Joseph Fielding Smith Jr. said, "The picture is complete. Man could sin before his mortal birth." In The Infinite Atonement, it states that our spirits were distinct from one another and that we could make choices and choose the extent to which we adopted the truth in premortal life. That is why some were designated the "noble and great ones." That is why some were cast out of heaven. That is why some were foreordained for certain jobs here on earth. So yes, we could choose, develop, and sin in the premortal existence.
Some might ask, "How does this work with the whole 'no unclean thing can dwell with God' scripture?" Luckily, The Infinite Atonement enlightens our minds on this. It explains that the word "dwell" in this context refers to "a permanent or eternal condition that exists after men are brought 'before the judgement-seat of God.' Dwelling, in this sense is a future condition. Until the judgment occurs there seems to be no scriptural prohibition against imperfect being temporarily residing in God's presence."
Wow. This absolutely blew my mind.
What does this piece of truth mean about our relationship with God?
Well, let me try to put into words what I felt when I read this.
Sometimes in this life we feel we are unworthy to talk to God, rely on Christ, change, get a second, third, twentieth chance. We've all felt that way. Sometimes we feel like we are unworthy to be connected with God. Satan tries to use that to get us to distance ourselves from our Father. And sometimes it works.
HOWEVER
If we understand the truth mentioned above, we can overcome these thoughts and feelings. Even before this life, we were not perfect. We made mistakes, and we worked to improve. AND we were around God. We were in His presence. Now, we didn't dwell there in the sense of an eternal existence with our Father like what we are shooting for after this life. But we were allowed, imperfect as we were, to temporarily be in His presence. Is that true for this life? YES!
We feel God's spirit. We receive His spirit after being confirmed. Isn't that a bit of God's presence right there? Some prophets ancient and modern have seen Jesus Christ and some have talked with God. Prophets aren't perfect...but wait, they have been in God's presence. Their spirits were still imperfect, yet they could be in the presence of God and Jesus Christ.
Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ. During his process of becoming the prophet, he explains that he had weaknesses and problems and fears that he worked to overcome. Yet He could feel of God's presence in his life.
Can we? What does this all mean for us right now?
Yes, we can! It means that we are allowed to feel God. We are allowed to open up to Him. We are allowed to rely on His Son even in the moment that we are sinning. Especially then. Just like Peter when he was sinking calls out to Christ, so must we when we are overwhelmed by fears, imperfections, weaknesses, and sin. God does NOT want us to feel that because we are imperfect beings, we can not connect with Him. He just wants us to permanently dwell with Him after this life, so He tells us the requirements so we can strive for that. But along the way, we must not feel like unclean things that aren't allowed to be loved by Him. We are loved. No matter where we are in our process of developing.
Isn't this such a cool truth?
I know that God loves us. And that we are His children. We can talk to Him whenever we want.
Love,
Rachel
My goodness- what a fantastic study, Rachel! I absolutely love how you point out that so many of the prophets, modern and ancient were able to feel God's presence for a time here in mortality. I am so grateful that He has the capacity to love us because of our weaknesses, as well as our strengths and desires. I know that He will push us to become the best versions of ourselves and that through Christ, we can have the opportunity to permanently live with him again. Thank you so much for the insight you shared- I love it all!
ReplyDelete