Agency: Are You a Thermometer or Thermostat?

Week three in the Book of Mormon! And so we continue on with the story of Lehi’s journey through the wilderness with his family. This chapter, chapter 16 of 1 Nephi, takes an interesting turn because for the first time, we see the Lord come directly to Nephi to direct the family when Lehi has murmured. That’s more an interesting side note because you are able to see Nephi begin to carry the prophetic mantle. The part that I find interesting comes throughout this chapter, though, along with an interesting comparison that Brother Griffin made in our class today. In 1 Nephi 16:1, after being taught by Nephi, Laman and Lemuel respond, “Thou hast declared unto us hard things, more than we are able to bear.” In verse 2, Nephi acknowledges it because “the guilty taketh the truth to be heard, for it cutteth them to the very center.”

We then in class discussed the attitude that Laman and Lemuel often have throughout the scriptures. As displayed in this one response, they feel offended, attacked, and criticized for their lifestyles and righteousness. Rather than seeing themselves as agents, they say that Nephi has declared hard things to them that are more than they can bear, as if they are objects to be acted upon. Laman and Lemuel do not act for themselves but instead see themselves as victims of their circumstances. My professor then made an interesting analogy that struck me. He asked us what the difference is between a thermometer and thermostat. Thermometers have no action, they simply exist to be acted upon by their environment. On the other hand, thermostats exist to change the conditions of the environment. A thermostat, in this analogy, is an agent. Brother Griffin pointed out that Laman and Lemuel are thermometers. What, I had to ask, am I? Do I see my circumstances and say “Woe is me?”  Or do I change them? I have one quote that I use as a reminder to be an agent, a thermostat. It states: “When you complain, you make yourself a victim. Leave the situation, change the situation, or accept it. All else is madness.” (Eckhart Tolle)

We (me especially) love to assign blame to our circumstances because it takes away our responsibility. I also feel like when I am a thermometer, it welcomes in the feelings of the natural man, such as anger, jealousy, bitterness, and negativity. And I feel justified in those things. But that’s not how Jesus has created us to live. That’s not what he sacrificed everything for. We are created to be joyful! This isn’t just a single doctrine of happiness. The entire doctrine of Jesus Christ is about happiness! We are created to be happy! The Atonement is for us to be happy. When we dismiss that sacrifice and instead choose to be acted upon, we diminish the power of Christ’s sacrifice. I want to be an agent and live for myself and act for myself because I want to believe in Christ and be a joint-heir with him to happiness and all that he has promised. We can’t give up so easily by saying that the world is acting against us. We need to change the situation, accept it, or leave it. God has given us our agency, let’s use it!