Have you ever thought about what it might have been like to live on the earth, had Lucifer won the war in Heaven, or even had his way in that pre-earth council? Do you even remember the time described in the Book of Moses, when: “Satan…came before me, (God) saying, ‘Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor” The Father obviously wasn’t too happy with that idea and said, “because that Satan rebelled against me, and he sought to destroy the agency of man, which I the Lord God had given him,…by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down; And he became Satan, yea even the Devil, The Father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice…and also a third part of the hosts of heaven turned he away from me because of their agency.” (D&C 29) Well, If you don’t remember, its alright, I don’t remember all the details myself.
Satan’s plan was to force us to live without sin or transgression and to follow a prescribed path that would qualify us to return to the Father’s presence. Of course, he wanted the honor and glory for doing so. His plan was to remove all temptation and opposition and because his plan was rejected, he was cast out, he became the opposition. “For it must needs be, that there is opposition in all things.” (II Nephi 2:11)
I was reading an interesting natural history article, the other day, about Processionary Caterpillars. These caterpillars feed on pine needles and move through the trees in a long procession (thus their name), one leading and the others following. Each one following does so with his eye half closed and his head snugly fitted against the rear extremity of his predecessor. They blindly follow the one in front, never looking to the left nor to the right. They exercise no individual will and are not tempted to seek a tasty morsel away from the line of procession.
They are disciplined to remain in line, and because of this strict discipline they would have no reason for repentance, even if they knew what it meant. As a result of their discipline they have no individual growth because they never experience any opposition. Whatever intelligence they were originally blessed with is stagnant; they are drones imprisoned in their own regimen. They are without ‘agency’. Had Satan been able to implement his plan on this earth, we too, would have been without agency and might very well have followed a similar pattern of procession as these caterpillars. ‘Discipline can be a noble characteristic but primarily if it is imposed by self: self discipline.’
“But, behold, my beloved Son, which was my Beloved and Chosen from the beginning, said unto me – ‘Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever.’ (Moses 2:4) The Father’s will was that the Son should come in the meridian of time: “That he may redeem the children of men from the fall. And because that they are redeemed from the fall, they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon.” (II Nephi 2:26)
“Therefore, cheer up your hearts, and remember that ye are free to act for yourselves” (II Nephi 2:10)
Even so, we have to be careful about our choices, because as Paul said to the Galatians; “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Gal. 6:7) Under Satan’s plan we would not have had a choice to sow. What Satan did not understand, about the Father’s plan, was also explained by Paul to the Corinthians, “He which soweth sparingly shall also reap sparingly”. We are here to learn and we are encouraged to sow generously, that we might reap a generous harvest in the Father’s Kingdom. Therefore, let us take Nephi’s advice to, ‘cheer up our hearts,’ and to remember that we are free to act for ourselves.
When I was a (non-member) youth, in the mid 1940’s, my parents put very few restrictions on me. I could come and go pretty much as I pleased. There were certain civil and social restrictions that I was aware of and, for the most part, I was a fairly decent young pre-teenage boy. However, I always felt free and as a result, my friends and I did a lot of exploring and experimenting.
I don’t ever remember stopping to tell my Mother where I was going. I would hop on my bike and go, and would often not return until after dark or when I got hungry. Mom just seemed to have faith that I would be OK! We had many exciting times. The trouble we got into was never serious and usually chalked up to, “Oh, they are just being boys!”
Even though I had no knowledge of the principle of agency, I enjoyed it. As a result of that agency, and the freedom I had, I feel that I matured much faster than the average and experienced many things that I would not have, had I been more restricted. (This is not a recommendation for raising young boys or girls – times are different). I, personally, am very grateful to our Heavenly Father for trusting and having the faith in us, His offspring, to give us agency while we sojourn on this earth, This earth experience is a major chapter in the Father’s master plan for us and is so essential to our eternal progression. When we say our alms each night, let us remember to thank God for our agency!