Free Agency and Being Free as a Kite

Something that's a big deal is the perceived surrender of will that comes with being Mormon. This is because we have commandments, sometimes referred to as "all your little rules." It is true, we have a high standard that we strive to follow. We really do try to follow all the commandments mentioned in the previous link. Because some of these "rules" are contrary to what some people enjoy, feel strongly about, or simply habits, it seems as if we are restricting our freedom by following them.

If you are perceptive, you've noticed that I haven't agreed with the criticisms about curtailed freedom. I know full well that I have free agency (the ability to make choices); it is part of the plan that God has for us. I know that the lack of rules feels like freedom, but true freedom is having the rules, learning the consequences of the choices, and then making the choice. What seems like a little known secret is that it's not the Church that makes us follow the rules; it is, at the very core, ourselves that choose to follow the rules. So why would so many people give up things that are "fun" or "exciting?" I like to think about how kites work.

A kite is a heavier than air object, and the combination of wind flowing around it and a tether providing a counter force causes enough lift to cause a kite to fly. Every kite has a string attached, and so can only fly so high. Eventually every kite reaches its max height, restricted and blocked from further soaring because its string is held down. A concerned onlooker may see this, and feeling sorry for the kite desire that the string be broken, the kite freed to travel to whatever heights it can reach on its own. We'll say the onlooker's desire is met, and so the kite is freed. Does it fly to greater heights, no longer restricted? No, the removal of the tether instead causes the kite to flutter around a bit and quite quickly tumble to the earth.

Rules are similar tethers in our life; abiding by the rules restricts us from certain activities, and the idea of just being free from the things that bind us earthward is so appealing. However, the rules also guide us, allow us to react to winds of change with confidence and strength, and in the end a kite with a string will always fly higher and longer than a kite without. I know that you have your agency and you can choose for yourself what to do, but I know that I've felt so much more empowered, so much more successful, and so much more happy when I know that I am following the commandments. Don't be afraid to change simply because it feels like you are tying a string to your kite; it could be the string that lets you soar.