President Kearl gives an interesting talk on principles of agency. Some of his principles run counter to traditional LDS culture or are counterintuitive. He gave the talk again in stake conference today, and again I enjoyed it and learned from it. I thought I might share his principles here.
1- We can have absolute confidence in choices related to salvation; these are matters of obedience, not prayer.
Examples: Thou shalt not kill, pay your tithing, etc.
2- Relatively few of the decisions we face each day are "thou shalt" or "thou shalt not" decisions. Many choices are eternally significant, but not related to salvation. In making those choices, we should remember that they are ours to make. The Lord will not make them for us--He will not choose for us among a variety of good options.
Examples: Where should I live? What career should I pursue? Whom should I marry?
Related notes: Choices have consequences, but these are not always punishments. We should recognize and embrace consequences, not trying to shield ourselves or others from them. Also, we should not try to make decisions for others or let others make decisions for us; the one who makes the decision should be the one who will most directly bear the consequences.
3- A choice delayed is a choice made.
4- Choices often have to be made with incomplete information.
We should not second-guess ourselves when the information becomes more complete later. This is not to say that we shouldn't be careful to gather all the information we can before choosing. We should not be willfully ignorant. However, we can only act on what we know and in whatever circumstances we find ourselves.
5- With the exception of repentance, we cannot change the past.
So don't spend life wishing you had a different past--that is an unconscionable mistake.
6- Not all dumb choices are wrong.
Example: Riding a motorcycle without a helmet is not morally wrong. It is also not smart. We should spend a lot more time worrying about making smart choices and a little less time worrying about making right/wrong choices.
7- Given identical circumstances, different people will make different and equally good choices.
We ought to be less judgmental and more supportive of others' life choices.
8- We don't need to see, and don't get to see, the future.
Remember the hymn "Lead, Kindly Light." We need to be open to being pleasantly surprised by opportunities; we should be prepared to embrace opportunities as they come.
9- We need to frame our prayers so that God can answer them. He will not answer prayers that abridge our agency.
10- Often, decisions become right.
They become right based on the choices we make in relation to them afterwards.
Sad example: Couples who divorce after twenty years of marriage did not make a mistake choosing to marry each other twenty years ago. It's foolish to think that. They made a mistake yesterday, or the day before, but not twenty years ago.
Many of these principles are not widely practiced. I think that is due in part to their being misconstrued. It would be easy to think that these principles mean you should pray less or about fewer decisions. Perhaps that is true, to some extent. But largely they only mean you should pray differently. You should be willing to take responsibility for choices that are yours to make. Be willing to choose your own life. The Lord does help us avoid mistakes, but He will not take away our agency by telling us which is the right choice.
1 comment:
Oh, I remember when President Kearl gave that talk awhile back. A most excellent talk, indeed. I think Alma 37:37 is a good summary of the talk. But, what's interesting, is how people misunderstand that scripture.
It says: Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good...
The words counsel and direct are what I think are often misunderstood. But when you take into consideration what President Kearl says, it can be much better understood.
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