”Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down;“ (LDS Moses 4:3)
One of the greatest ways that mankind afflicts one another is by not respecting one another’s agency. What are the ways in which we do not respect one another’s agency?
For starters, simply reviewing the ten commandments provides a short list of ways mankind tries to violate one another’s agency.
Why are so many of the commandments in the form of things we are not supposed to do? One reason may be that God honestly is not trying to tell us what to do all the time, but He is trying to stop us from making one another miserable. The “thou shalt not” commandments frequently point out how we violate one another’s agency. If we truly respect one another’s agency, we can be a whole lot closer to keeping the command to love your neighbor as yourself.
Why is it so hard to simply respect another’s choice? There are a variety of reasons. It can be as simple as, that person’s choice interferes with the way I think things ought to be. The consequences of that interference are so serious to me (and perhaps to many others) that I think I’m justified in not respecting their agency and imposing my will upon them.
We really don’t take some things seriously enough. Some sins are so common here that we don’t even think much about it. It can be so common that we may think there is no way those things can be a serious sin because it goes on so much and in so many ways. Even if it is common, it can still be serious.
If there is one thing that God absolutely will not do, it is to violate someone’s agency. He simply will not do it. If He did, it would be the end of the existence of that person. They would have no identity at all, if not for their agency. It is agency which allows a person to have their own life and to be their own being. It is by agency that a person is allowed to define themselves. Without agency, we have no identity, we have no existence. So God will not abrogate the agency of man. Yet that is precisely what mankind is continuously seeking to do to one another, all the time. It is rebellion against God.