I think today I'm going to do a personal post. This weekend Mike and I went to a funeral for a little boy only 2 months younger than our darling Lucy, and it was one of those opportunities to think about what it is we truly believe.
I've been a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints my whole life. From the time I was 3 I've been taught the Plan of Salvation. This is what we call God's plan for us. We believe that before we came to Earth, we existed as spirits with our Father in Heaven. He told us of His plan for us to come to earth, receive bodies, and be tested. He told us that He would send us a Savior, even Jesus Christ, who would pay the price of our sins; thus if we lived righteously and repented of our sins, we could be forgiven and return to our Father's presence to live for eternity with our families. Because there must be opposition in all things, there was another plan brought forth by our brother Lucifer. He had a plan that would ensure that everyone would return, but it required us to forfeit our agency. At that point in our premortal existence, God the Father allowed us to choose: agency with the possibility of not being able to return to our Father's presence, or no agency. We know what happened--those who chose Lucifer's plan were cast out, Lucifer became Satan, and the hosts that followed him became devils to persuade men to be miserable as they are. Those who chose the Father's plan were sent to Earth, to receive bodies and be tested.
We believe that this mortal existence is a time for us to be tested. We believe that there are certain things we must accomplish in this life in order for us to return to God's presence: we must be baptized and make certain covenants (or promises) in the temple. When we die, we are sent to a spirit world, which is divided into two sections: spirit paradise, where dwell those who led righteous lives, and spirit prison, where dwell those who were wicked. We believe that those in the spirit world are continuously striving to teach the true gospel, watch over the living, and rest from mortal cares as we prepare for the next step, which is resurrection and judgment. At this point, following judgment, we believe we are sent to one of four places: the celestial kingdom, which is where God the Father dwells, the terrestial kingdom, which is where good people who have not accepted the true gospel or temple covenants go, and the telestial kingdom, which is where those who refused to repent or lived wicked lives go. The fourth place is called outer darkness, and is reserved for only the vilest of sinners.
I know this is a lot to take in, and it's only a basic summary of this truly glorious plan, but as I've pondered on life and death this week, it's been on my mind a lot. It's tragic when children die. It doesn't seem right that someone so innocent and pure would have to leave this earth so early, and leaving us with broken hearts as we lose so many opportunities and miss the lost person so terribly. What a comfort it is to know, though, that there IS life after this! Not only that, but if we are sealed together as families in the temple, those lost children, mothers, fathers, siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, etc. will be ours again! In the Kingdom of God, we WILL be families again. So even though we still have to live out the rest of our mortal lives without the beloved lost member, we have all of eternity to celebrate a joyful reunion. And I KNOW that eternity will be a lot longer than we're here on earth. To me it's comforting to know that death is not the end--merely the beginning of a much grander existence, free from hurt, pain, tiredness, sin... and what could be better than that?
If there were one thing I could tell everyone I know, it would be that our Savior lives. I know that Jesus Christ atoned for the sins of everyone who has ever lived on this earth, and that if we will but accept his atonement, live righteously, and repent of the inevitable mistakes, we will be blessed beyond any mortal imagination. I am so thankful that I have been sealed to my family. I know that when we leave this mortal stage, we will still be a family.
And that is good news.
For more information on the LDS (or Mormon) church, visit www.mormon.org, or www.lds.org
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