Meaning of Life

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as the Mormon Church is officially known, wants all the world to know about God’s wonderful plan for all of us. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (or just Latter-day Saints or Mormons) learn from a young age the Plan of Salvation, also called the Plan of Happiness.

The Plan of Salvation is a beautiful, simple piece of Mormon doctrine that answers age-old questions which have been discussed for millennia by the world’s philosophers: Who am I? Where did I come from? Why am I here? Where am I going? These are questions which simply cannot be answered philosophically. There are eternal truths which answer them.

Who am I and where did I come from?

Mormon doctrine teaches that each person who will ever live upon this earth is a spirit son or daughter of God. This means that each of us has divine potential, as children of God. Mormons believe that each of us existed in the presence of God, as His spirit children, before we came to this earth and gained bodies. Mormons call this existence with God as spirit children the Pre-Existence. Here we were taught and loved by God. It was also here that He presented His plan to us: to create a world where we could come and gain physical bodies. Many ancient philosophies have taught that the body is a prison and that we should look forward to death because we will be freed from our restrictive bodies. This is a perversion of an eternal truth. God is a being of flesh and bone, as are we. Our spirits inhabit our physical bodies and these bodies give us power. Mormon doctrine teaches that when we die, we will eventually be resurrected, as Jesus Christ was. This means that our spirits and our physical bodies will be reunited for eternity, never to be separated again. Our bodies are incredible gifts from our Heavenly Father and should be treated with respect.

In coming to this earth and gaining bodies, however, we become imperfect beings. We sin, we make mistakes, there is sickness and death in this world. With these things separating us from God, a perfect being, there is nothing we could possibly do to return to Him. His plan included a way for us to return to Him. This plan of Mormon doctrine included someone else, someone perfect, interceding between God and us and paying the price of our imperfections so that we could be worthy to return to the presence of God. This is what our Savior, Jesus Christ, offered to do for us. He was literally the Son of God. His divine father and His mortal mother gave Him the unique combination He needed to accomplish this for us. He had power over death, but He also had the power to give up His life. This He did. He took upon Himself all the sins and sufferings of this world. By doing so, He could choose to step in on our behalf and pay the price for our sins, enabling us to return to God.

Latter-day Saints believe that since Jesus Christ paid this price, He has the right to set the standards for access to its blessings. He has done this through His commandments. It is only by obedience to His commandments that we can gain access to the power of His atonement for our sins, because those are the qualifications He demands. While there is still nothing we can do on our own to qualify for returning to our Heavenly Father, we can obey the guidelines Jesus Christ has set and gain access through His mercy and His grace.

Why am I here?

As stated above, Mormons believe that all people come to this earth to gain bodies. There is more than this, though. Our lives upon this earth give us the chance to prove, both to God and to ourselves, that we are worthy to live His kind of life. We learn from our mistakes in this life how to know and choose good from evil. We also learn through our trials to have compassion and charity for one another. This life is not a competition. We are not only responsible for doing the best we can to obey, but also are responsible for helping others to obey as well. Mormon doctrine teaches that our lives here are gifts from God to learn and grow and to become more like Him.

Where am I going?

Mormons believe that after this life, we will return to our Heavenly Father. This life is not the end-all, be-all that many people want to make it out to be so they can justify sinful behavior. Through the power Christ gained over death through His death and resurrection, He extends that power to us. Everyone will be resurrected and brought before God on Judgment Day. We will be judged according to the knowledge that we had and the choices we made in our lives. God’s judgment will be perfect and just. Many will not qualify to be in His presence, but that does not mean they will be cast into the traditional view of hell. Mormon doctrine and the Plan of Salvation teach that there are levels, degrees, or kingdoms of heaven. Just because one person was not as obedient as another, does not make that person evil. Mormons believe that there are three kingdoms: the celestial (the highest, the presence of God, where those who were completely obedient will go), the terrestrial (where people who have not lived the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, but who have still led good lives will go), and the telestial (the lowest kingdom, where those who have rejected the Savior and made poor choices will go). This is, surely, over simplifying the judgment process, but God’s judgment will be thorough.

What does this mean for me?

The knowledge that we gain from the Plan of Salvation should change our lives. It gives us hope and purpose in this life. We are children of God and have the potential to become like Him, if we live the commandments He has given us. The Mormon doctrine of the Plan of Salvation rings true to many people when they hear it for the first time, almost like they are remembering it from a long time ago. Latter-day Saints believe that it sounds familiar because we did learn it long ago. We have simply lost access to our memories from the Pre-Existence to give us a fair run in this life, to make choices completely on our own.

The Plan of Salvation is full of hope and joy. God’s plan for His children is glorious and incomprehensible. When attending Mormon temples, you learn more about the Plan of Salvation and the things necessary to return to God.