The Effects of Socialism on Agency

This discussion is on the severe damage that socialism can do, and its effect on human agency and righteousness, and also how it, being an evil counterfeit of a Zion society, attempts to impede the plan of God. I will show here that a socialist society impedes the free use of agency and the plan of God in several ways.

I would first submit that socialism is not conducive to happiness. And happiness is the purpose of our existence. This happiness comes from doing, making, learning, and progressing on our own, which necessarily includes taking responsibility for not only ourselves, but what we can do for others. A government program cannot take on these responsibilities, or our progression suffers.

"President David O. McKay has written:

Next to the bestowal of life itself, the right to direct that life is God’s greatest gift to man. . . . Freedom of choice is more to be treasured than any possession earth can give. It is inherent in the spirit of man. It is a divine gift to every normal being. . . . Everyone has this most precious of all life’s endowments—the gift of free agency—man’s inherited and inalienable right. [Improvement Era 65 (February 1962): 86]"

 (https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/daniel-h-ludlow_moral-free-agency/ )"

Socialism, like all government systems which seek to draw more and more power to the government, necessarily abrogate the ability of man to seek his own course in life and fully experience the consequences, both the good and the bad. In contrast to this, think of the declaration which loyal Americans hold dear that life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (the right to direct one's own life in the way one sees fit) is an inalienable right. This makes the government of the United States very different, it not being founded for the benefit of a king or a class, or to serve another nation, but it was dedicated to the people of the nation, based on the conviction that each man would be best served by allowing him to have the maximum freedoms possible while still protecting the inalienable rights of others.

Here is the crux of the reason that governments can limit the agency of those they rule. As explained, agency consists of several elements, which necessarily means that if one or more of them are limited, agency is compromised:

"Moral Agency and the Plan of Salvation

Another reason we need moral agency is because of the fundamental role it plays in the plan of salvation. As Elder Hales has taught, “Agency is essential to the plan of salvation. … Without agency we would be unable to make right choices and progress.”4 Agency is so important to Heavenly Father’s plan that in the premortal life, Lucifer “sought to destroy the agency of man” (Moses 4:3). Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve wrote about three elements of moral agency as found in 2 Nephi: alternatives among which to choose, knowledge, and freedom to make choices.5

Alternatives. Lehi taught that there must be “an opposition in all things.” Without such opposition, “righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad.” Everything would be “a compound in one; wherefore, if it should be one body it must needs remain as dead, having no life neither death, nor corruption nor incorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense nor insensibility” (2 Nephi 2:11). Thus, opposition and the alternatives that come with it are essential characteristics of our existence, for if there were no opposition and no alternatives from which to choose, there would be no agency, and the “wisdom of God and his eternal purposes,” as well as His “power,” “mercy,” and “justice,” would be destroyed (2 Nephi 2:12).

Expanding on the concept of opposition, Lehi explained the consequences of having no law: without law, there would be no sin, which would mean there would be no righteousness nor happiness. Without righteousness and happiness, there would be no punishment nor misery. (See verse 13.) Then Lehi taught us the ultimate consequence of there being no opposites: “If these things are not there is no God. And if there is no God we are not, neither the earth; for there could have been no creation of things, neither to act nor to be acted upon; wherefore, all things must have vanished away” (2 Nephi 2:13).

In other words, without opposition, there could be no life! Opposition is essential to the plan of salvation.

Knowledge. Elder Christofferson taught that “for us to have agency, we must not only have alternatives, but we must also know what they are.” Otherwise, “the existence of those choices is meaningless to us.”6 Because of the Fall, wrote Elder Christofferson, we have “sufficient knowledge and understanding to be enticed by good and evil—we attain a state of accountability and can recognize the alternatives before us.”7 If it weren’t for our knowledge of good and evil, we could not act for ourselves, but only “be acted upon” (2 Nephi 2:26).

Freedom to make choices. The third element of moral agency is the freedom or ability to act on the knowledge we have of the opposites and choose between them (see2 Nephi 2:27).8 Elder Christofferson clarified that “freedom of choice is the freedom to obey or disobey existing laws—not the freedom to alter their consequences.”9 Through our obedience or disobedience, we are “free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil” (2 Nephi 2:27). With our God-given agency, we are “free to act” for ourselves, “to choose the way of everlasting death or the way of eternal life” (2 Nephi 10:23)."

(https://www.lds.org/ensign/2012/02/why-agency?lang=eng)

I believe, through my study, that an oppressive government can limit agency because:

1) It can limit the options of the people it oppresses. For example, while in Babylon, Daniel still had the options to either pray or not pray after the king had forbidden prayer to anyone or anything but himself, but he did not have the freedom to continue to pray and remain outside the lion's den, where under normal circumstances, he would have died. If he were killed, as people often are under oppressive regimes, his options would have been even more severely limited. It is correctly noted that he would still have had choices, and always had the option to choose good or evil, but again, his options were limited, and hence his agency also limited. I believe the distinction between an unrighteous government and a good one which respects agency is at least twofold: that which they encourage/discourage and the methods used to encourage/discourage them. Righteous behavior must be encouraged, while evil is discouraged. Appropriate punishments, not cruel or arbitrary ones, based on correct methods of encouraging repentance must be used, and likewise only righteous incentives, and not immoral ones. You can see that, in contrast, righteous behavior and righteous methods of correction will increase our agency, and not limit it.

Reviewing the following I believe is helpful in understanding: D&C 121 talks about how righteous influence according to the laws of heaven should and must be used. D&C 134 discusses the characteristics of a good government, and so forth.

In addition, 2) oppressive environments inhibit the learning and knowledge of the people they oppress, which limits their agency. Powerful earthly governments invariably tend to use their influence to aggrandize themselves and eliminate opposition. This means, eventually, controlling what information and ideas their subjects are exposed to. Religion, morality, news, and education are all corrupted.

And, 3) by giving up our rights to make our own choices to such a government, we no longer have freedom of choice over those aspects of our lives. Our power to become and progress is stalled, our lives being largely in the hands of others.

Daniel H. Ludlow, in his BYU speech already cited, "Moral Free Agency," was kind enough to give a more elaborate explanation of how earthly efforts try to limit our agency. It should be noted that in his analysis, he identified four elements of agency : "first, we must have the opportunity of choice—that is, the operation of law; second, there must be the possibility of the existence of opposites— good and evil, virtue and vice; these two make possible the third, the freedom of choice—that is, free agency; then finally a knowledge of the law and its consequences." This is only slightly different from Elder Christofferson's three elements.

"Efforts to Limit Human Freedom
But Lucifer is trying to run up as high a score as he can, and he does this by trying to keep us individually from achieving the great divine purposes for which we came here upon this earth, including the exercise of our free agency. He can do it by denying us any one of the four essential qualities of moral free agency. He can do it by denying us the opportunity of choice, and he tries to do this through certain types of governments, dictatorships, through the lack of governments (anarchy), and so on. He tries to do this by destroying, in our minds at least, the idea that there is a necessity of opposition, and therefore he tries to teach us “There is no sin. It mattereth not what a man does; whatsoever a man doeth is not sin. Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die.” Thus he destroys the role of opposition in our lives, or at least he attempts to do so. He can also do it by destroying our freedom of choice, and he does this by enticing us to give up our right of free agency to other persons or to other institutions and allow them to make our choices for us, resulting in the evil that Presidents of the Church have talked about in communism and socialism and other orders of this type.

He also does it by trying to encourage us not to come to a knowledge of our Heavenly Father by not listening to the prophets, by not studying the scriptures, and therefore by not knowing the consequences of our choices: “The scriptures are irrelevant today. They were written a long time ago. Don’t pay any attention to them,” he says. “There are no such things as prophets upon the earth; they ceased at the time of Christ.” Or he says that the heavens are sealed; there is no revelation today. He even says that God is dead! Thus in one way or another he tries to entice us to become like him and to become subject to the misery and unhappiness that he now participates in. To achieve his devilish aims, Lucifer can and does work through many means: business combines, governments on all levels, military forces, educational institutions, secret combinations of all kinds, and even families, teachers, and churches. Wherever and whenever you find a person or an institution that seeks to destroy the free agency of man, there you will find the influence of Lucifer. President Henry D. Moyle talked on this subject in these words: All we have to do is . . . examine any movement that may be brought into our midst . . . and if it . . . attempt[s] to deprive us in the slightest respect of our free agency, we should avoid it as we would avoid immorality or anything else that is vicious. . . . Free agency is as necessary for our eternal salvation as is our virtue. And . . . as we guard our virtue with our lives, so should we guard our free agency. [Conference Report, October 1947, p. 46] President Marion G. Romney, when he was a member of the Council of the Twelve, gave this advice: One of the fundamental doctrines of revealed truth is that . . . God endowed men with free agency (Moses 7:32). The preservation of this free agency is more important than the preservation of life itself. . . . Everything which militates against man’s enjoyment of this endowment persuades not to believe in Christ, for He is the author of free agency. Now the world today is in the throes of a great social and political revolution. In almost every department of society laws and practices are being daily proposed and adopted which greatly alter the course of our lives. Indeed, some of them are literally shaking the foundations of our political and social institutions. If you would know truth from error in this bitterly contested arena, apply Mormon’s test to these innovations [as recorded in Moroni 7:16–18]. Do they facilitate or restrict the exercise of man’s divine endowment of free agency? Tested by this standard, most of them will fall quickly into their proper category as between good and evil. [Speeches of the Year (Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 30 May 1957), pp. 10, 11]"

I think we are now in a situation similar to a certain Book of Mormon event, as described by Elder Hales:

"As we face increased pressure to bow to secular standards, forfeit our religious liberties, and compromise our agency, consider what the Book of Mormon teaches about our responsibilities. In the book of Alma we read of Amlici, “a very cunning” and “wicked man” who sought to be king over the people and “deprive them of their rights and privileges,” which “was alarming to the people of the church.”15 They were taught by King Mosiah to raise their voices for what they felt was right.16 Therefore they “assembled themselves together throughout all the land, every man according to his mind, whether it were for or against Amlici, in separate bodies, having much dispute … one with another.”17

In these discussions, members of the Church and others had the opportunity to come together, experience the spirit of unity, and be influenced by the Holy Ghost. “And it came to pass that the voice of the people came against Amlici, that he was not made king.”18"

 (https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/04/preserving-agency-protecting-religious-freedom?lang=eng#20-12565_000_51hales)

Whether or not we as a people have such a happy ending to our wave of negative social influences, we have yet to see. What we can be sure of is that we must know what side we must be on, and fight for it with all our heart and soul.

The Realities of Abortion

I sometimes think that the way women think of themselves and their role in the world has everything to do with how they - and the rest of us - think of abortion. Is it, then, as some say, a woman's inherent right to control what happens to her body in every circumstance? Is it, on the other hand, in no case morally acceptable to permit or participate in an abortion? Is the truth of the matter really summed up in the words "pro-life" or "pro-choice?" Or is it possible to be both?

I am interested in speaking as if to those women who will ever have to make these decisions for themselves, while talking about the underlying principles which are, to me, the heart and soul of the matter. These principles, while at the foundation of everything that happens on this  earth, are more far-reaching than any worldly concern. They are true, and so some of them are hard to hear.

You Are Made for Sacrifice

One thing is certain: you, women, are they into whom God has entrusted the souls of men, of all mankind. Women are the chalice of life.

Life is about risk and sacrifice, and motherhood is the summit, the pinnacle, the embodiment and fullness of what it means to sacrifice. It is synonymous with what it means to be a woman, and when that call to motherhood is fully answered, the full range of the unique qualities of womanhood have their full expression and development. And it should give you some pause to realize that you were built, were made to sacrifice in this way. It is part of you, and much more a part of you than any lifestyle or philosophy of any time, culture, or place could ever be. And you should be honored, because you are the sole hope of life for humanity, and more to the point, for each individual life that God places into your trust. The miracle of life occurs inside of you, as the soul of another joins your own. It's all about giving. Especially for you. Especially when it's not convenient or kind, or comfortable, or fair, or easy, or predictable. Truly was is said "nothing ventured, nothing gained." And the amount of risk we experience in this life should be a good indicator to us of what fantastic rewards await us if we are faithful.

The Power and Consequences of Choice

And so, yes, it's a choice. It's always been about a choice. This part of life, as all others, is all about making the right choice. In other words, the choice is yours, but not the right to knowingly make the wrong one. There are consequences and accountability for each one, some of which are perceived and experienced here, but others of which are not until this life is over.

It is essential to count the costs and consequences of a choice before making it. In this case, a life hangs in the balance- one which, if allowed to continue its natural development, will have every chance of living a full life, and who is as much a human being as you are. Add to this the incomparable experience of becoming a parent, and the fantastic opportunity for change which it involves. Even if you put your child up for adoption, the experience can change you. I promise you also that searing remorse will inevitably follow if you place any other less important consideration over the life of a child.

I believe what leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have said on this matter.  Elective abortion for personal or social convenience is akin to murder. There are only a few exceptional circumstances in which abortion might be justified - but even these are not to be considered automatic approvals for abortion. That is a decision which must be made only with the express revelation from our Heavenly Father that the course of action is acceptable. Those few exceptions spoken of are as follows:

"...such as when pregnancy is the result of incest or rape, when the life or health of the mother is judged by competent medical authority to be in serious jeopardy, or when the fetus is known by competent medical authority to have severe defects that will not allow the baby to survive beyond birth."

Source: https://www.lds.org/topics/abortion?lang=eng .

Consider for a moment that God is the most "pro-choice" being who ever lived; He is the
champion of agency - the right for each of His children, knowing right and wrong,  to determine their own choices  and reap the natural consequences. He is the one who accepted death and all the tortures of hell and earth which the devil and man could invent, so that you could have your freedom to choose either good or evil. So the question is, what will you do with it? Tell me, what is it worth to us if we abuse it?

Or what is it saying to God if you or I shrink from that high road he took to its end, to its furthest and deepest paths, right into the mouth of the abyss, and we won't even set foot on its entrance? You will find many who will say you have every reason to be excused from the burden of motherhood if you don't want it or don't feel ready. I believe, however, that for one with perfect love, the reality of the matter is self-evident.

God is also the most "pro-life" being in the universe. He is our Creator and Father, and has explicitly stated that life, especially human life, is sacred. There is no way to disrespect the greatest of God's creations - his children - and retain proper devotion and respect for God.

In one way or another, we are all made to suffer. To do it voluntarily and for a purpose is the calling we are all meant to answer, and it is the difference between a life fully lived and one of regret. In other words, our challenge is to learn to love as Christ did, and center our
lives around service to others. This pure love of Christ is called charity.

Motherhood is a Call to Charity

So to choose to raise a child, or when this is not possible, to give birth and place the child for adoption, is a Christlike expression of love.

I will never feel or imagine the sufferings or anguish of a mother. I don't know or "get it." But what price is too great for the life of a child?

Even the most precious worldly things, or life itself, is worth giving up for charity. This is what Peter is talking about when he says that a man without charity is nothing; he is a hollow shell of what he might have been.

Can you imagine life in a society in which no one sacrificed for another? Does it really all have to be about rights and freedoms? What a hollow life it would be to worry only about what is due you, and giving only what you must. It is, however, a constant temptation. The life well lived is full of danger and risk. It's about making yourself a target for pain and ridicule, and taking on responsibilities that you never had to take on. In other words, there's a better way. And no matter what anyone else says, who lives a more fulfilling life than a mother?

Shouldn't the most innocent, the most weak and helpless among us, be the most protected? After all, the pleas of babes and sucklings tear at our heart, but that same child one month, one week, one day, or even one hour younger does not seem to be able to wrench from us the same pangs of tenderness and compassion, or else the same bitter tears of remorse that we feel when an infant passes on, be it ever so peacefully or easily.

But what I wish to do is to recognize the very real pain, fear, and worry that the mother of an unplanned or unwanted child feels when she realizes the choices before her. I recognize that, and so does God. But don't see that dilemma as the unfair imposition of an unkind circumstance; see it as the call to be what you're meant to be. This kind of sacrifice is the closest any of us will get to godliness in this life, and it is hard because this kind of prize doesn't come cheap.

But God will not force you to take that leap. He won't make you a willing mother without your consent. He has left it up to you, and it is sometimes a hard choice.

And so whether I speak now to a cold heart or a warm one, a cynic or a saint, let me ask you this: what hope have you for our race if we do not learn to treasure life? Or to respect the fountains of life to which we all owe our own existences? Is it not a great irony that hordes of modern men and women have risen up to defend the downtrodden, to protect entire despised races, to lift men from the dust and poverty in which they have and do still wallow, but even these have forgotten those most vulnerable, out of sight and therefore out of mind? We grieve over the life cut short, that perennial subject of tragedies, but shed, perhaps, hardly a tear for that  life which hardly had time to begin. Tragedies both, but which do you imagine God would find more heartwrenching?

So, yes - your choice is not easy, and to be a mother can be a frightening commitment. It is to think of others above yourself, and to turn your life upside down. God will help you look outside yourself and realize that your child's welfare and your own are not in conflict but intertwined.

But it's up to you. It's your choice.

Trust in the Prophets

My purpose in writing this is to endeavor to show that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day is led by Christ through His prophets, and that we can have faith in the direction they give us, even though those prophets are imperfect. We do not need to fear following all of their authoritative counsel.

I am motivated to write this because I have seen many indications that faith in the prophets of the Church is waning, and understanding of the reality of the prophetic calling is incomplete in many cases. Mine certainly is, but I want to share what I do know. There have been instances of apparently outright rebellion, people who think they know better than the prophets, and those simply wavering or unsteady in their convictions because there are so many voices of criticism against the prophets and what they stand for. I hope my testimony, and more importantly the testimony of the prophets, can reach every one of these individuals.

Imperfect Leaders, Perfect Leadership

The miracle of having living prophets is not that God has arranged it so that His prophets are perfect and that every word they speak is absolutely true and without flaw. The Book of Mormon prophets are enough to show us that the writings of the prophets are not immune to the effects of their authors' imperfections and mortality. These prophets were under no delusions of grandeur regarding perfection in their words. From Enoch and Moses to Joshua, Isaiah, and Joseph Smith, Jr., prophets have consistently been concerned about their inadequacies, and frequently in their ability to speak or write adequately (see Exodus 4:10-16 and 3:10-11, Moses 6:26-39, 47, 7:13, Isaiah 6:5-11, Jeremiah 1:5-10). Take a look at what Moroni had to say to to those who would come to have his words in our day:

Mormon 9:31 : "Condemn me not because of mine imperfection, neither my father, because of his imperfection, neither them who have written before him; but rather give thanks unto God that he hath made manifest unto you our imperfections, that ye may learn to be more wise than we have been."

But it is this same meekness, humility, and reliance upon the Lord that allows Him to perform His work through them.

The Teachings of The Prophet Joseph Smith Manual, which I can highly recommend as a source for those seeking answers to Gospel questions, gives these three statements from the Prophet Joseph Smith :

First,

“When did I ever teach anything wrong from this stand? Whenwas I ever confounded? I want to triumph in Israel before I departhence and am no more seen. I never told you I was perfect; but there is no error in the revelations which I have taught. Must I, then, be thrown away as a thing of naught?”12

And again,

“Although I do wrong, I do not the wrongs that I am charged with doing: the wrong that I do is through the frailty of human nature, like other men. No man lives without fault. Do you think that even Jesus, if He were here, would be without fault in your eyes? His enemies said all manner of evil against Him—they all watched for iniquity in Him.”13

And also,

Joseph Smith’s journal for October 29, 1842, records: “I . . .went over to the store [in Nauvoo, Illinois], where a number of brethren and sisters were assembled, who had arrived this morning from the neighborhood of New York. . . . I told them I was but a man, and they must not expect me to be perfect; if they expected perfection from me, I should expect it from them; but if they would bear with my infirmities and the infirmities of the brethren, I would likewise bear with their infirmities.” 14

- Joseph Smith, Page 522 of Teachings of the Presidents of the Church, Joseph Smith

There are, in spite of all the mortal flaws and weaknesses of the prophets, remarkable promises given to those who are faithful to their words. This is the principle of the trial of faith, wherein those who are faithful to what they know and do not falter are given more understanding and greater faith (Alma12:9-11, 1 Ne 15:11, 2 Ne. 28:3-6,30, D&C 50:24-29, D&C 121:45-46, Isaiah28:9-13, Ether 12:6; see also 1 Ne. 10:19, D&C 42:61) . Here are some more scriptural exhortations to hearken to prophets, even though their words are not perfect:

Moroni 8:12 "And whoso receiveth this record, and shall not condemn it because of the imperfections which are in it, the same shall know of greater things than these. Behold, I am Moroni; and were it possible, I would make all things known unto you."

From the Title Page of the Book of Mormon, we read:

"And now, if there are faults they are the mistakes of men; wherefore, condemn not the things of God, that ye may be found spotless at the judgment-seat of Christ."

And again, we have 

D&C 21:4-6:  "4 Wherefore, meaning the church, thou shalt give heed unto all his words and commandments which he shall give unto you as he receiveth them, walking in all holiness before me; 5 For his word ye shall receive, as if from mine own mouth, in all patience and faith. 6 For by doing these things the gates of hell shall not prevail against you; yea, and the Lord God will disperse the powers of darkness from before you, and cause the heavens to shake for your good, and his name’s glory."

What strikes me here is that the Lord specifically instructs the Church to receive Joseph's word with patience. It's going to take some patience and humility to pay heed the words of mortal men with exactness, as we are commanded. Let's not think that somehow the prophets are all supposed to be infallible or immortal, and then get all bent out of shape when their personally expressed opinions turn out to be wrong. 

We are reminded again of the validity of the prophets' words, even though they be spoken through mortal men. In the introductory section of the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord says:

D&C 1:37-39: "37 Search these commandments, for they are true and faithful, and the prophecies and promises which are in them shall all be fulfilled.  38 What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same. 39 For behold, and lo, the Lord is God, and the Spirit beareth record, and the record is true, and the truth abideth forever and ever. Amen."

Remember how Isaiah was one of the prophets mentioned before who expressed concerns about his inadequacies (Isaiah 6:5-11)? In the Book of Mormon, the Lord specifically states, "great are the words of Isaiah" (3 Ne. 23:1-3), while commanding that we should search his words.

So the scriptures have told us both what the miracle of the prophets is and what it is not. The miracle of having living prophets is that God can turn imperfect people into prophets, whose voice is the voice of the Lord, and that for those who give heed unto all his words and commandments, "the gates of hell shall not prevail against them," and "we be not tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine" :

Ephesians 4:11, 14 (see 11-14): " 11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers... 14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;"

The prophets make mistakes, but the Lord, who actively leads this church on the Earth, doesn't, and because of the virtue of the calling and position of the prophet, the voice of the prophets is the voice of God. We must listen carefully to and study the words of these prophets. Their words, with the companion witness of the Holy Ghost, must be the standard by which we judge our actions and our beliefs, and by which we discover our need to repent. It is our job to study the words of the prophets carefully, and gain a testimony of their authoritatively spoken teachings. It is by that same spirit we will be able to tell what is authoritative and what is not.

If we do humble ourselves and repent according to what the prophets have said, I testify that we will not be led astray by any means that the world or Satan can devise, and that we will find greater solace, peace, and fulfillment in this life.