Agency, Moral Existence and the Lord’s Pattern
Agency, Moral Existence and the Lord’s Pattern
Understanding the “How” of Agency in the Lord’s Plan
We often say that agency is essential, even mandatory, for man to exist. But what does that actually mean?
At first glance, it might sound like without agency we simply would not exist at all, as though we would "poof" right out of existence or never have even been created at all. But the scriptures describe something more precise than mere physical or biological existence.
Teachings & Commandments 93 explains that “all truth is independent in that sphere in which God has placed it to act for itself, as all intelligence also; otherwise, there is no existence.” It continues: “Behold, here is the agency of man, and here is the condemnation of man.” This suggests that agency is bound up with the very kind of existence God intends for intelligence, not merely occupying space, but acting, choosing, receiving, rejecting and therefore becoming accountable.
In other words:
Agency is not what allows us to exist biologically, it is what allows us to exist morally.
What Is Moral Existence?
Moral existence is the ability to choose in ways that actually change what we are.
Without agency:
- There is no meaningful choice.
- There is no real accountability.
- There is no transformation.
A being could still act, speak and participate, but could not become anything different from what is predetermined. Physical existence could remain, but moral existence would collapse.
T&C 101 clarifies this connection: “That every man may act in doctrine and principle pertaining to futurity according to the moral agency which I have given unto them, that every man may be accountable for his own sins in the day of judgment.” Agency isn't chiefly about unrestricted preference. Its chief meaning is that we're free, and therefore accountable before God.
That's why agency is inseparable from both condemnation and glory. If intelligence couldn't act for itself, there would be no moral existence. But once it can act, it can also reject light and come under condemnation.
Agency and Existence in T&C 93
“Man was also in the beginning with God. Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can be.” Agency is not what creates intelligence. Intelligence already exists. But truth and intelligence are placed by God in a setting where they may “act for [themselves], otherwise, there is no existence.”
Without agency:
- There is no acting for oneself.
- There is no accountability.
- There is no growth from grace to grace.
- There is no meaningful reception or rejection of light.
Christ’s own development illustrates this pattern: “He received not of the fullness at first, but continued from grace to grace until He received a fullness.” Growth into godliness assumes agency. Its not mechanical: its relational, voluntary, responsive to truth and light.
The Mechanics of Agency
If agency is required for moral existence, it’s worth understanding how it operates. Agency works within a system sustained by specific conditions:
1. Real Options
For choice to be meaningful, alternatives must genuinely diverge. If all paths lead to the same end, choice becomes illusion. Agency requires true divergence.
2. Law
Agency functions within law. We are free to choose our actions, but eternal law governs outcomes. This tension (freedom in action, constraint in consequence) gives choices moral meaning.
3. Knowledge and Light
Choice without understanding isn’t full agency. Truth expands agency, falsehood compresses it. The more light we have, the more clearly we see reality, and the more genuine our choices become.
4. Opposition
Opposition isn't accidental. “It must needs be that the devil should tempt the children of men, or they could not be agents unto themselves; for if they never should have bitter, they could not know the sweet” (T&C 9:11). Without contrast, discernment and meaningful choice disappear.
5. Influence
No one chooses in isolation. Culture, emotion, fear, authority -all shape how we perceive choice. Agency can be reduced not only by force but by distortion and pressure. It can shrink without disappearing.
What It Means to Destroy Agency
Scripture says Lucifer sought to destroy the agency of man. That’s often pictured as “forcing people to be good” but that flattening misses the deeper truth
Lucifer’s rebellion involved real choice. “A third part of the hosts of heaven turned away because of their agency” (T&C 9:11). They used agency to choose a system that would ultimately undermine the very conditions that make agency meaningful.
To destroy agency isn’t simply to erase choice.... it’s to collapse meaningful divergence, remove accountability or eliminate consequence. If every path leads to the same result, action loses moral power. One still acts but cannot become.
The Tension in the Plan
The Lord’s plan includes:
- Real agency
- Real opposition
- Real risk
- Real consequence
That means some will suffer, some will be lost and some will choose wrongly. That’s not a design flaw. It’s what makes growth, discernment and repentance possible. The tension is real:
How do you create beings who can become like God without removing the very conditions that make becoming possible?
The Atonement: The Missing Piece
Both Lucifer and Christ confronted the same problem: people would fail.
Lucifer’s solution was to remove the risk.
Christ’s solution was to preserve the risk.... and then step into the consequences of that risk Himself.
Lucifer says: “I will fix the system so they cannot fail”
Christ says: “I will descend into the system so they can rise from failure”
Lucifer’s plan sought to guarantee the outcome by removing moral agency. Christ’s plan preserved agency and provided a way through failure without making failure final.
Through the Atonement, the conditions of agency are kept intact, but the consequences of sin are no longer terminal. The Atonement allows:
- Repentance
- Learning
- Transformation
- Return
Without erasing accountability.
Without the Atonement, agency leads (inevitably) to loss.
With the Atonement, agency leads to becoming.
This is the defining difference between the two plans:
Lucifer’s plan removes risk to prevent failure.
Christ’s plan redeems failure to enable progress.
The Atonement completes the moral universe by making growth possible without destroying justice.
Understanding Lucifer’s Proposal
Now Lucifer’s offer makes sense. “I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost.” At a glance, it sounds merciful , safe, efficient, compassionate. It removes uncertainty, loss and consequence. If salvation means mere preservation, this proposal sounds ideal.
But if salvation means becoming, receiving truth and voluntarily growing into godliness, it fails entirely. The Lord’s plan produces moral beings. Lucifer’s produces managed outcomes. One preserves meaningful agency. The other eliminates it.
That’s why Lucifer’s plan was persuasive. It appealed to compassion and fear in equal measure, the longing to protect, to control outcomes, to avoid the painful risk inherent in choice. Those same impulses still tempt us today.
The danger isn't obvious wickedness. Its the preference for systems that feel safer, cleaner, quicker or more merciful, but shrink the space for moral becoming.
The Lord’s Pattern
The Lord’s pattern preserves agency rather than managing conclusions. “Every man may act in doctrine and principle pertaining to futurity according to the moral agency which I have given unto them” (T&C 101). Freedom isn't the ultimate aim.... accountability is. We are free so that we may become accountable beings.
The Atonement fulfills this design, not by bypassing accountability but by bearing its weight and transforming its consequence. It makes agency safe to exercise without nullifying moral law.
Persuasion, Not Control
If real agency requires real choice, then righteous influence must rest on persuasion, patience and light, not compulsion or predetermined end points. Persuasion preserves agency by presenting truth and allowing space for response. Control compresses it by narrowing what can be safely chosen.
Application to Us
Every community that values unity encounters the same tension. We want peace, harmony, understanding. So we soften disagreements, “agree to disagree" or stop short of hard questions. Peace does matter, but when the range of acceptable outcomes narrows too soon, agency shrinks. The process remains visible, but freedom disappears.
A predetermined outcome preserves the appearance of process while collapsing its substance. A peaceful process is not always a free one. And a constrained process can't produce truth, justice or true unity.
Even “agreeing to disagree” has two forms:
- In its healthy form, differences are acknowledged, no one is pressured and space remains for growth.
- In its compressed form, disagreement is technically permitted but functionally discouraged, conversation freezes before transformation occurs.
Unity produced without agency is imitation, not harmony. Real unity arises only from open, voluntary convergence.
A Present Warning
Agency is rarely lost by external force first. It is lost when people freely choose systems that narrow choice later. Just as a third part used their agency to embrace a pattern that would make agency meaningless, we can do the same by choosing comfort, predictability or peace over truth and openness.
That’s the subtle danger. Through our own freedom, we can unknowingly sustain conditions that shrink freedom’s meaning.
Conclusion
Agency is more than the ability to choose. It's the condition under which intelligence acts for itself, receives or rejects light, becomes accountable, and therefore becomes something.
Without agency, existence remains, but moral existence disappears.
Without the Atonement, agency leads to inevitable loss.
With the Atonement, agency leads to transformation.
Together, T&C 93, 101, and 9 reveal that agency requires:
- Real options
- Law
- Truth
- Opposition
- Accountability
- Space for divergence
This is the Lord’s pattern:
persuasion, not control
truth, not manipulation
process, not predetermination.
Only through that pattern can existence become more than participation.
Only through the Atonement can agency become redemptive rather than destructive.
Agency isn't just about freedom.
It's about becoming.
And the Atonement is what makes that becoming possible without destroying us in the process.
“Give Me Your Honor” vs “The Glory Be Yours”
When Lucifer said, “Give me your honor” he wasn't merely asking for praise. Honor in this context is tied to power, the right to direct, define and govern outcomes.(See T&C 9:11)
In other words, Lucifer was asking to control the structure of the plan itself. If he held the honor, he held the power to determine the outcome, guarantee the result and claim the credit.
Christ’s response was completely different: “Father, your will be done, and the glory be yours forever.” He didn't seek to replace the Father’s structure, only to fulfill it. He accepted a world where agency, consequence and real risk remained intact, and then offered Himself within that world as Redeemer
That's the deeper contrast:
Lucifer: control the system so no one can fail.
Christ: enter the system so failure doesn't have to be final.
Lucifer sought power over outcomes. Christ manifested power through redemption. One wanted to control the story. The other was willing to suffer inside it and make it right without taking away our ability to choose.
Much of what I’m sharing here has been shaped through ongoing conversations with friends as we’ve wrestled through these ideas together. I am SO grateful for that space to think, question and seek understanding. 💚
Dang so good
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