This morning I was thinking about the awe-inspiring Thunderbird airshow. I was deeply moved by their display of power. As the super cool music played, the MC announced each maneuver they would do-whether it was a "knife-edge" pass, flying in Delta Formation, or 360 loop- all was executed with perfect precision. It's inspiring to see what others choose to do as they take massive action on any given task. They exercise sound judgment based on specialized knowledge, discipline, and training. The airshow displayed the awesome power of the United States Armed Forces- specifically the Air Force. It was the absolute perfect way to ring in the 4th of July holiday and remember the powerful men and women who defend our freedom and our way of life.
Sometimes I think "freedom" allows me to do whatever I want to do. At least as I've thought about agency, I have considered it to be the the ability to choose between good and evil. To act and not be acted upon. Agency is my go-to comfort response regarding the results of my parenting. Though I have tried to teach my children the gospel of Jesus Christ, they still have their "agency" to choose to follow God's will. It's up to them to choose to keep the commandments or not. They can follow their own will. But I admit, I have tried to use FORCE to get them to do what I want them to do. At times I would have loved to force them to Choose the Right (CTR). I haven't had the arsenal of the US Air-force at my disposal, but I have had countless examples and yes, even pressure of righteous leaders and peers in a society that is predominately LDS (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints). One of the hardest things about kids growing up in Utah, is some think in order to make their "own" choices, they have to do something different than what they've been taught. So the youth experiment and say, "You can't pressure or force me, you guys are a bunch of sheep. Look at me-I'm happy. You are close minded. I am enlightened. I am free. I believe in a Universe that doesn't tell me what to do. I'm can do what ever I want in the pursuit of happiness. " Yes, we can choose but we cannot choose the consequence. People argue about consequences of various choices but what I really want to consider is if my choices result in FREEDOM or BONDAGE.
Satan's plan was not to tempt us to do evil, rather to FORCE us to do what was right. He sought to destroy the agency of man which God could not permit. Even though Satan knows he can't destroy our agency, we can give it to him freely as we make choices contrary to God's laws. It's actually pretty easy to choose bondage over freedom. When we do not live up to every single covenant we make in the temple, we are in Satan's power. We rob ourselves of God's power and loose some of our freedom to act. This topic of agency as a power to choose what's right vs. the power to choose whatever I want has been on my mind lately after attending a fireside by Brother Russell Osguthrope. He stated,"God gave us agency so we could yield ourselves to Him, not so...we could succumb to temptation.”. Through obedience God empowers us to execute his will. He gives us additional POWER to ACT and more freedom to choose.
So all those CTR rings turning kids fingers green everywhere can help them power up.Think special forces. The green military shield can remind them of power through right choices.It's a shield of defense against Satan's power to limit MY agency. The 4th of July consequence I'm interested in is long term FREEDOM. Not a temporary rush or deluded sense of exercising free will. That needs to be my filter. Is this choice going to make me a more capable, powerful person to ACT? Or will it make me weak, reactionary and subject to someone else's power (or even my own carnal will). I want POWER that comes from specialized knowledge, discipline, and training. I want to execute choices with powerful precision to do God's maneuvers-to do His will. I do not want to crash and burn, rather I want to FREE like a bird- a awe-inspiring THUNDERBIRD.
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