Agency: More Info Please!

[Webster]

Do you have, or have you heard of, a 'non-traditional' idea or definition of Agency?

I have seen some discussions of Agency on the internet that are different from the common "Freedom of Choice / Freedom to Choose / Free Will" type definition that seems to be the traditional meaning within the church.

Please briefly share your ideas or others you may have heard. Feel free to refer to books, articles, or link to websites as well. I'm not asking to start a debate, just to share different points of view.

Because the 'war in heaven' is a related subject (Satan sought to destroy agency), you may want to discuss that as well if it helps shed additional insights into the meaning of Agency.

I also have some POLLS which ask "What does Agency mean to you?" and "How would Satan have implement his plan?" (Unfortunately the polls only allow 4 responses, and I had 6 in mind, so I had to split the question into two parts. Read both parts, and please only select one of the options from among them. I guess you could also choose the last parenthetical option if you want to view the results for the half of the poll you do not select. You may have to go to the next poll page to find them)

[Moksha]

I know with the word Christian, I prefer the prime definition for precise understanding. My guess is that the prime definition would work best for Agency as well.

[Webster]

Moksha:

What do you mean by the "prime definition" of Agency? Please explain.

[prospectmom]

free to choose , free to think , free to make mistakes and free to succeed on our own terms not dictated or forced.

[Maxel]

I see agency as an inalienable attribute of human intelligence in all its stages- pre-mortality, during mortality, and post-morality. I frankly don't believe Satan could have implemented his plan to the degree that he could effectively deprive us of all our agency. Part of the reason Satan's plan would fail would be that people would still sin in some degree, yet Satan would not provide the infinite atonement that Christ did- effectively cutting all of God's children off from His presence forever.

To me, agency is the ability to choose one's thoughts, attitudes, actions, and character for oneself based on actions that originate as thoughts in our spiritual being.

References:

Free to choose life or death- Nephi 10:23
23 Therefore, cheer up your hearts, and remember that ye are free to act for yourselves—to choose the way of everlasting death or the way of eternal life.

Agency existed pre-mortality- D&C 29:36
36 ...[T]he devil... rebelled against me, [God,] saying, Give me thine honor, which is my power; and also a third part of the hosts of heaven turned he away from me because of their agency

Need of temptation for effective use of agency- D&C 29:39
39 And 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

[Moksha]

Originally Posted by Webster

Moksha:

What do you mean by the "prime definition" of Agency? Please explain.

First one listed in the dictionary.

[Webster]

Moksha: I went to dictionary.com which had several dictionaries that came up. The definitions listed below are from the first dictionary that came up. Do you really want to go with the first one listed below? You can check the site and find what you mean and specifically refer to it, or perhaps pick your favorite(s) from those listed below (please rank them in order if you choose to pick multiples); otherwise, I have no idea what you're referring to.

1. an organization, company, or bureau that provides some service for another: a welfare agency.
2. a company having a franchise to represent another.
3. a governmental bureau, or an office that represents it.
4. the place of business of an agent.
5. Indian agency.
6. an administrative division of a government.
7. the duty or function of an agent.
8. the relationship between a principal and his or her agent.
9. the state of being in action or of exerting power; operation: the agency of Providence.
10. a means of exerting power or influence; instrumentality: nominated by the agency of friends.

[Moksha]

agency

Merriam Webster Dictionary

1 a: the office or function of an agent b: the relationship between a principal and that person's agent 2: the capacity, condition, or state of acting or of exerting power :

Webster's Dictionary

1. An administrative unit of government; "the Central Intelligence Agency"; "the Census Bureau"; "Office of Management and Budget"; "Tennessee Valley Authority".

Oxford Dictionary:


1 an organization providing a particular service. 2 a government office or department providing a specific service. 3 action or intervention to produce a particular result.
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Of these I think the Merriam Webster definition fits in best, since if anything Satan would throw in with the CIA rather than be in opposition to them. Who knows what the English and their Oxford Dictionary are thinking.

[Loudmouth_Mormon]

I don't know how traditional or non-traditional the following are, but they are correct and factual aspects of agency:

* You can have your agency taken away from you without your consent.

* You can lose your agency through ignorance.

* For some people who have lost their agency, it is possible for other people to help them get it back.

* Agency does not mean you can chose your consequence. It doesn't even mean you know what the consequences are when you chose your behavior.

* Consequenses to using your agency may have eternal reach and be just and righteous, but here on earth, the response to someone using their agency may be very unjust and unrighteous.

* Agency can be gained/lost in degrees. It's not automatically an all or nothing proposition. (No matter what your parents may have told you.)

LM

[Webster]

Loudmouth: I've heard your bottom three points in some form or another before, but your top three catch me a bit off guard. Would you care to add more info about those points?

Also, can you define or describe the idea of agency as you have talked about it? Is it some sort of control over you own life?