Agency and Accountability

Day thirty-one

I am having one of those mornings where you really want to sleep in, but your body wakes up at 5am and won't go back to sleep!  So I got up and thought I would get an early start to my day.  My prayer this morning included gratitude for the day and the opportunity to be with my family, gratitude for the opportunity I have to serve others today, and a request for the Spirit to be with me in all my preparations, and the energy to get everything done.

Next I moved on to my scripture study: Article of Faith 2:

We believe that men will be punished for their owns sins, and not for Adam's transgression.

So what does it mean to be punished for your sins?
A few verses I found:

D&C 19:17-18 "But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I;"  
"Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit"

D&C 19:20 "...lest you suffer these punishments of which I have spoken, of which in the smallest, yea, even in the least degree you have tasted at the time I withdrew my Spirit."

1 Nephi 10:21 "Wherefore, if ye have sought to do wickedly in the days of your probation, then ye are found unclean before the judgment-seat of God; and no unclean thing can dwell with God; wherefore, ye must be cast off forever."

Alma 40:13:  "...for behold, they chose evil works rather than good; therefore the spirit of the devil did enter into them, and take possession of their house—and these shall be cast out into outer darkness; there shall be weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth, and this because of their own iniquity, being led captive by the will of the devil."

The descriptions in these verses make it clear that punishment will not be a pleasant experience.  If we were to compare these things with the feelings of embarrassment, shame, and sorrow that we feel when we repent, I think I would rather take the repentance route.

What does it mean when it says punished "for their own sins, and not for Adam's transgression"?

It means that like Adam and Eve we have been given agency 'to act for ourselves and not be acted upon' (2 Nephi 2:26).  We will be held accountable for how we choose to use our agency, just as Adam and Eve were held accountable and faced the consequence of being banished from the presence of God. 

There are some people in the world that believe that all mankind is held responsible for the original sin. We  understand that God is a God of justice and it would be unfair for all of humanity to suffer for Adam and Eve's transgression; hence the need for the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which makes it possible for every soul to obtain forgiveness.

The gift of agency is eternal, with eternal consequences; not even the Lord will take your agency away.  Agency is a fundamental part of the plan of salvation. I appreciate this system of choices and consequences, both good and bad.  I have no one to blame for my actions but myself.

I appreciate the doctrine of this Article of Faith, in just a few words we are given insight into agency (choices and consequences), the Atonement (ability to be forgiven), and the nature of God (justice and mercy).  What a great blessing it is to have such amazing teachings at our fingertips!