by Eric Kotter, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (“Mormon“). Eric is a student at BYU-Idaho studying communications.
Before Life: We Are God’s Children
It is wonderful to me to know that life really has a meaningful purpose. As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Inadvertently called by friends of other faiths as the “Mormon Church”), I’ve learned we are not here by accident.
I’ve come to know for myself that we are all literally spirit sons and daughters of God himself. Before life on earth we lived with God. While we were with God, He taught us and helped us grow as His spirit children. He knows each one of us in a very personal way, and He wants us all to be happy, to learn, and to grow and become like Him and receive the blessings He has. I think that it is such a wonderful thing to know who we are! It gives me strength to carry on through life. To know that God is our Heavenly Father, and that He loves us tremendously, lifts us up.
We have divinity in us. We all have the potential as children of God, to become like Him. He wants us to be happy, to experience joy and overcome challenges so we can become better individuals. Before life, God called all of us together for a big meeting in heaven. In this meeting we learned that God had a plan of happiness for us that would enable us to become more like Him. In modern day scripture written by revelation from God, we learn that “The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s,” (Doctrine and Covenants 130:22) As part of this plan, the Lord would create the earth and give us the opportunity to obtain a mortal body and experience life. He gave us the opportunity to make choices whether to do good or evil–to follow Him or not. We learned of the gospel of Jesus Christ before life and that it is by following the teachings of Jesus Christ with faith in Him, that we will be able to return to live in heaven with God. We were told that we would forget our pre-mortal life and would need to walk by faith.
We would not, however, be left alone on this earth. Heavenly Father has given His gospel through living prophets. Even now in modern times there are living prophets which testify as to how we can return back to Heavenly Father. Before life here on earth, Jesus Christ volunteered to be our Savior and come to this earth to suffer for our sins so that those who go astray from God’s commandments can still come back to live with God through repentance. This is what will lead us back to live with Him .
Having a knowledge that before life I was with God and that He is my Heavenly Father, gives me an added measure of strength and confidence. Even though I am imperfect, I know that I can face any challenge He asks me to face because I am a child of God. There is one occasion when I was feeling particularly discouraged with my life and a little overwhelmed with challenges that I was facing. I was at college at a dance, and I was thinking about my challenging situation. I decided to step outside the building to think for awhile. I remembered what I knew, that I was a son of God. I pondered how I had been sent to this earth not to fail, but to succeed. I felt a quiet assurance that I could succeed in life, because I really am a son of God. I felt that with His help, I could overcome any challenge, and rise above discouragement.
On another occasion, I was feeling much the same way. I was feeling particularly concerned about my future, so I decided to kneel down and pray in my room. As I prayed, I started by talking about all of my problems and concerns with Heavenly Father, as I so often do, and I decided to just stop and be still. I felt that I needed to be quiet for a change and just listen to what Heavenly Father was trying to say to me. As I did, I felt a peaceful, comforting feeling of God’s love for me. I felt that He really cared about me, and was very aware of me and my problems. I felt that the Lord would be with me to help me as I journey forward in my life. I felt so loved and worthy before Him and that I was not alone. There’s really no way that I can completely describe what I felt, but it was real and it was very personal. He gives me His strength through Jesus Christ, to become more like Him–to become more kind, patient, loving, understanding of others, and just to become a better person. I know that God knew me before life here on earth, and that He still knows me and watches over me now.
When I think about what really matters in life, I think about people. Serving those around us is what gives life its meaning. I know that this is how Heavenly Father feels about us. He wants to serve and help us. That is why He created the earth for us and gave us the opportunity to come here and gain experience. I testify that Heavenly Father, and His Son Jesus Christ are real, and that they love us. I’ve seen evidence of His love and care in my life, especially when I pray to Him and feel His sweet peace and reassurance. I know that He loves each of us. I would like to add a quote from a living apostle of Jesus Christ, Dieter F. Uchdorf:
And while we may look at the vast expanse of the universe and say, “What is man in comparison to the glory of creation?” God Himself said we are the reason He created the universe! His work and glory—the purpose for this magnificent universe—is to save and exalt mankind.
Additional Resources:
Learn more about our life before life.
We lived with God before life on earth.
Request a free copy of The Book of Mormon.