Mormon Theology

Every day we all have choices that need to be made. Many of those choices do not have any lasting significance, but there are plenty that do. These choices—the decisions between right and wrong—have more serious consequences than, say, what color shirt we wear. Agency, sometimes referred to as moral agency or personal agency, is the ability each person has to choose right or wrong—or, put another way, the ability to either follow God or not. Agency was given to every person as a gift from God. The ability to direct our own lives and make our own choices is one of the greatest gifts God has given us. Just as physical choices have physical consequences, such as getting burned if you get too close to a fire, spiritual choices have spiritual consequences. It is not possible to make a choice without facing its inevitable consequence. Our purpose in this life is to learn, grow, improve, and progress, with the ultimate goal of returning to God’s presence. Personal agency allows us to participate in the learning and growing process that is essential to becoming better and more like our perfect example, the Savior Jesus Christ. Learn more: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org

Baptism for the dead, vicarious baptism or proxy baptism today commonly refers to the religious practice of baptizing a person on behalf of one who is dead—a living person receiving the rite on behalf of a deceased person. Baptism for the dead is best known as a doctrine of the Latter Day Saint movement, which has practiced it since 1840. It is currently practiced by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), where it is performed only in dedicated temples, as well as in several other current factions of the movement. Those who practice this rite view baptism as an essential requirement to enter the Kingdom of God, and therefore practice baptism for the dead to offer it by proxy to those who died without the opportunity to receive it. The LDS Church teaches that those who have died may choose to accept or reject the baptisms done on their behalf. Baptism for the dead is mentioned in (1 Corinthians 15:29) as proof of a physical resurrection, though the exact meaning of the phrase is an open question among scholars. The plainest reading of the Greek text suggests vicarious baptisms performed by the living on behalf of the deceased, but some scholars dispute whether Paul approved of the practice or whether the verse truly refers to an actual physical practice among early Christians.[1] Early heresiologists Epiphanius of Salamis (Panarion 28) and Chrysostom (Homilies 40) attributed the practice respectively to the Cerinthians and to the Marcionites, whom they identified as heretical "Gnostic" groups, while Ambrosiaster and Tertullian affirmed that the practice was legitimate and found among the New Testament Christians (though Tertullian later recanted his original beliefs in his later life as he became associated with Montanism).[2] The practice was forbidden by the Councils of Carthage in the last decade of the fourth century AD, and is therefore not practiced in modern mainstream Christianity, whether Nestorian, Oriental Orthodox, Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, or any traditional Protestant churches. Practice Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Main article: Beliefs and practices of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints In the practice of the LDS Church, a living person, acting as proxy, is baptized by immersion on behalf of a deceased person of the same sex. Baptism for the dead is an ordinance of the church, performed only in temples, and is based on the belief that baptism is required for entry into the Kingdom of God.[3] Community of Christ Some members of the early Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS Church; now known as the Community of Christ) also believed in baptism for the dead,[4] but it was never officially sanctioned by that organization and was considered highly controversial.[4][5] At a 1970 church world conference, a revelation and two letters written by Joseph Smith appertaining to baptism for the dead were removed as sections and placed in the appendix of the RLDS Church's Doctrine and Covenants;[6] at a 1990 world conference, the three documents were removed entirely from the RLDS Church's scriptural canon.[7] Other churches of the Latter-day Saint Movement In the Restoration Branches movement, which broke from the RLDS Church in the 1980s, the question of baptism for the dead is at best unsettled. Many adherents reject the validity of the ordinance completely.[8] Others[who?] regard it as a legitimate rite, the permission for which has been withdrawn by God ever since the Latter Day Saints failed to complete the Nauvoo Temple within the specified time frame.[citation needed] Other Latter Day Saint denominations that accept baptism for the dead include the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite), The Church of Jesus Christ (Cutlerite), and the Righteous Branch (Christ's Church). The Strangite Church performed baptisms for the dead during the 1840s in Voree, Wisconsin, and later during the 1850s on Beaver Island, Michigan. In each case, the practice was authorized on the basis of what James J. Strang reported as a revelation. The question of whether the Strangite Church still practices proxy baptism is an open one, but belief is considered orthodox.[9] Other Christian churches As part of their sacraments, the New Apostolic Church and the Old Apostolic Church also practice baptism for the dead, as well as Communion and Sealing to the Departed. In this practice a proxy or substitute is baptised in the place of an unknown number of deceased persons. According to NAC and OAC doctrine the deceased do not enter the body of the substitute. Early Christianity Latter-day Saint scholar John A. Tvedtnes says: "Baptism for the dead was performed by the dominant church until forbidden by the sixth canon of the Council of Carthage (397). Some of the smaller sects, however, continued the practice."[10] He does not give the text of that canon, which, if it is included in Canon 18 of The Code of Canons of the African Church, reads: "It also seemed good that the Eucharist should not be given to the bodies of the dead. For it is written: 'Take, Eat', but the bodies of the dead can neither 'take' nor 'eat'. Nor let the ignorance of the presbyters baptize those who are dead."[11] Epiphanius of Salamis (between 310 and 320 – 403) reported that he had heard it said that, among followers of Cerinthus, if one of them died before baptism, another was baptized in that person's name: For their school reached its height in this country, I mean Asia, and in Galatia as well. And in these countries I also heard of a tradition which said that when some of their people died too soon, without baptism, others would be baptized for them in their names, so that they would not be punished for rising unbaptized at the resurrection and become the subjects of the authority that made the world.[12] John Chrysostom (c. 347–407) mockingly attributes to the Marcionites of the late 4th century a similar practice: if one of their followers who was being prepared for baptism died before receiving baptism, the dead person's corpse was addressed with the question whether he wished to be baptized, whereupon another answered affirmatively and was baptized for the dead person.[13] 1 Corinthians 15:29 In the context of insisting that "in Christ shall all be made alive .. Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's",[14] Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:29: "Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?" Different views have been expressed on the meaning of the phrase "baptized for the dead", and on whether Paul gave his approval to the practice. Meanings of the verb baptizein The Greek verb in Paul's phrase "baptized for the dead" is baptizein, which in Jewish Greek has a wider reference than "baptism", applying primarily to the masculine noun baptismos "ritual washing"[15] The verb occurs four times in the Septuagint in the context of ritual washing, baptismos: Judith cleansing herself from menstrual impurity, Naaman washing seven times to be cleansed from leprosy, etc.[16] In the New Testament only, the verb baptizein can also relate to the neuter noun baptisma "baptism", a neologism unknown in the Septuagint and other pre-Christian Jewish texts.[17] This broadness in the meaning of baptizein is reflected in English Bibles rendering "wash", where Jewish ritual washing is meant, for example in Mark 7:4, which states that the Pharisees "except they wash (Greek "baptize"), they do not eat",[18] and "baptize" where baptisma, the new Christian rite, is intended. The older ritual washing use of baptizein is relevant in the context of funerals since any Jew coming into contact with the dead body must undertake ritual washing.[19] During the Second Temple and early Rabbinical period the regulations on "ritual washing" (Greek masculine noun baptismos) expanded and multiplied. This is documented in the Halakhah Tractate Yadayim[20] and Dead Sea Scrolls[21] Peter Leithart (2007) suggests that Paul's comment "why do they.." is an analogy between baptism (i.e. neuter concept noun baptisma) with Jewish ritual washing (i.e. masculine concrete noun baptismos) for contact with the dead following the Mosaic regulations in Numbers 19.[22] The phrase "ritually washed for the dead" does not occur in intertestamental literature, but a possibly related idea of prayer for the dead occurs in 2 Maccabees. Since the New Testament idea of "baptism" (Greek baptisma), the rite of baptism, is not mentioned in the verse, it is open to interpretation whether the verb baptizein refers to "ritual washing" (Greek baptismos) or "the rite of baptism" (Greek baptisma) or is an analogy between both.[23] Meaning of the phrase Tertullian's (155-220 AD) earliest writings affirm the assumption that the Corinthians practiced vicarious baptisms on behalf of the deceased and seem to affirm the legitimacy of the practice. In one of his first written works, On the Resurrection of the Flesh, he writes "Now it is certain that they adopted this (practice) with such a presumption that made them suppose that the vicarious baptism (in question) would be beneficial to the flesh of another in anticipation of the resurrection."[24] Tertullian much later, however, (around the time that he begins to display Montanist influences), reinterprets the Corinthians passage and argues, instead, against baptisms performed for the dead. In his book, Against Marcion, he says that the practice ("whatever it may have been") to which Paul alluded in 1 Corinthians 15:29 witnessed to belief in bodily resurrection, something that Marcion denied, and that, "baptized for the dead" must mean "baptized for the body," which is destined to die and rise again.[25] Ambrosiaster, the author of a commentary on Paul's epistles, written between 366 and 384 AD, also affirmed the practice among the earliest Christians, noting "that some people were at that time [New Testament period] being baptized for the dead because they were afraid that someone who was not baptized would either not rise at all or else rise merely in order to be condemned."[26] John Chrysostom (347-407 AD), opposed to a literal reading of 1 Corinthians 15:29, explained Paul's mention of people being "baptized for the dead" as a reference to the profession of faith they made in their own future resurrection before being baptized.[13] Some interpret "baptized for the dead" as a metaphor for martyrdom, as in Mark 10:38 and Luke 12:50 baptism is a metaphor for suffering or martyrdom; accordingly they would translate it as "being baptized with a view to death".[27] In this interpretation, the phrase is closely linked with what Paul says immediately afterwards[28] of the suffering that he himself faces and is enabled to endure precisely because of his faith in his resurrection.[29][30] This interpretation is similar to that of John Chrysostom. Others interpret the phrase as referring to simple baptism of an individual. Martin Luther regarded it as a practice of being baptized above (the first of the meanings of the preposition ὑπέρ, generally translated in this passage as for)[31] the tombs of the dead. John Calvin saw it as a reference to being baptized when close to death.[27] The simplest reading of the text sees the phrase as referring to vicarious baptism on behalf of dead people performed in the belief that the dead were thereby benefitted in some way. This belief is put forward as the reason why, when Paul compares the Corinthians' experience to that of the Israelites in crossing the Red Sea and being fed on manna, he insists that the Israelites were not thereby prevented from sinning.[27] Possible approval by Paul The HarperCollins Study Bible acknowledges the plain reading of the text that Paul was literally speaking about baptisms being performed on behalf of the deceased, and writes, "why the Corinthians practiced baptism on behalf of the dead is unknown; see also 2 Macc 12.44-45."[32] The 2 Maccabees passage speaks about the similar practice of performing sacrifices for the dead among Intertestamental Jews. The evangelical Tyndale Bible Dictionary, instead, concludes that Paul probably did not approve the practice of baptism for the dead. He refers to its practitioners as "they", not as "you" (the Corinthian Christians to whom he wrote).[33] The note in the Catholic New American Bible is more cautious: "Baptized for the dead: this practice is not further explained here, nor is it necessarily mentioned with approval, but Paul cites it as something in their experience that attests in one more way to belief in the resurrection."[34] In this, it stays close to what Tertullian wrote in the year 207 or 208, when he said that Paul's only aim in alluding to the practice of baptism for the dead, "whatever it may have been", was "that he might all the more firmly insist upon the resurrection of the body, in proportion as they who were vainly baptized for the dead resorted to the practice from their belief of such a resurrection."[35] Other views Elaine Pagels (1992) seeks to explain 1 Corinthians as having reference to the Valentinian sect later numbered among the "Gnostic" heresies.[36] However, Pagels' view of Paul's epistles is not supported by other scholars. Joel R. White argues from the context of the passage that 1 Cor 15:29 is referring to the apostles, especially Apollos and Paul himself.[37] LDS Church doctrine Baptismal font in the Salt Lake Temple, circa 1912, where baptisms for the dead are performed by proxy. The font rests on the backs of twelve oxen representing the Twelve Tribes of Israel Members of the LDS Church believe that baptism is a prerequisite for entry into the kingdom of God as stated by Jesus in John 3:5: "Except that a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" (KJV). The LDS Church teaches that performing baptisms for the dead allows this saving ordinance to be offered on behalf of those who have died without accepting or knowing Jesus Christ or his teachings during their mortal lives. It is taught that this is the method by which all who have lived upon the earth will have the opportunity to receive baptism and to thereby enter the Kingdom of God. Among other Biblical references, Latter-day Saints cite Peter's statements that Jesus preached to the spirits of the dead (KJV 1 Peter 3:19; 4:6) as evidence that God in his justice provides an opportunity for the deceased to hear and accept the gospel, if they don't receive that chance in mortality. As Peter affirmed in Acts 2:37–38, the next step after acceptance of the gospel is baptism for the remission of sins, which "doth also now save us" (KJV 1 Peter 3:21). The LDS Church teaches that those in the afterlife who have been baptized by proxy are free to accept or reject the ordinance done on their behalf. Baptism on behalf of a deceased individual is not binding if that individual chooses to reject it in the afterlife.[3][38] Any member of the LDS Church, male or female, beginning in the year they turn 12 years old and holds a current temple recommend may act as a proxy in this ordinance. Men must also hold the Aaronic priesthood prior to entering the temple. Men act as proxy for deceased men, and women as proxy for deceased women. The concept of a spiritual proxy is compared by some in the LDS Church to the belief that Jesus acted as proxy for every human when he atoned for the sins of the world.[39] Historically, only adult male holders of the Melchizedek priesthood who had undergone the endowment ordinance were permitted to baptize others as proxies for the dead. In 2018, this policy was changed to allow boys who hold the Aaronic priesthood office of priest, generally between 15 and 18-years old, to officiate in baptisms for the dead.[40] Modern origin According to the LDS Church, the practice of baptism for the dead is based on a revelation received by the prophet Joseph Smith. Smith first taught the doctrine at the funeral sermon of a deceased member of the church, Seymour Brunson.[41] In a letter written on October 19, 1840, to the church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (who were on a mission in the United Kingdom at the time), Smith refers to the passage in 1 Corinthians 15:29 (KJV): I presume the doctrine of 'baptism for the dead' has ere this reached your ears, and may have raised some inquiries in your minds respecting the same. I cannot in this letter give you all the information you may desire on the subject; but aside from knowledge independent of the Bible, I would say that it was certainly practiced by the ancient churches; and Saint Paul endeavors to prove the doctrine of the resurrection from the same, and says, 'Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? Why are they then baptized for the dead?'[42] LDS Church scripture expands further upon this doctrine and states that such baptisms are to be performed in temples.[43] Vicarious baptism is performed in connection with other vicarious ordinances in temples of the LDS Church, such as the endowment and celestial marriage. Initially, women could be baptized for dead men, and vice versa; this, however, was changed in order to ensure that the person being baptized for a dead man could also be ordained on their behalf to the priesthood.[44] Genealogy and baptism The LDS Church teaches that deceased persons who have not accepted, or had the opportunity to accept, the gospel of Christ in this life will have such opportunity in the afterlife. The belief is that as all must follow Jesus Christ, they must also receive all the ordinances that a living person is expected to receive, including baptism. For this reason, members of the LDS Church are encouraged to research their genealogy. This research is then used as the basis for church performing temple ordinances for as many deceased persons as possible. As a part of these efforts, Latter-day Saints have performed temple ordinances on behalf of a number of high-profile people, including the Founding Fathers of the United States,[45][46][47] U.S. Presidents,[45] most Catholic popes,[48][49] John Wesley,[45] Christopher Columbus,[45] Adolf Hitler,[48] Joan of Arc,[48] Genghis Khan,[48] Joseph Stalin,[48] and Gautama Buddha.[48] While members of the LDS Church consider vicarious ordinances for the deceased an act of compassionate service, some non-members have taken offense. Sensitive to the issue of proxy baptizing for non-Mormons not related to church members, the church in recent years has published a general policy of performing temple ordinances only for relatives.[50] For example, the church is in the process of removing sensitive names (such as Jewish Holocaust victims) from its International Genealogical Index (IGI). D. Todd Christofferson of the church's Presidency of the Seventy stated that removing the names is an "ongoing, labor intensive process requiring name-by-name research .... When the Church is made aware of documented concerns, action is taken .... Plans are underway to refine this process."[51] The LDS Church keeps records of the temple ordinances performed for deceased persons; however, FamilySearch, a web application for accessing the church's genealogical databases, shows information on temple ordinances only to registered LDS Church members and not to non-members.[52] In 2008, a directive from the Vatican Congregation for the Clergy directed Catholic dioceses to prevent the LDS Church from "microfilming and digitizing information" contained in Catholic sacramental registers so that those whose names were contained therein would not be subjected to vicarious Mormon baptism.[53][54] Earlier, the Vatican had declared that Mormon baptisms were invalid.[55] Controversy See also: Criticism of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: Baptism for the dead Jewish Holocaust victims The LDS Church performs vicarious baptisms for individuals regardless of their race, sex, creed, religion, or morality.[citation needed] Some members of the LDS Church have been baptized for both victims and perpetrators of The Holocaust, including Anne Frank and Adolf Hitler, contrary to modern church policy.[56] Some Jewish Holocaust survivors and some Jewish organizations have objected to this practice. Since the early 1990s, the LDS Church has urged members to submit the names of only their own ancestors for ordinances, and to request permission of surviving family members of people who have died within the past 95 years.[57] Hundreds of thousands of improperly submitted names not adhering to this policy have been removed from the records of the church.[58] Church apostle Boyd K. Packer has stated the church has been open about its practice of using public records to further temple ordinance work.[59] Despite the guidelines, some members of the church have submitted names without adequate permission. In December 2002, independent researcher Helen Radkey published a report showing that, following a 1995 promise from the church to remove Jewish Holocaust victims from its International Genealogical Index, the church's database included the names of about 19,000 who had a 40 to 50 percent chance "to be Holocaust victims ... in Russia, Poland, France, and Austria."[60][61] Genealogist Bernard Kouchel searched the International Genealogical Index, and discovered that many well known Jews had been vicariously baptized, including Maimonides, Albert Einstein, and Irving Berlin, without family permission.[62][63] Church official D. Todd Christofferson told The New York Times that the church expends massive amounts of resources attempting to purge improperly submitted names, but that it is not feasible to expect the church to find each and every last one, and that the agreement in 1995 did not place this type of responsibility on the centralized church leadership.[64] Jewish groups, including the Simon Wiesenthal Center, spoke out against the vicarious baptism of Holocaust perpetrators and victims in the mid-1990s and again in the 2000s when they discovered the practice, which they consider insensitive to the living and the dead, was continuing.[65][66] The associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Abraham Cooper, complained that infamous figures such as Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun appeared on LDS genealogical records: "Whether official or not, the fact remains that this is exactly the kind of activity that enraged and hurt, really, so many victims of the Holocaust and caused alarm in the Jewish community."[48][67] In 2008, the American Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors announced that, since church members had repeatedly violated previous agreements, it would no longer negotiate with the church to try to prevent vicarious baptism. Speaking on the anniversary of Kristallnacht, Ernest Michel, a Holocaust survivor who reported on the Nuremberg Trials, speaking as the honorary chairman of the American Gathering of Holocaust Survivors, called on the LDS Church to "implement a mechanism to undo what [they] have done", and declared that the LDS Church had repeatedly violated their agreements, and that talks with Mormon leaders were now ended. Jewish groups, he said, would now turn to the court of public opinion for justice.[68] Michel called the practice a revision of history that plays into the hands of Holocaust deniers, stating: "They tell me, that my parents' Jewishness has not been altered but ... 100 years from now, how will they be able to guarantee that my mother and father of blessed memory who lived as Jews and were slaughtered by Hitler for no other reason than they were Jews, will someday not be identified as Mormon victims of the Holocaust?"[68] Church officials, in response, stated that the church does not teach that vicarious baptisms coerce deceased persons to become Mormons, nor does the church add those names to its list of church members.[69][70] Church officials have also stated that, in accordance with the 1995 agreement, it has removed more than 300,000 names of Jewish Holocaust victims from its databases, as well as subsequently removing names later identified by Jewish groups. Church officials stated in 2008 that a new version of the FamilySearch application had been developed and was being implemented in an effort to prevent the submission of Holocaust victim names for temple ordinances.[71] In February 2012, the issue re-emerged after it was found that the parents of Holocaust survivor and Jewish rights advocate Simon Wiesenthal were added to the genealogical database.[72] Shortly afterward, news stories announced that Anne Frank had been baptized by proxy for the ninth time, at the Santo Domingo Dominican Republic Temple.

The concept of premortal life in the Latter Day Saint movement is an early and fundamental doctrine which states that all people existed as spirit bodies before coming to Earth and receiving a mortal body. In Mormonism's eponymous text, the Book of Mormon, published in 1830, the premortal spirit of Jesus Christ appears in human form and explains that individuals were created in the beginning in the image of Christ.[1] In 1833, early in the Latter Day Saint movement, its founder Joseph Smith taught that human souls are co-eternal with God the Father just as Jesus is co-eternal with God the Father, "Man was also in the beginning with God. Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can be."[2] Shortly before his death in 1844, Smith elaborated on this idea in his King Follett discourse:[3] ...the soul—the mind of man—the immortal spirit. Where did it come from? All learned men and doctors of divinity say that God created it in the beginning; but it is not so: the very idea lessens man in my estimation...[The Bible] does not say in the Hebrew that God created the spirit of man. It says, "God made man out of the earth and put into him Adam's spirit, and so became a living body." The mind or the intelligence which man possesses is co-equal with God himself...Is it logical to say that the intelligence of spirits is immortal, and yet that it has a beginning? The intelligence of spirits had no beginning, neither will it have an end. That is good logic. That which has a beginning may have an end. There never was a time when there were not spirits; for they are co-equal with our Father in heaven. Elder Boyd K. Packer taught, "that we are the children of God, that we lived with him in spirit form before entering mortality."[4] In the context of this core Latter Day Saint doctrine, the term premortal existence is a more accurate term to describe the time before this mortal existence than pre-existence, since pre-existence has a connotation of something existing before any existence, and Latter Day Saint doctrine specifically rejects ex-nihilo creation.[citation needed] Therefore, the term premortal existence is strongly preferred in the movement's largest denomination, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), to represent the time before this mortal life.[citation needed] However, the term pre-existence is in widespread use.[citation needed] LDS Church After Smith's death, and a six-month succession crisis, the majority of Smith's adherents followed Brigham Young who renamed the church to the LDS Church and led followers to what would become Utah territory. The doctrine of premortal existence was elaborated by some other leaders within the LDS Church. Although the mind and intelligence of humanity were still considered to be co-eternal with God, and not created, Brigham Young taught that the spirit was different from the mind or intelligence, resolving the seeming conflict between Book of Mormon verses indicating God was creator and Smith's later teaching that all individuals were co-eternal with God. Young postulated that we each had a pre-spirit intelligence that later became part of a spirit body, which then eventually entered a physical body and was born on earth. In 1857, Young stated that every person was "a son or a daughter of [the Father]. In the spirit world their spirits were first begotten and brought forth, and they lived there with their parents for ages before they came here."[5][6] In the LDS Church the idea of spirit birth was described in its modern doctrinal form in 1909, when the church's First Presidency issued the following statement:[7] Jesus, however, is the firstborn among all the sons of God—the first begotten in the spirit, and the only begotten in the flesh. He is our elder brother, and we, like Him, are in the image of God. All men and women are in the similitude of the universal Father and Mother, and are literally the sons and daughters of Deity. This description is widely accepted by modern Latter-day Saints as fundamental to the plan of salvation. However, there are differences of opinion as to the nature of the premortal existence in other Latter Day Saint denominations. The LDS Church teaches that during the premortal existence, there was a learning process which eventually led to the next necessary step in the premortal spirits' opportunity to progress. This next step included the need to gain a physical body that could experience pain, sorrow and joy and "walk by faith". According to this belief, these purposes were explained and discussed in councils in heaven, followed by the War in Heaven where Satan rebelled against the plan of Heavenly Father. In the 1840s,[citation needed] Joseph Smith stated that the human spirit existed with God before the creation of Earth. Thus, Latter-day Saints believe in a pre-mortal existence, in which people are literally the spirit children of God, though Smith is explicitly quoted in the King Follett Sermon as saying that "God never had the power to create the spirit of man." Latter-day Saints often point to Jeremiah 1:5[original research?] as one example of evidence in the Bible for a pre-earth existence.[8][original research?] This teaching is primarily based, however, upon revealed doctrine by Smith and his successors to the presidency of the church. Prior to the existence of spirits, some element of the human spirit, called intelligence, existed eternally in the same sense that God existed eternally, but in a less progressed form of energy or matter.[citation needed] This may explain the church's teaching that man and God are co-eternal (carefully distinguishing "co-eternal" from "equal", which is not a part of Mormon doctrine).[speculation?] Within Latter-day beliefs, Jesus Christ is looked upon as the creator of the Earth under God the Father's direction, while God the Father is the creator of all men, women, and creatures of the Earth. God before the Earth's creation See also: God in Mormonism According to Mormon theology, God the Father is a physical being of "flesh and bones."[9] Mormons identify him as the biblical god Elohim. Latter-day Saint leaders have also taught that God the Father was once a mortal man who has completed the process of becoming an exalted being.[16] According to Joseph Smith, God "once was a man like one of us and [...] once dwelled on an earth the same as Jesus Christ himself did in the flesh and like us."[17] Adam-God doctrine Main article: Adam-God doctrine A now reversed teachings by top leaders about God in the pre-existence is the Adam–God doctrine taught in the temple into the 1900s.[18]: 34  This now-rejected teaching stated that Heavenly Father was a man from another planet who became exalted and then as the god-archangel Michael formed the Earth and then took one of his wives and became the mortals Adam and Eve. After death they returned to their state of immortal Heavenly Parents.[19][18]: 14–20  Spirit intelligences and God's spirit children It is believed there were pre-existing "spirit intelligences" that existed before God the Father and Heavenly Mother created spiritual bodies for them:[20] "self-existing intelligences were organized into individual spirit beings"[21] by the Heavenly Parents and they became the "begotten sons and daughters of God".[22] The procreative process whereby the intelligences became spirits has not been explained. While spirit bodies are composed of matter, they are described as being "more fine or pure" than regular matter.[23] The first-born spirit child of God the Father was Jehovah, whom Latter-day Saints identify as the premortal Jesus.[24][25][26] Jehovah was a God[27] and was like God the Father in attributes,[28] but he did not have an immortal physical body like God the Father until his resurrection.[29] Council in Heaven See also: Divine Council § Hebrew God the Father's plan for all his children was to provide a way for them to become more like him.[26] Although they were happy living in heaven with God the Father, God's spirit children could not experience the "fulness of joy" enjoyed by him unless their spirit bodies were joined with a physical body.[30] God the Father convened a "Grand Council" of all his children to propose a plan of progression, known to Latter-day Saints as the plan of salvation.[31] According to the proposed plan, God would provide an earth where spirit children could receive a physical body. One of the purposes of this earthly existence is for each of God's children to demonstrate through free will the desire to choose righteousness rather than evil.[26] To facilitate free will decision-making, God would cause each spirit child to have no memory of their pre-earth life.[26] All would be given trials and would fall short of perfection, but a savior would be provided, the acceptance of whom would lead ultimately to redemption and a return to live with God the Father forever.[26] Jehovah volunteered to be the savior[32][33] and said, "Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever."[34] Jehovah was "the only person who could be [the] Savior".[35] During this pre-mortal existence, God the Father presented the following plan to His children: Human beings would be born on Earth. There they would receive a physical body necessary to exaltation and a fullness of joy. On earth, they would be tested through trials of their faith, and be subject to mortality. A "veil" would be set in place to obscure humankind's memory of its divine origins, thus allowing for "walking by faith" and for greater freedom of choice by enabling individuals to make their own decisions. LDS Church members believe that only those who live good lives, prove themselves obedient to Heavenly Father's commandments, receive the ordinances of salvation, and repent of their sins will be able to return to Heavenly Father's presence (The Celestial Kingdom). However, because each person's experience in mortality is unique, every individual will be judged in accordance with the opportunities, knowledge, and blessings they had while living on Earth. Agency Main article: Agency (Mormonism) Integral to God's plan was freedom of choice, which God the Father considered an inviolable right of all his children; every individual would have opportunities to make certain choices that would determine the course of their life on Earth and in the hereafter. No human would ever have their freedom taken away in an attempt to force righteous behavior. People would be free to do evil and good, both to themselves and to those around them. Because such freedom would make it possible for God the Father's children to break commandments and sin, a Savior would be needed to offer them freedom from the just consequences of their sins and allow them to repent: this figure would have to overcome both sin and death, making it possible for obedient and repentant individuals to return to Heavenly Father's presence through a plan of mercy. The pre-mortal Jesus Christ, then known as Jehovah, volunteered to be this Savior, agreeing to take upon himself infinite suffering for every sin, mistake, and all pain and suffering ever to be experienced throughout all time by all of God's children. He also agreed to die and be resurrected, thus making it possible for all individuals (obedient or not) to be resurrected. The Holy Spirit would be sent to encourage righteous behavior and guide human beings towards Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father, but would never interfere with freedom. Also part of the plan was a foreordination of prophets and teachers who would have gifts and callings among men to teach and re-teach correct principles so that freedom could be used wisely.[36][37][original research?] Heavenly Father stressed the important role parents would have to teach their children the path of righteousness and happiness,[38][original research?] and the blessing of the holy scriptures that would give a foundation of gospel knowledge, including the knowledge of the saving role of Jesus Christ and the importance of ordinances and covenants in the gospel. As the plan was explained, God's spirit children also understood that full gospel truth could be lost on the earth as men and women could choose against living by the truth at any point, and could devise other beliefs and ways to live that would be appealing to the natural mind. Yet they also understood that there would be opportunities before the final judgment for every child of God to hear of Jesus Christ and to either accept him or reject him. LDS Church members believe this plan, ordained by God the Father was not contrived arbitrarily, but was designed based on eternal truths to allow for the greatest possible progress toward a fullness of joy, happiness and love for the greatest number of His spirit children. He loves each of them unconditionally and desires that they progress, knowing that this leads to greater happiness and a potential fullness of joy. War in Heaven See also: War in Heaven After God the Father presented this plan,[39] Lucifer volunteered to save all mankind by removing the need for agency as a necessary requirement of the plan.[40][41] Lucifer claimed, with agency removed, no one would have the ability to sin against God, that not one soul would be lost, and all would be able to return sinless to the presence of Heavenly Father without the need for a Savior.[42][43] As recompense for his plan, Lucifer demanded that the power and the glory which God the Father possessed be transferred to him, effectively making him "God." However, to make this plan work, Lucifer alone would need to have his agency intact to fully control and insure that everyone would live sinless. As a result no spirit experiencing this "sanitized" mortality could truly achieve exaltation.[44][45] God the Father vehemently rejected Lucifer's hobbled plan. Enraged, Lucifer chose to rebel against God the Father and rallied to him "a third part" of God the Father's children who also preferred Lucifer's plan. The two factions warred, and Lucifer and his followers were cast out of Heaven; Lucifer became Satan, and those who followed him became fallen (also referred to as sons of perdition), and his servants.[46][original research?] They were denied the right to have their own physical bodies (and, consequently, the ability to procreate) but were not affected by the "veil". Latter-day Saints believe that Satan and his servants have since sought to undo, counteract, and undermine God the Father's plan by tempting mortal individuals to evil actions, gaining power over them and their bodies, and by attempting to restrict their agency by whatever means possible.[43] The LDS Church teaches that Revelation 12 concerns an actual event in the pre-mortal existence of man.[citation needed] The Book of Moses, included in the LDS standard works canon, references the war in heaven and Satan's origin as a fallen angel of light.[47] The concept of a war in heaven at the end of time became an addendum to the story of Satan's fall at the genesis of time—a narrative which included Satan and a third of all of heaven's angels. Evidence for this interpretation comes from the phrase "the devil and his angels";[48] this specific phrasing became paramount to the reinforcement of the notion that people associated angels with the devil preceding the writing of Revelation. The LDS Church believes that the war in heaven started in the premortal existence when Heavenly Father (Elohim) created the Plan of salvation to enable humanity to become like him. Jesus Christ as per the plan was the Savior and those who followed the plan would come to Earth to experience mortality and progress toward eternal life. Lucifer, another spirit son of God, rebelled against the plan's reliance on agency and proposed an altered plan that negated agency. Thus he became Satan, and he and his followers were cast out of heaven. This denied them participating in God's plan, the privileges of receiving a physical body, and experiencing mortality.[49][39] Black people and the premortal life See also: Black people and Mormonism By 1844 one of the justifications the church leaders used for discriminatory policies towards Black people in the LDS Church was the belief that their spirits before earth life were "fence sitters" when choosing between God or the devil, or were simply less virtuous than White people's. Brigham Young rejected this pre-existence explanation, but the apostles Orson Pratt, Orson Hyde, and John Taylor all supported the concept, and it gained widespread acceptance among members.[50]: 27 [51][52] Formally, this justification appeared as early as 1908 in a church magazine.[53]: 56  The apostle Joseph Fielding Smith supported the idea in 1931 and 1954 publications stating that restrictions on Black people were a "punishment" for actions in the pre-existence.[54][55][56] In a 1947 response letter the First Presidency wrote that Black people were not entitled to the full blessings of the gospel, and referenced the "revelations [...] on the preexistence" as a justification.[57][58][50]: 67  The LDS Church also used this explanation in its 1949 official statement.[53]: 66 [59]: 221  In 1952, Lowry published a critique of the racist policy in an article in The Nation which he believed was the first time it was publicized to a wider audience.[60]: 95  An address by Mark E. Peterson was widely circulated by religious faculty at Brigham Young University (BYU) in the 1950s and 1960s and they used the "less valiant in the pre-existence" explanation to justify racial segregation, a view which Lowell Bennion and Kendall White, among other members, heavily criticized.[53]: 69  A 1959 report by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights found that the LDS Church in Utah generally taught that non-White people had inferior performance in the pre-earth life.[61] Reversal of teachings See also: 1978 Revelation on Priesthood After the temple and priesthood ban was lifted in 1978, church leaders refuted the belief that Black people were less valiant in the pre-existence. In a 1978 interview with Time magazine, Spencer W. Kimball stated that the LDS Church no longer held to the teachings that those of Black ethnicity were any less valiant in the pre-earth life.[53]: 134  In a 2006 interview for the PBS documentary The Mormons, apostle Jeffrey R. Holland called the previous church teachings that Black people were less valiant in the pre-existence an inaccurate racial "folklore" invented in order to justify the temple and priesthood ban, and stated that the reasons for the previous ban were unknown.[53]: 134 [62][63]: 60  For the first time the church disavowed its previous teachings on race in 2013, and explicitly denounced any justification for the temple and priesthood restriction based on any events which occurred in the pre-mortal life.Before birth, all people lived with God as spirits. We can’t remember that because this life is a time for testing our faith in God and our desire to live His commandments. And our choices here will determine if we live with God again. Some of life’s greatest questions are “Where did we come from?” and “Where are we going?” Ancient and modern prophets have revealed the answers to those questions. Mormons—members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—believe that before birth, everyone on earth lived as spirits with God, our Heavenly Father. As His spirit children, we learned from God about His plan to give each of us a physical body on earth. We also learned that the memory of our pre-earth life would be erased, and we would be unable to remember our experiences from before birth. This allows our lives to be a time of testing—a chance to learn about God, develop faith in Him, and choose to follow His commandments. Some people have a hard time understanding that their existence before life on earth could be forgotten. But the fact that we don’t remember our first years of early childhood doesn’t mean we didn’t exist. And so it is with our premortal existence. Both our premortal and earth experiences are part of God’s plan to bless us and give us an opportunity to return to live with Him again. 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