Agency. The ability to choose right from wrong, referring to both people on the earth today as well as all spirits in the Preexistence. “Agency makes our life on earth a period of testing to see whether we are worthy to become like our Heavenly Father…. Without the gift of agency, we would have been unable to show our Heavenly Father whether we would do all that he commanded us” (Gospel Principles, p. 19). According to James Faust, a member of the First Presidency, “Free agency, given us through the plan of our Father, is the great alternative to Satan’s plan of force. With this sublime gift, we can grow, improve, progress, and seek perfection. Without agency, none of us could grow and develop by learning from our mistakes and errors and those of others” (“The Great Imitator,” Ensign (Conference Edition), November 1987, p. 35).

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