Agency and Progression in the Premortal World
Alma 13:4
4 And thus they have been called to this holy calling on account of their faith, while others would reject the Spirit of God on account of the hardness of their hearts and blindness of their minds, while, if it had not been for this they might have had as great privilege as their brethren.
President Joseph Fielding Smith said:
“The spirits of men had their free agency. . . . The spirits of men were not equal. They may have had an equal start, and we know they were all innocent in the beginning; but the right of free agency which was given to them enabled some to outstrip others, and thus, through the eons of immortal existence, to become more intelligent, more faithful, for they were free to act for themselves, to think for themselves, to receive the truth or rebel against it.”
(Doctrines of Salvation, comp. Bruce R. McConkie, 3 vols. [1954–56], 1:59.)
