Elder Neil L. Anderson, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, shared in the Liahona magazine (United States/Canada version, under the title:
‘Father We Thank Thee’. . . . click for the full article)
Be Thankful for Your Agency
Another one of our greatest blessings is our ability to choose, to decide, to shape our desires, and to determine those things we will love and those things we will discard. Our ability to choose started long before we came to this earth. In the premortal world, the Father’s plan was presented. One who was known as Lucifer came forward saying, “Here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor” (Moses 4:1).
Lucifer did not desire to give us a mortal experience where we could learn and grow, choose right over wrong, and develop faith in God. His chief aim was his own honor and glory. How thankful we are for Him whom the Father called “my Beloved Son,” and who said, “Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever” (Moses 4:2) and, “Here am I, send me” (Abraham 3:27).
We are agents unto ourselves (see Doctrine and Covenants 58:28), with the freedom to think and grow and choose—even realizing that at times we will make mistakes.
I had an experience that influenced my feelings about the importance of choosing what is right. Several years ago, the young daughter of a friend of mine died in a tragic accident. Hopes and dreams were shattered. My friend felt unbearable sorrow. He began to question what he believed.
The mother of my friend asked if I would talk to him and give him a blessing. As I laid my hands upon his head, I felt to tell him something I had not thought about in the same way before. The impression that came to me was this: “Faith is not only a feeling; it is also a decision.” He would need to choose faith.
My friend chose the road of faith and obedience. He got on his knees. His spiritual balance returned. The ability to seek within ourselves the gift of faith is an enormous spiritual blessing.
The Savior taught us how to choose the right even when it is not easy. Just prior to Gethsemane, He said, “Father, save me from this hour,” and then, perhaps pausing, He added, “but for this cause came I unto this hour” (John 12:27).
The prophet Abinadi said, “The will of the Son [will be] swallowed up in the will of [His] Father” (Mosiah 15:7).
You don’t know exactly what is ahead of you in life. There will be joys and happiness, but there will also be trials and disappointments. Jesus declared that we are to “settle this in [our] hearts”—that we will do as our Father has taught us (Joseph Smith Translation, Luke 14:28).
President Brigham Young (1801–77) said, “Submit to the hand of the Lord, … and acknowledge his hand in all things … , then you will be exactly right, and until you come to that point you cannot be entirely right. That is what we have to come to.”2
President Joseph F. Smith (1838–1918) added that we must “[educate] our desires.”3 That’s a very powerful term to think about.
When we determine to choose the right, to keep the commandments, to be unafraid of letting our will be swallowed up in the will of our Heavenly Father, we are giving to Him one of the few things that is truly ours to give.
