What is our purpose?

One of my favorite things to think about is where we were before we came to earth. We were living as spirits in what is known as the pre-mortal life. We lived with God and eventually reached a point where we could not progress anymore without coming to earth and receiving a body. We needed to be in a setting where we could learn to choose good while being equally enticed with good and evil.

God presented His plan and Jesus Christ offered himself to be our Savior, which meant that we needed to have faith in Him starting from that point. Without Christ’s atonement, we would not have any hope of ever overcoming death or progressing. We would be lost forever. Jacob from the Book of Mormon explains clearly what would happen without Christ’s atonement. 2 Nephi 9:

7 Wherefore, it must needs be an infinite atonement—save it should be an infinite atonement this corruption could not put on incorruption. Wherefore, the first judgment which came upon man must needs have remained to an endless duration. And if so, this flesh must have laid down to rot and to crumble to its mother earth, to rise no more.

8 O the wisdom of God, his mercy and grace! For behold, if the flesh should rise no more our spirits must become subject to that angel who fell from before the presence of the Eternal God, and became the devil, to rise no more.

Because of Jesus Christ, we can have hope. We can choose between eternal life or eternal misery (2 Nephi 2:26).

The reason I mention that we had to have faith in Him starting at that point is because not everyone did. Lucifer also offered himself but said that he would take away our ability to choose so that we would all be saved and that the glory would be his, not the Father’s (Moses 4:1-3). Satan was then cast out and became the devil. A third of the hosts of heaven followed him. Everyone who is here on earth chose to follow Christ and that is the main reason I am sharing this message. We all chose to follow Heavenly Father’s plan and have Christ as our redeemer. We all knew who Christ was and we put all our faith in Him and trusted Him to redeem us. I am so grateful for Him and His selflessness. I am also grateful for Heavenly Father sacrificing His only begotten son for our sake. I do not understand fully the amount of pain that Christ experienced but I try to be more grateful for Him each day. I hope that we can remember Him and allow Him to cleanse us from sin and the things that drag us down in our lives.