The Purpose of Mortality in the Great Plan of Happiness

All purposes of Mortality Not Revealed

D&C 101:32-33

D&C 101:32-33 [Speaking of the millennium]

Yea, verily I say unto you, in that day when the Lord shall come, he shall reveal all things --

Things which have passed, and hidden things which no man knew, things of the earth, by which it was made, and the purpose and the end thereof–

George Q. Cannon (1827-1901) First Presidency

God has placed us here upon the earth to accomplish important purposes. These purposes have been in part revealed unto us. Probably it is not possible for men and women in this mortal state of existence to comprehend all the designs of God connected with man’s existence upon the earth; but much has been revealed upon this subject to us as a people. (Gospel Truth, 2 Vols., sel. Jerreld L. Newquist [1987], 1:11)

What are the revealed purposes of this mortal existence?

Both prophets and scripture have revealed at least four purposes. President Ezra Taft Benson summaries these objectives:

Ezra Taft Benson (1899-1994) President

Four Revealed Purposes of Mortality

Life has a fourfold purpose. First of all, we come to this mortal life to receive a physical, mortal body. Without a physical body man is limited in his progression and only with a spirit and a body united together permanently can man receive a fulness of joy; so we are living today part of eternity. We accepted that plan in the spirit world before we came here, and we rejoiced at the opportunity of coming here.

Second, we came here to gain experience--experience with a physical, mortal world.

The third purpose of life is to give us an opportunity to prove ourselves (Abr. 3:25). To prove that even in the presence of evil and sin we can live a good life. To prove that in spite of temptation that we have the strength and the character to adhere to the principles of the gospel.

And fourth this life is intended to provide an opportunity to help our Father in Heaven with His great plan, and we do that through honorable parenthood. We cooperate with our Heavenly Father in helping to prepare tabernacles to house spirits of His children. So the matter of marriage, the home, and the family is a vital part of the plan of our Heavenly Father . . . So the whole purpose of the Church is to help and assist us in carrying out these purposes in life. (Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson [1988], pp. 27-28)

Obtaining a Physical Body

Obtaining a Physical BodyD&C 93:33-34

For man is spirit. The elements are eternal, and spirit and element, inseparably connected, receive a fulness of joy; and when separated, man cannot receive a fulness of joy.

Obtaining a Physical BodyDavid A. Bednar Quorum of the Twelve Apostles Our physical bodies make possible a breadth, a depth, and an intensity of experience that simply could not be obtained in our premortal existence. Thus, our relationships with other people, our capacity to recognize and act in accordance with truth, and our ability to obey the principles and ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ are amplified through our physical bodies. In the school of mortality, we experience tenderness, love, kindness, happiness, sorrow, disappointment, pain, and even the challenges of physical limitations in ways that prepare us for eternity. Simply stated, there are lessons we must learn and experiences we must have, as the scriptures describe, “according to the flesh” (1 Nephi 19:6; Alma 7:12-13). (“We Believe in Being Chaste,” Ensign, May 2013)

Spencer W. Kimball (1895-1985) President One definite purpose of our spirits coming to this earth and assuming the mortal state was to obtain a physical body. This body was to be subject to all the weaknesses, temptations, frailties and limitations of mortality, and was to face the challenge to overcome self. (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball,[2006] p. 4)

Gain Experience Through the Knowledge of Good and Evil

D&C 29:39

D&C 29:39 And it must needs be that the devil should tempt the children of men, or they could not be agents unto themselves; for if they never should have bitter they could not know the sweet--

James E. Talmage (1862-1933) Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

James E. Talmage (1862-1933) Quorum of the Twelve Apostles A knowledge of good and evil is essential to the advancement that God has made possible for His children to achieve; and this knowledge can be best gained by actual experience, with the contrasts of good and its opposite plainly discernible. Therefore has man been placed upon earth subject to the influence of good and wicked powers, with a knowledge of the conditions surrounding him, and the heaven-born right to choose for himself. (Articles of Faith [1958], p.53-54)

A knowledge of good and evil is essential to progress, and the school of experience in mortality has been provided for the acquirement of such knowledge. (The Vitality of Mormonism [1919], p.46)

Brigham Young (1801-1877) President

The reason of our being made subject to sin and misery, pain, woe, and death, is, that we may become acquainted with the opposites of happiness and pleasure. The absence of light brings darkness, and darkness an appreciation of light; pain an appreciation of ease and comfort; and ignorance, falsehood, folly, and sin, in comparison with wisdom, knowledge, righteousness, and truth, make the latter the more desirable to mankind. Facts are made apparent to the human mind by their opposites. We find ourselves surrounded in this mortality by an almost endless combination of opposites, through which we must pass to gain experience and information to fit us for an eternal progression. (Journal of Discourses, 26 vols. [1854-86], 11:42-43; emphasis added)

Brigham Young (1801-1877) President

The reason of our being made subject to sin and misery, pain, woe, and death, is, that we may become acquainted with the opposites of happiness and pleasure. The absence of light brings darkness, and darkness an appreciation of light; pain an appreciation of ease and comfort; and ignorance, falsehood, folly, and sin, in comparison with wisdom, knowledge, righteousness, and truth, make the latter the more desirable to mankind. Facts are made apparent to the human mind by their opposites. We find ourselves surrounded in this mortality by an almost endless combination of opposites, through which we must pass to gain experience and information to fit us for an eternal progression. (Journal of Discourses, 26 vols. [1854-86], 11:42-43; emphasis added)

First Presidency (Joseph F. Smith, President)

God, doubtless, could avert war, prevent crime, destroy poverty, chase away darkness, overcome error, and make all things bright, beautiful and joyful. But this would involve the destruction of a vital and fundamental attribute in man -- the right of agency. It is for the benefit of His sons and daughters that they become acquainted with evil as well as good, with darkness as well as light, with error as well as truth, and with the results of the infraction of eternal laws. Therefore he has permitted the evils which have been brought about by the acts of His creatures, but will control their ultimate results for His own glory and the progress and exaltation of His sons and daughters, when they have learned obedience by the things they suffer. The contrasts experienced in this world of mingled sorrow and joy are educational in their nature, and will be the means of raising humanity to a full appreciation of all that is right and true and good. (Messages of the First Presidency, 4:325-326)

First Presidency (Joseph F. Smith, President)

God, doubtless, could avert war, prevent crime, destroy poverty, chase away darkness, overcome error, and make all things bright, beautiful and joyful. But this would involve the destruction of a vital and fundamental attribute in man -- the right of agency. It is for the benefit of His sons and daughters that they become acquainted with evil as well as good, with darkness as well as light, with error as well as truth, and with the results of the infraction of eternal laws. Therefore he has permitted the evils which have been brought about by the acts of His creatures, but will control their ultimate results for His own glory and the progress and exaltation of His sons and daughters, when they have learned obedience by the things they suffer. The contrasts experienced in this world of mingled sorrow and joy are educational in their nature, and will be the means of raising humanity to a full appreciation of all that is right and true and good. (Messages of the First Presidency, 4:325-326)

To Prove Ourselves

Abraham 3:24-25

To Prove Ourselves

Abraham 3:24-25

And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell; And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them.

To Prove Ourselves

Abraham 3:24-25

And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell; And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them.

To Prove Ourselves

D&C 98:12-15

To Prove Ourselves

D&C 98:12-15

For he will give unto the faithful line upon line, precept upon precept; and I will try you and prove you herewith. And whoso layeth down his life in my cause, for my name's sake, shall find it again, even life eternal. Therefore, be not afraid of your enemies, for I have decreed in my heart, saith the Lord, that I will prove you in all things, whether you will abide in my covenant, even unto death, that you may be found worthy. For if ye will not abide in my covenant ye are not worthy of me.

To Prove Ourselves

D&C 98:12-15

To Prove Ourselves

D&C 98:12-15

To Prove Ourselves

Joseph Smith (1805-44) President

After a person has faith in Christ, repents of his sins, and is baptized for the remission of his sins and receives the Holy Ghost, (by the laying on of hands),which is the first Comforter, then let him continue to humble himself before God, hungering and thirsting after righteousness, and living by every word of God, and the Lord will soon say unto him, Son, thou shalt be exalted. When the Lord has thoroughly proved him, and finds that the man is determined to serve Him at all hazards, then the man will find his calling and his election made sure . . . (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith [1938], p. 150)

To Prove Ourselves

Joseph Smith (1805-44) President

After a person has faith in Christ, repents of his sins, and is baptized for the remission of his sins and receives the Holy Ghost, (by the laying on of hands),which is the first Comforter, then let him continue to humble himself before God, hungering and thirsting after righteousness, and living by every word of God, and the Lord will soon say unto him, Son, thou shalt be exalted. When the Lord has thoroughly proved him, and finds that the man is determined to serve Him at all hazards, then the man will find his calling and his election made sure . . . (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith [1938], p. 150)

To Prove Ourselves

We have got to be watchful, for I tell you God has sent us here to test us and to prove us. We were true in keeping our first estate. The people that are here today stood loyally by God and by Jesus, and they did not flinch. If you had flinched then, you would not be here with the Priesthood upon you. The evidence that you were loyal, that you were true and that you did not waver is to be found in the fact that you have received the Gospel and the everlasting Priesthood. Now you are in your second estate, and you are going to be tested again. Will you be true and loyal to God with the curtain drawn between you and Him, shut out from His presence, and in the midst of darkness and temptation, with Satan and his invisible hosts all around you, bringing all manner of evil influences to bear upon you? The men and the women that will be loyal under these circumstances God will exalt, because it will be the highest test to which they can be subjected. (Gospel Truth, 2 Vols., sel. Jerreld L. Newquist [1987], 1:7)

To Prove Ourselves

David A. Bednar Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

To some degree, the natural man described by King Benjamin is alive and well in each of us (see Mosiah 3:19). The natural man or woman is unrepentant, is carnal and sensual (see Mosiah 16:5; Alma 42:10; Moses 5:13), is indulgent and excessive, and is prideful and selfish. As President Spencer W. Kimball taught, “The ‘natural man’ is the ‘earthy man’ who has allowed rude animal passions to overshadow his spiritual inclinations” (Ensign, Nov. 1974, 112). In contrast, the “man [or woman] of Christ” (Helaman 3:29) is spiritual and bridles all passions (see Alma 38:12), is temperate and restrained, and is benevolent and selfless. Men and women of Christ lay hold upon the word of God, deny themselves and take up His cross (see Matthew 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23; D&C 56:2), and press forward along a strait and narrow course of faithfulness, obedience, and devotion to the Savior and His gospel.

To Prove Ourselves

David A. Bednar Quorum of the Twelve Apostles As sons and daughters of God, we have inherited divine capacities from Him. But we presently live in a fallen world. The very elements out of which our bodies were created are by nature fallen and ever subject to the pull of sin, corruption, and death. Consequently, the Fall of Adam and its spiritual and temporal consequences affect us most directly through our physical bodies. And yet we are dual beings, for our spirit that is the eternal part of us is tabernacled in a physical body that is subject to the Fall. As Jesus emphasized to the Apostle Peter, “The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41).

To Prove Ourselves

The precise nature of the test of mortality, then, can be summarized in the following question: Will I respond to the inclinations of the natural man, or will I yield to the enticings of the Holy Spirit and put off the natural man and become a saint through the Atonement of Christ the Lord (see Mosiah 3:19)? That is the test. Every appetite, desire, propensity, and impulse of the natural man may be overcome by and through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. We are here on the earth to develop godlike qualities and to bridle all of the passions of the flesh. (“We Believe in Being Chaste,” Ensign, May 2013)

David A. Bednar Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

To Have and Raise a Righteous Posterity

The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

The Lord’s plan of salvation requires that you pass through trials in this mortal life. Those trials seem to be greatest when you reach [parenthood], but be assured—[parenthood], in a sense, is an apprenticeship to godhood. (“Father Consider Your Ways,” Ensign, June 2002)

First Presidency Statement (Heber J. Grant, President)

The Lord has told us that it is the duty of every husband and wife to obey the command given to Adam to multiply and replenish the earth, so that the legions of choice spirits waiting for their tabernacles of flesh may come here and move forward under God's great design to become perfect souls, for without these fleshly tabernacles they cannot progress to their God-planned destiny. Thus, every husband and wife should become a father and mother in Israel to children born under the holy, eternal covenant. By bringing these choice spirits to earth, each father and each mother assume towards the tabernacled spirit and towards the Lord Himself by having taken advantage of the opportunity He offered, an obligation of the most sacred kind, because the fate of that spirit in the eternities to come, the blessings or punishments which shall await it in the hereafter, depend, in great part, upon the care, the teachings, the training which the parents shall give to that spirit.

No parent can escape that obligation and that responsibility, and for the proper meeting thereof, the Lord will hold us to a strict accountability. No loftier duty than this can be assumed by mortals. (Conference Report, October 1942, p.12-13)

(Conference Report, October 1942, p.12-13)

The First Presidency Statement (Heber J. Grant, President)

The Purpose of Mortality in the Great Plan of Happiness

important purposes

purpose of mortality

hidden things

mortal state of existence

designs of god

gospel truth

millennium yea

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