I don't mean to harp on this idea of death, BUT as you would assume, it opens questions. I want to talk about my beliefs on life after physical death. I think people care about it - even though most would rather not think about it & just play the game of wait & see. Because for most - it's just heaven or hell & the average person doesn't think they are bad enough to go to hell. Some believe if you're not baptized in their church (or I guess their religion?) you're going to hell. You tell me, but either way I can tell you I think differently.
However, it's hard to talk about gospel principles & not get deep into it. But that will only open more doors & more questions which is a GREAT thing BUT we will be here all day. And you will be overwhelmed (if you even read it all). I will be overwhelmed. So I'm not ready to discuss that yet. I have to figure out how to tell the main ideas, which has always been my weakness on Language tests. I get caught up on the details. Which can be the worst thing sometimes. You have to see the bigger picture first. You have to be open-minded & really seek an answer (through prayer, scripture study etc...) to find truth and then precept upon precept your mind will have the ability to comprehend greater concepts, principles & details.
Even though I feel like I have a good idea - there is still a lot I have to learn; there are still questions that I think are worth us asking. My grandmother was not Mormon, but she was Christian. I believe she grew up Baptist all her life. Not sure what kind of Baptist. I'm not even sure how many Baptist-like churches are out there. (basically I'm saying there are a lot of Christian churches that teach/focus on various things & I don't know what those are). I think there is a lot of confusion & most people decide based on whether or not they like their preacher or pastor or maybe it's your heritage. It's a church, and whether or not you believe everything they preach, you generally think they are good & you generally think you are good because you're going to a church. Does anyone think their church has the complete truth? I do. When I have asked people about whether or not there is one true church on the earth today, I feel like they knocked the idea. Again, "church is just good" - where ever you go. ehhhhh. We can at least agree that church is good, but there is good, better & best! Because if truth is missing - what happens to those parts? Does that verywell mean that some things are being taught incorrectly or just simply ignored? It's interesting. Who has the power from God to lead his church on the earth? Do you think no such man has that power? Do you even think we need that power?! I'll stick with Christian churches because well, we believe Christ is the Son of God. And it is through Him that we have any religious authority here on the earth.
But I didn't want to go there either . . . at least not yet. I wanted to talk about the general
Plan of Salvation
I believe our spirits existed before we came to earth. Before we were born on earth, we lived with God. We are his spirit sons & daughters. And that makes us all spirit brothers & sisters. Sound crazy? More crazy than a big boom? I'll keep going then. Because we are His sons & daughters we have a divine nature & destiny. Please, please believe that. We are created in his image. But until we came to earth, we didn't have physical bodies. (I know it's weird to comprehend us just existing as spirits with intelligence but it's true. we did) We call that our premortal life or pre-earth life. Some Christians don't believe in this, but have you met certain people that you feel instantly connected to - as if you knew them from before? We knew of God's plan. All of us sided with Christ. We chose to be here.
Here. Even though our existence on earth is such a small moment in the reality of eternity... it is a HUGE part of God's divine plan. Why did we need to come to earth? Why did we need to be veiled from what we once knew? Why do we have to go through all this joy AND sorrow? All excellent questions. We needed #1 to gain a physical body (to become more like God) & #2 to learn to choose between good & evil. We needed to CHOOSE who we would follow (Satan or Jesus Christ). This would allow us to gain more intelligence & faith, which again allows us to be more like Him. We were not left completely blind. We have several things to help us namely the Holy Ghost, scriptures, family, etc...
Obviously you have more questions, but like I said we're sticking with the main & essential concepts. Our Heavenly Father (God) sent His Son (Jesus Christ) to show us the way. It is by the Atonement (Christ's suffering of our sins & rising from the dead) & our faith (obedience to commandments etc...) that we have a way back {grace AND work}. Jesus is the first born spirit son of our Heavenly Father (and the only begotten Son of God in the flesh). Most people don't believe they are two separate beings. I believe that although they are one in purpose, God & Jesus Christ are two distinct beings.
Christ's Atonement allows us to overcome physical AND spiritual death. EVERY ONE of us will be resurrected like Christ was and live forever in perfected bodies after we leave this life. It has come to my attention that not everyone believes we will be reunited with our physical bodies. I do. We will overcome physical death. {I'm not sure who believes that when we die, that's it. That sounds awfully sad, unfair & everything else horrible.} BUT spiritual life is a little less blanketed.
And very much a new discussion in its entirety. Did you even read all of this?
The best part is still to come.
Comments
Post a Comment