According to Maimonides, “the risk of a wrong decision is preferable to the terror of indecision.” The spirits of God’s children have been invited to take part in the ascent to mortality, beginning with our first parents Adam and Eve. Unlike most Christians, Latter-day Saints understand “the fall” to be developmental, a window of opportunity overlooking a dazzlingly bright future. BYU professor Brad Wilcox calls our mortal ascent a “forward fall.” Agency, however, isn’t as “free” as we’ve perhaps heard repeated. Agency is costly, and the consequences are real. The Atonement of Jesus Christ can alchemize tragedy and loss into wisdom, experience, and surpassing joy.