“The most important events that ever have or will
occur in all eternity…are the Creation, the Fall, and the Atonement……..the
Creation, the Fall, and the Atonement are inseparably woven together to form
one plan of salvation….No one of them stands alone, each of them ties into the
other two; and without a knowledge of all of them, it is not possible to know
the truth about any of them….(Bruce R. McConkie, “Christ and the Creation”,
Ensign, June 1982, p 9)
Elder McConkie called these three eternal verities,
“Three
Pillars of Eternity”. Without them we cannot progress to godhood. Here is the
purpose of the Creation of this planet which is the basis and foundation of the
other two:
1.
To
obtain a temporal body which will one day become immortal.
2.
To
obtain a fulness of joy through resurrection and immortality.
3.
The
power of procreation, which is the primary blessing of godhood.
4.
For
the second stage of testing. During the first stage, in our first estate when
we were spirits (Abraham 3:25,26), one third of us chose to forsake the
struggle and the tutoring. This alone proves that godhood is not for the faint
hearted.
One crucial purpose of this particular planet was for
the enactment of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. This planet is home to the
worst and the best of us. No other planet created and peopled by God would
crucify their God (2 Nephi 10:3; Moses 7:36). Without the Atonement, the Plan
of Salvation would have been arrested.
“In the theology of the restored Church of Jesus
Christ, the purpose of mortal life is to prepare us to realise our destiny as
sons and daughters of God – to become like Him….. The Bible describes mortals
as ‘the children of God’ and as ‘heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ
(Romans 8:16-17)”. (President Dallin H. Oaks, “Apostasy
and Restoration”, Ensign May 1995, 86-87)
I long to be where I once was,
A child in my eternal home.
I long to see the God of love
And with Him walk the heaven’s floor.
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
(Art: He Lifts Me by Danny Hahlbohm)
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