Just as we have agency in mortality, we had our agency in our premortal existence. Our disposition to choose good over evil (or evil over good) was the result of our own volition. Our disposition toward good or evil exists independently of any act of God. That which is inherently “us,” including volition or will, is attributable to the immortal “intelligence,” not to any act of God. God is not responsible for our fundamental nature.
The differences in the dispositions of God’s spirit children, coupled with decisions and initiative, resulted in very pronounced differences among God’s spirit children. The range and scope of individual differences among God’s spirit children and unlimited. The Lord revealed the following regarding individual differences: “These two acts exist, that there are two spirits, one being more intelligent than the other; there shall be another more intelligent than they; I am the Lord thy God, I am more intelligent than they all” (Abraham 3:19). The differences among premortal spirits are not limited to the intellectual capacity of the mind; they also differ in many other ways, such as moral quality, nobility, faith, and good works (see Abraham 3:22; Alma 13:3). (Grant Von Harrison, Understanding Your Divine Nature [rev ed.; Sandy, Utah: Sounds of Zion, 2000], 5)
