2004

Synopsis

Many suppose agency to be the God-given right to choose between good or evil. Were this the case, it could be argued that God gave us the right to do evil. This simply is not so. By way of analogy, our nation was formed to insure to its citizens the freedom of choice, but no one supposed that this granted anyone the right to disobey its laws. Similarly, agency does not grant us the right to disobey the laws of God. What it gives us is power to change the world for good. This insightful book helps us understand the principle of agency and its implications for our lives here and in eternity.

About this title

About the Author

Joseph Fielding McConkie is a professor of ancient scripture at Brigham Young University. A prolific writer and popular speaker, he is the author or coauthor of numerous works including The Bruce R. McConkie Story: Reflections of a Son, Here We Stand, Revelations of the Restoration, and the four-volume Doctrinal Commentary on the Book of Mormon. He and his wife, Brenda Kempton McConkie, are the parents of nine children. The family resides in Orem, Utah.

From the Inside Flap

"Without agency, no author part of the gospel can exist. As a gift of God it ranks with life itself, for without it, life has no meaning."

So writes author Joseph Fielding McConkie in this thought-provoking volume that gives us fresh insight into why the Lord has blessed us with the precious gift of agency and what he expects us to do with it.

In laying the foundation for discussing this vital doctrine, the author presents new perspectives on the essential role America s Founding Father played in establishing a nation where the gospel of Jesus Christ could be restored in its fullness.

From the eternal nature of agency through our premortal choices to our decisions in mortality, Brother McConkie shows how our use of agency our right to choose right will affect us for eternity.

Understanding the Power God Gives Us helps us comprehend the true power of agency and provides faith-building answers to such questions as-

· What is the real nature of agency?
· Why did we fight a war in heaven over agency?
· How does understanding agency aid us in responsible parenting?
· How does knowing agency is a gift from God change our perspective on mortality?
· How can we be both an agent and an instrument in the hands of the Lord?

"Agency is given to us that we might enjoy life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," Brother McConkie writes. "Properly used, agency will exalt us; improperly used, it will damn us."

This insightful volume helps us learn what agency really means, why we have it, and how we can use it in the way God intends.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; in whom all the building fitly framed together growth unto an holy temple in the Lord. (Ephesians 2:20-21)

There is some danger in suggesting that one gospel principle is greater than another, for it is not only in the union of all gospel principles that the house of te Lord is "fitly framed together" (Ephesians 2:21). No principle is to be left out or neglected.

Yet, it is equally true that all principles do not bear equal weight. Agency, Elder Marion G. Romney said, is the "foundation principle" upon which the gospel rests. Without agency no part of the gospel can exist. As a gift of Good it ranks with life itself, for without it life has no meaning. To merely move and breathe is not to live. To live is to feel, to love, to want to seek, to learn, to own. It is the right of choice, the power to act according to one s conscience. Agency is light and life, meaning and purpose. It is the lifeblood of all that matters.

Thus, the importance of agency in the divine plan cannot be overstated. Without agency "men would be but puppets in the hands of fate," as Elder Marion G. Romney explained. Indeed, "there would be no existence." For this reason, he said, the preservation of agency "is more important that the preservation of life." To support his opinion he quoted Doctrine and Covenants 93:30: "All truth is independent in that sphere in which God has placed it, to act for itself, as all intelligence also; otherwise there is no existence."

The importance of agency can be measure in the efforts of the prince of darkness to destroy it. Although the battlefields have changed since the question was asked in council long ago, "Whom shall I send?" the great issues have not. All assembled knew the plan of salvation. All knew the importance of their coming to earth to obtain a body. All knew that in this mortal estate they would be subject to both death and sin and that it would be necessary for One to redeem them form their fallen state so that they might be reconciled with their Father. In the light of all understanding, the Father asked of all assembled, "Whom shall I send?" Two responded, saying, "Here am I, send me" (Abraham 3:27). The first to answer was his Beloved Son, who said, "Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever" (Moses 4:2). The second, Satan (or Lucifer, as he was then known), proposed a universal salvation: Not a single soul was to be lost. In exchange he would take both the agency of men and the place of God. The Father said, "I will send the first" (Abraham 3:27). The second "rebelled" (D&C 29:36), and "there was war in heaven" (Revelation 12:7). The devil and his angels a third part of the host of heaven were cast out (Isaiah 14:12-15).

So it is that the war over the plan of the Father continues. The transition from one estate to another brings with it no change in principles or issues. The question remains: Will we accept the Father s plan, or join those who war against it? Will we accept his Only Begotten in the flesh as our Savior and Redeemer? Will we so live as to be a force for righteousness using our agency as a sacred trust, or will we trade it for a mess of pottage? (Genesis 25:33-34). Will we, like Cain, so deceive ourselves that having killed our brother, or whatever is dear to us, we then declare, "I am free"? (Moses 5:33).

Edition details

• Publisher: Deseret Book Co
• Publication date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1590382331
• ISBN 13: 9781590382332
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 141