One of life's greatest questions is, where did we come from?
It is a powerful question and one
that has been answered by ancient and modern prophets.
Mormons--properly referred to as members of The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints--believe that before all
people were born on earth, we lived as spirits with God,
our Heavenly Father.
In God's presence, we learned of His plan to provide each of us
an opportunity to come to earth to receive a physical body.
The Old Testament prophet Jeremiah learned one truth
about the reality of our premortal life
when God spoke to him and said, "Before I formed thee
in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out
of the womb I sanctified thee."
At birth, all people receive a physical body
but, by God's design, are unable to remember their experiences
in God's presence before they were born.
This allows for life on earth to be
a time of testing, an opportunity to learn of God
and develop our faith in Him as we prepare to return to Him.
Some people have difficulty understanding
that their existence before life on earth could be forgotten.
The fact that we do not recall the first few years
of early childhood does not mean that we didn't exist,
that we didn't eat, play, laugh, and interact
with family and friends.
So it is with our premortal existence, our existence
before we were born as mortal beings on earth.
In God's presence, we lived, grew, and learned,
yet we cannot recall those former activities.
Our mortal life has purpose.
God Himself stated, "For behold, this is my work
and my glory--to bring to pass the immortality and eternal
life of man."
Our premortal experiences in heaven
and our mortal experiences on earth
are part of God's plan to bless us
with immortality and eternal life.
This plan is called the plan of salvation
and was presented by Heavenly Father to all of His children
in the premortal life.
Part of that plan required a Savior
to suffer and die for our sins.
Jesus Christ willingly accepted that role
and was born on earth for that purpose.
Another vital aspect of that plan
is every person's ability to use their personal agency
to choose whether or not they will repent and prepare
themselves to return to God.
That is the central purpose of each
of us being born on this earth, an opportunity
to continue our progress of becoming more like our Heavenly
Father and receiving all of His blessings.
This process began in our premortal life,
continues today on earth, and, depending on our willingness
to obey God's commandments, will continue
after we return to Him.
One of God's modern-day prophets has stated,
"Nothing is going to startle us more
when we pass through the veil to the other side
than to realize how well we know our Father
and how familiar his face is to us."
Where did we come from?
Before birth, we lived in the presence
of our Heavenly Father.
There, and here, we learn of Him and have the opportunity
to show faith in Him as we journey back
to our heavenly home.
Now you know.