“What Is the Relationship between Foreordination and Agency?,” Liahona, Oct. 2023.
Come, Follow Me
What Is the Relationship between Foreordination and Agency?
In the premortal life, the Savior and other leaders were foreordained to their missions on earth.
Illustration by Jim Madsen
Paul told the Ephesians that they were chosen by God to become His people, “according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4). In the premortal life, God chose, or foreordained, people to fulfill certain missions in their lives. Does that mean our lives are unaffected by our choices?
The Role of Foreordination
Prophets and the Savior were foreordained before they were born (see Jeremiah 1:5; Revelation 13:8; 1 Nephi 10:7–8; Abraham 3:22–23), and “the doctrine of foreordination applies to all members of the Church.”1 But that does not mean we are guaranteed blessings. On the contrary, we are promised certain blessings in accordance with our faith in God and obedience to His commandments.
The Role of Agency
God has given us agency, “the ability and privilege God gives us to choose and to act for ourselves.”2 God sees our potential and knows the consequences of our actions. But it is up to us to choose the path of discipleship that leads us back to Him.
“Foreordination does not guarantee that individuals will receive certain callings or responsibilities. Such opportunities come in this life as a result of the righteous exercise of agency, just as foreordination came as a result of righteousness in the premortal existence.”3