Mormons believe in—Personal Agency

So if we believe that there is a God as the {Article of Faith #1} proclaims, then what is His plan for us here on Earth? Let's begin to answer that question by starting at the beginning:

When Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden, God gave them 2 commandments:

1. "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth" (Genesis 1:28) (meaning, have a family)
2. "Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" (Genesis 2:16-17)

The key to understanding the story of Adam and Eve is understanding personal agency. Agency, a gift that Heavenly Father has given all of his children, is the ability to choose for ourselves. In order to choose, though, there must be two or more options for us to choose from.

Consider that God never forces us to do anything. He entreats us, He teaches us, and He waits for us. But He never ever does anything that infringes upon our agency, or our personal ability to make our own choices. This is true now and it was true in the beginning with Adam and Eve.

In the Garden of Eden Adam and Eve were in a perfect, innocent, and unchanging state. God could not force them to leave the Garden of Eden because that would have taken away their agency. When He first gave them the commandment to not eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge, there was no other option. It was simply live in the Garden, eat all the other fruit, but don't eat that fruit. End of discussion.

At that point there was no choice, and yet "the Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself. Wherefore, man could not act for himself save it should be that he was enticed by the one or the other" (2 Nephi 2:16). That's why there "is opposition in all things"—we are given at least 2 options (2 Nephi 2:11). Here's where Satan's temptation was a necessary part of the plan. He enticed Eve to eat of the fruit and suddenly she had a choice, a way to use her agency: Eat the fruit? OR Don't eat the fruit? As we know, Eve used her agency to eat the fruit, and Adam also made a choice by joining her in her decision to eat of the fruit as well.

I rejoice in Adam and Eve's actions because it enabled them to enter this fallen state of mortality and fulfill the first commandment God gave them: to bare children. The alternative was that they didn't eat the fruit, they didn't transgress, and as a result they would have remained in their unchanging state in the Garden. "Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy" (2 Nephi 2:25) We exist because of Adam and Eve's choice. Yes, there is misery and sorrow in this world. But how else could we know and appreciate joy and happiness!

Personal agency means personal responsibility for our own actions. Just as Adam and Eve's choice effects all of us, our personal choices have an effect on those around us as well. For good or bad, our choices have consequences.

The good news is that despite our imperfections and sins, we are not forsaken or forgotten! "For as in Adam all men die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive" (1 Corinthians 15:22). An integral part of God's plan was sending Jesus Christ to atone for everyone's sins, thus making it possible for everyone to repent and draw closer to our Heavenly Father so that we can someday return to live with Him.

Continue reading: {Article of Faith #3}Christ's Atonement is for all men!