the capacity to choose who we will follow

"Suppose a man is tied up so tightly he can't move a limb. Suppose as well that his eyes are propped open and his mouth is taped shut. All he can do is sit; he has no other options. Would he lack agency, the way the term is used in the scriptures?"

Rick considered this carefully. "I suppose so, yes."

"Really?"

"I suppose you'll say he wouldn't."

Grandpa Carson smiled at the friendly joust.

"That's correct, Ricky - that is what I would say. This man would have as much agency as the freest man on the street. The reason why is that agency does not refer broadly to the ability to choose - our choices are always bounded by certain limitations, after all. Rather, agency has to do with a particular kind of choice. Agency, as used in the scriptures, is the capacity to choose who we will follow - the Lord of Light or the Lord of Darkness. That is the choice that was at stake in the premortal realm. And it is a choice we retain here, even when bound and gagged."


The Peacegiver by James L. Ferrell. 2004. p.148