The Fall and the Atonement preserved the agency of all mankind (see 2 Nephi 2:25–27). Agency is a great blessing, but there are risks involved because it requires that we must accept and be responsible for the consequences of our decisions. Deuteronomy 11 says that Moses put before Israel “a blessing and a curse” (v. 26). In other words, Moses told the children of Israel that they could receive blessings or cursings depending on how they chose to live in the promised land. The outcome was up to them.