Was that the 2001 concert at the eCenter?

I was there and dude - IT ROCKED.

Here’s a question I have. Can a person literally lose his God-given free agency? You can lose your ability to determine the consequences of your actions after the action is done, but can you lose your agency?
I once heard a definition of agency which said that it consists of people being able to represent their premortal selves. People are their own agents, acting in behalf of the person they were in the pre-mortal existence when they chose to come to the earth and follow God’s plan.
Can that agency be lost? I suppose that depends on one’s definition of agency. I sort of think that agency can’t be lost. Am I wrong?

Wow. What an image for that scripture.

I believe we can lose our agency. The veil makes it that we forget that pre-mortal person to a great degree, and it’s only when we choose light that we can thin the veil. If we continually choose darkness, we can diminish our agency and eventually even lose it.

Consider, for example, this from Elder Hales:

The promptings that come to us to flee evil reflect our Heavenly Father’s understanding of our particular strengths and weaknesses and His awareness of the unforeseen circumstances of our lives. When these promptings come, they will not generally stop us in our tracks, for the Spirit of God does not speak with a voice of thunder. The voice will be as soft as a whisper, coming as a thought to our minds or a feeling in our hearts. By heeding its gentle promptings, we will be protected from the destructive consequences of sin.

But if we ignore those promptings, the light of the Spirit will fade. Our agency will be limited or lost, and we will lose the confidence and ability to act. We will be “walking in [spiritual] darkness at noon-day.” 22 Then how easy it is to wander into strange paths and become lost! How quickly we are bound in the chains of sin spoken of by Lehi to his rebellious sons.

Thanks Michelle. That was a good quote.

No problem. That whole talk is well worth the read…awesome stuff.

but how can agency be lost if that is supposedly the only thing that belongs to us?

It seems like a contradiction there.

I think agency is designed to allow us to choose light. If we don’t, we can relinquish that agency. If we exercise our will to choose darkness, we can, by degrees, lose that gift we have to give. Alma 12:9-11 describes how we can arrive in bondage in the “chains of hell” if we don’t choose light and accept the light God wants us to enjoy.

Satan wanted to destroy agency, as the PoGP says. I think he still gets his thrills from doing that now. Choosing to heed to his temptations gets us more and more in his power, and less and less “free.” 2 Ne. 2 also talks about this…we are free to choose liberty and eternal life, or to choose captivity (bondage, like Connor said) and death.

Think of addictions as another example. If people become addicted, those addictions overpower will and require intensive work and repentance and help to overcome to the point of being able to freely act and choose at a “normal” level.

I think the point is that our wills are uniquely ours, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be restricted and limited and even taken away by our very choices. Elder Maxwell said that my will is the only unique thing I have to give over to God, but I don’t think he ever said it can’t be lost or reduced in its ability.

Did she die?

Connor,

Nice blog.

Curt

This story this person talks about is just that a story… i was at that concert in 1991 at the salt palace. i watched those three teens pulled from the GA area. I watched them do CPR on one of the boys and watched him carted off dead. I was not a “pumped-up teenagers and miscreants ready to rock” i was and still am a good person who wanted to see a rock show. These teens did nothing wrong the promoters and the management of the salt palace at the time over sold a concert out of greed and nothing more. The teens did not rush the stage when the doors opened - it was into the show when this all went on after all of the teens were packed into the GA area that was over sold by the promotors of the show. the band was not to blame they stopped playing three times asking people to step back. the greed of these adults at the time were to blame. this person trying to use this tragedy to hock his story of faith is sick and disgusting. he should be ashamed. NICE JOB MAKING MORMONS LOOK BAD YOU DOLT.