Elder Edwards

It is now January 9, 2011 and I head into the MTC in 3 days. I am now OFFICIALLY Elder Edwards. I was set apart as a full-time missionary tonight. It's pretty surreal, but very very exciting! As this was my last Sunday with my parents and in my "home" ward I had to speak again. My 2nd farewell. I spoke on agency--a great topic for me. Luckily I typed it up and saved it so everyone here can read it. Also, This will be the last post that I personally write. After this, my mom will be taking over blogging/facebook duties. Well, goodbye all you followers... Maybe I'll see you guys in 2 years, and if not, I wish you the best of luck. Here is my talk that I gave today:

Sunday Talk

1/9/11

“Agency”

Good morning brothers and sisters. Wow, this is a whole lot different than speaking in a student ward with only maybe a 100 or so students that are the same age as me. Some of them day dreaming, some staring off into space, and some sleeping. As this is only my 3^rd Sunday here at this ward, I’ll start off with a little background on myself. There isn’t much to say, because it’s mostly the same as my parents, but I’ve spent my last 3 years of high school in Brussels, Belgium. Unlike my dad, I never learned French because I lacked the determination and patience. I attended the International School of Brussels. While in high school, I played football and lacrosse. After I graduated, I went to BYU for  the summer and fall semesters. I am currently majoring in Athletic Training, but I plan on changing to either Philosophy or Psychology. Which brings me to here. During my fall semester I received my mission call and, for those of you who don’t know, I have been called to the Santa Rosa California mission and I will be speaking English. I report to the MTC in 3 days on the 12^th.

            Last week, Bishop Wegner tracked me down and asked me to speak on Agency. Football analogy... The things we choose in our day-to-day lives make us who we are and it also clears a path to where we are going. In order for us to exercise our agency, there must be an more than one choice that can be made. Lehi made this clear when he was talking to his son, Jacob. In 2 Nephi 2:11 he explains, “READ 2 Nephi 2:11... We can choose to come to church or stay home, we can choose to read our scriptures or watch tv instead, and we can choose to try and live a Christlike life or we can become subject to the devil. Sometimes, I’ve found, that it is too easy to take our free agency for granted. It’s way too easy nowadays to give in to worldly devices and make wrong decisions. The Second Article of Faith states, “We believe that men will be punished for their own sins and not for Adam’s transgression.” Ultimately, we are the only ones that control our spiritual future for better or for worse. And not only here on Earth but after as well. It all depends on what we choose while here on Earth. I think that 2 Nephi 2:27 explains free agency perfectly. It says, READ 2 NEPHI 2:27. As a sidenote, 2 Nephi 2 is a great chapter on agency and the atonement for futher reading if you are interested.

            Agency is something that we have had since the the pre-mortal life. We had the choice to either follow Lucifer into captivity or follow Jehovah to salvation. Agency is something that is so sacred that even our Heavenly Father had to respect it, even though he knew he was going to lose 1/3 of His children. He couldn’t stop His children from making a decision, that was Lucifer’s plan. Satan tries to take away our agency by tempting us into addicting sins. Through those addictions, we ultimately lose our agency and lose the ability to make good choices. 

            President Boyd K. Packer made it aware to us that the term “free agency” appears nowhere in the scriptures. If you think about it, agency isn’t really free. There is always a price. If we make wise decisions, we will be rewarded with blessings and happiness, if we make poor decisions that lead to sin we are then rewarded with captivity. The ultimate price to agency is the atonement and sacrifce of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Elder Spencer J. Condie of the Seventy spoke on agency in the 2010 October General Conference. He said, “Every drop of divine blood was payment for a costly plan that privided us with moral agency, the ability to become righteous or to sin, and the miracle of forgiveness, which enables us to become cleansed from our sins through repentance, priesthood ordinances, and endurance to the end.” We all make bad decisions from time to time, but the wonderful thing is, is that we have the ability to repent for those poor choices. We can kneel down in prayer and with a broken heart and a contrite spirit we can repent for the sins that have been committed. The atonement is the cornerstone of the gospel because without it, we wouldn’t be able to return to our Father in Heaven. Again in 2 Nephi 2:8 we read, READ 2 NEPHI 2:8... Without either agency or the atonement, we would become angels to a devil.

            Brothers and sisters, agency didn’t come at a small cost. I again reiterate that agency is such a crucial piece to the Lord’s Plan of Happiness. We need to exercise our agency for good so that we can carve a path towards salvation. But agency and the atonement go hand-in-hand. There is no doubt that bad decisions will be made in our future. No one is perfect, not even President Thomas S. Monson. But we can repent for those poor choices. Because of agency, I was able to decide to serve a mission, which is the best decision that I have ever made. I haven’t even left yet, and I’m so happy that I made this choice.

Testimony

End

See ya in a short 2 years!