We Lived with God Before We Were Born

Did my consciousness or intelligence exist before I was born?

At some point or another, many people ask three fundamental questions about their existence:

1) Where did I come from?

2) Why am I here?

3) What happens after death?

Science provides no satisfactory answers to these questions. Using the scientific method of observation and empirical evidence, all that scientists can say is that physical life begins at conception, life on earth has no specific purpose except to perpetuate the species, and death results in annihilation with nothing beyond.

Philosophical Answers

The meaning of life and the universe, therefore, belongs to philosophy and religion. Modern philosophers sidestep any questions of the origins of life on Earth. They accept the scientific theory that we are the product of blind evolutionary forces. Given that there is no good reason for humans to exist beyond sheer luck, philosophers focus on the question of whether human life can hold genuine value.

Nihilists say that life has no purpose or meaning, and to try to create meaning is a fool's errand. Existentialists believe that we have no inherent purpose, and each person creates their own meaning.  Objective naturalists claim that we can create our own meaning in life when we harness our natural passions to achieve something that benefits others. In other words, either there is no God, so who cares, or we are our own God, and we make ourselves whatever we want to be.

While many people accept these secular views of life, I choose to reject them in favor of a fourth belief. I believe in objective purpose, ultimate accountability, and intrinsic human worth anchored in a divine being and an eternal destiny. In other words, I reject the notion that I am an evolutionary accident, the universe is a cold and silent place, and an ant and I are of equal value on the cosmic scale. Because science and philosophy cannot give me a soul-satisfying answer to my basic questions, the fourth avenue is religion.

Religious Answers

Turning to religion, before I try to understand the purpose of my life, I want to know where I came from. Most religions provide an answer to this question. The majority teach that the soul is created at conception. Only a few (Hinduism, Jainism, and Kabbalahism) claim that the human soul exists with God before birth. Only one Christian faith tradition teaches of an eternal soul that exists before birth and continues to exist after death, namely, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. One of the reasons I was first attracted to the Latter-day Saint church was its belief in a preexistence or ante-mortal state of man.

I choose to believe the doctrine that my identity, consciousness, and personality did not begin at conception or birth. I lived as a spirit-child of my Heavenly Father. In fact, I am co-eternal with God. Just as He did not create the earth out of nothing, but rather, organized existing materials to form the earth, He did not create me out of nothing, but rather, brought my beginningless intelligence into His family by clothing me with a spirit body.

As a spirit-child of God, I participated in a Grand Council in heaven before the earth was created. God presented His plan of salvation, in which the earth would be prepared, and I would have a chance to receive a mortal body, experience the pains and adversities of mortal life, and exercise my moral agency. I made my first important choice when I chose God's plan.

Latter-day Saint Answers

This doctrine of preexistence is distinctive to the Latter-day Saint tradition among Christian denominations; it has scriptural backing. Ancient Scripture hints at the doctrine, and modern revelation speaks explicitly of human origin.

For example, in Numbers 16:22, Moses addressed Jehovah as "the God of the spirits of all flesh." In the Book of Job, God responded to Job's complaining by asking, "Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? ... When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" (Job 38:4, 7) In calling Jeremiah to be His prophet to the Jews, God said, "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations" (Jeremiah, 1:5).

In Jesus's day, the notion of a person's existence before birth was not foreign. The apostles asked Jesus, "Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?" (John 9:2). The Apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesians, "he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world" (Ephesians 1:4).

In the Book of Mormon, another ancient text translated and published in modern times, the Prophet Alma spoke of men ordained to the priesthood as "being called and prepared from the foundation of the world according to the foreknowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and good works; in the first place being left to choose good or evil" (Alma 13:3). And the Prophet Samuel taught, "the resurrection of Christ redeemeth mankind, yea, even all mankind, and bringeth them back into the presence of the Lord" (Helaman 14:17). People could not be "brought back" into God's presence if they had not already been there in the first place.

Further, in the book of Moses in the Pearl of Great Price we read, "And he [Enoch] beheld the spirits that God had created" before they came to the earth (see Moses 6:36). In plain language, Father Abraham testified: "Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones; And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born" (Abraham 3:22-23).

And to put a finer point on this discussion of the preexistence of man, God revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith in 1833, "Man was also in the beginning with God. Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can be" (Doctrine and Covenants 93:29).

Conclusion

I believe, therefore, that we all were spirit-children of God and lived with Him before we were born on this earth because I believe in what the Scriptures have said about man's origin. I believe the Bible. I have an undeniable testimony of the Book of Mormon as the word of God. And I possess an unshakeable witness of Joseph Smith as God's prophet in these last days. I choose to believe I have a divine origin, a meaningful purpose, and an eternal destiny because to believe anything less would make life meaningless and untenable.

Sin Is Real and Repentance Is Necessary

Isn't sin just a construct of ancient religious leaders to try to control people?

Before explaining why I believe sin is real and repentance is necessary, I should define what I mean by sin and repentance. 

Sin Defined

First, sin is any action, desire, or intention that puts me out of alignment with God. God is the perfect Being. By His very nature, His every action, desire, thought, and intention is perfect. He is in perfect harmony with the universe and its laws and with Himself. He possesses no contradictions in His character or attributes. He never changes or deviates, because to change would either degrade His perfection or admit that He was not perfect before the change.

Because He is perfectly aligned with the universe and its laws, He knows how to be perfectly happy. Because I am His beloved child, He wants me to be as happy as He is. So, He has revealed the secret of being happy. We call that secret happiness formula the commandments. 

God first introduced commandments to Adam and Eve. Their posterity carried on the commandments through the Patriarchs down to Moses. Because the enslaved Israelites had completely lost the commandments, God revealed them anew through Moses in what are identified as the Ten Commandments. These are the most basic, fundamental guidelines for living a happy life.

The people of Israel struggled individually and as a society for centuries to live by these ten simple rules. Then God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to reiterate the Ten Commandments and to elevate them with the higher laws of the Gospel of Christ.

Therefore, the most obvious sins are those actions that deviate from the commandments. In addition, Jesus taught that our thoughts and desires are as important as our actions. Therefore, to think, desire, or act contrary to the commandments and laws of the Gospel puts me out of alignment with God's plan for my happiness. This is sin.

Repentance Defined

Second, repentance is the act of aligning myself with God's way of living and His will for me. To repent means literally to turn back. If I have turned away from God by even a small degree, then I repent when I  turn back to Him and follow His plan again. If sinning is not so much about breaking a rule as it is about getting out of harmony with God, then repenting is not so much about following prescribed steps of contrition and restitution as it is about getting myself back in harmony with God.

Of course, to be in harmony with God, I need to be in harmony with the people around me. That may mean confessing, apologizing, restoring, repaying, and earning renewed trust. When I am realigned with people I have offended or hurt, I can then align myself with God. 

Because God is loving and merciful, and because He knows I'm a flawed human, He has made provision for me to make mistakes and then overcome them. Making mistakes and then fixing them is called learning. The laws of the universe demand justice in the form of punishment. But God has tempered justice with mercy through His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus took my punishment through His atonement, so God could offer me forgiveness and as many chances as I need to start over and try again.

Forgiveness, however, is not free and unconditional. God will not forgive me while I'm in a state of misalignment. He will not save me in my sins. But He will save me from my sins when I put those sins away and align myself again with Him. 

Conclusion

Therefore, sin is real because God is real, and His godly ways are the only ways to become like Him, which is His goal for me. I sin when I turn away from His goal and follow my own lesser goals, that is, when I try to be happy in some other way than the way God is happy.

Repentance is therefore necessary to bring myself back in alignment with God's goal. When I repent, He forgives. Without His forgiveness, I would be lost forever. But because He forgives, I can learn and grow without being eternally condemned.

I choose to believe sin is real and repentance is necessary because my experience has taught me that lasting happiness is found in following God's plan.

God Hears and Answers Prayers

My belief in prayer begins with foundational beliefs:

1. God exists.

2. God is aware of us in the universe.

3. God cares about humans as His children.

4. God engages with us.

5.  The scriptures are true accounts of real people who had real experiences with God.

These fundamental beliefs are the background upon which I have built my belief that prayer works. I have laid out my rationale for these beliefs in previous articles, so I won't rehearse them here. 

I am also aware that many people believe in prayer as a beneficial practice without the notion that a God is listening. Some consider prayer a form of meditation or a way of sending energy into the universe. That's not the kind of prayer, however, that I'm talking about. 

When I speak of praying, I mean a conversation between a human and an omniscient, omnipotent, Supreme Being, the King of the Universe. I believe I can speak to a God who created me, knows me, loves me, sent me to earth to have experiences and learn lessons, and wants me to return to Him.  He is my Father, and I am His child. He knows my name and is interested in me as an individual. 

I believe God hears and answers my prayers because:

1. The Scriptures provide me with a written record of hundreds of answered prayers.  Both the Bible and the Book of Mormon recount the experiences of many people who prayed and received answers. While many of those people were prophets with spectacular experiences, many more were normal people like me, who pleaded for strength, guidance, or rescue and received the help they needed.

2. People I know personally have testified to the effects of answered prayers in their lives. Their needs and desires are very much like those of the people in Scripture, and their petitions have been granted. Some answers have been dramatic, while most have been subtle, almost coincidental--except that so many coincidences no longer appear coincidental.

3. Jesus set the example of prayer. Not only did He teach His disciples to pray, but He also practiced what He preached, often finding places and periods of solitude where He could commune with His Father. 

4. In addition, Jesus promised that prayers would be answered. "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you" (Matthew 7:7). "And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it" (John 14:13-14). Because I believe Jesus is the Son of God (another foundational belief), I trust that He is telling the truth.

5. I have had my own personal experience with prayer. I have spoken to my Father in the name of Jesus daily, often multiple times a day, for more than fifty years. I have prayed in times of great sorrow and great joy, great distress and great triumph. Many of my prayers have been outpourings of gratitude. Some have been angry shouts, while most have been whispered or silent. He lets me know that He hears me. Most often, He provides a subtle feeling of peace, a gentle acknowledgement that He has received my message. I have received ideas and impressions. Sometimes He has given me words, sentences, and paragraphs--not in my ears but in my mind. He has strengthened me, encouraged me, lifted me, and prompted me to act. When I have needed guidance, He has confirmed certain critical decisions and directed me away from bad choices.

Not every prayer has required an answer or deserved one. I often get no for an answer, and even more often, I get no answer at all. I've learned that God's silence doesn't mean that He's not listening or doesn't care. Sometimes, He lets me exercise my agency, use my own logic, and learn from the consequences, both good and bad. He's not raising a puppet, He's training a son.

I choose to believe in prayer, not only because I have the evidence and testimony of others, and not only because I have a lifetime of my own experiences, but because my logic tells me that a God who took the time and effort to create the universe and the earth, and who created me and sent me here, would not turn His back and walk away. My Father has a purpose for me, and He wants to have a relationship with me. That relationship I call prayer.

Baptism Is Essential to Salvation

If I believe in Jesus, why do I need baptism?

The word baptism comes from a Greek word that means "dip" or "immerse." It is the introductory ordinance, ushering the recipient into the Church of Christ. While baptism is a prerequisite for membership in Christ's church, it is also a requirement for salvation. The law of the Church dictates the need for baptism. The words and actions of Jesus in the New Testament testify to the essential nature of baptism for salvation. 

I accept as true doctrine the salvatory benefit of baptism by immersion by one holding the necessary priesthood authority for the following reasons:

1) Jesus said baptism was necessary to "fulfill all righteousness" (Matthew 3:15). Jesus Himself was baptized by John the Baptist (see Mark 1:9) to set the example for the rest of us to follow. 

2) Further, Jesus stated specifically, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved" (Mark 16:16), indicating that belief alone is not enough. He famously stated to Nicodemus, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" (John 3:5). "Born of the water" is commonly understood to be baptism, and entering "the kingdom of God" is the very definition of salvation.

3) Jesus commanded His apostles to "teach all nations, baptizing them" (Matthew 28:19). He would not have put this requirement for baptism on His disciples if it was not necessary.

4) After Jesus ascended into heaven, leaving His church in the hands of the apostles, those apostles continued to preach the need for baptism: "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ" (Acts 2:38). Additionally, the  Apostle Peter wrote in his general epistle to the Church, "even baptism doth also now save us" (1 Peter 3:21).

Hence, baptism was an indisputably essential ordinance in the ancient Church. If God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, shouldn't the same rules apply in other places and at other times?. Indeed, they do.

5) When the resurrected Christ appeared to the people in the Western Hemisphere, He spoke plainly of baptism: "And whoso believeth in me, and is baptized, the same shall be saved; and they are they who shall inherit the kingdom of God" (3 Nephi 11:33). 

6) In modern times, Jesus reiterated to the Prophet Joseph Smith the mandatory nature of baptism: "And as many as repent and are baptized in my name, which is Jesus Christ, and endure to the end, the same shall be saved" (Doctrine and Covenants 18:22). Further, in describing those who would inherit the celestial kingdom, which is God's kingdom in heaven, the revelation says, "They are they who received the testimony of Jesus, and believed on his name and were baptized after the manner of his burial, being buried in the water in his name, and this according to the commandment which he has given" (Doctrine and Covenants 76:51).

Thus, the requirement of baptism for salvation was taught anciently by Jesus Himself and His apostles, was instituted in both the Old World and the New, and has been reinforced by revelation to the prophet of this new dispensation. 

7) Finally, I accept the need for baptism not only as a Christian, but also as one of the articles my faith as a Latter-day: "We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost" (Articles of Faith 1:4).

I chose to be baptized when I was fifteen years old because I wanted to be eligible to be saved in the kingdom of God. There is certainly more to receiving the gift of salvation than being dunked in water. Salvation is a lifetime endeavor of learning, growing, following Christ, repenting daily, and receiving the gift of sanctification through the Holy Spirit. I do not earn salvation or sanctification through my works; they are gifts that God gives. But I must indicate my willingness to accept His gifts, and baptism is one of the signs of my desire to follow Christ and become a joint-heir with Him. Because I accept the  scriptures as the word of God revealed to mankind, I believe baptism is essential "because the Bible tells me so."

I Am A Child of God, Made in His Image

If God is so much greater, holier, more powerful, and more glorious than humans, what makes me think I could be His child? How am I different than any other animal that walks the earth?

It is true that I, like all human beings, am so far removed from the glory, intelligence, and power of God that the figurative distance is incomprehensible to my mind. I am vastly inferior in every way to the Supreme Being of the universe. To most people who believe in God, our frail mortal existence separates us from the God of Heaven and Earth in profoundly significant ways. The barrier between God and us is so high, wide, and deep that it seems impenetrable.

And yet, Jesus, God's Beloved Son, has instructed us to address the God of the universe as Father. So, first and foremost, I believe I am the offspring of God because Jesus said so. 

For example, Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount: "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect" (Matthew 5:48). He did not say "my Father" or "the Father," he said "your Father." He used the phrase "your Father" elsewhere in His great sermon: 

• "After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven..." (Matthew 6:9).
• "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you" (Matthew 6:14).
• "...your Heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things" (Matthew 6:32).

The ancient apostles likewise taught very directly of the familial relationship between God and humans. For example, the Apostle Paul wrote: "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together" (Romans 8:16-27). According to Paul, we are not so very distant from God the Father after all.

Prophets in the Book of Mormon also testified of our divine heritage. King Benjamin reminded the Nephites, "...ye are eternally indebted to your heavenly Father" (Mosiah 2:34). 

The Prophet Joseph Smith taught the Saints in the early days of the Restoration about their divine relationship to their Heavenly Father. “The Great Parent of the universe looks upon the whole of the human family with a fatherly care and paternal regard” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, page 39).

Modern apostles proclaimed God's relationship to us in these words, "It is significant that of all the titles of respect and honor and admiration that are given to [God], He has asked us to address Him as Father” (“Father, Consider Your Ways,” Ensign, June 2002, 12). 

So, God is my Father. But in what sense is this true? Do I take this relationship literally, or is it merely a metaphor? Again, the Scriptures provide the answer.

God is the literal Father of all human spirits:

• "O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh" (Numbers 16:22)
• "Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?" (Hebrews 12:9).
• "And he [Moses] beheld the spirits that God had created" (Moses 6:36).
• "Whereupon are the foundations [of the Earth] fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof; When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" (Job 38:6-7).

My spirit--my essence and consciousness--is a literal son of Heavenly Father, housed temporarily in a mortal body. I lived with God before the Earth was created and before I was born on said Earth. But is there more to my sonship than my spiritual creation?

"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.... So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them" (Genesis 1:26-27).

So, my body is in the likeness and image of God. But is this literal or figurative? 

Jesus's beloved apostle John wrote, "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is" (1 John 3:2).

And what exactly will we see, and how shall we be like Him?

The Lord answered that question for Joseph Smith when He revealed, "The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit." (Doctrine and Covenants 130:22).

I am, therefore, a literal son of God in the spirit, and my physical body has the same form as Heavenly Father's, although without His glory and immortality. Those additional attributes will come in the Resurrection. 

I choose to believe these principles about my nature and relationship to God not only because they have been revealed to prophets, but because they make logical sense. God did not create me to be a lowly creature who would spend eternity groveling before the Supreme Being, but, like any good father, to enable me to become like He is. From the very beginning, He created my spirit to grow and develop, take on flesh and bone like His, pass through a mortal probation where I could learn faith and patience, and then come forth as a resurrected, glorified being, immortal and eternal as God is, God's rightful heir and a joint-heir with Christ (Romans 8:17).

Heavenly Father doesn't want just worshippers; He wants sons and daughters who will follow in His footsteps and become as He is.

Ultimately, I believe I am a child of God because, as the Apostle Paul said, "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God" (Romans 8:16). "And by the power of the Holy Ghost, ye may know the truth of all things" (Moroni 10:5), including the truth about who I am.

Christ's Atonement Is Necessary and Perfect

Why did Jesus have to die? 

Everything that has come before in the Christian faith leads me to Christ's atonement. It is the logical conclusion and the centerpiece of God's plan of salvation for His children.

Because God exists, absolute truth exists. Because God lives every moment in accordance with the laws of absolute truth, He is flawless and holy. He intends us, His children, to be flawless and holy, because He made us in His image. 

God wants us to live with Him forever, but only beings who are as perfect and holy as God can reside in His presence. When God created us, He gave us agency, which is the ability to choose to live like Him. Because of this agency, however, we also have the ability to choose to act in ways that are not aligned with God. 

So that our agency would be effective, God allows evil to exist alongside good. He created a world in which we would face opposition: the tree of knowledge of good and evil vs. the tree of life. God also cut us off from His direct presence so we could make choices without fear of immediate judgment and retribution. We are, therefore, free to choose to align ourselves perfectly with God or not.

Every human born on this earth has a dual nature. Our spirits come from God, and our bodies are of the earth. Our earthly bodies are driven by appetites and passions that throw us out of alignment with God's way of life. Our spirits have to learn to manage and control our earthly bodies. In the learning process, we make mistakes. Like learning to walk, we stumble and trip. And just as willful toddlers intentionally touch a hot stove or run out into the street because they don't understand consequences, we may likewise intentionally choose actions that are not in harmony with God's will. Mistakes are called transgressions, and willful rebellion is sin.

The reality of life on earth is that no one chooses correct actions every time. Every human being has made mistakes and intentionally turned away from God to do something they think will make them happy.

Because of our agency, we are accountable for our choices. We may plead ignorance for some mistakes, but for purposeful disregard for God's standards, we are guilty as charged. Everyone who has ever been born has failed to live up to God's perfect expectations.

The law of eternal justice, by which God abides, requires a punishment for every broken law. Additionally, once a soul is guilty of a sin, that soul remains guilty forever. Suffering the punishment does not remove the guilt. In the human justice system, a thief who has "paid his debt to society" may be allowed to re-enter society, but he can never "unsteal" the thing he stole that made him a thief. God's justice works the same way. I can stop stealing and repay all that I took from others, and so regain a measure of trust and respectability, but the stain of my former guilt will never leave me. I will also be the former thief who stopped stealing; I can never be the man who never stole.

After I have stolen, even once, I will forever be unworthy and incapable of residing in the presence of the perfect, holy God. Even after I have received the punishment for my crime and lived the rest of my life in perfect honesty, the flaw in my character will not allow me to stand in the vicinity of God. His perfect glory will repel me, and I will run from Him to hide my guilt.

That's not what God wants for me, however. He wants me to learn from my mistakes and bad choices. He wants me to grow in my desire and ability to live His kind of life without being forever doomed by my early failed attempts. He wants me to live comfortably and happily in His presence for all eternity. 

How can He be a fair and just God, and also be a loving and merciful God? If He ignores sins without requiring punishment, He has broken the universal law of absolute justice. He would, therefore, not be a flawless and holy God. He would be changeable, partial, and unpredictable. Therefore, He would not be fit to rule the universe.

Further, we would learn nothing about making correct choices if our actions carried no consequences. We would not grow and develop. 

This is where Jesus Christ and His atonement come to the rescue. To make God's plan of salvation work, so that we could make mistakes on earth and still return to live with Him, Someone who deserved no punishment would have to take the punishment for every other person on earth. 

Jesus volunteered for that assignment. The only way He could take the punishment for another person was 1) to be sinless Himself, and 2) to be accountable for and accept the guilt of the other person. He had to remove the guilt from the other person and own it Himself. He who had never stolen would have to confess to stealing whatever I stole. He who had never lied would have to admit to telling my lie. He who had never been immoral would have to accept my immorality as His own.

Once Jesus accepted my guilt by proxy, He became worthy of my just punishment, and I was no longer guilty. I could not be convicted of stealing because Jesus took that action on himself. I was free of the stain of guilt. I could stand in God's presence as if I had never stolen because, as far as Jesus was concerned, I was not the thief; He was.

Jesus took my guilt and punishment not just for the candy bar I stole as a child, but for everything I ever did and would yet ever do that separated me from God. And He did that not just for me, but for every human who has ever or will ever be born on this earth. 

How could Jesus do such a thing? Because, as God, He is omniscient and omnipotent. He has to be all-knowing because if there was even one thing about me He didn't know, He might have missed one of my sins, and I would still be guilty. And He had to be all-powerful because if He lacked even the slightest bit of power, He might not have been able to endure my punishment, and I would still have to accept that punishment.

Therefore, I believe Christ's atonement is necessary and perfect because:

1) I believe God exists.

2) I believe God is a flawless, unchangeable, unerring, and impartial God who is also loving and merciful.

3) I believe I am created in the image of God with an eternal destiny to live with Him forever.

4) I believe I have the God-given agency to choose to live with Him.

5) I believe I have made many wrong choices that doom me to be separated from God's presence forever.

6) I believe God's plan for my life is for me to learn and grow from my mistakes without being penalized by them forever.

7) I believe Jesus, as God's Son, had the knowledge and the power to take my sins upon Himself and suffer the consequences that should rightfully have fallen to me.

8) I believe Jesus loves God and all of God's children enough to be the Sacrificial Lamb to free us all from our just punishments.

9) I believe Jesus's words recorded in the Bible that He would take upon Himself the sin of the world and the sins of all men.

10) I believe the witnesses in the Bible and elsewhere that Jesus rose from the dead as proof of His atoning sacrifice.

Because Jesus died and lives again, I believe that I will live again in God's presence forever.

I choose to believe in Christ's atonement because no other option makes sense to me. Without God and the hope of getting back to Him, nothing in this earthly life has any real meaning. Without the hope of joy, suffering is pointless, and life is meaningless. Without victory, there is no life, only death. I choose to believe that there is more to life than death, and I can choose life because of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ Is Resurrected

Christ's Resurrection Is Real

The life and death of Jesus of Nazareth is an established fact. The non-Christian historical accounts of Flavius Josephus, Cornelius Tacitus, Lucian of Samosata, Maimonides corroborate one another in relating when and how Jesus died. 

The suffering and death of Jesus are critical to the Christian faith because they are the source of the atonement that reconciles us with God. Yet, as important as Christ's death is, it would mean nothing without His resurrection. Because Jesus Christ rose from the dead, I can trust everything else He promised, including His ability to wash away my sins.

The proof of the Atonement is the Resurrection, and the proof of the Resurrection is witnesses. So, I begin my explanation of why I believe in Christ's resurrection with His witnesses.

1. The eyewitness testimony of Christ's resurrection is credible and sincere. The primary witnesses, the Apostles, suffered prolonged torture and death rather than renounce their testimony. Martyrdom proves sincerity, but it does not prove the facts. Nevertheless, the death of the Apostles is remarkable because they did not claim merely to believe Jesus was resurrected, but that they actually saw Him. Either they did or did not see Him alive and well after His death. The martyrs died not for what they believed, but for what they saw.

2. Saul, a diligent persecutor of the earliest believers in Jesus, had an experience with the resurrected Christ that dramatically changed his life, turning him into a staunch and unwavering defender of Jesus and His resurrection. Saul-turned-Paul testified to his dying day that he saw the resurrected Lord. 

3. The empty tomb could not be denied. The Jewish Sanhedrin claimed that Jesus's disciples stole the body. If that were true, then the Apostles would have known the resurrection was a hoax and would hardly have been willing to die to maintain the lie. Surely someone would have weakened in the face of torture and excruciating death and confessed to the hoax, if not to save himself, then to save his friends and family. It has also been suggested that Jesus faked His death and then escaped the tomb. The possibility that any human could survive being beaten, tortured, lacerated, and stabbed, suffering internal damage, massive blood loss, asphyxiation, and a spear through His side, and then sit quietly in a sealed tomb for more than thirty-six hours without medical attention is absurd.

4. Jesus has been seen in other places besides Jerusalem and at other times besides immediately after His death. The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ records the experience of thousands of people in the Western Hemisphere who saw the resurrected, immortal Christ. After He left his disciples in Palestine and ascended to heaven, He descended from heaven in dramatic fashion, appearing before more than 2,500 people on the American Continent. He called twelve Disciples from among the multitude and bestowed priesthood authority on them to proclaim His gospel and baptize. The resurrected Christ showed the people the wounds in His hands, feet, and side as a testimony that He was truly who He said He was. He preached the gospel, healed the sick and afflicted, and blessed the children. His majestic appearance ushered in a two-hundred-year reign of peace and righteousness among the people, which is chronicled in the Book of Mormon.

5. Modern witnesses have also seen the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus appeared to Joseph Smith, a young farm boy in New York State in 1820, commencing a restoration of ancient Christianity. Joseph Smith saw the resurrected Lord again in 1836, this time accompanied by Oliver Cowdery to stand as a second witness. Like the Apostles of old, Joseph died a martyr's death because he would not deny his testimony of Christ and His resurrection.

A single witness may not be enough to prove the case, but dozens, hundreds, and thousands of witnesses, all experiencing the miracle of the Resurrection at different times, places, and circumstances, make for a strong case. 

Still, if I haven't seen the resurrected Christ with my own eyes, how could I be sure the story is not a total fabrication? Is it possible that so many people have colluded to perpetuate a myth and that so many would die rather than admit the lie? Is it probable? No. But is it possible? Maybe. 

So, to seal the deal, God has promised to anyone willing to admit the possibility that Christ's resurrection is real their own personal witness. He offers to everyone who will ask a testimony provided by the Holy Ghost, the third member of the Godhead, the Comforter and Testifier. 

The Bible says that "no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost" (1 Cor. 12:3). The Holy Ghost "shall teach you all things" (John 14:26). I bear my witness that these statements are true. By the witnessing, testifying, and convincing power of the Holy Ghost, I believe that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is real. He appeared to His Apostles and others in Jerusalem, was seen by more than 500 people in Galilee, visited and spoke to St. Paul on the road to Damascus, appeared to and taught thousands on the American Continent, came to Joseph Smith and others in modern times, and lives today as a resurrected and immortal Being. I know by the Holy Ghost that these things are true.