Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf -And while we may look at the vast expanse of the universe and say, "what is man in comparison to the glory of creation?" God himself said that we are the reason He created the Universe!...In other words, the vast expanse of eternity, the glories and mysteries of infinite space and time are all built for the benefit of ordinary mortals like you and me. Our Heavenly Father crated the universe that we might reach our potential as His sons and daughters.
Elder David A. Bednar -In and of ourselves, we cannot possibly comply with all the commandments that God has given unto us. Jesus himself could not without divine aid from His Father accomplish His work... and we, if it was necessary for Hi, our Lord, to have divine assistance, we find it all the more important to receive His assistance. And in every circumstance and condition surrounding the Latter-day Saints, while in the performance of their duties, they are entitled to supernatural aid from the Holy Spirit, to help in the various conditions surrounding them, and in their duties that they are required to perform.
President Thomas S. Monson -God left the world unfinished [for men and women] to work their skills upon. He let the electricity in the cloud, the oil in the earth. He left the rivers unbridged and the forests unfilled and the cities unbuilt. God gives to us the challenge of raw materials not he ease of finished things. He leaves the pictures unpainted and the music unsung and the problems unsolved. That we might know the joys and glories of creation.
President Benson referred to The United States as the "base of operations" where the Lord would lead His church.
President Howard W. Hunter- Our father in heaven wanted our growth to continue in mortality and to be enhanced by our freedom to choose and learn. He also wanted us to exercise our faith and our will, especially with a new physical body to master and control. But we know from both ancient and modern revelation that Satan wished to deny us our independence and agency in the now forgotten moment long ago even as he wishes to deny them this very hour. Indeed Satan violently opposed the freedom of choice offered by the father, so violently that John in the Revelation described "war in heaven" over the matter. Satan would have coerced us, he would have robbed us of that most precious gifts if he could; our freedom to choose a defined future and the exhalation we hope to obtain. Through Christ and his valiant defense of our father's plan, the course of agency and eternal aspirations prevailed. So we came to our mortality like Jeremiah, known by God as his literal spirit children having the privilege to choose our personal path on matters of belief and religious conviction. With Christ's triumph in heaven in overcoming Lucifer, and later his triumph on earth in overcoming the effects of Adam's fall and the death of all mankind, "the children of men" continue free forever, knowing good and evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon.
Elder D. Todd Christofferson- Using our agency to choose God's will, and not slackening even when going gets hard, will not make us God's puppet; it will make us like Him. God gave us agency, and Jesus showed us how to use it so that we could eventually learn what They know, do what They do, and become what They are.
President Howard W. Hunter- To fully understand the gift of agency and it's inestimable worth, it is imperative that we understand that God's chief way of acting is by persuasion and patience and long suffering, not by coercion and stark confrontation. He acts by gentle solicitation and by sweet enticement. He always acts with unfailing repeat of the freedom and independence that we possess. He wants to help us and pleads of the chance to assist us, but He will not do so in violation of our agency. He loves us too much to do that, and doing so would run counter to His divine character.
