Freedom in Christ

How does following the Savior provide us with true freedom? Doctrine and Covenants 98:8 reads, “I, the Lord God, make you free, therefore ye are free indeed.” Jesus Christ makes us free through giving us moral agency and delivering us from the bondage of sin.

Moral agency is defined as “the ability and privilege God gives people to choose and to act for themselves.”[1] As the Lamanite prophet Samuel declared, “ye are free; ye are permitted to act for yourselves; for behold, God hath given unto you a knowledge and he hath made you free. He hath given unto you that ye might know good from evil, and he hath given unto you that ye might choose life or death.”[2] In Doctrine and Covenants 101:78, the Lord says that we are to “act in doctrine and principle pertaining to futurity, according to the moral agency which [He has] given unto [us], that [we] may be accountable for [our] own sins in the day of judgment.”

President Nelson taught, “Agency, or the power to choose, was ours as spirit children of our Creator before the world was. It is a gift from God, nearly as precious as life itself. Often, however, agency is misunderstood. While we are free to choose, once we have made those choices, we are tied to the consequences of those choices. We are free to take drugs or not. But once we choose to use a habit-forming drug, we are bound to the consequences of that choice. Addiction surrenders later freedom to choose.”[3] This same principle applies to anything that is addictive and anything that habitually distracts us from coming unto Christ. The more we remove things that are addicting or distracting from our life, the greater power we have to exercise our agency and consecrate ourselves to the Lord.

All of us have been bound by one degree or another to the bondage of sin. Because “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God,”[4] we all have need for a Savior. Nephi taught that “all mankind were in a lost and in a fallen state, and ever would be save they should rely on this Redeemer.”[5] When life gets stressful, what do we rely on? Do we rely on the Lord or do we turn to the things of this world?

The Lord exclaimed, “the whole world lieth in sin, and groaneth under darkness and under the bondage of sin. And by this you may know they are under the bondage of sin, because they come not unto me. For whoso cometh not unto me is under the bondage of sin.” The only way to be delivered from the bondage of sin is to come unto Christ. He “hath said: Repent all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me, and be baptized in my name, and have faith in me, that ye may be saved.”[6] One of the main purposes of the Book of Mormon is to persuade us to come unto Christ. President Nelson promised, “that as you daily immerse yourself in the Book of Mormon, you can be immunized against the evils of the day, even the gripping plague of pornography and other mind-numbing addictions.”[7] Mosiah 7:33 reads, “If ye will turn to the Lord with full purpose of heart, and put your trust in him, and serve him with all diligence of mind, if ye do this, he will, according to his own will and pleasure, deliver you out of bondage.”[8]

President Nelson taught, “Nothing is more liberating, more ennobling, or more crucial to our individual progression than is a regular, daily focus on repentance. Repentance is not an event; it is a process. It is the key to happiness and peace of mind. When coupled with faith, repentance opens our access to the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Whether you are diligently moving along the covenant path, have slipped or stepped from the covenant path, or can’t even see the path from where you are now, I plead with you to repent. Experience the strengthening power of daily repentance—of doing and being a little better each day. When we choose to repent, we choose to change! We allow the Savior to transform us into the best version of ourselves. We choose to grow spiritually and receive joy—the joy of redemption in Him. When we choose to repent, we choose to become more like Jesus Christ!”[9]

Elder Corbridge of the Seventy taught that we live in a day of deception in which we are constantly bombarded by distractions. He explained, “Never has there been more information, misinformation, and disinformation; more goods, gadgets, and games; and more options, places to go, and things to see and do to occupy time and attention away from what is most important. And all of that and much more is disseminated instantaneously throughout the world by electronic media.”[10] It truly takes diligent, intentional effort, to prioritize and treasure things of eternal value. Jesus taught, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”[11] Later in that sermon he counseled, “seek not the things of this world, but seek ye first to build up the kingdom of God, and to establish his righteousness.”[12] In Doctrine and Covenants 25:10, the Lord similarly commands, “thou shalt lay aside the things of this world, and seek for the things of a better.” We can each ask ourselves, “What things of this world am I holding onto?” What is getting in the way of my efforts to come unto Christ?

The author of Hebrews declares, “let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily best us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”[13] Jesus implores, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”[14]

One of the crowning blessings of yoking ourselves with the Lord and becoming free from the burden of sin is receiving the power of the Holy Spirit. Pahoran exclaimed that “the Spirit of God…is also the spirit of freedom.”[15] Paul taught, “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” Nephi explained that the power of the Holy Ghost “is the gift of God unto all those who diligently seek him.”[16] We can each ask ourselves, “What is preventing me from more diligently seeking Him? President Nelson counseled, “Spend more time—much more time—in places where the Spirit is present…Spend more time on your knees in prayer, more time in the scriptures, more time in family history work, more time in the temple. I promise you that as you consistently give the Lord a generous portion of your time, He will multiply the remainder.”[17]

Elder Klebingat of the Seventy asked, “What part of the day are you offering to Him? Are you giving [Him] the breadcrumbs that fall off the table?” We can take an introspective look at how we spend our time and ask ourselves if we are prioritizing what matters most. Are we spending more time watching movies, scrolling on social media, or playing video games than we spend in mighty prayer, diligent scripture study, or consecrated service in the temple?

President Nelson posed the following questions: “Are you willing to let God prevail in your life? Are you willing to let God be the most important influence in your life? Will you allow His words, His commandments, and His covenants to influence what you do each day? Will you allow His voice to take priority over any other? Are you willing to let whatever He needs you to do take precedence over every other ambition? Are you willing to have your will swallowed up in His?”[18]

Elder Corbridge taught, “Separation from God is the hardest part of Heavenly Father’s plan for His children. As a result, there is a hole in every heart. There is a longing, yearning, an emptiness, and sense of something missing like a faint hum we constantly hear but rarely fully recognize because it is always there. Many try to fill the void with money, titles, social status, possessions, career success, vacations, entertainment, web wandering, social media, drugs, alcohol, pornography, and promiscuity. Much of what we do is touched by a hazy, almost unconscious desire to fill the void. The best we can do on our own is with family, friends, and selfless service, but even still it is not enough. On our own, nothing is enough because the void is separation from God, and only God’s presence can fill it again.”[19]

He also explained that, “The worst of all human conditions is the most common: it is to die. It is to die spiritually. It is to be separated from the presence of God, and in this life, His presence is His Spirit or power. That is the worst. Conversely, the best of all human conditions in this life…is to be endowed with heavenly power; it is to be born again, to have the gift and companionship of the Holy Ghost, which is the source of knowledge, revelation, strength, clarity, love, joy, peace, hope, confidence, faith, and almost every other good thing.…Pay whatever price you must pay, bear whatever burden you must bear, and make whatever sacrifice you must make to get and keep in your life the spirit and power of the Holy Ghost. Every good thing depends on getting and keeping the power of the Holy Ghost in your life. Everything depends on that.”[20]

President Nelson counseled, “Pray to know what to stop doing and what to start doing. Pray to know what to add to your environment and what to remove so the Spirit can be with you in abundance.”[21] It’s so easy to get sucked into things that don’t really matter; so easy to get distracted by the things of this world instead of prioritizing our relationship and consecration to the Lord. I invite you to counsel with the Lord and consider changes you can make to exercise your moral agency to come unto Christ and become free from the bondage of sin and the entanglements of the things of this world. As you do so, I promise that you will receive the power of the Holy Ghost more fully in your life and you will experience greater spiritual freedom. Jesus Christ is our Great Deliverer, and He truly makes us free.

Endnotes

[1] Guide to the Scriptures, “Agency”

[2] Helaman 14:30-31

[3] Russell M. Nelson, “Addiction or Freedom,” October 1988 General Conference

[4] Romans 3:23

[5] 1 Nephi 10:6

[6] Moroni 7:34

[7] Russell M. Nelson, “The Book of Mormon: What Would Your Life Be Like without It?”, October 2017 General Conference

[8] Mosiah 7:33

[9] Russell M. Nelson, “We Can Do Better and Be Better,” April 2019 General Conference

[10] Lawrence E. Corbridge, “Stand Forever,” BYU Devotional, 2019

[11] Matthew 6:19-21

[12] JST, Matthew 6:38

[13] Hebrews 12:1-2

[14] Matthew 11:28-30

[15] Alma 61:15

[16] 1 Nephi 10:17

[17] Russell M. Nelson, “Stand as True Millennials,” Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults, 2016

[18] Russell M. Nelson, “Let God Prevail,” October 2020 General Conference

[19] Lawrence E. Corbridge, “Finish the Course, Keep the Faith,” BYU Idaho Devotional, 2022

[20] Corbridge, 2019

[21] Russell M. Nelson, “Stand as True Millennials,” Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults, 2016