What is the difference between free will and moral agency?

 I came across this article this morning "What is the difference between free will and moral agency?" Following is my answer. 

The following are from my faith tradition. In a more general sense, the difference between "free will" and "moral agency" might be illuminated by the difference between a natural right and a natural responsibility. 

"Elder Bednar: Mormon Moral Agency - You Are Not Free To Do What You Want" is a video by David A. Bednar. He talks to church members about what moral agency is. It may be helpful to recognize that in our church we make covenants with God and with the church and with others. A covenant is a sacred promise. 

"Moral Agency" By Elder D. Todd Christofferson uses the term "free will" and "moral agency". 

Covenants permit divine influence to flow into our souls

From a FB post of D. Todd Christofferson, Sun 3 Nov 2019

Today I am in Paraguay for the rededication of the Asunción temple. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the beginning of the work in Paraguay. It was in 1949 that missionaries began to serve there. To show you my age, this new mission was established when I was four years old. In my lifetime, the Church and the restored gospel in Paraguay have grown from no presence to 11 stakes, 2 missions, and a beautiful temple. 

To me, the fact that we sacrifice to build temples is an undeniable witness that Jesus Christ is the living, resurrected Son of God. I bear my personal witness that Jesus is the Only Begotten Son of God, our living, resurrected Redeemer. I bear witness that it is Jesus Christ who is the Master Builder of celestial men and women in this, the house of the Lord. 

God does not force grace or goodness upon us, but the covenants we make through temple ordinances permit Him to let His divine influence flow into our souls. This brings power in the priesthood, power to declare the word of God, power to gather scattered Israel, and power to offer redemption to the dead. It is the power to resist temptation and overcome evil. It is the power to know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent. In other words, it is the power to lay hold on eternal life. 

I pray that all of us may repent daily and become increasingly holy. I pray that each of you will be armed with righteousness and the power of God all the days of your life.

I love how he describes God as not forcing his grace or goodness upon us. God offers his covenants to us. As we accept and honor them, we receive of the grace of God. We receive the power enabling us to become increasingly holy. We receive power to know God because we are doing what Jesus would do in our place.

There must be opposition in all things

Kwaku posted a video named "i believe in multiple gods". In it he says

So let's examine good and evil. If God created everything and saw everything that was going to happen and hit that first domino and said, "Let it all rip, let it all go", then He is the creator of good and evil. He is the father of evil.
(15:19) 

Since Father in Heaven is the father of the spirit of Lucifer. Technically, yes He is the father of evil. That does not make him the reason evil came into the world. Lucifer is the creator of his own evil, not Father in Heaven. In 2 Nephi 2:11 we learn

For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, my firstborn in the wilderness, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad. Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one; wherefore, if it should be one body it must needs remain as dead, having no life neither death, nor corruption nor incorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense nor insensibility.

God is the father of all of our spirits. This includes Lucifer. God also knows the beginning from the end. God knew that Lucifer would rebel in our premortal life. God's foreknowledge does not make him responsible for Lucifer's choices. In 2 Nephi 2, Lehi instructed Jacob and his other children that there must be an opposition or else there is no way for us to progress to be like our Father in Heaven.

God has given all of us the gift of agency. We are unlike all the other creations He has made. This gift extends to Lucifer, who ironically sought to destroy our agency (Moses 4:1). It was the rebellion of Lucifer both in heaven and in the garden of Eden that provided the very opposition that agency requires.

(Link to my YouTube comment)

More than Meat Machines

"We are more than mere meat machines programmed by our genes, past or environment. We are moral agents, and our lives are full of possibility" (Post on FB group Latter-day Saint Philosopher Group, Jeffrey Thayne, 19 Jun 2019

Picket Fence or Razor Wire

Will I line my heart with a picket fence or razor wire?

The heart is a tender place. It is sensitive to many influences, both positive and negative. It can be hurt by others. It can be deadened by sin. It can be softened by love. Early in our lives, we learn to guard our hearts. It is like we erect a fence around our hearts with a gate in it. No one can enter that gate unless we allow him or her to. 

In some cases the fence we erect around our hearts could be likened to a small picket fence with a Welcome sign on the gate. Other hearts have been so hurt or so deadened by sin that they have an eight-foot (2.5-m) chain-link fence topped with razor wire around them. The gate is padlocked and has a large No Trespassing sign on it. 

Let us apply the idea of a gateway to the heart to receiving personal revelation. Nephi taught, “When a man speaketh by the power of the Holy Ghost the power of the Holy Ghost carrieth it unto the hearts of the children of men.” Elder David A. Bednar noted the use of the word unto: “Please notice how the power of the Spirit carries the message unto but not necessarily into the heart. … Ultimately, … the content of a message and the witness of the Holy Ghost penetrate into the heart only if a receiver allows them to enter.” 

Why just unto the heart? Individual agency is so sacred that Heavenly Father will never force the human heart, even with all His infinite power. Man may try to do so, but God does not. To put it another way, God allows us to be the guardians, or the gatekeepers, of our own hearts. We must, of our own free will, open our hearts to the Spirit, for He will not force Himself upon us. 

("Opening Our Hearts", Gerald N. Lund, GC Apr 2008) 

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A house with a white picket fence around it.

Fence with razor wire.

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Jesus gave a warning about the weightier matters

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. (Matthew 23:23)

What are the weightier matters? Can we attend church, family scripture study and family prayer and not let the weightier matter sink deep into our hearts?

Being an Agent to Act

I find so much power in this video. Agency, Faith, Patience and a toddler learning to walk.
That is what we are. Babies of God, taking our first steps. As we trust in Him, we act. We step into the unknown and we receive power to do all He asks us to do. 

https://youtu.be/4WIuG9VqG4M

I transcribed it because I felt like I could not capture the power of the words that was coming to my heart.

If we did not have moral agency, we would simply be puppets manipulated by the strings of fate. 

In my understanding, the great purpose of mortality is to learn in ways we could not have learned in pre-mortality. And we learn in mortality, lessons that prepare us for eternity. 

The natural man and the natural woman says, "There is no way I'm taking this step. There's no way I'm moving into the darkness, until the light moves and I can see where I'm going."The requirement is that we take the step anticipating that when our foot hits the ground, the light will move. Now the first time we do that, it's not doubt, but there's a little bit of uncertainty, even a little bit of apprehension, which is quite normal. 

It works almost like a helix, where we take that first step based on "the substance of things hoped for", there comes "the evidence of things not seen". (Heb 11:1) It's not a perfect cycle that's never interrupted, or that is totally smooth. But, line upon line, that increase is incremental and gradual. 

Now the other thing, I don't want to talk about faith in the Savior as if it is a trait, and there is a formula and if I just follow the elements of the formula, then I'm automatically going to get more. It's a spiritual gift, but we have to be doing our part, to be able to be in a position where we can receive the gift. And it always requires that we act first and then the power comes. 

Most of the time we'd like to think, "Well give me the power and then I'll act." But the Savior's gospel teaches that first that first we act then the power comes. We don't know where to go. We don't know what to do. But my trust in Him enables me to act. He blesses me with His power. That confidence increases. We then can, ultimately, navigate the most difficult circumstances in life knowing that we will never be alone and we will always have His help. 

One of the things that is required is that "we wait upon the Lord". That's another scriptural phrase that I'm drawn to all the time. The depth of the lesson is often only realized line upon line, precept upon precept over an extended period of time. 

The greatest gift the Father gave to us was His Son. And the gift that comes to us through the Savior's Atonement is agency. So agency is essential to the Father's plan and it is the capacity to act and learn from our own experiences. That is the very essence and purpose of being here in mortality.

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"Her choice made all other choices possible."

This makes sense to me as a definition of beguiled

While I am unclear on the meaning of the word beguiled, I have been led to the meaning defined in the OP as I have watched and pondered the current films in the temple. Whether or not Eve knew what she was doing in eating the fruit. Her doing so allowed for the existence of us all in mortality and our agency here.

http://www.womeninthescriptures.com/2013/08/what-does-it-mean-that-eve-was-beguiled.html

Why Does Evil Exist?

A fantastic explanation of moral agency and God's love. Be prepared to think deeply.
From https://www.facebook.com/uju.okezuruonye/videos/984682531597413/

If God exists, why doesn't He stop rapists from raping?Why doesn't He stop suicide bombers from bombing?Shay He has all the power?Abi is He indifferent?Then, why worship Him?Are these your questions?Dr Zacharias, by the Holy Spirit, doth answer thee.Watch.PS:Seated beside Daddy Ravi is Professor John Lennox, a British Mathematician, Philosopher of Science, Christian Apologist and Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford.God's gat people, mehn.God's gat people.😎
Posted by Uju Okorie on Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Love is the Answer

My son wrote a touching letter last week. Love is the answer. It really does not matter what the question is, love is usually the answer whether we answer in words or service or prayer.

Love is the reason why I trusted my parents when they taught me about Jesus. So that I would be willing to test his words in my life and develop my own testimony independent from them.

Love was the answer in my darkest hours. The love of God I felt when I prayed. The love of my wife and family. It was a reflection of the love of God.

God wants to mold us like clay. If we allow him to, he will shape us into what we cannot yet imagine. But the analogy is lacking. We are not objects to be acted upon. We are agents to act for ourselves. If we are willing, we will partner with God to forge our own path with Him. A path of service and love and ministering. Full of meaning and joy.

We just have to be willing to work hand in hand with our Father.

Now Get Up

There are times in my life that I think that I am able to do what the Lord says I can do. To be what he says I can become.

I love the part in the New Testament where Peter goes out onto the water to meet Jesus. When they saw him on the water Jesus said, "Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid". Peter replied, "Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water." Peter demonstrated his faith. Because he did, he was able to do incredible things.


More than stopping bullets and walking on water, if we have faith we can do greater works. To be able to persuade other independent agents to experiment on the word of God. We can love them. We can demonstrate the power and life and joy of living according to the carpenter of Nazareth. That is more powerful than walking on water because we are able to inspire an individual will to decide to change their heart. To allow the Lord to enter into them and make them a changed creature.

But in order for me to do that, I have to remain in the Lord. The longer I remain steadfast and immovable I can be a sharper tool for the Lord. I have to live in balance. I have to do the urgent and important things that keep me nourished and sane. Able to see things for what they really are. I ask the Lord to help me remember the plain road. The simple and easy things that I can do every day to keep me in His path. That open my possibilities to do all He has asked me to do and to be.

Honor People's Agency

Three principles that will help influence others for good.
Be persistent.
Be patient.
Let the person act as an agent. Don't be constantly acting upon the person as if they were an object. Some people misunderstand agency. They say, "well they have their agency. They can do what they want." Elder Bednar says this is a misunderstanding of agency.

What is Moral Agency?

From Connor Boyack

Agency requires three things: options to choose from, freedom to choose, and consequence for the choice. Like a three-legged stool, agency can be weakened or destroyed (in theory) by attacking any one of the three.

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“As I read the scriptures, Satan’s plan required one of two things: Either the compulsion of … man, or else saving men in sin. I question whether the intelligence of man can be compelled. Certainly men cannot be saved in sin” (J. Reuben Clark in Conference Report, Oct. 1949, 193; quoted in "Chapter 6: Our Premortal Life", Doctrines of the Gospel Student Manual [2010], 15).

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What is the true nature of what Satan proposed in the premortal council?
...
Some ideas about what Satan proposed in the premortal world appear to come more from tradition than from actual revelation on the subject. As a result, it is helpful to return to the scriptures themselves to find out what the Lord has actually revealed on this important matter.
("Satan’s Rebellion", Ensign, Mar 2015)

He Waits for Their Upreaching Hands

it is the sad truth that if prophets and people are unreachable, the Lord generally does nothing for them. Having given them free agency, their Heavenly Father calls, persuades, and directs aright his children, but waits for their upreaching hands, their solemn prayers, their sincere, dedicated approach to him. If they are heedless, they are left floundering in midnight’s darkness when they could have the noonday sun. ("Revelation: The Word of the Lord to His Prophets", Spencer W. Kimball, Apr 1977, start time 5:45)

"I, the Lord, will feel after them"

"And after their temptations, and much tribulation, behold, I, the Lord, will feel after them, and if they harden not their hearts, and stiffen not their necks against me, they shall be converted, and I will heal them." (D&C 112:13)

I have sometimes sung "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean" to my children at bedtime. I have fond memories of my mother singing it to me as she rocked me to sleep. It is among my earliest memories. Years ago, as I sang it, a new meaning came to me. My children are far from me. Far because of the truth of the free will of the human soul. God designed us that way. His plan for our eternal happiness depends on it. Jesus defended the Father's plan against Lucifer in our pre-mortal life.

The song reminded me that I must invite and persuade my children to follow Jesus. It is not possible for me to force them. And God would not want me to. We are here on earth to learn the difference between good and evil and to learn to choose the good. To be good, to become good like Jesus has shown us.

The scripture above tells me that the Lord feels after us. He will not force himself upon me. My experience with the Holy Spirit has taught me this. God allows us to do unspeakably horrible things to each other. Why? Maybe because that is the only way some of us will learn to stop doing them. Stop being selfish. Instead to unify my will with His.

This life is short. But it is not a practice sand-box. We are making real decisions causing either real, supernal joy, misery or something in between. What do I want? As soon as I decide to make a half measure toward God, I sense him feeling after me as we see in Michelangelo portraying.

He is reaching after me. So my heart can be softened. So my neck can be loosened; to be converted and healed. So I can learn to live after the manner of happiness.

Enabling the Power of the Holy Ghost

My dad suggested this talk to me. Here are some of the things that stood out to me.  ("The Truth of

All Things" Ryan Holmes, BYU Devotional, May 07, 2013, YouTube)

Said to Ryan Holmes by his mission president as he was leaving his mission.

“You see things more clearly now than you will until midlife.” Well, here I am twenty-five years later, at midlife, finally understanding what he meant. He meant that as missionaries we had been in a special situation where our personal righteousness and our desire to do God’s will aligned in a way that is difficult to achieve outside the mission field. Consequently we had enjoyed the influence and companionship of the Holy Ghost more fully than we would again until midlife. And he was right. You come home and pursue your education; you worry about your finances and your social life; and then come your spouse, your children, and your career. It’s a struggle to manage all the priorities and all the distractions.

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I also learned that I had to explicitly ask for specific guidance. Let me repeat that: explicitly ask for specific guidance. You have to ask because God is no respecter of persons—He loves all His children and has repeatedly told them, “Ask, and ye shall receive”;3 “seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.”4 Asking is an important part of the law that governs receiving. And not only should we ask, but we should ask for specifics. Like President Thomas S. Monson has often said, “When we deal in generalities, we rarely have success; but when we deal in specifics, we rarely have a failure.”5 As a missionary I learned to pray for very specific things.

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In the Doctrine and Covenants the Lord repeatedly counsels missionaries to “open your mouths and spare not” and to “speak the thoughts that I shall put into your hearts,” with the promise that “it shall be given you . . . in the very moment, what ye shall say.” I believe there is a key here to enabling the power of the Holy Ghost. When we are doing our best to keep the commandments, then our first thoughts and first impressions are often the inspired ones.(emphasis is mine)

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Alma explained the process of spiritual growth this way:

It is given unto many to know the mysteries of God; nevertheless they are laid under a strict command that they shall not impart only according to the portion of his word which he doth grant unto the children of men, according to the heed and diligence which they give unto him.
And therefore, he that will harden his heart, the same receiveth the lesser portion of the word; and he that will not harden his heart, to him is given the greater portion of the word, until it is given unto him to know the mysteries of God until he know them in full. (Alma 12:9-10)

Heed and diligence are like the Lord’s encryption technology.

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So let’s recap a little: We need to be righteous so that we have a valid claim upon the companionship of the Holy Ghost. We need to ask for specifics in our prayers and ponderings. We need to recognize and act upon the enticings of the Spirit, which are often given as our first impressions “in the very moment” of need.

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But still there are some who blame God or deny His existence because of the suffering and injustice they see in the world. They lack the proper perspective and understanding of the central role that agency plays in the plan of salvation. My experience has been that the hardest questions in life—questions about cruelty, war, injustice, inequality, abuse, disability, death, and all of these tough situations—are best understood in the context of man’s agency, both individually and collectively. In Doctrine and Covenants 58 the Lord said:

I command and men obey not; I revoke and they receive not the blessing.
Then they say in their hearts: This is not the work of the Lord, for his promises are not fulfilled. But wo unto such, for their reward lurketh beneath, and not from above. (D&C 58-32-33)

We believe in God’s omniscience, that all things are present before Him and He sees them all.19 But we do not believe in determinism. We believe that the dominant feature of mortality is the agency of man, and it drives the show here on earth and in the eternities.

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Receiving Eternal Truth is like a transaction.

We mostly skip along the surface, rarely diving deep into a matter, because the sheer volume of information we are processing dictates such behavior. There just isn’t time. And the relevance of the content—as it is usually referred to now—is judged solely by what is “most popular” or “most recent.”
But real truth has never been judged on those merits. Eternal truth is a view of things as they really are.23 It is also transactional—meaning that there is an attached responsibility to act upon it, to integrate it. Remember the HD encryption technology the Lord uses: Heed and Diligence! It’s built into the system. We cannot hope to have more truth than we have now unless we apply what we already know.

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Besides information glut, there are other potential challenges to enabling the power of the Holy Ghost that I didn’t face twenty-five years ago. I have a theory about the general shape of the learning curve—something I recognized as a college student. It is shaped like an S.

On a graph, this S-shaped learning curve shows the relationship between the amount of continuous, uninterrupted time we devote to something and the output quality of that endeavor. Whenever we undertake a task or begin a project or an assignment, there is a certain amount of start-up time required to get acclimated (the bottom of the S). Then we eventually get into “the zone” (the middle to the top of the S), where every unit of time we spend yields more output (i.e., new knowledge) than was possible during start‑up mode. In the zone we dive deep, and we become totally immersed in focused thought. The key is to get into the zone quickly and stay there as long as possible. But in today’s connected world we are constantly interrupted by buzzing, beeping, and ringing notifications that we assume require an immediate reaction. Hyper attention to digital noise causes us to slide right back down the learning curve, forever stuck in start‑up mode—the area of the learning curve where our efforts are the least productive. 

We are being conditioned to react in a certain way to digital stimulus, and this rewiring of our brains is not without consequence. We are developing a form of societal attention deficit disorder. A recent study revealed that the average person checks their phone 150 times per day, or every six and a half minutes.

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In conclusion, I’d like to tell you something Joseph Smith once said about the gift of the Holy Ghost:

I have an old edition of the New Testament in the Latin, Hebrew, German and Greek languages. . . .
. . . I thank God that I have got this old book; but I thank him more for the gift of the Holy Ghost. . . .
. . . The Holy Ghost . . . is within me, and comprehends more than all the world; and I will associate myself with him. (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, 349–50; HC 6:307–8; The King Follett Sermon)

We might say in our hearts something similar: I have this smartphone in my pocket. It can do some amazing things, and I am thankful for it. But I am more impressed by and thankful for the gift of the Holy Ghost. He is smarter than all the world, and I will associate myself with Him.

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We Are Nothing Without Love

This quote from Elder Osguthorpe has brought a lot to my mind.

The adversary’s goal was to take away our agency and thereby make it impossible for us to love, because it is impossible to love unless we choose to love. Love must come from within. It cannot be forced upon us. So for purposes of his own selfish aims, the adversary would have made it impossible for us to keep the first two commandments. He would have made us into nothing. ("What if Love Were Our Only Motive?", Russell T. Osguthorpe, BYU Devotional, Mar 8, 2011)

Why would we be nothing if not for the ability to love? Love is so valuable because it cannot be forced. It is the only thing that we can give that truly comes from ourselves. Everything else comes from the earth, our ancestors, in short, from God. Our ability to choose good from evil is a gift from God. Love is how we reward God for his trust in us.

Which Way Ought I To Go?

Elder Marcos A. Aidukaitis was the visiting General Authority for our recent stake conference.  He shared a story in his talk in the Saturday night session from Alice in Wonderland.

Alice: Oh, no, no. I was just wondering if you could help me find my way.
Cheshire Cat: Well that depends on where you want to get to.
Alice: Oh, it really doesn't matter, as long as...
Cheshire Cat: Then it really doesn't matter which way you go. (Disney 1951, book)

He then proceeded to teach us how Good our Father is.  That is the phrase he kept saying as he described the three degrees of glory God has prepared for his children.

In the telestial, it is more about what you don't do rather than what you do do.  He described the kind of people who would inherit it.  Then he read how "the glory of the telestial which surpasses all understanding" (D&C 76:89).  He told us how he was a mechanical engineer.  That he had studied quite a few things; that he had some understanding.  He said that if Father asked him to choose the kind of place to inherit after this life, that he come probably come up with a pretty good place.  What God has prepared in the telestial kingdom surpasses all understanding, what a Good Father we have.

He then proceeded to describe the terrestrial and celestial kingdoms and how they excel the lowest kingdom of glory.  He repeated again and again how good our Father is.

He ended by reminding us of Alice.  He said where we go, what we become is part of the most important question of our existence, "What kingdom do I want to inherit?"  Once we decide what kingdom, all other moral questions are easy to answer.  Do I want a Celestial, Terrestrial or Telestial kind of existence?

So I am fulfilling my assignment now.  

I Choose the Celestial Kingdom!

I want my children, my friends, my neighbors and anyone else who may be interested.  I plan to rely on the merits of Jesus Christ.  To work and live and become what He wants me to be.  To serve and love and live life to the fullest.  To suck the marrow out of life.  To pass on that fire to all you will hear. 

The message of the good news is wonderful.  It is so wonderful that the lowest of the kingdoms of glory surpasses all the understanding of humankind.  

Power of the Priesthood

Power of the Priesthood comes by persuasion not by any right to the obedience of others. This is a wonderful article that made me think about agency in a different way.

The Lord is bound when we do what He says, because He CHOOSES to be bound. This is how he can reject the sacrifice of Cain, but accept Abel’s because of intent. God is not a vending machine for blessings. We can’t pray our way to anything. Rather, prayer and fasting are invitations, a process to humble ourselves and invite God to bless us or, at least, to comfort or enlighten us.

My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean

One of my earliest memories is my mother singing this song to me as she rocked me to sleep. My older sister told me that she would sing it to their children but used each of their names instead of Bonnie. My wife and I have done so with our children too. A few nights ago as I was putting one of my children to bed I asked her if she knew why I sing this song to her.

Years ago as I was singing this song something came to my mind. An image of my child over the ocean and over the sea.  I recognized that I only have so much influence over my child. That their agency, their will, is so paramount that even God would not breech it. Our moral choice is really the only thing we have that is truly our own.  It is the only thing we can give to God. It is granted to us by God and He will never, ever force it from us. It is the root of love. That we are willing to give our heart, might, mind and strength to what we will.

So as I think of my children, over the ocean and over the sea. What I ask the Lord through this song is that He bring them back to me. Or that through His grace, the gospel of peace might be brought unto but not into the hearts of my children. And that through one and many cases the most sacred of moments, that my children will open their hearts and give space for the word of God in their lives. That they will recognize the value of the word and nurture it in their lives. That they will begin to see the word growing in them. Changing their nature from a fallen one to a spiritual one. That it opens a world of gratitude, and love and service throughout a lifetime.

That through their lives they might become the sons and daughters of God. Born again as children of Christ. He being the Father of their new lives. That they give their whole soul as an offering to God and be sealed to him and to each other for ever and ever.

My prayer continues that I might keep myself in remembrance of the covenants that I have made. Of the change of heart I have experienced. That I might preserve this change of heart. This tree of life in my soul that brings me hope and life and light. That I might continue to bind myself to God and to those who love Him. That I might continue in service and love as my wife and children and parents and on and on from generations long ago to generations to come. Joined in a link that connects all the sons of Adam and Eve. Joining all who will Come unto Him. That our hearts will forever be turned towards God and each other.

This is my prayer. This is what my heart yearns for as I sing this song to my children. As I heard it from my mother.

Unto but not Necessarily Into

A great lesson on what moral agency is and why God prizes it so.

Nephi taught, “When a man speaketh by the power of the Holy Ghost the power of the Holy Ghost carrieth it unto the hearts of the children of men.” Elder David A. Bednar noted the use of the word unto: “Please notice how the power of the Spirit carries the message unto but not necessarily into the heart. … Ultimately, … the content of a message and the witness of the Holy Ghost penetrate into the heart only if a receiver allows them to enter.”  

Why just unto the heart? Individual agency is so sacred that Heavenly Father will never force the human heart, even with all His infinite power. Man may try to do so, but God does not. To put it another way, God allows us to be the guardians, or the gatekeepers, of our own hearts. We must, of our own free will, open our hearts to the Spirit, for He will not force Himself upon us.
("Opening Our Hearts", Gerald N. Lund, April 2008)