"Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself...Man could not act for himself save it should be that he was entice by one or the other" (2 Nephi 2:16).

After taking care of sick children for a few days I realize what a blessing it is to have healthy children. If sickness does anything, it makes me appreciate the good that has been given to me, the blessing of good health in contrast to sickness. Opposition does give us perspective that is so needed when life is going along nicely. Opposition is a blessing and a big part of the plan of our Father in Heaven (learn more about His plan here).

There was even opposition for Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden; "It must needs be that there was an opposition; even the forbidden fruit in opposition to the tree of life; the one being sweet and the other bitter" (2 Nephi 2:15). Why would there need to be opposition? It was important that the "Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself...Man could not act for himself save it should be that he was entice by one (fruit) or the other" (2 Nephi 2:16). If man wasn't tempted and allowed to choose for himself, then he would be forced to pick rather than have a choice. Choice is a gift and this gift to choose is called agency.

How we use a gift is important. Some gifts are set on a shelf and never used again. Others, are so appreciated and used until they are worn out. Agency is a gift we get to use every day, we are "free according to the flesh...And [we] 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, italics added). Think about it. We choose how we behave and what we think. No one is telling us that we have to think one way or another. We are free over our minds, no matter where we live, whether in the United States, in Russia, Pakistan, France, or in Mexico. We get to choose how we treat other people in the circumstances we are in, whether we are sick or healthy, in bondage or free. We also decide what we will put into our bodies and what we will put on our bodies. This is why I am always telling my children, "Make good choices", because they are the ones who are truly affecting themselves with the choices they make.

True freedom is "the power or ability to make personal choices without compulsion". When we repent and obey God's will we are spiritually "free from the bondage of sin through the atonement of Jesus Christ" (Free, Freedom The Guide to the Scriptures). "Jesus said to those Jews which believed on Him" (and He says to us now), "If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:31-32). It is by doing, "continuing" in His word that we will come to know Christ, that we will have freedom, and we become truly free. Sometimes, we don't see what a blessing this freedom is and what a blessing agency is until we have opposition to help us see what a gift we truly have been given. And sometimes, we don't really know what we will choose until we have two choices in opposition before us. This is how we find out, for ourselves, who we really are. When we use our agency righteously, or to make good choices, it "allows light to dispel the darkness and enables us to live with joy and happiness" (Elder Robert D. Hales). I sure feel a lot happier when I choose to be patient and kind rather than impatient and rude when I have a choice of how to treat someone. This is dispelling darkness when we make this kind of "good choice".

Gratefully I don't have sick children every day, but unfortunately some people do have this challenge. We all have challenges and trials and burdens, not to be compared. Through these challenges we get to use our agency to choose whether or not we keep the "bitter taste" in our mouth from our challenges or learn to "know to prize the good". Because "it is given unto [us] to know good from evil; wherefore [we] are agents unto [our]selves" (Moses 6:55-56). It is our choice whether or not we will believe the words of Christ when He said, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32). And when we make good choices by following the example of Jesus Christ, we will not only know, but we will feel the truth in our hearts as we do so. (see John 13:17). This I testify.