I love to sit around a campfire with my grandchildren and contemplate the heavens as we gaze at the stars. We marvel at their number and consider the order and symmetry in the galaxy. Binoculars reveal the overhead haze, are numberless stars that appear as a mist to the naked eye. Magnification exposes thousands of individual stars combined to appear as an illuminated cloud in the distant heaven.
As numerous as the stars in our galaxy, are the galaxies in the universe. When I think of the theory set forth of a “big bang”, it would require billions if not trillions of simultaneous big bangs throughout the universe. Did it all happen by chance? Or is there an intelligent being capable of designing and creating this wonder?
As we ponder the planets in our own solar system and how they must have been created for a future purpose, that this earth may have begun as a planet such as these.
We read that Jesus was the first of Heavenly Father’s children, “the firstborn of every creature,” He, being in “the image of the invisible God,” our Heavenly Father. (Colossians 1:15) John further taught that Jesus, or “the Word” was with Heavenly Father in “the beginning” of His creations, we are told; “All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made,” making Heavenly Father the architect, laying the design, with Jesus as the creator or builder, “all things were made by him.” (John 1:1–3) Paul also acknowledged that Jesus had part in creating not only this world but “worlds” (Hebrews 1:2).
I speak to them of the things that Abraham saw as he also contemplated the heavens. The Lord appeared to him in the night time and put His hand on Abraham’s eyes; “And He said unto me: My son, My son (and His hand was stretched out), behold I will show you all these. And He put His hand upon mine eyes, and I saw those things which His hands had made, which were many; and they multiplied before mine eyes, and I could not see the end thereof” (Abraham 3:12, 14).
I am in awe at the beauty of this world, at the consistency in the revolutions in its orbit around the sun, and the orbit of the moon around the earth, that they never vary from their path and have continued this course from millennia to millennia, so predictably that scientists can tell years in advance, precisely the rising of the sun and the quarters of the moon.
As my grandchildren and I talk about the beauty and orderliness of God’s creation, we often talk also about how God is not just a distant God, remote in interest and relation, but how He is our Father in Heaven and that we lived with Him before we were born and He is intimately involved with us.
My grandchildren love to hear of the pre-mortal life in which they were created as spirit children of our Heavenly Father, and that they lived with Him before coming to this earth. They found it a surprise that the Christian world does not know or believe in our pre-earth life, while the Bible in many passages, speak of and allude to our life before being born on earth.
Over the years, I have discussed this pre-earth life with others who believe that their existence began on earth. I have a friend at work, who is Christian, (I will call him Allen, not his real name) as I am, with whom I have had many discussions about this pre-mortal existence, as well as other religious topics.
Allen had difficulty believing in a pre-mortal life, because he had been taught all his life that his existence began on earth at birth.
I explained that knowing our relationship with our Heavenly Father, and where that relationship had its beginning, can increase our faith in God, and understand His love, concern, and interest in us.
We talked about how not knowing of this pre-earth life is like coming into the middle of a movie, not knowing what happened at the start, then spending the rest of the movie trying to figure out what is going on. So, it is when we don’t understand that we had a pre-mortal life— it’s hard to comprehend what this life is about.
When we know of the pre-earth existence, this life begins to make sense, we are unlocking the puzzle of this earth life, why we are here, what is expected of us and what happens after this life. Heavenly Father’s plan ensures peace through love, growing out of the realization that we are indebted to the Savior for His sacrifice, saving us from justice and banishment.
I asked, “Why would God place us here on earth and not teach us clearly of our relationship to Him and where that relationship began?”
“Did God create us out of some kind of experiment? Will He loose interest in us and desert or abandon us? Or can we truly trust that He has an unwavering concern, that He hears and answers our prayers?”
When we understand our pre-mortal life, we can understand our relationship to God, that we are His children, of His love for us, increasing knowledge of who we are, giving a reason to trust or have faith in Him. We will understand the purpose of creating this world and why we are here.
Allen found it difficult to believe because he has been taught all his life by religious leaders that we had no former existence prior to being born on earth and that God created us here so we can worship Him.
The Lord asked Job an interesting question: “Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding…Who laid the cornerstone thereof; when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” (Job 38:4–7)
This question from the Lord seems to imply that Job did exist somewhere, for if Job did not live before this life, why would God ask him where he did reside? The question would be unanswerable.
Because Job was in the midst of trials from the adversary, could this question be a reminder of his life in the presence of God before coming to earth? Could God have asked this question to strengthen him in his time of testing? These questions invite several other questions:
Where were we during that same time?
Who are the “morning stars” and the “sons of God”?
Why were they singing and shouting for joy?
The scriptures refer to us as “sons of God,” (see John 1:12; Romans 8:14, 19; Philippians 2:15) and “children of God” (see Matthew 5:9; Luke 20:36; John 11:52; Romans 8:16, 21, 9:8, plus many more). I like to think the “morning stars,” that are referred to in Job, are God’s delight, His very daughters. We are the “morning stars that sang together” and the “sons of God” that “shouted for joy.”
While Job did not record a clear answer to these questions, the Lord did declare to Jeremiah: “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:4–5)
We see others that were known before being born on the earth, such as John the Baptist of him the angel Gabriel declared; “For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before Him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” (Luke 1:15–17)
Likewise, an angel also foretold of the birth of Samson to Manoah and his wife, who was barren, for they were told, “he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines” (Judges 13:5).
The Lord could have also expressed the same truth to us— “before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee.”
Of our pre-mortal life, Solomon recorded: “I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth: While as yet He had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world. When He prepared the heavens, I was there: when He set a compass upon the face of the depth: When He established the clouds above: when He strengthened the fountains of the deep: When He gave to the sea His decree, that the waters should not pass His commandment: when He appointed the foundations of the earth: Then I was by Him, as one brought up with Him: and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him; Rejoicing in the habitable part of His earth; and my delights were with the sons of men.” (Proverbs 8:23–31, emphasis added)
Solomon confirms that the “sons of men” were there in the beginning at the creation of the world.
Who is the “He” that is referred to in Proverbs? The scripture is speaking of Jesus, the creator, who elsewhere is called the “first born of every creature.” (Colossians 1:15) We were “His delight” His younger siblings , we were “brought up with Him” and He loved us so much that He volunteered to come and suffer for us, to be our Savior and Redeemer. He was “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8).
My friend asked, “If we had a pre-mortal life, why does the book of Genesis not speak of this existence? Why is it not spoken of throughout the scriptures?” In response, I gave to him a challenge also— to find all the scriptures that indicate that we did not have pre–earth existence. I will present here the things that I presented to him in answer to his question.
I began by pointing out that the book of Genesis speaks of two creations, one of a creation before coming to this world, where male and female were created together, and the second where man was created out of the dust of the earth. As part of the events during the first creation–“in the beginning,”—we are informed—“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So, God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.” (Genesis 1:26-27)
After this first recorded creation, where male and female were created together and not of the dust of the earth, the scripture then goes on in the next chapter to say, “There was not a man to till the ground” (Genesis 2:5). In addition, we are informed that “I the Lord God, created all things…spiritually, before they were naturally upon the face of the earth.” (Moses 3:5)
Remember that when the book of Genesis was written, it was not divided into chapter and verse but was one document that flowed from the first chapter to the second.
While in the first creation, male and female were created at the same time and scripture does not say that they were created from the dust of the ground, we read in the second account that Adam alone was created from the dust of the ground, and that the animals and the fowls of the air were created afterward from the dust of the ground, prior to the deep sleep coming on Adam. Then, while Adam slept, Eve was the last to be created, from a rib taken out of Adam’s side (Genesis 2:7, 19-22).
Other evidence from the Bible indicate that this first account of creation was a pre-earthly creation and that the Bible refers in many instances to our existence prior to coming to earth.
When we die, our spirit leaves our body, (see James 2:26) and the “spirit shall return unto God who gave it” (Ecclesiastes 12:7). The only way that our spirit could return to God is if it came from Him before we were born on earth. Jesus declared, “No man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven” (John 3:13).
We know that Elijah ascended into heaven in a chariot of fire (see 2 Kings 2:11), so as the Savior declared, Elijah would have had to come down from heaven in order for him to return back into heaven, and that he would have been as Jeremiah, known and chosen by the Lord before he was born (see Jeremiah 1:5). In addition, we have the record of both Moses and Elijah appearing to the Savior on the mount, where they came down out of heaven and again returned to heaven after conversing with Jesus (Matthew 17:2-5).
Jesus encountered a man who was blind from birth, which left His disciples questioning; “Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?” (John 9:2) The disciples must have believed in a pre-mortal life, for how could the man sin before being born unless he had a prior existence?
Abraham was given a view of our pre–earth life in a vision shown to him by our Lord; “Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones; And God saw these souls that they were good, and He stood in the midst of them, and He said: These I will make my rulers; for He stood among those that were spirits, and He saw that they were good; and He said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born. And there stood One among them that was like unto God, and He said unto those who were with Him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell” (Abraham 3:22–24 emphases added).
Paul spoke of the Saints (church members) in his day, “According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love” (Ephesians 1:4–5 emphases added).
So, when we die our spirit will return to God, where we resided before being born on earth, our “spirit shall return unto God who gave it.”
We must know God to understand ourselves
To understand our existence, we need to comprehend the being we call Heavenly Father—as the Savior taught it is essential to our eternal life (John 17:2-3).
The prophet Joseph Smith declared: “If the veil were rent today, and the great God who holds this world in its orbit, and who upholds all worlds and all things by his power, was to make Himself visible,—I say, if you were to see Him today, you would see Him like a man in form—like yourselves in all the person, image, and very form as a man; for Adam was created in the very fashion, image and likeness of God, and received instruction from, and walked, talked and conversed with Him, as one man talks and communes with another” (TPJS p. 345. 346).
Does the Bible agree that God our Heavenly Father is in form and image as a man? Were we created in His image?
In the book of Revelation fifth chapter, John sees the Father sitting on a throne in heaven, with a book in His right hand. “A strong angel” proclaims “with a loud voice, who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?” When no one is found worthy, John “wept much.” Then “one of the elders” assured John, “Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book.” Then Jesus stepped forward and took the book from the Father’s hand (Revelation 5:1–7).
We see from this that the Father and the Son are two separate beings, as Stephen also witnessed Jesus on the right hand of God (Acts 7:55-56). While John and Stephen speak of the Father’s right hand, he gives no further description of the remainder of Gods person. Ezekiel sees the same throne of God and gives the depiction of the being sitting on the throne as “the likeness as the appearance of a Man above upon it” (Ezekiel 1:26).
Apparently, John didn’t think it was necessary to give a description of Heavenly Father, assuming it common knowledge, for Jesus taught; “he that hath seen Me hath seen the Father” (John 14:9). Paul also acknowledged this truth that after the resurrection, Jesus is in “the brightness of His [Heavenly Father’s] glory, and the express image of His person” (Hebrews 1:3).
Jesus often referred to Himself as the “son of Man” perhaps to reveal, yet obscure from His enemies, who His Father really was. We see when He spoke plainly that God was His Father, they tried to stone Him, accusing Him of blasphemy. Jesus responded by quoting Psalms eighty-two, verse six; “Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?... and the scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:27-33).
In a conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus affirmed the identity of our Heavenly Father, calling Himself “the Son of Man which is in heaven” (John 3:13).
The prophet Joseph Smith shed further light, revealing that “in the language of Adam, Man of Holiness is His name, and the name of His Only Begotten is the Son of Man, even Jesus Christ, a righteous Judge, who shall come in the meridian of time” (Moses 6:57). Further testimony from Enoch revealed: “Behold, I am God; Man of Holiness is my name; Man of Counsel is my name; and Endless and Eternal is my name, also” (Moses 7:35).
John recorded that here on earth Jesus was the “only begotten of the Father” (John 1:14), but in that pre-earth life we were born as spirits to Heavenly Father, “we are His offspring” (Acts 17:28, 29). He is the “Father of spirits” (Hebrews 12:9), He is “the God of the spirits of all flesh” (Numbers 16:22, 27:16).
Revealing the relationship of God to all humanity, Paul wrote, “For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named” (Ephesians 3:14–15). God is Father of “the whole family in heaven and earth.” we are His children, “And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together” (Romans 8:17).
Jesus promised: “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne” (Revelation 3:21).
Jesus is the Father and the Son
While our Heavenly Father is the Father of “the whole family in heaven and earth,” Jesus is God and Father to a limited body. We read: “But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12–13). Jesus is the God and Father of those who have faith in Him. We are His by the “adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself” (Ephesians 1:5). We see the distinction as He is called the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
We are taught that before being born on earth, that Jesus or as He was known in His pre-earth life, Jehovah, is in “the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature” (Colossians 1:15), “the firstborn among many brethren” (Romans 8:29). He is our older brother, as John revealed, Jesus was in the beginning with Heavenly Father in His creations: “In the beginning was the Word, (Jesus or Jehovah) and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:1-3).
At the inception of the world, we observe a conversation between Heavenly Father and Jesus, the Creator, at the creation of man; “And God said, Let US make man in OUR image” (Genesis 1:26 emphasis added).
Beside Jesus’ appearance with the Father when Stephen was being stoned in Acts chapter seven (Acts 7:55-56), and John observing Jesus taking the book from the right hand of the Father in Revelation chapter five, we see the appearance of Jesus, the God of Israel, with Heavenly Father to Moses and seventy elders of Israel: “Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel: And they saw the God of Israel: [the great Jehovah] and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness. And upon the nobles of the children of Israel He laid not His hand:” then this note is added; “also they saw God, [our Heavenly Father] and did eat and drink” (Exodus 24:9–11).
In fulfilment of prophecy Daniel gave to Nebuchadnezzar, interpreting his dream, Daniel foretold “what shall be in the latter days,” that “the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed” (Daniel 2:28, 44). In the spring of 1820 this vision was realized in the glorious appearance of the Father and Son to the Prophet Joseph Smith (Joseph Smith—History 1:5-20).
Jehovah, or Jesus, is “like unto God” (Abraham 3:24) the Father in character and attribute. They are united in purpose, they are as one God. The desire and prayer of our Savior was for His followers, “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us” (John 17:21).
What Does Our Spirit Look Like?
After we spoke of our pre-mortal life, Allen asked, “What did our spirits look like?” So again, we explored the verses of the Bible that would give us an idea of what our spirit looks like, and we again appealed to the blueprint and authority of scripture for the explanation of our spiritual likeness.
The disciples of Jesus on two occasions recorded that our spirit body looks like our body of flesh and bone, for on two occasions when they saw Jesus, they thought He was a spirit.
The first was when Jesus walked to them on the water, and as they saw a figure walking in the dark of night, they knew a spirit is in the form of a man and they were terrified. Matthew reported the episode: “And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, it is a spirit; and they cried out for fear” (Matthew 14:26).
The second occasion was after the resurrection of Jesus, when the disciples were gathered together, and Jesus appeared to them. Again, “they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. And He said unto them, why are ye troubled? And why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have” (Luke 24:36-39 emphases added).
In the Book of Mormon, the brother of Jared viewed the appearance of the pre-mortal Savior, and mistakenly thought He had a body of flesh and bone, saying “for I knew not that the Lord had flesh and blood. And the Lord said unto him: Because of thy faith thou hast seen that I shall take upon me flesh and blood…Behold, I am He who was prepared from the foundation of the world…Behold, this body, which ye now behold, is the body of My spirit; and man have I created after the body of My spirit; and even as I appear unto thee to be in the spirit will I appear unto my people in the flesh” (Ether 3:8–16).
While our spirit looks like our mortal body, Jesus confirms the difference; “a spirit hath not flesh and bones.”
Angels Are Men
When an angel appeared to John, as recorded in the Book of Revelation, and was mistaken to be the Lord, John fell at his feet, “Then saith he unto me, see thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets” (Revelation 22:9, emphasis added). Knowing that prophets were chosen before being born on earth (see Jeremiah 1:5), this could have been a prophet who had lived on earth or a future prophet who was yet to come on earth, all we know is that he is one of the prophets of God.
So, it is possible that many of the angels who appeared in scripture may actually be prophets who have or will live on earth, for we know that Jeremiah was chosen before being born (see Jeremiah 1:5), and we have the record of Moses and Elijah appearing to Jesus on the mount of transfiguration (see Matthew 17). Malachi also foretold of another appearance of Elijah at a later time, “before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord” (Malachi 4:5). Jesus identified John the Baptist as Elias who “truly shall first come, and restore all things” (Matthew 17:11), and “the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist” (Matthew 17:13).
There are many accounts throughout the Bible that confirm that angels are in fact men sent from the presence of God. In the four accounts of Jesus’ resurrection the angels attending the tomb are portrayed as both angels and men. In the accounts found in Luke and Mark they are called men, while the accounts in Matthew and John refer to these men as angels:
“And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, why seek ye the living among the dead” (Luke 24:4-5 emphases added).
“And entering into the sepulcher, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted. And he saith unto them, be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him” (Mark 16:5-6 emphases added).
“And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come; see the place where the Lord lay” (Matthew 28:5-6 emphases added).
“And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain” (John 20:12 emphases added).
The angel Gabriel, who appeared to Daniel in the Old Testament as well as to Mary Joseph and Zacharias in the New Testament, is described by Daniel “as the appearance of a man” and “the man Gabriel” (Daniel 8:15-16 , Daniel 9:21).
Of Joseph, it is recorded, “And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings” (Luke 1:19, 26 emphases added).
In the Book of Acts the heavenly messenger that appeared to Cornelius was identified as both an angel and a man, for the servants that came for Peter declared that Cornelius was “warned from God by an holy angel” (Acts 10:22).
When Peter arrived at the home, Cornelius related this account: “Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and, behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing” (Acts 10:30, emphasis added).
The angel who appeared to the mother of Samson is referred to as both an “angel” and a “man of God:”
“The angel of the Lord appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son. . . Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came unto me, and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of God, very terrible: but I asked him not whence he was, neither told he me his name…Then Manoah entreated the Lord, and said, O my Lord, let the man of God which thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born.”
“And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came again unto the woman as she sat in the field: but Manoah her husband was not with her. And the woman made haste, and ran, and shewed her husband, and said unto him, Behold, the man hath appeared unto me, that came unto me the other day. And Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said unto him, Art thou the man that spakest unto the woman? And he said, I am” (Judges 13:3-11, emphasis added).
Shadrach Meshach and Abed-nego were cast into the fiery furnace, and the angel that was sent to protect them was identified as a man: “Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God” (Daniel 3:24, 25, emphases added).
Abraham entertained three men who were angels (see Genesis 18), and Lot was visited by two angels whom the people identified as men (see Genesis 19).
Angels are human beings as we are, as we were before being born and as we will be after this life. We see that Jesus had a human body on earth and was resurrected with that same body and “this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). When Jesus again returns to earth He will have the same human body that He ascended into heaven with, except it is a perfect immortal body, and we are told, “when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2).
Satan Is a Man
When Isaiah identifies Satan as the being who has inspired anger, hatred, and brought so much destruction into this world, he also reveals the type of being that Satan is, for he wrote, “They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms” (Isaiah 14:13-16, emphasis added).
The Bible teaches that Satan was in heaven and that he fell, for the Lord told the Seventy whom He had called and sent out to teach, “I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven” (Luke 10:18).
Lucifer or Satan was one of the elder children of Heavenly Father, “a son of morning,” “an angel of God who was in authority in the presence of God,” who wanted the glory and honor that was given to Jesus, so Lucifer “rebelled against the Only Begotten Son whom the Father loved and who was in the bosom of the Father, (and) was thrust down from the presence of God and the Son, and was called Perdition, for the heavens wept over him” (Doctrine and Covenants 76:25–26).
Paul speaks of our Heavenly Father as the Father of the “whole family in heaven and earth” (Ephesians 3:14–15).So, everyone in “heaven and earth” is a child of our Heavenly Father, but unlike the blind man who did not sin before this world began (John 9:1-3), Satan made choices contrary to God in that pre-earthly world. He rebelled against God and was cast out of God’s presence (see Isaiah 14:12, Moses 4:3). As a result he will never gain a body of flesh and bone, so he is here to try with his angels to possess the bodies of Heavenly Fathers children on earth.
When we see Lucifer at the judgment seat, we will recognize him as a man with a body of spirit that looks like our body of flesh and bone.
Promises
We see that promises were made to us in our pre-mortal life “before the world began.” This promise appears to be a significant announcement that brought the “morning stars” to sing in praise and the sons of God to shout for joy (See Job 38:4-7). And what was the promise that brought this enthusiastic response? Speaking of the Father, John taught, “This is the promise that He hath promised us, even eternal life” (1 John 2:25). Paul taught that “God, that cannot lie,” promised the “hope of eternal life… before the world began” (Titus 1:2).
In our pre-earth life, we learned that Heavenly Father’s plan could bring us back into His presence, for a promise could not be made without a plan and a way to fulfill that promise, so, as we look at the pattern laid down in that pre-mortal world we see how it all fits together. His design would teach us and prepare us with the principles necessary to return and live in His Kingdom; principles of peace that ensure harmony in God’s presence, for God has said that no unclean thing can dwell in His presence (Ephesians 5:5).
The Book of Mormon speaks plainly of this “great plan of the Eternal God” (Alma 34:9), that it would be a “merciful plan of the great Creator” (2 Nephi 9:6).
Obtaining a Body of Flesh and Bone
In this plan, we would obtain a body of flesh and bone to become more like our Heavenly Father, for we understood that “The elements are eternal, and spirit and element, inseparably connected, receive a fulness of joy; and when separated, man cannot receive a fulness of joy” (Doctrine and Covenants 93:33–34).
In our pre-earth spirit realm, referred to as our 1st estate (Jude 1:6, Abraham 3:26), we learned that we would progress to our 2nd estate here on earth, acquiring this corporal body, experiencing things we could not comprehend as a spirit. We would be exposed to hunger, fatigue, thirst, pleasure, pain, passions, temptations, natural tendencies just as any other creature on earth. But as children of God, we can discipline this “natural man” or instinctive tendencies of our carnal body.
If we choose, we can control our appetites and passions, in place of them controlling us. We, as children of God have a unique ability to control these physical inclinations in accordance with guidelines, or commandments, given of God; safeguards to warn and govern our appetites and passions, as Paul wrote: “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof” (Romans 6:12).
Satan can use the natural tendency of our body to lead us away from God, if we do not use restraint, as Paul warned: “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:19–21).
We were anxious to obtain this body of flesh and bone, that we might experience the “fulness of Joy” taught by Heavenly Father, but we can only experience this joy by following the safeguards He has given: “For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father” (Mosiah 3:19).
Veil of Forgetting
Heavenly Father wanted this earth experience to be a test of character, free of His restraint or influence, so our actions would be unguarded, making us totally responsible for our actions. The Lord affirmed; “we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them” (Abraham 3:25).
The veil of forgetting is a vital part of Heavenly Father’s plan to protect and assure agency. If we could remember the pre-mortal life and were aware that Heavenly Father was watching our every move, it would restrict our actions. If Heavenly Father had been continually in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve, through intimidation, they would not have partaken the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Only out of the presence of God can free will be tested.
To disobey in God’s presence would have been akin to the rebellion of Lucifer in the pre-mortal life, where Lucifer proposed a plan contrary to that of Heavenly Father, a plan of coercion, perhaps with no veil, thinking to repress any disobedience. Lucifer intended to replace Jesus at the right hand of the Father, boasting of his idea he requested; "Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor” (Moses 4:1 emphasis added).
In contrast we see the submission of our Savior; “But, behold, My Beloved Son, which was My Beloved and Chosen from the beginning, said unto Me—Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever” (Moses 4:2).
Lucifer proved that coercion would not work, for when his plan was rejected, he rebelled in the presence of God, telling lies to mislead and deceive, contending with false accusation, he became “the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto My voice” (Moses 4:4 see also John 8:44 & Revelation 12:10).
Similar was the insurrection of Korah, Dathan and Abiram in the congregation of Israel against Moses. They in effect sought a coup, “they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the Lord?”
Knowing the seriousness of their rebellion against God, “when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face.” He pleaded: “Seemeth it but a small thing unto you, that the God of Israel hath separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to Himself to do the service of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the congregation to minister unto them?”
Continuing their defiance, “Korah gathered all the congregation against them unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the glory of the Lord appeared unto all the congregation.”
Because of their rebellion after the many miracles performed in freeing Israel from Egypt, to the wonders witnessed in their preservation in the desert, the Lord was ready to eradicate Israel. The Lord “spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.”
Because of love for the children of Israel, Moses and Aaron “fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation?”
Even with the appearance of the Lord at the tabernacle in the sight of the congregation, Korah, Dathan, and Abiram remained insolent.
The Lord instructed Israel to separate from the tents of these agitators, “and Moses rose up and went unto Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel followed him. And he spake unto the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest ye be consumed in all their sins…And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that the Lord hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind…And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them: And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods. They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation. And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them: for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also” (Numbers 16:1–34).
To disobey in the presence of God has far greater consequence, without the veil, our transgressions of the law would be serious: “For of him unto whom much is given much is required; and he who sins against the greater light shall receive the greater condemnation” (Doctrine and Covenants 82:3).
God had to withdraw from Adam and Eve, allowing choice; had they transgressed in the presence of God, their violation would have been grievous, akin to Satan’s rebellion in the presence of God, where outright revolt was unforgivable, resulting in Lucifer being cast out.
The result of rebellion in the presence of God would be severe, for perhaps there could be no forgiveness, resulting in eternal expulsion from God’s presence with Lucifer and those who followed him (Doctrine & Covenants 76:31-34).
Therefore, with the merciful plan of Heavenly Father, providing a veil of forgetting, agency would be protected, and transgression could be forgiven through the atonement, restoring us to God’s presence. “That every man may act in doctrine and principle pertaining to futurity, according to the moral agency which I have given unto him, that every man may be accountable for his own sins in the day of judgment” (Doctrine and Covenants 101:78).
Law and Justice
Without law there is chaos and without consequence there is no law. “Now, if there was no law given—if a man murdered he should die—would he be afraid he would die if he should murder? And also, if there was no law given against sin men would not be afraid to sin” (Alma 42:19-20).
Justice requires a punishment for breaking law, a debt is created that must be met, if not, there is no justice. “But there is a law given, and a punishment affixed, and a repentance granted; which repentance, mercy claimeth; otherwise, justice claimeth the creature and executeth the law, and the law inflicteth the punishment; if not so, the works of justice would be destroyed, and God would cease to be God” (Alma 42:17). So how can God be a just God and a merciful God also?
When Adam and Eve transgressed the commandment of God, they set in motion two deaths, first, mortality or eventual death of the physical body, the second was the immediate separation from God, or spiritual death.
Since death of our body of flesh is because of Adam and Eve, we are born into this life as mortal beings. The death of Christ on the cross and His subsequent resurrection brought about the resurrection of all humanity. “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22).
All have broken laws of God and are subject to endure the consequence of disobedience to those laws (Romans 3:23). To be merciful unto His children the execution of punishment is postponed until after this life, “there was a space granted unto man in which he might repent; therefore this life became a probationary state; a time to prepare to meet God; a time to prepare for that endless state” (Alma 12:24).
We observe the execution of justice in punishment after death in the parable of Lazarus and the rich man, where the rich man experienced the justice of God; “in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments.” The rich man requested that Lazarus be sent back from the dead to warn his family, “that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment” (Luke 16:23–28). (This parable is said to be the inspiration for Charles Dickens’ Christmas Carol). How exacting is this punishment of breaking the laws of God? The Lord taught—"Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing” (Matthew 5:26).
Jesus delayed punishment with the woman caught in the act of adultery, brought to Him by accusers. They asked if immediate justice and punishment should be applied by stoning her to death, but Jesus wanted suspension for her transgression, allowing her to repent. Jesus reminded the accusers that they were not free of sin: “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” After the accusers, were convicted in conscience, they departed. He admonished the woman: “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.” (John 8:3-11)
The prophet Joseph Smith spoke of the surety of penalty after this life when he taught: “rather spare ten iniquitous among you, than condemn one innocent one. Fret not thyself because of evildoers. God will see to it” (May 26, 1842. DHC 5:19–21. TPJS p. 239 ¶2).
“For He executeth all his words, and they have gone forth out of his mouth, and his law must be fulfilled” (2 Nephi 9:17).
How can mercy answer the demands of justice?
Suppose you are guilty of a grievous offence requiring a large penalty in excess of what you could ever pay, but you have a friend, an associate of the judge, whom the judge holds in high regard, came before the judge to plead your case. Knowing your heartfelt remorse, he expresses that you are sorry for the offence, asks for leniency, and offers to pay any debt that might be owed.
The judge (our Heavenly Father) is able to know our heart, and can see that we are genuinely penitent, the transgression forgiven, the price paid in full by your friend. [Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his Lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you (John 15:15).]
The only pathway to escape the demands of justice is through the Savior, for “He offereth Himself a sacrifice for sin, to answer the ends of the law, unto all those who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit; and unto none else can the ends of the law be answered. Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth, that they may know that there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah” (2 Nephi 2:7–8).
Similar to our Savior pleading for us before the Father is Paul’s letter to Philemon for Onesimus, Philemon’s wayward servant who is wanting to return. Paul writes: “For perhaps he therefore departed for a season, that thou shouldest receive him for ever; Not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved, specially to me, but how much more unto thee, both in the flesh, and in the Lord? If thou count me therefore a partner, receive him as myself. If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought, put that on mine account” (Philemon 1:15-18).
“And thus He shall bring salvation to all those who shall believe on His name; this being the intent of this last sacrifice, to bring about the bowels of mercy, which overpowereth justice, and bringeth about means unto men that they may have faith unto repentance. And thus mercy can satisfy the demands of justice, and encircles them in the arms of safety, while he that exercises no faith unto repentance is exposed to the whole law of the demands of justice; therefore only unto him that has faith unto repentance is brought about the great and eternal plan of redemption. Therefore, may God grant unto you, my brethren, that ye may begin to exercise your faith unto repentance, that ye begin to call upon his holy name, that he would have mercy upon you” (Alma 34:15–17).
“Therefore the wicked remain as though there had been no redemption made, except it be the loosing of the bands of death; for behold, the day cometh that all shall rise from the dead and stand before God, and be judged according to their works” (Alma 11:41).
God, knowing our thoughts and desires, can discern if our remorse is genuine and heartfelt. Remember, when we transgress the laws of God, “we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1).
Need for a Savior
The simplicity and central element of Heavenly Father’s “plan of redemption,” combining justice and mercy in perfect harmony, allowing choice of keeping or rejecting the law of God, would require a Savior to answer the demands of justice to those who humble themselves and repent. This Redeemer would live a perfect life, not breaking any law of God, thus not being subject to penalty and death for His own sins, could suffer and die in our place. He would be the perfect Lamb, “without blemish and without spot” (1 Peter 1:19).
“The plan of mercy could not be brought about except an atonement should be made; (fulfilling the demands of justice) therefore God himself atoneth for the sins of the world, to bring about the plan of mercy, to appease the demands of justice, that God might be a perfect, just God, and a merciful God also.” (Alma 42:15)
This Mediator would be the literal Son of God on earth, “the only begotten of the Father,” (John 1:14) inheriting from His Father the power over life and death, so that He would say: “Therefore doth My Father love Me, because I lay down My life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of My Father” (John 10:17, 18).
The importance of having power over life would be essential for Him to sustain life through the unfathomable pain experienced in the garden of Gethsemane, as an angel declared to King Benjamin: “And lo, he shall suffer temptations, and pain of body, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can suffer, except it be unto death; for behold, blood cometh from every pore, so great shall be his anguish for the wickedness and the abominations of his people” (Mosiah 3:7 emphasis added).
This power over life and death enabled Him to sustain life on the cross until He declared: “It is finished: and He bowed His head, and gave up the ghost” (John 19:30).
This capacity over life and death empowered Him to raise us from the dead as we read: “And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many” (Matthew 27:52–53).
This great atonement, His suffering and death on our behalf, were known from the beginning, He was “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8).
Whom shall I send?
In the assembly of all God’s children, Heavenly Father would ask for a volunteer who would willfully love His siblings enough to submit to the pain required for the atonement. With full understanding of requirements of this Redeemer, Heavenly Father asked, “Whom shall I send?” (Abraham 3:27).
I have wondered what my feelings and thoughts were at that moment? Would anyone accept the responsibility to come to earth and go through so great suffering; “more than man can suffer, except it be unto death?” Would He love me enough to agonize through pain so great that blood would come from every pore of skin? Afterward suffer physical death on the cross, with nails driven through hands and feet?
In the book of Revelation chapter five is recorded a similar event; we see Heavenly Father sitting on His throne holding a book in His right hand that is sealed with seven seals and a “strong angel” spoke with a loud voice: “Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?” John observed: “no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon.” In apprehension, John “wept much.”
Just as John, did I, in that pre—mortal throng, experience some anxiety, realizing the Plan of Heavenly Father for our return to dwell with Him, required a willing sacrifice of a Savior? Could I at that moment, have wept also? Would anyone be willing to deliver us? To suffer the immense pain and death required?
John recorded: “one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not:” then Jesus came forward and took the book out of the right hand of Heavenly Father, similar to that pre—mortal council, when Jesus stepped forward and said, “here am I, send Me” (Abraham 3:27)
We read of the rejoicing before the foundation of the world; “When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy” (Job 38:7). Just as the celebration in the fifth chapter of Revelation, where “they sung a new song” and glorified “with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb” for He “hast made us unto our God kings (and queens) and priests (and priestesses): and we shall reign on the earth” (Revelation 5:1-12).
What love Jesus had for us, to endure, to agonize, such overwhelming, excruciating pain in our behalf; Why? we were His younger siblings, “His delight” as Solomon recorded, “rejoicing always before Him” (Proverbs 8:27–31).
The feelings engendered at that moment must have been overwhelming, the heartfelt praise toward our Savior. Oh what love for our Redeemer, love that we can realize, love that we can experience here on earth as we exercise faith in the redemption of our Deliverer. I believe John referred to that moment when he wrote, “We love Him, because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19).
The Debt Paid
“And now, the plan of mercy could not be brought about except an atonement should be made; therefore God himself atoneth for the sins of the world, to bring about the plan of mercy, to appease the demands of justice, that God might be a perfect, just God, and a merciful God also” (Alma 42:15).
Jesus had the ability to know the thoughts and hearts of men (John 2:25), evidenced by His knowing the secret acts of Zacchæus, who helped the poor anonymously, giving half of all he possessed and if he erred in taxing someone, he restored to them fourfold. The people judged Zacchaeus a wicked man, but Jesus knew the true man, calling him by name, Jesus acknowledged, “This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham” (Luke 19:1-9).
On the shore of the sea of Galilee, Jesus was approached by Jairus, a ruler in the synagogue, who’s twelve-year-old daughter lay sick about to die. As Jesus passed through the narrow streets, crowds—drawn by Jesus previous casting a Legion of devils from a man—now wanting to witness a miracle in the healing of the daughter of Jairus. But the unnoticed miracle was a woman with a twelve-year issue of blood, who being outcast because of her ailment, and fearing reproach, approaching the Savior from behind, touching His garment. Jesus, feeling the virtue flow out to this woman, asked “Who touched Me? When all denied, Peter and they that were with Him said, Master, the multitude throng thee and press thee, and sayest thou, who touched Me? And Jesus said, somebody hath touched Me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of Me.” In fear of reprisal, the woman hid herself, “And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before Him, she declared unto Him before all the people for what cause she had touched Him, and how she was healed immediately.” With affection, Jesus, relieving her fears, in love called her “Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace” (Luke 8:45–48).
There were many funerals in Israel, but there was one that the Savior was drawn to without invitation. A woman in the city of Nain, a widow, having only one son to support her, who was on the verge of death. I can imagine this woman at the bedside of her dying son, in sorrow through tearful sleepless nights, pleading in prayer for his recovery. Now he was dead, and Jesus, knowing the grieving petition of this mother for her son, came to the city for one purpose, to raise the lad from death. “Now when He came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her. And when the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. And He came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And He said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And He delivered him to his mother” (Luke 7:11–16).
Now the time for atonement was come “As Jesus entered the Garden of Gethsemane with His disciples, He began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith He unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death” (Matthew 26:37–38).
Wading through the burden of grief during that long night of pain and suffering, three times He pleaded with the Father; “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Matthew 26:39).
The Savior suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane for our individual sins, there He endured anguish so severe that He bled from every pore, being in torment for our transgressions of the law, so great was the suffering that it would have killed any mortal man (Mosiah 3:7), but having the power to sustain life, He endured agony and pain sufficient to pay the price for all, on conditions of repentance. “For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I; Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink—Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men” (Doctrine and Covenants 19:16–19).
Through that long night of severe pain, He endured for us as “great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (Luke 22:44). Our Redeemer shed His blood for us, because He loved us, a willing sacrifice for our sins.
Early the next morning they came with torch and arms to take the Savior by force. I can imagine the appearance of Jesus as He was met by those who would take Him to be crucified, blood steaking down His face, cloths and hair soaked with blood. Stepping into the light of their torches, their reaction we read; “they went backward, and fell to the ground” (John 18:6).
Isaiah foresaw this moment, for he wrote: “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth: He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He openeth not his mouth” (Isaiah 53:4–7).
From the Garden of suffering, He in silence allowed them to scourge, be spit upon, and a crown of thorns be forced upon His head. In silence He carried His own cross until fatigue prevented. Then with nails driven through His hands and feet, in an expression of love He prayed: “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).
Jacob, a Book of Mormon prophet, explained what the result would be without an atonement and merciful plan of our Heavenly Father, if justice would have been exacted in place of allowing this “probationary state:” “The first judgment which came upon man must needs have remained to an endless duration. And if so, this flesh must have laid down to rot and to crumble to its mother earth, to rise no more. O the wisdom of God, his mercy and grace! For behold, if the flesh should rise no more our spirits must become subject to that angel who fell from before the presence of the Eternal God, and became the devil, to rise no more. And our spirits must have become like unto him, and we become devils, angels to a devil, to be shut out from the presence of our God, and to remain with the father of lies, in misery, like unto himself; yea, to that being who beguiled our first parents, who transformeth himself nigh unto an angel of light, and stirreth up the children of men unto secret combinations of murder and all manner of secret works of darkness. O how great the goodness of our God, who prepareth a way for our escape from the grasp of this awful monster; yea, that monster, death and hell, which I call the death of the body, and also the death of the spirit” (2 Nephi 9:7-10).
Love and Peace in the Kingdom of God
God’s requirement of a Savior, as the central element of His plan, would ensure peace in the Kingdom of Heaven, by first, viewing our transgression of the law, we recognize our desperate situation, which brings sorrow, feeling “poor in spirit” knowing that we are lacking spiritually, in conflict with the commands of God.
Unless we see and understand our parlous circumstance before God, we cannot appreciate the atonement of our Deliverer, unless we study and ponder the word of God, we are oblivious to our plight in this life and the life to come.
The Lord appeals to us that we might escape the agony and pain of the “punishment affixed” after this life; “if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me” (Ether 12:27).
As we humble ourselves and seek forgiveness, we experience love for our Redeemer, knowing that our sins are forgiven. We acquire empathy and compassion for others, treating others with love and kindness, as the Lord taught, “to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little” (Luke 7:47), or where much is forgiven the same loveth much.
The account of Jesus in the home of Simon, a Pharisee, demonstrated the love that comes when sin is forgiven. A woman, possibly the woman that Jesus saved from stoning (John 8:3-11), came weeping in gratitude, washing His feet with her tears, drying His feet with her hair and anointing His feet with oil. Simon, thinking within himself, reflected, if Jesus were a prophet, He would know that this woman was a sinner and would not allow her to touch His feet. Jesus perceiving his thoughts, asked; “There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?” (Luke 7:36-50)
This question, we must answer for ourselves, can we love God without the awareness of our trespassing the laws of God and knowing that our sins are forgiven? Who will love God the most? “he, to whom he forgave most.” Who in that setting loved the most? Simon who lived the law of Moses, going through all the motions of the commandments? Or this woman who had recognized her sin and now came seeking forgiveness?
Perhaps we can see Simon in this parable of the Savior: “Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted” (Luke 18:10–14).
The Prophet Joseph Smith pointed out the effects of our experiencing forgiveness of sins: “The nearer we get to our Heavenly Father, the more we are disposed to look with compassion on perishing souls; we feel that we want to take them upon our shoulders, and cast their sins behind our backs” (TPJS p. 241 ¶1).
This feeling that accompanies gratitude for our Deliverer is charity or “the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him” (Moroni 7:47).
How did the great prophets of old gain their love for God? “it was on account of their exceeding faith and repentance, and their righteousness before God, they choosing to repent and work righteousness rather than to perish” (Alma 13:10).
Observe the prayer of Abraham: “I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes” (Genesis 18:27). Or the patriarch Jacob: “I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant” (Gen. 32:10).
We learn of the humility of Job when he was in the presence of the Lord: “I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:5,6).
We read of Isaiah’s humility: “Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts” (Isa. 6:5). Or Jeremiah's response to his call: “behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child” (Jer. 1:6).
I have been asked, how is it possible to live all the commandments and why is it necessary? Yet, the law can be reduced to two simple principles, as the Lord taught when asked; “Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:35–40).
Dr. Henry Drummond wrote, “In those days people were working their passage to Heaven by keeping the Ten Commandments, and the hundred and ten other commandments that they had manufactured out of them. Christ said, I will show you a more simple way. If you do one thing, you will do these hundred and ten things, without ever thinking about them. If you love, you will unconsciously fulfill the whole law.
“You can readily see for yourselves how that must be so. Take any of the commandments. ‘Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.’ If a person loves God, you will not be required to tell them that. Love is the fulfilling of that law. ‘Take not His name in vain.’ Would they ever dream of taking His name in vain if they loved Him? ‘Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.’ Would they not be only too glad to have one day in seven to dedicate more exclusively to the object of their affection? Love would fulfill all these laws regarding God.
“And so, if a person loved Humanity, you would never think of telling them to honor their father and mother. They could not do anything else. It would be preposterous to tell them not to kill. You would only insult them if you suggested that they should not steal -- how could they steal from those they loved?
“It would be superfluous to beg them not to bear false witness against their neighbor. If they loved them it would be the last thing they would do. And you would never dream of urging them not to covet what their neighbors had. They would rather that their neighbors possessed it than themselves. In this way ‘Love is the fulfilling of the law.’ It is the rule for fulfilling all rules, the new commandment for keeping all the old commandments, Christ's one secret of the Christian life” (The Greatest Thing in the World, Dr. Henry Drummond, p13-15).
All the commandments are for one reason, they bring peace, for that is how Heavenly Father keeps peace in His presence, by adherence to these laws, as Nephi wrote, “they teach all men that they should do good” (2 Nephi 33:10). As we change or repent and adopt the teachings of God, it will bring peace to an individual, a family, a community, or nation.
We must be alert to the delusions of righteousness that can blind our perception and hinder our progression.
Alma gave vital advice on prayer to his sons: “Do not say: O God, I thank thee that we are better than our brethren; but rather say: O Lord, forgive my unworthiness, and remember my brethren in mercy—yea, acknowledge your unworthiness before God at all times” (Alma 38:14).
“Believe in God; believe that He is, and that He created all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that He has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend. And again, believe that ye must repent of your sins and forsake them, and humble yourselves before God; and ask in sincerity of heart that he would forgive you; and now, if you believe all these things see that ye do them” (Mosiah 4:9–10).
Unless we study the word of God and ponder His edicts, we will not see our weakness, unless we see our weakness we will not be humble and seek mercy, unless we seek mercy we will not experience the love for God.
Why do we need to die?
God had to keep His word, that there was a “punishment affixed” for partaking the forbidden fruit. That punishment consisted of not only a separation from God or a spiritual death, but an eventual temporal death of the physical body of Adam and Eve, as God warned; “in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Genesis 2:17). Justice required that Adam and Eve die, yet the atonement allowed a chance to repent and follow the laws of God, with a resurrection from death to bring us back into the presence of God. As Paul testified; “For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:21–22).
A day in God’s time is one thousand years, so Adam would have to die within the millennia of God’s day (2 Peter 3:8). This delay of physical death “was a time granted unto man to repent, yea, a probationary time, a time to repent and serve God” (Alma 42:4).
Without death, justice would require separation from God, lasting an endless duration. If Adam and Eve did not die, there would be no “probationary time” to repent, it would nullify the word of God, saying that they would die and “if not so, the works of justice would be destroyed, and God would cease to be God” (Alma 42:22). So God “placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life” (Genesis 3:24).
If Adam and Eve had partaken of the “tree of life” after partaking of the “tree of knowledge of good and evil”, they would have lived forever (Genesis 3:22), yet consigned to this earth, in this state of misery, never experiencing a physical death, severed from God’s presence with Satan and his angels, never having hope of obtaining eternal life in God’s presence. This would have frustrated Heavenly Father’s plan of saving His children in a kingdom of glory, leaving them forever in a state of misery, not being able to be restored to His presence, with no probationary state, no opportunity to repent and adhere to His laws. Therefore; “death hath passed upon all men, to fulfil the merciful plan of the great Creator” (2 Nephi 9:6).
Samuel, a Lamanite prophet taught of the Savior; “For behold, He surely must die that salvation may come; yea, it behooveth Him and becometh expedient that He dieth, to bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, that thereby men may be brought into the presence of the Lord” (Helaman 14:15).
Why the Law or Commandments? —Must be Peace
In the presence of God there is perfect peace, as Enoch observed: “thou hast taken Zion to thine own bosom, from all thy creations, from all eternity to all eternity; and naught but peace, justice, and truth is the habitation of thy throne; and mercy shall go before thy face and have no end” (Moses 7:31 Italics added) As observed by Enoch, the Kingdom of Heaven is characterized by several principles:
Peace
Justice
Truth
Mercy
The heavens must abide precept, without which harmony would not exist. Justice was executed in the heavens before the creation of the earth, for we read; “that an angel of God who was in authority in the presence of God, who rebelled against the Only Begotten Son whom the Father loved and who was in the bosom of the Father, was thrust down from the presence of God and the Son, And was called Perdition, for the heavens wept over him—he was Lucifer, a son of the morning. And we beheld, and lo, he is fallen! is fallen, even a son of the morning!” (Doctrine and Covenants 76:25–27, italics added).
The consequence of disobedience in the rebellion of Lucifer and those who followed him, compromising the tranquility in the Kingdom of Heaven, required their removal to protect the love and harmony residing in God’s presence (Isaiah 14:12, Luke 10:18,), for, “if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand” (Mark 3:25).
We read: “there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; [Lucifer] and the dragon fought and his angels and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him” (Revelation 12:7–9).
The love expressed for those who were cast out is evidenced in the heavens weeping over them, also those dying in the flood of Noah’s day, for they had rejected the word of God, as Enoch witnessed: “the God of heaven looked upon the residue of the people, and He wept.”
Observing the heavens weeping, Enoch asked: How is it that thou canst weep, seeing thou art holy, and from all eternity to all eternity?” The Lord responded that He had “given commandment, that they should love one another, and that they should choose Me, their Father; but behold, they are without affection, and they hate their own blood…their sins shall be upon the heads of their fathers; Satan shall be their father, and misery shall be their doom; and the whole heavens shall weep over them, even all the workmanship of Mine hands; wherefore should not the heavens weep, seeing these shall suffer?” (Moses 7:28-37)
Notwithstanding the teachings and ministry of the Savior, hoping to change lives, knowing their awaiting anguish, “began He to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not” (Matthew 11:20).
Knowing their destiny, we observe Jesus’ heartfelt lament, He cried: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!” (Matthew 23:37)
The plan of our Heavenly Father is “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life” (Moses 1:39) of His children, preparing “mansions” (John 14:2) even giving, “all that [the] Father hath” (Doctrine and Covenants 84:38). This can only happen through faith in the atonement of Jesus Christ, the anointed, the Only Begotten Son of God, prepared from the foundation of the world, in that pre—mortal council where we all took part.
