Amy Jex, associate chair and associate professor in the BYU Department of Dance, spoke at the BYU devotional on Aug. 5 about the importance of utilizing agency to follow God’s plan throughout one’s life.
Jex began by recounting an experience when her youngest son was in kindergarten. When he was informed that another little boy wasn’t going to suddenly become well-behaved after baptism, he exclaimed, “What? You mean he's not doin’ the plan?”
Since that day, Jex explained, her family has used the phrase “doin’ the plan” to describe “when life isn’t going as we’d like it to or when our children are making decisions we don’t necessarily love.”
She elaborated that her son’s understanding of the gospel wasn’t completely wrong, but he misunderstood the importance of agency in Heavenly Father’s plan.
“Sometimes the ability to choose seems daunting or intimidating,” Jex said. “Particularly in your time of life when you make so many life-altering decisions, it can feel more like something to dread than a blessing.”
Jex shared a story of when she graduated with her bachelor’s degree and began a graduate program. She became uncertain about her future, as she didn’t want to “mess up” God’s plan for her, and so she sought out a priesthood blessing.
“I was not told what He wanted me to do; rather, I was advised that I should choose the one that I felt would make me happiest,” Jex said. “I was actually given a gift of love and trust that day by a loving parent who wanted me to grow.”
She explained that while she originally felt disappointed by that response, the experience showed that Heavenly Father knew her well enough to let her make the choice and learn to trust herself.
“Our Father in Heaven wants us to choose for ourselves, but that doesn't mean that He doesn't want to be involved,” she said. “Instead, His perfect plan made it possible for us to have help in this life.”
Jex recounted another experience when her family stopped at a cousin’s house on the way to a wedding reception. Her sons were excited by the giant zipline installed in the yard, but they weren’t paying close attention to the instructions. This led to one of them not being securely fastened and falling to the ground, miraculously unhurt except for rope burn and getting the wind knocked out of him.
“Sometimes life can be a little bit like a zipline: we have all the help we need to be successful and safe,” Jex said. “Our Father has given us so many ways to stay connected with Him and our Savior, but we have to use our agency to clip into them and receive divine help ... Let us avoid distractions that lead us away from the covenant path and make it hard for us to connect with them.”
She said many things can lead to a hard fall, but fortunately, there’s repentance.
“Remember, making mistakes is part of ‘doin’ the plan,’” she said.
Jex described a trip with the folk dance company Traditionz, which she directs at BYU. During the trip, they decided last minute to attend a temple open house. Unprepared with dress clothes, some students felt uncomfortable going in T-shirts and sweats.
After a vote, they chose to attend. At the beginning of the tour, they noticed a group from a deaf branch directly in front of them.
Due to some error, that group had no interpreter. But by what Jex described as a miracle, one of the dancers in her group taught American Sign Language at the Missionary Training Center and was able to interpret the entire tour.
“Unspoken, but in all of our minds, was the thought, ‘what if he had stayed away because of our appearance?’” she said. “I left the temple awestruck and filled with gratitude that I was able to witness this beautiful display of God’s awareness of and merciful love for his children.”
While she hadn’t originally known that they needed to go to the temple open house, Jex said she felt God was aware of each of His children, and their group felt the pure love of Christ.
“Do I know how it happened? No. But what I can attribute part of this miraculous experience to are the prayers we prayed together as a group before embarking on our day,” she said. “We included God in our plans, and He, like a master choreographer, provided the design.”
She concluded by quoting President Russell M. Nelson and his words on the importance of having confidence in the Lord. She said witnessing His hand in her life and the lives of others has strengthened her faith and helped her know He loves her.
“‘Doin’ the plan’ is about reaching our highest eternal potential,” she said. “My friends, I testify that we can and will feel God’s love for us as we faithfully journey through this mortal life ‘doin’ the plan.’”