This lesson is, in my opinion, a particularly joyful one. It does a fantastic job summarizing nearly all the most basic principles of the gospel while additionally instilling a greater hope and motivation for our future. Reminders of what really matter are the backbone to this lesson. Let me just give you the chapter headings...
-We lived as spirits before we came to earth, and our spirits will continue living after we die
-Our purpose here on earth is to prepare ourselves to live with our Heavenly Father
-During this life we should seek after those things that are of eternal worth
-Because of Jesus Christ, we will be resurrected
-Our knowledge of the immortality of the soul inspires, encourages and comforts us
Where did we come from? Why are we here? Where are we going? How do we get there? What a joyous blessing it is to have the answers to all these questions!
Where did we come from?
"Our belief is that we lived before we came here; that which is
intelligence, that which is spirit, did not have its beginning in this
life. We believe that we received a spiritual tabernacle before we came
into this world. That spiritual body was sent to this world, and here it
received a physical tabernacle, the body which we see." (Manual, page 69)
This doctrine and belief that we didn't begin our existence upon our mortal birth, or even upon conception, is of great significance.
What else does this doctrine lead us to believe? What else does this principle help clarify? (That we were male and female before we received our bodies, that we earned the right to come to earth, that we had an understanding of what we would be doing by coming to this mortal existence, that even though our bodies are of the earth, our spiritual tabernacle will always remain in tact etc.)
We know that our spiritual tabernacle "knows no death; it simply passes from this sphere of eternal life , and awaits there the purification of the physical tabernacle, until the time it will be reunited with this tabernacle, which will be glorified..." (page 69)
Additionally, with this knowledge our timeline of life changes. Instead of thinking of our 60-100 years of life as all we've got, or even thinking of mortality and the hereafter as our existence, we know that our timeline is much greater. Our eternity doesn't start after death and it doesn't start here. It started long ago.
The moments of our earthly existence are but a fraction of our eternal timeline.
Doesn't this give you a different perspective on life? For me, this knowledge of our true eternal existence sheds a completely different light on life. It casts shadows on the trials of mortality that are far less severe and scary.
Why are we here?
We know who we are and we know that this life is part of our eternity, part of our journey to become like God. But what express purpose are we here for? What can we do here that can not be done without a body? (the key word here is 'do')
"This life was not given to us as a past time."(page 70) We are not simply treading water or hanging out in the waiting room. We are here to work, on ourselves, with other people.
"We are here to prepare ourselves and develop ourselves and qualify
ourselves to be worthy to dwell in the presence of our Heavenly Father." (70) What my favorite professor deemed "The Sacred Purposes of Life" would likewise describe the reason for our mortal life. We're here to:
1. Become like Christ
2. Build eternal relationships
3. Develop skills of mortality
To me, these tasks seem more than a little daunting. But we can do it!
"We believe that we are here because we kept our first estate and earned
the privilege of coming to this earth. We believe that our very
existence is a reward for our faithfulness before we came here, and that
we are enjoying on earth the fruits of our efforts in the spirit world." (page 70)
We are here BECAUSE we can do it. We have already done hard things. We've already proven ourselves once, now we just have to get to work!
Where are we going?
Why should we work so hard? What are we working towards?
"Eternal life is to us the sum of pre-existence, present existence, and
the continuation of life in immortality, holding out to us the power of
endless progression and increase...What a happy people we should be with the knowledge we have that this probation is not to prepare us to die, but to live" (Page 71)
"Remember that it is the intelligence that you acquire that is eternal,
the truth which you learn here and apply in your lives, the knowledge
and experience you gain and profit by—these you will take with you when
you go home." (page 72)
During this life we should seek after those things that are of eternal worth
What then, are we to DO in this life?
"The things that are eternal, the things that are “worth while,” are
those eternal things that we reach out for, and prepare ourselves to
receive, and lay hold of by the effort that we individually make." (page 71)
What does this quote bring to your mind?
When I read this quote three sayings came to mind:
1. Salvation not a cheap experience
2. Nothing worth having comes easily
3. You get what you pay for
Living is work. Living well, making choices the Lord would have us make, is HARD work. There are many, many things we should do/work on, and there are many things we should NOT do (so many that I'm not going to even attempt to list them). Among those mentioned in this lesson are to learn:
-Not to seek the creature comforts
-Not to seek the honors of man
-Not to seek those things that selfishness puts into our souls
-Not to set ourselves up and prefer ourselves to our Father's other children
(selfishness, pride, and physical comfort)
-"Let us not be lulled to sleep, let us not be deceived by the abundance of good things of this world" (page 72)
-"We will be happier serving our fellows than we could possibly be in any other way" (page 73) (Service to others)
"The Lord cares more about our character than he does our comfort" Mom
"It is not so important how many valuables you may have, how much
property you may possess, and how many of the honors of men you may
acquire, and all those things that are so desirable in the world. The
thing that God has given to you that is worth more than all the rest is
the opportunity to obtain eternal life in the celestial kingdom and have
as your companions, throughout the ages of eternity, sons and
daughters, husbands and wives with whom you have associated here on
earth." (page 73)
Because of Jesus Christ, we will be resurrected
When know where we are going BECAUSE of our Savior. It was the path that He paved that allows us to overcome the grave as he did.
"Jesus Christ
was a man without sin. By reason of His purity, His uprightness and His
virtue, He was able to unlock the doors of the prison, to overcome
death and the grave, and pioneer the way … unto that heaven where we
expect to go." (page 74)
What do we know about our own resurrection? Let's turn to Doctrine and Covenant 88.
-Verse 15 tells us that the soul of man in comprised both of the body and the spirit
-Verse 16 tells us that the redemption of that soul IS the resurrection
-Verse 17 tells us that it is the Lord that makes that redemption possible
-Verse 18 tells us that it is the very same bodies while living on the earth (not some other bodies) that will be resurrected and returned to our spirits
-Verses 29-31 tell us that our bodies will be redeemed to the degree of glory we have earned.
Verses 32 tells us that once we are resurrection we will go to that kingdom which we have earned and will receive (those who have not earned the Celestial kingdom would not receive/want to be there, they wouldn't feel comfortable even if they were permitted to be there)
"...the spirits that possess these tabernacles now will inhabit the same tabernacles after they have been cleansed and purified and immortalized." (page 74)
Again, I think it's important to reiterate that we will be the same people in our resurrected bodies that we are when we die. Hence how imperative it is that we work hard NOW to become the people we WANT to become.
How can we teach our children and those around us about the atonement and resurrection?
The knowledge of the resurrection is so crucial to our understanding of the purpose of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is "to prepare every man, woman and child for the time when all those who have
died will be brought forth from their graves, and when our Heavenly
Father will establish his kingdom upon this earth and the righteous will
dwell there and Jesus Christ will be our King and our Law-giver." (page 74)
"Without that understanding it seems to me there would be little
happiness for those who are living in mature years, waiting for the time
when the spirit leaves the body to go they know not where." (page 75)
So much of our outlook on life/eternal perspective, and direction is guided by our purpose. Without a knowledge of the resurrection one might find them far from that iron rod, lost in the fog. How important it is to first gain our own testimony of the resurrection and then to teach those we love!
Our knowledge of the immortality of the soul inspires, encourages, and comforts us.
How much of what we do is a result of our understanding of eternity? If there was no life after death, what would you do differently? Would you take the same care of your body? Would you work as hard at your relationships? Would you take the time to help build up yourself and others?
"If, when our life's labor on was finished, we had no opportunity to go on developing, there would be little to inspire us to live as we should here. The knowledge that all the good we accomplish here, and all the development we make, will enhance our happiness eternally, encourages us to do our best."
Luckily, the Lord loves us and has made certain we know His plan. We know:
-He lives, has a body and created us in His image
-He is a personal God
-Our spirits are begotten by him
-He gave us the opportunity to come to Earth and receive a physical tabernacle so we can prepare to return to his presence and live eternally with him
-Jesus Christ was the manifestation of God in the flesh
-There will be a literally resurrection from the dead
"these are the truths that are fundamental" (page 76) If we have a testimony of these things, we have our foundation to build our faith upon.
Knowing this, the hardest parts of this life become easier. Death, for instance, becomes less of a tragedy and is instead realized as a step towards "increasing happiness and advantages that we cannot know in mortality." (page 76) We know that the "Lord has not left us without hope. On the contrary he has given us every assurance of eternal happiness, if we will accept his advice and counsel while here in mortality." (page 77) Whatever the current struggle we face, whether it's the death of a loved one, illness, or simple, everyday hardships of life, our eternal perspective allows us to see things a little clearer.
We are so extremely blessed to have endless resources in the gospel. From our scriptures, to conference talks, to lds.org, we have been given more knowledge than one man could ever consume in this life. If we have a desire for an understanding of His plan and for a hope of the future all we need to do is seek it out. The understanding and testimony of these things (and more) will be given to us as we consciously make an effort to find them. It is work, but an eternally rewarding kind of work. Though progress and growth are hard, seemingly impossibly, I know it will be worth it. We will be blessed.
"If those who have passed on could speak to us, they would say, 'Press on, press on, for the goal that will bring us eternal happiness together.' Do the things the Lord would have you do, and you will not miss anything that is worth while; but on the contrary you will be continually laying up treasures in heaven where moth and rust cannot corrupt or thieves break through and steal [Matthew 6:19-20]" (page 77)
“Just when all seems to be going right, challenges often come in multiple doses applied simultaneously. When those trials are not consequences of your disobedience, they are evidence that the Lord feels you are prepared to grow more. He therefore gives you experiences that stimulate growth, understanding, and compassion which polish you for your everlasting benefit. To get you from where you are to where He wants you to be requires a lot of stretching and that generally entails discomfort and pain…To exercise faith is to trust that the Lord knows what He is doing though you cannot understand how He can possible do it…”
