Tonight we were talking about the Garden of Eden. How if we had followed Satan's plan, they would've been forced to partake of the fruit. This implies that Satan's plan involves forcing people to do right. Let's first take a look as to where this conception starts.
Moses 4:1-3, "And I, the Lord God, spake unto Moses, saying: That Satan, whom thou hast commanded in the name of mine Only Begotten, is the same which was from the beginning, and he came before me, saying- Behold, 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. But, behold my Beloved Son, which was my Beloved and Chosen from the beginning, said unto me- Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thing forever. Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down;"
So this talks about how Satan and Jesus Christ both stepped forward to set the Father's plan in motion but Jesus Christ was chosen because Satan sought to destroy the agency of man. So, it's pretty clear- destroying agency- without agency you then, must, of necessity, be forced right? If we are not free to choose then it's because we're being forced. So this was Satan's plan? To force us all to do right and then it would be all his glory?
On lds.org there is a definition of agency given. (Click HERE if you want to see the source.) It tells us, "Agency is the ability and privilege God gives us to choose and to act for ourselves. Agency is essential in the plan of salvation. Without it, we would not be able to learn or progress or follow the Savior. With it, we are "free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil" (2 Nephi 2:27)."
Can you not also destroy agency by taking away accountability? If no matter what we choose, liberty and eternal life was still granted, then wouldn't that ALSO defeat agency? We could no longer choose captivity and death- even IF we wanted it. Thereby thwarting our ability to really choose. Satan sought to let us do whatever we wanted with no consequences, no accountability, instead of seeking to force us to do right. I will cite another example as to why I think THIS is Satan's plan.
In the Bible Dictionary we read, under the section of the "War in Heaven". This section makes everything clearer to me, so I'm just going to copy the whole section and italicize the most important parts, in my opinion.
This term arises out of Rev. 12:7 and refers to the conflict that took place in the premortal existence among the spirit children of God. The war was primarily over how and in what manner the plan of salvation would be administered to the forthcoming human family upon the earth. The issues involved such things as agency, how to gain salvation, and who should be the Redeemer. The war broke out because one-third of the spirits refused to accept the appointment of Jesus Christ as the Savior. Such a refusal was a rebellion against the Father's plan of redemption. It was evident that if given agency, some persons would fall short of complete salvation; Lucifer and his followers wanted salvation to come automatically to all who passed through mortality, without regard to individual preference, agency, or voluntary dedication(see Isa. 14:12-20; Luke 10:18; Rev. 12:4-13; D&C 29:36-38; Moses 4:1-4). The spirits who thust rebelled and persisted were thrust out of heaven and cast down to the earth without mortal bodies, "and thus came the devil and his angels" (D&C 29:37; see also Rev. 12: 9; Abr. 3:24-28).
The warfare is continued in mortality in the conflict between right and wrong; between the gospel and false principles, etc. The same contestants and the same issues are doing battle, and the same salvation is at stake.
Although one-third of the spirits became devils, the remaining two-thirds were not equally valiant, there being every degree of devotion to Christ and the Father among them. The most diligent were chosen to be rulers in the kingdom (Abr. 3:22-23). The nature of the conflict however, is such that there could be no neutrals, then or now (Matt. 12:30; 1 Ne. 14:10; Alma 5:38-40).
When you think about how the SAME war that was being fought then is being fought NOW, it helps you realize a few things. Does Satan try and FORCE us to do right? No, he usually tries to get us to do wrong. How? By making us rationalize that the consequences aren't what they're hyped up to be, or it doesn't matter, or it's just one time, or no one will know... the list goes on. Satan would have us do whatever we wish with no consequences. To me, understanding this principle of what we REALLY stood for, not just the right to choose, but the right to choose and be accountable, so we can choose an OUTCOME through our little actions helps me understand other principles. For example, abortion. Some people think the church's standpoint is somewhat contradictory, and I think that is because they misunderstand. They say we believe that thou shalt not murder, nor do anything like unto it. So people say, abortion is "like unto it". So it must be murder. But if it's wrong, then it's wrong. Right? Well, if we were going by that standard, yes. But the Church has exceptions. If the woman was raped for example, the Church feels the girl has the choice to keep or abort the baby. How is this right and not abortion in all circumstances? I think it leads back to what Satan's plan is. Our GOAL in life is win the war against Satan. And what in essence is he trying to destroy? Accountability. Why should a girl be forced to live with the results of being pregnant if she didn't have a choice in the first place? I think THIS is how the defining line of where the exceptions are drawn and where they aren't. Does it encourage Satan's plan? If a girl were to CHOOSE to have sex, KNOWING pregnancy is a possibility, does she get to ALSO choose whether or not she gets caught? To put it maybe a bit more extreme but within the same concept- do we get to do things that qualify us for captivity and death and then get to choose eternal life? No, our goal in life is to bring our actions in line with the outcome we want- not just decide we want something we haven't worked for. To do so would destroy Christ's plan and choose that indeed we do believe Satan's plan. For it would be easier to just be granted eternal life, automatically, regardless of agency, but we wouldn't have really learned anything, or grown or be worthy of the gift or eternal life.
"We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam's transgression." (2nd Article of Faith) We believe in choice and accountability, as the Young Women's values taught me and we hold to it.
2 comments:
Very interesting. I like your thought process.
I too agree that Satan's plan was not to force anyone to be good. The only forcing he proposed was forcing all to be saved (not be lost). Your idea that agency has more to do with accountability is perfect. He could take away our agency by saving us regardless of what we did. This destroys our accountability as well as our instrumentality (which is one of the dictionary's real definitions of agency).
I will probably write more later on, but for now I wanted to be the first to congratulate you, and tell you that I totally agree with the ideas you've expressed and the direction you're heading.
I wanted to add a little bit to some of the things you said that I thought were really good:
"Satan sought to let us do whatever we wanted with no consequences, no accountability, instead of seeking to force us to do right."
I completely agree. A few leaders in the church have hinted at this possibility: Brigham Young, Orson Pratt, Orson F. Whitney, J. Reuben Clark, and Bruce R. McConkie.
"Satan would have us do whatever we wish with no consequences."
That's certainly the lie he loves to tell us.
"Does Satan try and FORCE us to do right? No, he usually tries to get us to do wrong. How? By making us rationalize that the consequences aren't what they're hyped up to be, or it doesn't matter, or it's just one time, or no one will know... the list goes on."
Look at the first temptation in the Garden of Eden: God says if you partake of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, you will die; Satan says, "ye shall not surely die." Who do we believe? God says there will be accountability and consequences; Satan denies them knowing he can trap us with them. Satan is not trying to destroy our agency; he is trying to destroy us by using it against us. I would think Satan enjoys using the very agency that God gave us to destroy us.
"To me, understanding this principle of what we REALLY stood for, not just the right to choose, but the right to choose and be accountable, so we can choose an OUTCOME through our little actions helps me understand other principles."
I agree. The real choice that agency (and accountability) gives us is the choice of eternal life or something else.
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