Plucked from the Ether

“the path to agency is submission to God’s will”

This would only be a negative kind of agency, ruling out genuine creativity from Men; ruling out genuine evolutionary growth of divine creation.

But some Men are to be gods; and there would be no function to Men achieving full divinity if everything they then did was in submission to the pre-existent will of God…

Surely the path to agency would be more like “actively choosing to live in *harmony* with God’s will”?

Thus Men might create – from themselves, contributing something that is new and unique – but always in harmony with God’s pre-existing and on-going creation.

All fair points.

But I would see it like the symbolism of baptism where you die and then are resurrected. Or like the Savior’s saying that if you seek your life you will lose it.

Only when you submit your will to God are you able to discover what your will actually is, freed of the accretions and incrustations that you had thought were your will but are not. Which, indeed, is likely why he wanted us to submit in the first place

Of course, we must submit to God’s will.

Still, I have seen from experience, that often God waits for me to act, before I receive answers to prayers.

God the Father demands much, yet if I attempt to shift all decision making to him, there is push back. I am forced to make decisions, and yet my agency increases. I can not serve God and give up my agency. Whatever I give, returns to me, in greater measure – “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be given to you” Luke 6:38

I see a connection between both of your points, even if unintended. God give agency, and increases what we have. Wicked men do not.

“Leave it to the professionals.” If parents can’t be trusted even to bake cupcakes . . .

And for the professionals, it’s “A specialist should be doing this.”