The War on Agency

Satan's original plan to eliminate agency is still his main agenda. Addiction is so rampant in our society that there is hardly a person or family who is not afflicted in some way. Civil and social norms lean more towards entitlement than personal responsibility. But perhaps the most damaging of all is the view that our actions have no bearing on our personal worthiness. If there is no consequence for our actions, then the law is rendered inert. Without law, there can be no blessings for obeying it. Without blessings, there is no God to grant them. Without God, there is no purpose in this life. (2 Ne 2:13) Thus, agency becomes meaningless and Satan's plan to eliminate it has succeeded. Satan wants to take away our ability to choose, and he will do it any way he can, even if it means getting us to do it ourselves. The minute we discount the meaning of good works and consequence for sin, we play right into the adversary's hands. We have to be ever-conscious of our standing before God, obtained directly from Him, if we are to make any headway in this war for the souls of men.

The Best Defense

Armor is practically useless unless you plan to fight back in the first place. The best warriors need very little armor because they know how to defend themselves with their sword. We cannot idly sit by and expect the enemy to leave us alone. If we are not fighting, we are vulnerable. Fighting means actively seeking to keep the commandments. The minute we become idle and let our guard down, the adversary will have us in his sights. And recovering your wits from an ambush is hard. It's not impossible, but it is always better to pay attention and protect ourselves from any situation where an ambush is possible. But if we are standing in holy places and keeping the commandments, they can't touch us. Because when we are doing those things, we are not fighting alone. The Savior fights for us.

What's it Worth?

Everything we do in life exacts something of us. Either our time, our money or any number of things. In the book of Genesis, we find a story about two brothers. One legally held the birthright. This meant that everything that was his father's would one day become his. But he sold it. He sold his legal birthright, something that was his simply because he was born first, for a mess of pottage, or something of no value. Similarly, Judas Iscariot sold the Savior's life for 30 pieces of silver, the price of a slave. What we are willing to pay, or give up to obtain something else, is an indication of what it means to us. In contrast, Christ gave up His life, everything He was and is, for us. He suffered the greatest pain any being has ever known, for us. We have been purchased with His blood. That's what we are worth to Him. So, now it is our turn. What is He worth to you? What would you give up the Celestial Kingdom for?

Our Choice

Our ability to choose started before this life began. We chose whether we wanted to follow our Heavenly Father's plan or Lucifer's plan. We chose how hard we wanted to fight for what we believed in. Regardless, we know that because we are here, we chose Jesus Christ as our Savior and accepted life here with the ability to choose. Because of that one choice, we have been faced with countless others. And no matter what happens, we cannot blame anyone else for our own choices. Bad things happen, but we get to choose how we respond to them. If we want to reach the highest level of the Celestial Kingdom, we make that choice. We make it every day. The little choices that we make culminate in that big choice. We get to choose whether we are happy, whether we pray every day and how much time we spend allowing Heavenly Father to talk to us through the Scriptures. So when you choose to read your scriptures or serve your neighbor, you're not just reading or serving. You're choosing the Celestial Kingdom.

Introduction

Chainmail is a lightweight armor used to protect vital parts of the body during battle. It's strength comes from the links that make it up, because each link is connected to all the links around it. Everything we do in life affects our armor. We are told to put on the armor of God, but how are we taking care of our armor? Each act strengthens it or weakens it. These weak places could be chinks, or places where the integrity of the armor has been compromised by a hit from an enemy or unwise maneuvering on our part. It doesn't take very many chinks to weaken us to the point of vulnerability. But the more links we add, the stronger the mail. Attending church, partaking of the Sacrament, fulfilling our callings, home or visiting teaching...the list goes on. So each time you do anything, ask yourself, Is this a chink or a link in my spiritual armor? You might be surprised by the answer.