Robert D. Hales said: “Agency used righteously allows light
to dispel the darkness and enables us to live with joy and happiness.” Agency
and accountability are gifts from God that help us progress toward everlasting
joy. So how can we use our agency righteously to partake of happiness and joy?
Second Nephi 2:26 says: “And the
messiah cometh in the fullness of time, that he may redeem the children of men
from the fall. And because that they are redeemed from the fall they have become
free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted
upon, save it be by the punishment of the law at the great and last day,
according to the commandments which God hath given.” The line that really
stands out to me is: “free to act for themselves and not to be acted upon.”
When I read this line it reminded me of a quote I read given by M. Russell
Ballard in 1983. He advised us to be creators of circumstance and not creatures
of circumstance. To me this means that I need to be productive with the choices
I make; I need to use my agency to progress spiritually and temporally. Not
only can we choose how we will react to circumstances, but in many cases we can
also influence what circumstances we get into. When we make righteous choices
our freedom to progress increases. This means that, we can become closer to our
Heavenly Father and attain joy. Someone who is a “creature of circumstance” is
trapped without the freedom to progress because they have allowed temptation or
tragedy or even just tough trials to prevent them from actively seeking to make
the choices and changes that will
bring them lasting happiness. Something we can ask ourselves is: ‘Am I choosing
to let passivity to my surroundings stifle my progression toward Christ? Or am
I actively using my agency to create
an environment in which I can become more like Christ?’ I had a friend in high
school that would constantly come to me to complain. I knew she needed a friend
so I listened to her and tried my best to comfort her. Soon her complaints
turned into verbal abuse toward me. She would call me unkind names and tell me
that I would never understand because I had everything so good. I started to
apologize to her because I knew she was struggling and I didn’t want her to be
mad at me, soon my apologies turned into begging her for forgiveness for things
I knew I had never done. I was stressed out and upset. This affected the way I
treated my family at home and the amount of sleep I was getting. I allowed
myself to be a creature of circumstance;
instead of promptly trying to find a solution to this, I encouraged unkindness
by bowing down to it. What I should have done earlier that I eventually did,
was talked to my parents and gotten help instead of trying so fruitlessly to please
someone at the expense of my health and relationships with family members. I
didn’t create for myself an uplifting environment. In contrast, I was a
“creator of circumstance” in the choices I made with my school work. My
sophomore year of high school, I had an infamously difficult honors English
teacher. She was very stingy with the B’s she gave out anytime someone got an A
on any assignment, essay, or test it was a miracle. Halfway through the first
semester many of my classmates had given up on her class. I did not give up. I
went in for extra help from her several times a week and I spent hours on every
assignment. I gave up a good portion of winter, mid-winter, and spring break to
study for her class. My efforts paid off in the end and I received an A in her
class. Junior year was even more of a struggle; I took more difficult classes
and participated in more extra-curricular activities. I would be up at 1 or 2am
still doing homework and shivering in a 70 degree house because my body was too
exhausted to keep itself warm. I was able to rise to the challenge and make the
study choices that would form the habits that would lead me to receive A’s. I
never gave in to the temptation to skip an assignment or do less than my best
on an essay or inadequately prepare for a test. When it came time to apply for
colleges I had used my agency to become a “creator” of freedom. I had the
freedom to choose to apply for and attend any college that I wanted to. This
allowed me to choose a university that would let me to defer attendance for a
mission, making it much easier for me to serve a mission. Being a creator of
circumstance is a useful skill for a missionary to have. Missionaries have to
choose to act in obedience to the mission rules and choose to devote their entire
efforts to the work instead of letting their circumstance get the better of
them.
In the
October 2010 Ensign Robert D. Hales said that “agency is to act with
accountability and responsibility.” This means that we need to be ready to take
ownership of our actions and their consequences. Each action has a consequence
that can draw us nearer or push us further away from our Heavenly Father. I
have strived to use my agency to strengthen my relationship with God.
Accountability isn’t only about considering and owning consequences, but it is
also related to keeping commitments and promises. How can we remember to
consider whether or not each action and each commitment we make will bring us
closer to God? I attended four years of seminary. This is a before school
gospel study class that meets at 6am. I was committed to the class and I knew
that the things that we studied in seminary would bless my life. I was never late
to seminary once all four years. This meant that I had to leave my house by
5:40 every morning. Sophomore Year my seminary teachers challenged us to be to
class five minutes early so we could be unrushed and spiritually prepared to
learn. Most days I was five minutes early. I knew this was an important part of
my life so I choose to take my commitment seriously. One night I forgot to set
my alarm so I woke up at 5:38, brushed my teeth and was in the car by 5:40 to
be to class on time. As a consequence for my choice to take seminary seriously,
I was able to feel the spirit every morning and learn more about the scriptures
and gospel principles that shape my life and draw me closer to my Heavenly
Father. My accountability to seminary attendance will be a blessing for me on
my mission. The scriptures I have memorized and studied, the spirit I have felt,
and the gospel principles I have learned will be available for me to share and
teach others while I serve. I will also be able to be accountable for my
actions while I am on my mission and be fully committed to serve.
In
Abraham 3:24-25 Jesus Christ tells God: “We will go down, for there is space
there and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon
these may dwell; And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all
things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them.” This reveals to us
that the purpose of our lives on earth is to prove to our Heavenly Father that
we will obey him. We can prove our love, devotion, and true conversion to God
by choosing to do his will and live righteously through our actions. The Holy
Ghost or the spirit, scriptures, and modern day prophets can guide us so we
know God’s will for us personally and individually. Once we pray and study to
find what God would have us do, we can use our agency to choose righteously. As
girls do not have the same responsibility or pressure put on them to serve a
mission I had to choose between two
good options: starting college right away or going on a mission. I had to pray,
study it out, weigh the consequences of both choices, make a decision, and pray
again and again to be sure a mission was the right choice for me. Serving a
mission is part of how I can prove to my Heavenly Father that I love Him and am
willing to serve him and put his will above anything else. When I serve a
mission I will choose to live on God’s agenda completely for 18 months. The
cool thing about it is that it is for my own good to live on His agenda rather
than my own agenda. Heavenly Father knows what is best for each of His children
because He knows each and every one of us personally. When I ask investigators
to live God’s commandments, I will be inviting them to use their agency to show
true conversion to the Lord. Without freedom of choice--whether or not to
follow Christ—we wouldn’t be able to demonstrate our conversion to the Lord.
Agency
and accountability facilitate progression when we choose to be “creators of
circumstance” and own up to the consequences of every action while keeping the
commitments that will bring us closer to God and more like the Savior. Lastly,
the way we use our agency and accountability is how we prove to our Heavenly
Father that we are devoted to him, which will lead us to salvation. So to
answer the question: ‘how can we use our agency to experience happiness and
joy’—we actively use agency to create joyful circumstances by being accountable
to God’s will. This is my testimony, I know that we have
the power to choose eternal life and choose to return to our Father in Heaven
after this life. We are all God’s beloved children and we have royal potential.
On my mission I hope through the spirit to teach others the essential knowledge
that will help them make the right choices that will bring them to closer to
Christ through His atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the
Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. I want to thank my family, friends, and
all of the teachers in my own life that have led me to my own testimony and
righteous choices. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
