Elder D. Todd Christofferson: Free Forever, to Act for Themselves

Elder D.Todd Christofferson: Free Forever, to Act for Themselves

Read or watch the full talk here

One of the greatest blessings that Heavenly Father has given us is the blessing of Agency. It is also a great responsibility. But it is one Heavenly Father knows that we can live up to. 

You are not alone, Brothers and Sisters. Let Heavenly Father help you.

Early in his talk, Elder Christofferson reminds us that agency is part of Heavenly Father’s plan. “But God intends that His children should act according to the moral agency He has given them, ‘that every man may be accountable for his own sins in the day of judgment.’ It is His plan and His will that we have the principle decision-making role in our own life’s drama. God will not live our lives for us nor control us as if we were his puppets, as Lucifer once proposed to do”

Think about that for a moment. We are supposed to be the principle decision makers in our lives. That’s a pretty amazing thought. Our agency, our right and responsibility to make decisions is part of the reason we are here. It is also the way we are able to return  home. 

During his talk, Elder Christofferson said the following: “the gospel of Jesus Christ opens the path to what we may become. Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ and His grace, our failures to live the celestial law perfectly and consistently in mortality can be erased and we are enabled to develop a Christlike character. Justice demands, however, that none of this happen without our willing agreement and participation. It has  ever been so. Our very presence on earth as physical beings is the consequence of a choice each of us made to participate in our Father’s plan. Thus, salvation is certainty not the result of divine whim, but neither does it happen by divine whim alone.”

Brothers and Sisters, we must use our agency and choose to allow the Atonement to work in our lives. Heavenly Father’s plan is for each of us to return to Him. But He loves us not to force His plans upon us.

Remember, none of us has to be perfect. That is impossible. But we can each chose to repent of our sins. We can chose to accept Christ’s atonement and begin our journey back to Heavenly Father’s presence. 

Make the choice. Chose to act for yourself and, as the title of Elder Christofferson’s talk suggests, chose to be free forever.