"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."
- 2 Nephi 10:23
When I read this verse, I think of a saying that says something along the lines of: "There are two types of people in this world. Those who act and those who are acted upon." Do you think that those who act, act because they are forced to? No, they choose to act. Do you think those who are acted upon, are acted upon because they are forced to be acted upon? I don't think so. I think people may try to act upon them, but they have every right to act and not be acted upon. Don't you think that that is what 2 Nephi 10:23 says? "...ye are free to act for yourselves..." Okay, so we know that we are free to act for ourselves. Now, what type of acting are we supposed to do? Act out a play? No, this "act" means to choose. What are we to choose? Well, continue reading the rest of the verse... "...to choose the way of everlasting death or the way of eternal life." Right, so we are to choose between everlasting death and eternal life. Okay, so how do we know which one is good and which one is bad? There is opposition in all things, right? Yes, there is opposition in all things.
Let's take a look at 2 Nephi 2:27, for our next question.
"27 Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto men. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself."
- 2 Nephi 2:27
So, ask yourself, which one looks good and which one looks bad? Well, being miserable like the devil can't be good, can it? Absolutely not! So, I guess that means that "liberty and eternal life" would have to be the good choice. So, if that is good, then how do we choose it? What do we do to show that we choose it? Well, one way to show that you choose "liberty and eternal life" is to follow "the great Mediator of all men". This "great Mediator of all men" is Jesus the Christ. He it is who died for us on the cross. He it is who we read about in the Holy Bible, teaching all men his gospel.
So, now that we have gotten the basics down. I would like to clarify a question that I was asked several times. Does agency mean that we are free? Well, as both of these verses state that we are "free to choose" but they do not, however, state that we are free because of agency. So, if the question is "Does agency give us the freedom to choose?" Then the answer would be "Yes." But if the question is "Does agency give us freedom?" The answer is "yes and no". Yes, if you choose to follow our Savior's teachings. No, if you choose not to follow our Savior's teaching. If we make the right choices, then we are free. On the other hand, if we make the wrong choices, those wrong choices (for example: sin, etc...) bound us down and limit the choices that we can make. If you would like "Yes, it does make us free" to be the answer, then make sure to make the right choices.
I hope this helps anyone who reads this. If there are any concerns or questions. Please feel free to contact me on Facebook.