Agency

"May each one of us search the scriptures with diligence, plan his life with purpose, teach the truth with testimony, and serve the Lord with love." 

~ President Monson

General Conference: Come, All Ye Sons of God President Thomas S. Monson April 2013

"You and I were among those who used their agency to accept Heavenly Father’s plan to come to earth, to have a mortal life, to progress. “We shouted for joy … to have the opportunity of coming to the earth to receive bodies [for we knew] that we might become, through faithfulness, like unto our Father, God.” ¹¹

Now we are here on earth, where opportunities to use our agency abound; for here “there is an opposition in all things.” ¹² This opposition is essential to the purpose of our lives. As Lehi explained, “To bring about his eternal purposes in the end of man, … 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.”                            
To Act For Ourselves: The Gifts and Blessings of Agency by Robert D. Hales General Conference April 2006

"Some who do not understand the doctrinal part do not readily see the relationship between obedience and agency. And they miss one vital connection and see obedience only as restraint. They then resist the very thing that will give them true freedom. There is no true freedom without responsibility, and there is no enduring freedom without a knowledge of the truth. The Lord said, “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:31–32.)"
Agency and Control by Boyd K. Packer General Conference April 1983

"Agency is a divine gift to you. You are free to choose what you will be and what you will do. And you are not without help. Counsel with your parents is a privilege at any age. Prayer provides communication with your Heavenly Father and invites the promptings of personal revelation."
Choices by Russell M. Nelson General Conference October 1990

“Because faith is a principle of action and power,” Elder Bednar explained, “faith in Christ inspires us to exercise our moral agency in compliance with gospel truth, invites the redeeming and strengthening powers of the Savior’s Atonement into our lives, and enlarges the power within us whereby we are agents unto ourselves.”                                                                                                                        Elder Bednar Fulfills Assignments in  Europe General Conference September 2011

"Please understand, no one has the privilege to choose what is right. God reserved that prerogative to Himself. Our agency does allow us to choose among alternate paths, but then we are bound to the consequence God has decreed. Later, if we don’t like where the path takes us, the only out is through repentance".
Healing Your Damaged Life by Richard G. Scott General Conference October 1992

"We tend to think of agency as a personal matter. If we ask someone to define “moral agency,” the answer will probably be something like this: “Moral agency means I am free to make choices for myself.” Often overlooked is the fact that choices have consequences; we forget also that agency offers the same privilege of choice to others. At times we will be affected adversely by the way other people choose to exercise their agency. Our Heavenly Father feels so strongly about protecting our agency that he allows his children to exercise it, either for good or for evil.

The plan of happiness is available to all of his children. If the world would embrace and live it, peace, joy, and plenty would abound on the earth. Much of the suffering we know today would be eliminated if people throughout the world would understand and live the gospel."                                                                                                                            Answers to Life's Questions by M. Russell Ballard General Conference April 1995

"God reveals to His prophets that there are moral absolutes. Sin will always be sin. Disobedience to the Lord’s commandments will always deprive us of His blessings. The world changes constantly and dramatically, but God, His commandments, and promised blessings do not change. They are immutable and unchanging. Men and women receive their agency as a gift from God, but their liberty and, in turn, their eternal happiness come from obedience to His laws. As Alma counseled his errant son Corianton, “Wickedness never was happiness” (Alma 41:10).

In this day of the Restoration of the fulness of the gospel, the Lord has again revealed to us the blessings promised us for being obedient to His commandments."                        Obedience to Law is Liberty by L. Tom Perry General Conference April 2013

"Brethren, within the confines of whatever circumstances we find ourselves, we will always have the right to choose.

Next, with the right of choice comes the responsibility to choose. We cannot be neutral; there is no middle ground. The Lord knows this; Lucifer knows this. As long as we live upon this earth, Lucifer and his hosts will never abandon the hope of claiming our souls.

Our Heavenly Father did not launch us on our eternal journey without providing the means whereby we could receive from Him God-given guidance to assist in our safe return at the end of mortal life. I speak of prayer. I speak too of the whisperings from that still, small voice within each of us, and I do not overlook the holy scriptures, written by mariners who successfully sailed the seas we too must cross."                                    The Three R's of Choice by Thomas S. Monson General Conference October 2010

"Remember, God is in his heavens. He knew what he was doing when he organized the earth. He knows what he is doing now. Those of us who break his commandments will regret and suffer in remorse and pain. God will not be mocked. Man has his free agency, it is sure, but remember, GOD WILL NOT BE MOCKED." (See D&C 63:58.)

God Will Not Be Mocked by Spencer W. Kimball General Conference October 1974

Agency

We have been given the wonderful gift of agency. I love President Monson’s quote about using the scriptures to lie out our life plan. I have turned to many self-help books over the years when I really should have been turning more to the Lord and my scriptures. Elder Nelson also reminded us of what a divine gift the Lord has given to us, and the importance to communicate regularly with our Lord through prayer.