Background

In “Does God have a Future?” John Sanders explains the open theist view of omniscience and foreknowledge. Here are a few key quotes;

I prefer to think of “perfect” in dynamic terms: relational perfection. God is always in perfect relationship with us, and as the relationship changes so God changes. -Pg. 90

First, let me say that Jesus did not experience “powerlessness.” Rather, he exercised the power of love and chose not to use other types of power available to him. It was not that he had no power. Rather, he chose to restrain the full use of his power. When I wrestle with my young children I can restrain the full use of my power; but that does not mean I’m suddenly powerless. -Pg. 103

Texts such as “I the Lord do not change, therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed” (Mal. 3:6) and “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever” (Heb. 13:8) are also not about absolute immutability. … These texts are referring to God’s steadfast love. God’s love for Israel does not fail, thus they are not destroyed says Malachi. Open theists hold that the divine nature does not change (God’s love, power, wisdom, and faithfulness) but that God can and does change in his emotions, thoughts, will, and actions. -Pg. 69

I think that John Sander’s views in the above quotes are in line with James E. Talmage’s thoughts as well.

LDS Publications and James E Talmage

James E Talmage solidified many of the theological tenets of the doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. In fact, his works are over 100 years old and they still are foundational readings of most LDS members. Jesus the Christ and The Articles of Faith are two of the few books written by LDS apostles that are published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints not one of the for-profit publishing arms like Deseret Book.

If any member of the LDS church has spent time thinking about how agency and omniscience interact they will often quote James E. Talmage as an answer to any related question. I have included two of his critical descriptions of omniscience as it relates to God.

What God Foreknew

In chapter 3 of “Jesus the Christ” James E. Talmage states;

… It is undeniably essential to the eternal progression of God’s children that they be subjected to the influences of both good and evil, that they be tried and tested and proved withal, “to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them.” Free agency is an indispensable element of such a test.

The Eternal Father well understood the diverse natures and varied capacities of His spirit-offspring; and His infinite foreknowledge made plain to Him, even in the beginning, that in the school of life some of His children would succeed, and others would fail; some would be faithful, others false; some would choose the good, others the evil; some would seek the way of life while others would elect to follow the road to destruction. He further foresaw that death would enter the world, and that the possession of bodies by His children would be of but brief individual duration. He saw that His commandments would be disobeyed and His law violated; and that men, shut out from His presence and left to themselves, would sink rather than rise, would retrograde rather than advance, and would be lost to the heavens. It was necessary that a means of redemption be provided, whereby erring man might make amends, and by compliance with established law achieve salvation and eventual exaltation in the eternal worlds. The power of death was to be overcome, so that, though men would of necessity die, they would live anew, their spirits clothed with immortalized bodies over which death could not again prevail.

In the very next paragraph, he is careful to condition the statements made in the previous paragraph. Notice the phrases “under given conditions”, “provided the transgressor would elect to avail himself thereof” and the great thesis sentence of the paragraph.

Let not ignorance and thoughtlessness lead us into the error of assuming that the Father’s foreknowledge as to what would be, under given conditions, determined that such must be. It was not His design that the souls of mankind be lost; on the contrary it was and is His work and glory, “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” Nevertheless, He saw the evil into which His children would assuredly fall; and with infinite love and mercy did He ordain means of averting the dire effect, provided the transgressor would elect to avail himself thereof. The offer of the firstborn Son to establish through His own ministry among men the gospel of salvation, and to sacrifice Himself, through labor, humiliation and suffering even unto death, was accepted and made the foreordained plan of man’s redemption from death, of his eventual salvation from the effects of sin, and of his possible exaltation through righteous achievement.

In the second paragraph there are two footnotes - 1) God’s Foreknowledge Not a Determining Cause. and 2) Man Free to Choose for Himself. Both of these footnotes are references to sections of his previous work titled “The Articles of Faith.” They provide additional clarity on Talmage’s thoughts and the LDS position on foreknowledge and agency.

God’s Foreknowledge Not a Determining Cause. - “Respecting the foreknowledge of God, let it not be said that divine omniscience is of itself a determining cause whereby events are inevitably brought to pass. A mortal father, who knows the weaknesses and frailties of his son, may by reason of that knowledge sorrowfully predict the calamities and sufferings awaiting his wayward boy. He may foresee in that son’s future a forfeiture of blessings that could have been won, loss of position, self-respect, reputation and honor; even the dark shadows of a felon’s cell and the night of a drunkard’s grave may appear in the saddening visions of that fond father’s soul; yet, convinced by experience of the impossibility of bringing about that son’s reform, he foresees the dread developments of the future, and he finds but sorrow and anguish in his knowledge. Can it be said that the father’s foreknowledge is a cause of the son’s sinful life? The son, perchance, has reached his maturity; he is the master of his own destiny; a free agent unto himself. The father is powerless to control by force or to direct by arbitrary command; and, while he would gladly make any effort or sacrifice to save his son from the fate impending, he fears for what seems to be an awful certainty. But surely that thoughtful, prayerful, loving parent does not, because of his knowledge, contribute to the son’s waywardness. To reason otherwise would be to say that a neglectful father, who takes not the trouble to study the nature and character of his son, who shuts his eyes to sinful tendencies, and rests in careless indifference as to the probable future, will by his very heartlessness be benefitting his child, because his lack of forethought cannot operate as a contributory cause to dereliction.

“Our Heavenly Father has a full knowledge of the nature and disposition of each of His children, a knowledge gained by long observation and experience in the past eternity of our primeval childhood; a knowledge compared with which that gained by earthly parents through mortal experience with their children is infinitesimally small. By reason of that surpassing knowledge, God reads the future of child and children, of men individually and of men collectively as communities and nations; He knows what each will do under given conditions, and sees the end from the beginning. His foreknowledge is based on intelligence and reason. He foresees the future as a state which naturally and surely will be; not as one which must be because He has arbitrarily willed that it shall be.” - From the author’s Great Apostasy, pp. 19, 20.

While clearly not referencing God or his powers, the television show Beyond has a short scene in episode 6 that attempts to explain one individual’s superhuman abilities. I think the ideas described line up with James E. Talmage’s quote above.

In a second footnote to the above quote from chapter 3, he makes clear that God does not “force” or “compel” events in our lives to happen. I think that he is clearly using the words “force” and “compel” in contrast to the words “persuade” and “motivate.”

Man Free to Choose for Himself. - “The Father of souls has endowed His children with the divine birthright of free agency; He does not and will not control them by arbitrary force; He impels no man toward sin; He compels none to righteousness. Unto man has been given freedom to act for himself; and, associated with this independence, is the fact of strict responsibility and the assurance of individual accountability. In the judgment with which we shall be judged, all the conditions and circumstances of our lives shall be considered. The inborn tendencies due to heredity, the effect of environment whether conducive to good or evil, the wholesome teachings of youth, or the absence of good instruction-these and all other contributory elements must be taken into account in the rendering of a just verdict as to the soul’s guilt or innocence. Nevertheless, the divine wisdom makes plain what will be the result with given conditions operating on known natures and dispositions of men, while every individual is free to choose good or evil within the limits of the many conditions existing and operative."-Great Apostasy, p. 21; see also Articles of Faith, iii:1, 2.

After reading all of the above quotes and pondering them, I think the ending scene of The Adjustment Bureau provides a description of how agency and foreknowledge might work hand in hand. God has a plan and is actively working with his children to bring this plan to pass. At any given moment, there is an optimal path but not one path. He responds to our agency. Indeed, he wants us to be agents and act with Him in the journey.

Conclusion

I agree that God’s power is great and that he can bring his plan of eternal salvation to fruition. He foreknows that many of us will support the development of that plan here on this earth. However, he allows us as individual agents to choose our side and to make less than ideal choices even when we choose His side. His eternal wisdom allows him to handle the choices and still save those that choose him.

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