The Most Recent General Conference On Our Premortal Life

[MaidservantX]

The most recent World (General) Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was held back in October 2006. The addresses given at that conference are presented in text in the November (2006) issue of the Ensign magazine.

I wanted to skim through all of the talks (I have been studying them for a couple of different things and reasons) for words regarding our premortal life. I thought it would be worth sharing with you, also.

p31

Elaine S. Dalton

"Our personal mission began long before we arrived on the earth. In the premortal life, we were 'called and prepared' to live on the earth at a time when temptations and challenges would be the greatest. This was 'on account of [our] exceeding faith and good works' and because of our 'having chosen good'.[see Alma 13:3] We understood our Father's plan and we knew that it was good. We not only chose it, but we defended it. We knew our earthly missions would be fraught with temptation, challenges, and hardship, but we also knew that we would be blessed by the fulness of the gospel, living prophets, and the guidance of the Holy Ghost. We knew and understood that our success on this earth would be determined by our worthiness and purity."

I will give other quotes as I continue to skim.

p35

Daniel Johnson

"The Lord knew from the beginning that we, His children, would be faced with temporal and spiritual adversities during this mortal life. Indeed, these adversities are a vital part of this mortal probation. He knew that we would stand in need of His blessings throughout our lives in order to not only survive our individual trials, but also to enjoy a degree of comfort and even prosperity."

[MaidservantX]

p49

Marcus B. Nash

"In order to have that joy, you need to understand that, as a child of your Heavenly Father, you inherited divine traits and spiritual needs -- and just like a fish needs water, you need the gospel and the companionship of the Holy Ghost to be truly, deeply happy. Because you are the offspring of God (see Acts 17:28), it is incompatible with your eternal nature to do wrong and feel right. It cannot be done. It is part of your spiritual DNA, as it were, that peace, joy, and happiness will be yours only to the degree that you live the gospel."

[MaidservantX]

p67

Thomas S. Monson

"As we pray, let us really communicate with our Father in Heaven . . . When we remember that each of us is literally a spirit son or daughter of God, we will not find it difficult to approach Him in prayer. He knows us; He loves us; He wants what is best for us."

[MaidservantX]

p70

L. Tom Perry

"Our Eternal Father did not send us to earth on an aimless, meaningless journey. He provided for us a plan to follow. . . . Quoting from the missionary guide Preach My Gospel: 'God is the Father of our spirits. We are literally his children, and He loves us. We lived as spirit children of our Father in Heaven before we were born on this earth. We were not, however, like our Heavenly Father, nor could we ever become like Him and enjoy all the blessings that He enjoys without the experience of living in mortality with a physical body . . . we understood and accepted this plan before we came to the earth' . . . We first heard about the plan of salvation before we were born, in what the scriptures call our first estate (see Abraham 3:26). What occurred in this first estate is dimly understood, but we do know that we lived there as spirits, children of our Heavenly Father, and we made certain steps of advancement to prepare for the opportunity of housing our eternal spirits in earthly bodies. We also know that our Father held a great council to explain the purpose of earth life. We had the opportunity of accepting or rejecting the plan of salvation. It was not forced upon us . . . A leader was selected to teach us how to follow the plan and to redeem us from sin and death . . Jesus Christ, our Elder Brother, became the leader in advocating the plan designed by the Father, and we accepted the plan and its conditions. With that choice we earned the right to come to earth and enter our second estate."

p 103

Larry W. Gibbons

"You lived with your Heavenly Father in a premortal life. You were there with Him. Your spirit knows what it is like to live in celestial realms. You can never be truly happy in an uncelestial environment. You know too much.[the speaker's italics]"

I think that is all from this most recent General Conference. Happy pondering.

[Gwen]

xhenli,

thank you for sharing those. i enjoyed reading them.

[Shade]

p49

Marcus B. Nash

"In order to have that joy, you need to understand that, as a child of your Heavenly Father, you inherited divine traits and spiritual needs -- and just like a fish needs water, you need the gospel and the companionship of the Holy Ghost to be truly, deeply happy. Because you are the offspring of God (see Acts 17:28), it is incompatible with your eternal nature to do wrong and feel right. It cannot be done. It is part of your spiritual DNA, as it were, that peace, joy, and happiness will be yours only to the degree that you live the gospel."

p 103

Larry W. Gibbons

"You lived with your Heavenly Father in a premortal life. You were there with Him. Your spirit knows what it is like to live in celestial realms. You can never be truly happy in an uncelestial environment. You know too much.[the speaker's italics]"

I think that is all from this most recent General Conference. Happy pondering.

i have only recently begun to understand how true this is! most, maybe even all, of the misery i have ever had in my life has stemmed from my 1) straying from the gospel and it's holy teachings; or 2) never being able to come to terms with this life - it has never felt right or comfortable, i have never felt like i belong in this world. i do not understand it and it just completely overwhelms me!

[Maureen]

"...you need the gospel and the companionship of the Holy Ghost to be truly, deeply happy... It is part of your spiritual DNA, as it were, that peace, joy, and happiness will be yours only to the degree that you live the gospel."

I guess it depends on how happiness can be defined but, I'm sure there are people out there that might be atheist, agnostic, etc that would consider themselves happy, joyful and peaceful.

M.

[MaidservantX]

Maureen,

Who says agnostics and atheists aren't living the gospel? :) I am sure people with these types of world views do experience the spirit and blessings from any universal principles they are incorporating into their lives, which a person like myself would call 'the gospel'.

[Maureen]

Maureen,

Who says agnostics and atheists aren't living the gospel? :) I am sure people with these types of world views do experience the spirit and blessings from any universal principles they are incorporating into their lives, which a person like myself would call 'the gospel'.

Okay, could you define 'the gospel' for me then? :)

M.

[MaidservantX]

Well, a person who is an atheist may still be a person who loves their family and neighbors, who is temperate in his appetites, who meditates and seeks spirit energy from similar practices, who may even share of their means (tithing and fast offering - ?), who is honest and hard working, and so forth. All of these types of things are commandments, and lo, the atheist is KEEPING THE COMMANDMENTS, who knew? The 'definition' of the gospel could very well be another thread -- I think there are some places in the Book of Mormon where Jesus gives some succinct definitions. But for the purpose of this discussion, the gospel can be seen (at least one purpose) as tool for God (the universe) to transmit the knowledge of these kinds of principles so that the individual can benefit from the consequences (the reward) of the commandments/ principles; and also there is support available in fellowship for having, perhaps for some, a greater strength in keeping the commandments and then accessing the joy from them. But obviously the gospel is not the only place to get this information, because people from a lot of different world views are capable of behaving decently and good and enjoying themselves. There is another point though that where did the ideas of ethical (or deeper than 'ethics') behavior come from in the first place? Was this when God was talking to Adam (the Christian might imagine)? And so the atheist benefits from the information God placed on the earth (so the Christian says) without having to go through the bother of believing in God, lol. Fine by me.

[a-train]

Yo,

I, like most of us probably, live, work and play around and with mainly athiests or at least those who don't care either way. Very little of my friends and family are spiritual at all, much less members of the Church or any church; and most of them haven't cracked the scriptures in years if at all in there lifetime. They are stressed, unhappy, many are in therapy or would be if they could afford it. Others are on drugs or alcohol regularly to ease the pains of life. I can hardly say they are happy.

My mother left the Church in the early 1990's to practice homosexuality. She says she 'just can't be happy' without being gay. She tells herself and others she is happy now, but doesn't like to admit the fact that she drinks herself to sleep some nights trying to forget about her financial and lovelife failures and has dealt with low self-esteem issues since her teens.

Plus, there are temple worthy members who are paying tithing, serving in callings, etc. who are unhappy. They are financially strained, over worked, their home is a constant wreck, they are having marital problems, car problems, legal problems, family issues, health issues, and/or a host of other problems that keep them from sleeping well and feeling good. These are Americans who don't have added issues of war and pestilence to directly deal with.

Why is this? How did the Nephites "live according to happiness" while in such a turbulant world? I'll tell you. They had the Spirit. They had the Holy Ghost. There is only one Comforter. Keeping commandments makes one worthy, but if we don't enjoy the Holy Ghost, we will still be unhappy. We must feast upon the words of Christ. We must hunger and thirst after it. We must take full advantage of the gift of the Holy Ghost and then and only then will we be happy. Do we feel that burning in the bosom? If not, we must read the scriptures and ask the LORD to fill us with love, light, and truth. Only when we feel the comfort of revelation and peace from the Holy Ghost can any of us be truly happy. Those who claim otherwise are simply in denial or the dark.

Don't worry be happy.

-atrain

[CrimsonKairos]

I really enjoyed and agree with your post, a-train.

Three of my favorite scriptures testify to the truth of what you talked about.

1 Nephi 11:22-23

And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things.

And he spake unto me, saying: Yea, and the most joyous to the soul.

This scripture breaks life down to what it's all about. The love of God is more desirable than any other thing, because it brings the most joy to the soul. When we don't live the gospel, it's ultimately because we don't believe this. Beneath all the psychology and psychoanalysis, nature vs. nurture, et al, we sin because we think it'll feel better than God's love, or because it's "more fun," or because we want to be miserable, etc...

4 Nephi 1:15-16

And it came to pass that there was no contention in the land, because of the love of God which did dwell in the hearts of the people.

And there were no envyings, nor strifes, nor tumults, nor whoredoms, nor lyings, nor murders, nor any manner of lasciviousness; and surely there could not be a happier people among all the people who had been created by the hand of God.

Notice that last bit: because they had the love of God in their hearts, there could not be a happier people; it wasn't possible to be happier. I like how a-train pointed out that all the things we do that are against the laws of God are meant to make us "happier," yet they never do provide true happiness, let alone lasting happiness.

D&C 11:13

Verily, verily, I say unto you, I will impart unto you of my Spirit, which shall enlighten your mind, which shall fill your soul with joy;

It is the Spirit which fills our soul with joy, and since the love of God is the most joyous to the soul, we need the Spirit to carry the love of God into our hearts.

The sum of the matter is this: If we want to be truly, wholly and lastingly happy, we will eagerly do whatever God asks so that we might be found worthy of the Spirit's presence.

God doesn't ask us to obey Him so He can love us more, but so we can feel His love more.

[MaidservantX]

CK, you've got it exactly right. Even just reading the post gives me deep vibrations of joy, to remember those scriptures. Thanks. And a-train, you said pretty much the same thing as CK. I'm glad you brought these truths to the front of my mind and heart again.

[Rosewood]

<div class='quotemain'>

Maureen,

Who says agnostics and atheists aren't living the gospel? :) I am sure people with these types of world views do experience the spirit and blessings from any universal principles they are incorporating into their lives, which a person like myself would call 'the gospel'.

Okay, could you define 'the gospel' for me then? :)

M.

xhenli, CK, a-train, I'm a little concerned about your responses to Maureen's question. Are you saying that belief in Christ isn't necessarily a part of the Gospel? If it is, I can't agree with you. I probably just misunderstood.

I know that these righteous people will be on earth during the millenium and have the opportunity to accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but I've always believed that belief in Christ specifically is fundamental to salvation. Why else would we call ourselves Christian? Why is it necessary to join the church, perform ordinances, etc, if believe in our redemption and our Redeemer isn't essential? Would you please clarify.

[CrimsonKairos]

My last post wasn't meant as an answer to Maureen. Here's how I define the gospel:

D&C 33:11-12

Yea, repent and be baptized, every one of you, for a remission of your sins; yea, be baptized even by water, and then cometh the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost.

Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my gospel; and remember that they shall have faith in me or they can in nowise be saved;

D&C 39:6

And this is my gospel—repentance and baptism by water, and then cometh the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost, even the Comforter, which showeth all things, and teacheth the peaceable things of the kingdom.

D&C 76:40-42, 50-53

40 And this is the gospel, the glad tidings, which the voice out of the heavens bore record unto us—

41 That he came into the world, even Jesus, to be crucified for the world, and to bear the sins of the world, and to sanctify the world, and to cleanse it from all unrighteousness;

42 That through him all might be saved whom the Father had put into his power and made by him;

50 And again we bear record—for we saw and heard, and this is the testimony of the gospel of Christ concerning them who shall come forth in the resurrection of the just—

51 They are they who received the testimony of Jesus, and believed on his name and were baptized after the manner of his burial, being buried in the water in his name, and this according to the commandment which he has given—

52 That by keeping the commandments they might be washed and cleansed from all their sins, and receive the Holy Spirit by the laying on of the hands of him who is ordained and sealed unto this power;

53 And who overcome by faith, and are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, which the Father sheds forth upon all those who are just and true.

The gospel of Christ is the good news of salvation. We can be cleansed of sin through faith in Christ's atonement, repentance of our sins, baptism by immersion and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost.

[MaidservantX]

Rosewood,

The scripture CK just quoted are the ones I had in mind when I said in an earlier post that there were some definitions in the scriptures.

One thing in this particular thread was, we were not talking about salvation, but joy rather.

Maureen asserted that there were many people who did NOT believe in God who were still very happy people. And I tried to show my opinion that to the degree they were happy was based on the degree that they were living the gospel (in this case, the commandments) even if they would not impute these things to God. And I do think God blesses those who are sincere and try to do good even if they don't believe in him. They may miss out on greater blessings, of course, and eventually they will need to choose true salvation or not. We say that we get blessings predicated on our obedience to law and even atheists who are decent people are living many laws that result in blessings, including joy.

This would only be a portion of the gospel, just as we say that other religions enjoy some truth, a portion of the gospel, but are missing a great deal of it.

[Rosewood]

Thank you for that; both of you. Those scriptures give me such peace. I love the gospel because it includes everyone. No matter where you are spiritually, the Lord has planned for you. The path may be straight and narrow, but we have many paths that lead to it; one for each of us.

[a-train]

xhenli, CK, a-train, I'm a little concerned about your responses to Maureen's question. Are you saying that belief in Christ isn't necessarily a part of the Gospel? If it is, I can't agree with you. I probably just misunderstood.

Rosewood, My first post wasn't in answer to the "define the gospel" question. I was talking about how man is to be happy. I mean simply that man cannot be happy without the Holy Ghost regardless of worldly circumsances. Plus, even if a man has the Gospel and believes in Christ, this is still not enough. A man must "feast upon the words of Christ" and gain the "Comforter" to be happy.

As far as the Gospel is concerned, the Prophet Joseph Smith published this statement in The Prophet's Answer to Sundry Questions "The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it. But in connection with these, we believe in the gift of the Holy Ghost, the power of faith, the enjoyment of the spiritual gifts according to the will of God, the restoration of the house of Israel, and the final triumph of truth." (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith Section 3, p. 119)

Indeed, JESUS CHRIST IS THE GOSPEL and "all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to [HIM]."

God Bless

-a-train

[Rosewood]

Thank you, I figured that out.