"Free Forever to Act for Themselves": Howard Thurman and Latter-day Saint Agency

In this article, I argue that Howard Thurman, the famed theologian, prioritizes agency in similar ways to Latter-day Saint theologies, but with a nuanced understanding that illuminates the areas where the LDS cosmic drama has grown murky. For Thurman, the importance of agency is less about capacity for moral action toward a determined end (i.e., control over salvation versus damnation) and more about awareness of one’s internal landscape and the immutable language of one’s eternal soul, wherein one finds spiritual power and peace. I argue that this perspective tracks with the Latter-day Saint framework in theory but not in rhetorical practice.

You can view and download this article on Dialogue.

You can also hear me discuss this article on a podcast or on YouTube.

‘Blair, Kristen. 2023. "Free Forever to Act for Themselves": Howard Thurman and Latter-day Saint Agency; Dialogue.’