Mental Illness and Agency

I work at the Utah State Hospital or a mental hospital if you didn't know.

As I was watching some patients, I had a question: would mentally ill people need baptism?

Many, I assume, do. However, I believe that there are still many who do not need baptism because they were born pure though the Atonement of Christ but the illness took over their mind and can't choose for themselves. Perhaps that's why agency is so important. If we can't choose for ourselves, how could we function? If we can't choose for ourselves, what would be the point of being here, being alive?

If they didn't understand good and evil but only chose what looked more enticing to them, we lose agency and we are just mindless objects. We would be a leaf that goes where the wind takes us. Would we be happy this way? Would we have joy?

Something about choosing for ourselves gives us so much joy. Even if we make a wrong/bad choice, we would be happier to make our own choices than a choice making us.

It's interesting how you have more choices and can have a better judgment when you have more knowledge. For example, because I didn't know about God and Jesus Christ growing up, I couldn't choose to go to a church. Also, by studying more about the options you have, you can eliminate some options because you have a better view of consequences. It makes sense why we are told to study and ponder before we take it to the Lord and then make a decision: because, for one, we can eliminate some options on our own and we can have a better understanding of a bigger picture.

More on agency
When we make decisions, we have to be enticed by good and/or evil. Whether we are enticed by good or bad, we still have multiple choices on what we can do. However, if we didn't have nay oppositions, we would not be able to choose or have agency because we would only have one option. Think about the Garden of Eden; in the beginning Adam and Eve could not sin because they didn't have any other choices without the enticing of Satan. However, when they were tempted, they were given choices: to break a commandment to keep a higher and more essential commandment, or live at the Garden of Eden forever without progressing.

A lot of times people say that laws and rules restrict us and take away our freedom. However, that is a lie. We gain more freedom by choosing to follow God and keeping the commandments. Choosing evil will bring captivity of our souls which will bound us to only choose evil. I will lose the power to choose and will be in Satan's power.

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