pre-earth – What Do Mormons Believe?

Scriptural Evidence of a Pre-Existence

Q: Can Mormons support their view of a pre-existence with God before being born on this earth…using scriptures only?

Ecclesiates 12:7 (italics added) Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

Jeremiah 1:5 (italics added) Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

Jude 1:6 (italics added) And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgement of the great day.

Revelation 12:7-9 (italics added) And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought againts the dragon; 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.

Abraham 3:22-24 (italics added) 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;

It is clear from just the Bible that there was a “pre-existence” where we, as spirits, lived with God. The scripture that God has given us through Joseph Smith (I picked only one) confirms this doctrine. Thanks for your inquiry.

The Fall of Adam and Eve

In terms of doctrinal subjects, the case of Adam and Eve can be one of the more difficult to explain and understand. The Biblical story can seem confusing. I have found myself in the past studying this complex and important part of the Plan of Salvation because I plainly did not understand it. The ‘whys’ didn’t seem to line up. But with some time, I began to understand the importance and need for this event.

Before the fall, there was the creation of Earth. Before that, there was a council. Our Heavenly Father presented a plan for us to progress from our spiritual state to one where we could be like Him. For this to be accomplished, we needed to come to Earth and gain a body, experience life, and learn to use the agency given us to submit our will to His through doing all that he would command us to do (Abraham 3:24-25). This plan encompassed all these things. God knew what would happen on Earth. He knew that Adam and Eve would eat the forbidden fruit and would have to leave His presence, He knew of wars among His children, He knew of the pain and suffering they would pass through and He knew that left alone, His children could never return to Him. That is precisely why the Atonement of Jesus Christ is the key part of this plan. God planned that once the fall of Adam and Eve occurred, He would teach them about the Atonement so that they could live and grow in spite of being separated from God.

Once all the future of the Earth was planned according to God’s power, He sent His son, Jesus Christ, to create the Earth. And create it, He did (Ephesians 3:9). He created it beautifully and perfectly and placed the plants, animals, and man there. Once Adam and Eve were there, God commanded them to “be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth and subdue it” (Genesis 1:28). Furthermore, they were told that they could eat of any plant or tree in the Garden of Eden, except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God told them that if they were to eat of this tree that they would die (Moses 3:17), however He gave to them agency and expressly told them that it was given to them to choose. Adam and Eve lived in the Garden of Eden in a state of innocence, not knowing good or evil, nor did they know what happiness or sadness were (Moses 5:11). They existed, and little more.

The book of Moses tells us that Satan did not know the mind of God (Moses 4:6) and wanted to destroy God’s plan for his children. Through a serpent, he told Eve that she ought to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil so that her eyes could be opened, to know good from evil (Moses 4:11). Now, eating this fruit was something that God had warned them against because of the consequences. Eating this fruit would cause them to become mortal and therefore imperfect. They would eventually die. Mortal man, stained with his own sins, cannot withstand the presence of God in a permanent setting, so this also separated them from God. God never allows us to make decisions that separate us from Him without first warning us, hence the commandment He gave Adam and Eve.

Eve saw that the result of knowing good from evil was indeed a desirable thing so being deceived by Satan, she ate the fruit. As evidenced by Adam’s confession to God a few verses later (Moses 4:18, Genesis 3:12), Adam was commanded to remain with Eve. Once Eve had eaten the fruit, Adam saw that he must either partake of the fruit or be separated from Eve. It is a good thing that he chose the first or none of us would be here.

Adam and Eve’s world changed then. It no longer was a paradise that grew all sorts of foods without effort. It became a place where Adam and Eve had to work to live. Aside from being a reference to the separation of God from the world, it provided an environment where mankind had to work, be humble towards God and rely on His mercies. According to the plan, Adam learned the gospel of Jesus Christ and knew that the Atonement was coming. He taught his children this truth and rejoiced in the knowledge of his Lord and Savior.

While the Fall of Adam and Eve may seem like a tragic event, it isn’t. It’s true that they transgressed the commandments of God, but that event provided an opportunity for all of the spirit children of God to come to a place to receive a body and have the opportunity to become like God himself if they chose to do so. Even though Adam and Eve disobeyed, God is merciful. He provided a way for them to be forgiven of that transgression through His Son–the only sinless person who has or ever will live on this earth. Likewise, all of the posterity of Adam and Eve, us, have claim upon this wonderful opportunity of forgiveness of sin through Jesus Christ if we will choose to receive it into our lives.

Revelation on the Afterlife

Q. If God had two separate revelations to America and Israel, why did he leave out the complicated afterlife progression in the middle eastern revelation and then give them to Joseph Smith?

Good question. I assume that you are inquiring about how we, as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, believe that there are “three kingdoms of glory” in the afterlife, not simply the heaven and hell concept that the rest of the Christian world teaches.

It is apparent that we don’t have all of the teachings of all the prophets of Biblical times. The Bible is a compilation of assorted writings of various prophets; it is not a complete book. Here are some references made by some of the authors to other epistles/books of scripture that we simply do not have today—they are lost books of scripture (Num. 21: 14, Josh. 10: 13, 1 Chr. 29: 29, 2 Chr. 9: 29, 2 Chr. 12: 15; 2 Chr. 13: 22, 2 Chr. 20: 34, 2 Chr. 33: 19, 1 Cor. 5: 9, Col. 4: 16, Jude 1: 14 ). If we know that manuscripts have been lost, isn’t it safe to assume that teachings and doctrines have also been lost? That is a logical conclusion and a safe conclusion. The Bible does not contain a complete record of what has been taught by Biblical prophets. This is where the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ through Joseph Smith comes in—through Joseph Smith, God restored doctrines and truths that had been lost in previous eras. This is a beautiful concept. I love that God follows this same pattern over and over through history. When people fall away from His gospel and truths are lost, He calls a prophet just as He always has and restores the fullness of the Gospel through that prophet.

Celestial bodies There is, however, evidence from the Bible that the doctrine of “three kingdoms of glory” was taught. In fact, it seems to be so well understood that Paul just refers to it offhandedly. In 1 Corinthians 15:31-42, he teaches about the resurrection of the dead. Just as all animals are different (fish, birds, beasts), Paul clearly teaches that not all resurrected bodies are the same—there are celestial bodies, terrestial bodies, and telestial bodies, each with its own glory. In addition, there are different glories (kingdoms)—the glory of the sun (Celestial kingdom), glory of the moon (Terrestial kingdom), and glory of the stars (Telestial kingdoms, of which there are many). It follows that if there are celestial bodies, then they must inherit the Celestial kingdom or glory of the sun and so forth. This is what was revealed to Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon in February 1832 (see Doctrine and Covenants 76). In addition to there being celestial bodies and a celestial kingdom and so on, it was given to them what the basic characteristics would be of the people who are assigned to these different kingdoms.

So, while we don’t have as full of an account of the afterlife progression from the Biblical prophets as we do from Joseph Smith there is still evidence that it has been taught the way Joseph Smith revealed it from at least the time of Paul and the early Church leaders.

For a more detailed explanation of our doctrine on the afterlife, see these two great posts: Life After Death: Part 1 and Life After Death: Part 2

Thanks for your inquiry.

Agency in the Eternities

Q. Why didn’t God create all His children to be like Christ?
This is a very good question, if we are all God’s children and He has created us, why do we have imperfections and Christ did not have any? Also related to this question is another we received, “Do Mormons believe that some people are better than others?” To answer these questions, I would like to go far back to before this world was created, when we all lived as spirits in the presence of our Heavenly Father.

First of all, it is important that we believe that God did not create us out of nothing, but rather He organized our intelligence into a spirit body. We do not know the nature of this intelligence, but it is an eternal part of our nature and being.

To the prophet Jeremiah, the Lord said, “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 1:5 That is to say, the Lord knew Jeremiah even before his birth. He knew his strengths, his weaknesses, his personality and his potential. That also means that Jeremiah, as all the rest of us, had developed those traits by that point.

Bruce R. McConkie (1915-1985) of the twelve apostles wrote the following about how we came to be as we are:

“All the spirits of men, while yet in the Eternal Presence, developed aptitudes, talents, capacities, and abilities of every sort, kind, and degree. During the long expanse of life which then was, an infinite variety of talents and abilities came into being. As the ages rolled, no two spirits remained alike. Mozart became a musician; Einstein centered his interest in mathematics; Michelangelo turned his attention to painting. Cain was a liar, a schemer, a rebel. … Mary and Eve were two of the greatest of all the spirit daughters of the Father. … And so it went through all the hosts of heaven, each individual developing such talents and abilities as his soul desired.” (The Mortal Messiah, 4 vols. (1979–81), 1:23.)

It then follows that each individual chose a path before this life and through diligence and care to follow our Father’s guidance, each individual grew to varying degrees. The reason, then, that Christ is perfect and was able to fulfill His Father’s will perfectly in carrying out the Atonement was because He used his agency, or ability to choose, more wisely than others. He became like His Father.

The Book of Abraham gives a rare description of Jesus in the pre-earth life:

“And there stood one [Christ] 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; And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them.” Abraham 3:24-25

That ability to choose is still available for us in this life and is the very reason that we are here. Every day we have the choice between following our Savior, Jesus Christ, and otherwise. Thus, through our choices, one person can excel in music, another in athletics, another in science and another in kindness, love or patience. Others can choose not to excel or to develop traits of laziness, procrastination and anger. Our options and potentials are limitless in either direction and everyone has parts of both.

The atonement of Jesus Christ plays the greatest part in our development. It is through His grace that we can correct our faults and that He can heal our wounded hearts. And then through His guidance, we will grow and choose the good, better, and best things in our lives.

Why Illness?

Q. Why do we have illnesses and disabilities? How is this part of God’s plan?

-sunlize

coma I’ve been asked to address this issue, which was quite timely as I have been sick for over 2 months with some form of lung infection. It left me rather listless and weak. I hope that this will invoke more of a discussion rather than be viewed as the definitive answer. Why illness? – is a major issue that most religions have had to deal with: the fact that bad things happen is explained in various ways. The Taoists suggest that the opposition of Yin and Yang are what maintain a balance in the universe. The Hindu have a similar take with their idea of Karma. Many Christian faiths look at the misadventure in the Garden of Eden kind of like the opening of Pandora’s Box in Greek Mythology which released all that was bad into the world.

The LDS belief goes back a bit before the earth was formed and recognizes that there was spirit life in the pre-earth life and that these spirits had free will or moral agency. Agency to believe and to act is an enormous power, a power that can help us progress but also a power that can damn progression if poor choices are made. The first insight into the use of our agency as spirits was at a council held in heaven.

There was a disagreement about how the earth plan should operate: Lucifer wanted to take peoples’ agency away, and ensure that everyone would return to heaven–and he also wanted the glory for doing so. Jesus agreed with the Father’s plan that agency would be allowed and then volunteered to be the sacrificial lamb. One third of the hosts of heaven wanted the assurance which Satan proposed and followed him. They were expelled from heaven and forfeited the opportunity to receive a physical body. The rest of us accepted the Father’s plan which would allow all men to come back to God if they accepted Jesus and obeyed the commandments. They would receive bodies, learn to use their bodies to progress further and be resurrected with glorified bodies like our Father’s.

When Adam and Eve were created, the Tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil was made available along with a warning from the Father that they shouldn’t partake of the fruit. Satan beguiled the woman and she ate, followed by Adam eating of the fruit. God then expelled them into the world of hard knocks but with a knowledge of good and evil, an understanding that all things have their opposites and that choices are possible.

Obviously nobody chooses to get sick, yet people make choices that not only affect themselves but often affect many other people as well. Let’s look at an easy one: the recent AIDS epidemic. There are various theories of how that disease was introduced to the human race from animals. If some better choices had been made perhaps the disease wouldn’t have made the leap to humans. Its spread through bodily fluids can be controlled in most cases. So in the U.S. with a fairly small infected population a person can take precautions to keep himself free of the disease. In Botswana where 60% of the population is infected it is much more difficult: some children are even born with the disease. One might say that the individual baby had no choice and is being punished unjustly. From our earthly perspective that looks right, but our perspective is limited to this life and the assumption that living long and healthy is the ideal.

In John 9 Jesus comes upon a man born blind. His disciples ask him, “Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus replied that neither sinned but that the man was put there for the glory of God to be manifest. The disciples had the short perspective in this case assuming that since all sin is punished with suffering, all suffering was the result of sin; but there was a larger perspective which they hadn’t considered.

Job provides 39 chapters of argument about whether Job was guilty of sin which would help his friends explain the troubles that had befallen him. Finally even Job begins to fall into his friends’ way of thinking and questions the Lord. Chapter 40 is the Lord’s response which starts with the question: “Wilt thou also disannul my judgement? Wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?” He goes on to express the majesty and power of the Lord, pointing out the limited view that mankind has of the creations of heaven.

The LDS perspective on why illness and pain exist is that it is part of earth-life challenges. It helps us appreciate the good when we have experienced the bad. Some choices can be made to reduce illness in our lives but sometimes the illness is part of the curriculum of heaven to teach us lessons we might not otherwise get. The question might not be why there is illness, but rather how we handle the adversity.