Before we lived on earth, we all lived with God as spirits. We learned, progressed,
and prepared for this earthly life, in which we were to be sent to the earth as
imperfect beings to receive a body. Now this was a part of Gods plan. We know
that he wouldn't leave us here helplessly in our sin, so he sent his only begotten,
Jesus Christ, so that through his sacrifice (called the Atonement) we can
repent and be saved. We read that Jesus was chosen to be the Christ even before
the world existed, sort of like a Hunger Games, "I volunteer as
tribute" deal (1 Peter 1:19-20). We also read that many other prophets
(Jerimiah 1:4-6), church leaders (D&C 138:55-56), members (Ephesians
1:11), and even the times of events (Acts 17:26) have been preset, and prechosen. This is
where the question comes into play; Does that mean since we were chosen we lose
our agency, our will to choose between good and evil? Are we just puppets being
used by God himself?
Not at all, God is a huge supporter of agency. He fought to make
sure all of us could obtain this freedom. God just knows us perfectly, He knows
who we were, who we are, and who we can become. For example take your best
friend, your child, your parents, or a loved one. If you were to set out a
pizza and $15 on a table and told them they could only take one, what would
they chose? You have been with them long enough to know what they like and how
they think or act. You would know what they would chose. Now, if we stretch our
limited knowledge of a loved one to the infinite knowledge of God, He knows us very well.
Continuing, In Alma 13:1-9 we read why God preordained people:
for their faith and good works. In other words he trusted them from before this
life. Now nobody is perfect. Neither were the people he called on. We look at
David, having relied heavily on the Lord in his youth, then falling into sin,
lost his potential of eternal blessings. God's plan involves that everyone of
us are given trials, in which they help us grow dependent on the Lord.
Now lets apply this to our life, 1st of all I'm choosing the
pizza. I'm a sucker for a good pizza. But also, every choice we have in front
of us is ours to make 100%. God will never force us to do his will, but he can
be rather convincing. We read about how God sent an angel to comfort Jesus in
the Garden of Gethsemane and help him choose to complete the Atonement. Now, I
can't think of anyone I know doing something more convincing than that, but one
of the rules God lives by is that he will never force us. Alma invites us to,
"Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for
good..." (Alma 37:37). By doing so, God's will, will be revealed unto us.
Accepting his will, as it says in Alma 26:3, we can be used as his instruments
to bring about his work.
Sticking to the Killers' theme, God will never force us to
dance. But if we accept God's will into our lives, we'll start to notice we are
naturally dancing a little bit. We'll learn that dancing is enjoyable,
contagious, and we just don't want to stop. I invite all of you, learn the joy
in following the counsel of God. Share this joy with others and teach them how
to dance.