OUR PURPOSE IN LIFE

-Elder Chubak-

PREFACE It has been the quest of humanity for centuries to discover where we came from, why we are here and where well go when we die. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can answer all of these questions and I plan to do my best to explain just what the Church teaches on this important subject: What is our purpose of life? This is not an easy thing to explain as there are many parts to it. In order to fully understand the purpose of life on earth we must understand where we came from and if there is a life after death as well. So, in a true attempt to explain our purpose, I will first approach the question "Where did we come from?" After explaining that I will move on to the question of "Why are we here?" Finally, upon completing this section, I will do my best to answer "Where do we go?" I do not pretend to know all there is to know on this subject, but I will do my best to explain the gist of it. It can be explained further through the study of the Holy Bible, Book of Mormon, and other Standard Works of the Church. -Elder Chubak-

CHAPTER ONE - Where We Came From Council and War There came a time in our life before earth that God brought all of us into one great audience to hear his plan about the world. This plan of His was not debatable, it was set. He gathered us in council to decide upon one thing: Who would be the Savior of mankind? This Savior would have to endure the pains of the world, place the sins of man upon his shoulders, and eventually die to bring eternal life. After this was presented to all of us, two beings came forward to volunteer. One was Jesus Christ and the other was Lucifer, the Son of the Morning. Both of these two were well-known and loved children of God. Each of these two came forward wiht their own plan on how they would be the Redeemer of men. Christ agreed to the plan of the Father and said hed fulfill his role as Messiah and Mediator, with glory going where glory is due to the Father, the one that created the plan. The Son of the Morning made the presentation that he would also fulfill the role as Savior, and would not allow a single spirit child to be lost in mortality, but the glory of God must be all his. The Father chose Jesus the Christ. Do not allow yourself to jump to conclusions by thinking that God chose Christ because he wanted the glory, rather than let Lucifer have it. There is more to this decision than just that. It comes down to the basics of the great Plan itself. Gods Plan of Happiness was meant to bring us into mortality to gain a physical body that we would then have with us after our death, when we return to the Spirit World, thanks to the resurrection that the Savior would bring. But in addition to this, mortality was a chance for us to prove ourselves to our God that we would be willing to do what it takes to live with Him again. This requires free agency. If Lucifer were to follow through with the plan that he presented, we would be declined our agency to choose between good and bad. If that were the case, the Plan of God would have become naught, meaning it would not have worked, making God a false God and God will not be mocked. Lucifers plan was declined because agency with man was necessary for mankind to prove he was willing to follow the Father. We need that chance that the Son of the Morning wouldnt have brought us. Christ was chosen and foreordained to be the Savior of all of our spiritual brothers and sisters, while Satan rebelled against Jesus and the Father because he was rejected. Satan was a loved spirit being, with a large group of the hosts of heaven by his side, supporting his plan. A war in heaven then commenced, those in support of Gods plan with Jesus Christ as the Savior fought for them, while those who supported Lucifer fought for him. Details about this war are few, but revelation has told us that one-third of the spirits in heaven followed Lucifer and his plan. At the end of the war God sent out Lucifer, who lost his title as Son of the Morning, and he became Satan, the father of all lies, the devil. With Satan, God cast out the third of the spirits that fought for the devil in heaven. These evil spirits were sent down to the worlds that God had created for man.

CHAPTER TWO - Why We're Here Fall of Man The Bible says the the Father took of Adam a rib with which he created Eve. This is a completely figurative statement, the meaning is that Eve was created as an equal to Adam. The rib is in the side of the body, and in the same way, Eve was to be by the side of Adam. Neither of the two beings were greater than the other, women are not greater than men, and men are not greater than women, but they are to work side-by-side as equals. It is said that God is not a respecter of persons. This includes gender, not one being above the other in the sight of God. Adam and Eve were the first people on the earth, but they were not originally in the same state of being that we are in now. When God created Adam, he was created in a Celestial state. He then created Eve, the first woman. She, too, was created as a Celestial being. In this state of being they could not die, they were not mortal. Likewise, the earth and all things on it were also in a Celestial state and could not die. In the Garden of Eden, the place where Adam and Eve were placed, God also placed two trees unlike any of the other trees in the Garden The Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. These two trees are opposites, the first bringing immortality and the second mortality. As immortal beings the second tree would bring mortality and death should Adam and Eve eat the fruit from it. God warned them that this would be the case, that they would die, should they eat it. This was one of the two commands that God gave these two people after He created them, the other command being to multiply and fill the earth. However, after giving these commandments, God gave them the choice. His plan could not come forth without the agency for men to choose for themselves. The parents of mankind were given the law and then given the choice to obey them or not. Satan, the once Lucifer, Son of the Morning, after he lost the war in heaven was cast down to earth. His fate was set due to his actions in the life before earth. He knew he was to end up in an endless misery and strived to bring others down with him. Because of this, and out of anger towards the Father, he showed himself to the first parents, Adam and Eve, in the Garden of Eden. It is not known how long it was after the creation that Satan showed himself, or how long it took to successfully tempt Eve, but at some point the devil did succeed in convincing Eve to eat the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. She was told from the devil that to eat this fruit would not kill you, but would bring you the knowledge of God, knowing good from evil. This was a half-truth. She did, after eating the fruit and becoming mortal, know good from evil, but in doing so she brought death upon herself, not at that particular time, but she was going to die now. At this time the fate of all people came down to the choice of Adam. Eve, for breaking the command of God, was to be removed from the Garden and he could choose to eat the fruit and leave with her, or to not eat the fruit and remain in an immortal state in the Garden. It is here that Adam should be thanked for his choice to eat the fruit, and not looked upon as a sinful man. At some time before God sent the two out of the Garden of Eden, they were married to each other eternally. He chose to live with Eve in mortality. To do otherwise would be breaking the second commandment of God, to multiply and have children. Separated, these two could not have kids. After eating the fruit that was forbidden, that brought their bodies into a mortal state, a cherubim was placed near the Tree of Life to keep Adam and Eve from eating from that tree in their mortal state. To do so would mean an endless misery for mankind. Eating the forbidden fruit had placed them in a fallen state of mortality, away from God, and to eat the Tree of Life would have made them immortal in a fallen state. It was required, therefore, for the good of mankind to place a celestial angel, a cherubim, to keep this from happening. Upon being led out of the Garden of Eden God created clothing out of an animals skin, to prepare them

for the thorns and thistles and hardships of a mortal world. The next commandment given to them was to offer sacrifices to God. On occasion, from time to time, Christ and his angels taught Adam and Eve the gospel of God, and of what was required to return to His presence. Although they were sent out of Gods presence, God would not allow them to live without the knowledge of how to return to his glorious presence. It was Gods plan from the very beginning that all people should go through this mortal state, away from His presence, to earn their way back to Him. So although mankind was no longer in a Celestial state of being, men still had a way back, through the Savior Jesus Christ, and they had the knowledge of what was required.

Atonement Atonement is the word used to describe Gods greatest sacrifice, the sacrifice of the Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ. For men to return to the presence of God the Fall of Adam had to be countered. Because Adam and Eve ate the fruit that was forbidden by God they brought mortality and a fallen state (meaning away from Gods presence, not Celestial) upon the earth. This new state of being would be eternal without an atonement just as eternal as the Fall. Man cannot bring himself back from a Telestial state to a Celestial state on his own, it requires the help of a god, which is just what our Father did for us. In the Council before earth, this was exactly what he said was needed when he asked who would be the Savior of mankind. Christ was the one that was chosen before the world, and now that the Fall had taken place, it was Christs roll that all of us depend upon. Four thousand years after Adam and Eve were driven from the Garden of Eden Christ was born on the earth. Often Jesus is referred to as the Son of Man as well as the Son of God. Son of Man because he has a mortal mother, Mary, and the Son of God because his father is God, the Eternal Father of all of us. He was born the Son of God in mortality. This was required for the Atonement to fulfilled. Christ grew up and learned the same way all of mankind learns one thing at a time, line upon line and precept upon precept. But his learning came not only from Mary and Joseph but from God. When the appropriate time came Jesus presented himself as the Savior of which all the prophets, past and present, had prophecied of. Jerusalem was chosen as the location for the Savior to be born, not by chance. Of all the places on all of the worlds, if the great Redeemer had been born in any other place, among any other people, they would have accepted and followed all of His words. When He would have done miracles among other people they would have rejoiced and praised His name. On the other hand, Jerusalem was among the most hardhearted people at the time, so when Christ Jesus presented himself to save mankind he was persecuted. When He worked miracles among the Jews, when he cured illnesses they cursed the Lord and called Him an imposter. The time eventually came when the hatred towards the Lord was so great the people sought to arrest and kill him. However, the Atonement begins just before this happens. Oustide the city of Jerusalem is a garden known as Gethsemane. In this Garden the night of his arrest, Christ was with some of his apostles. While the apostles slept Christ prayed to his Eternal Father. This is where the great sacrifice begins. At this time our Lord went through pains that no mortal person can ever understand. He suffered all of the pains and sins of the world so that he could counter the Fall that was brought upon the earth, and offer up a way for people to return to Gods presence. This pain he suffered lasted for, approximately, three hours, during which he bled, as it is described, from every pore of his body. At a time during this three hours an angel, sent from God, came to the Savior to give him the strength to finish his work. When this painful experience was over, Christ, with the apostles that were with him, left the Garden of Gethsemane. They were met outside the garden by guards, lawyers, and rulers, led by Judas Iscariot. The once apostle, Judas, pointed out the Lord to the guards who then arrested him. From this point nearly until his crucifixion Christ was led from one great leader to another until one could decide what to do with him. Annas,

Caiaphas, Pilate, Herod. After King Herod released him the Lamb of God was led back to Pilate. It was while Christ was in Pilates custody that the people of the land were given the choice Who should go free and who will be killed? Two men were presented Barabbas and Jesus Christ. The people called to release Barabbas (the name Arabic for Son of the Father) and Jesus Christ (the true Son of the Father) remained in custody. Pilate asked what was to be done with the Savior and the response came to crucify him. On the hill of Golgotha, more commonly known as Calvary, Christ carried his cross that we was to die on. Upon the hill iron nails were pounded into his hands, wrists and feet. Hung up on the cross again the pains from the Garden of Getshemane returned. For hours again he went through the same agonizing pains required for the atonement of all sins. Here upon the cross, in these final pains, Christ had to face one last challenge. To truly atone for the sins of men that were removed from Gods presence, God had to remove himself from the presence of His son, even Jesus Christ while upon the cross. He could not have fully atoned for us if he had not known the misery of spiritual loneliness. After this was all done, after the dagger pierced the side of the Lord, Christ died. The Atonement does not end with the death of our Lord. Three days after Christs death upon the cross, after he was removed from Golgothas hill and placed in the tomb of rock, Jesus was resurrected. This was the last necessary step in overcoming the Fall of Man. The death of mortality had to be overcome, which no man can do. It required the very Son of God.

CHAPTER THREE - Where We're Going Immortality and Eternal Life Eternal life differs from Immortality. All people who are now living, have previously lived, and who will yet live on this earth, as well as all other worlds God has created, are granted immortality. This great blessing was bestowed upon mankind because of the Atonement of Christ, in which our Lord was resurrected and conquered death. Immortality is to live forever. Eternal life is to live forever with God. Every person, no matter where they end up after death, will live on forever, but only those who live in such a way to enter the Kingdom of God, the Celestial Kingdom, are granted both immortality and eternal life. Immortality, in addition to living forever, is to live forever with a body of flesh and bones. It means having had accepted Gods plan and coming to the earth to live a mortal life. Thus, not all of Gods spirit children receive this gift, but all of those who have lived on the earth do. Lucifer, a great spirit before the world, did not accept the Plan of Salvation on Gods terms, and with him were one-third of all of Gods spirit children. This third of heavens hosts were cast out of heaven and did not, neither will they ever, receive a physical body, therefore they will never receive the blessing of immortality.

Kingdoms of Glory This much is widely known and taught: There are three kingdoms of glory after this life in which we may dwell Celestial, Terrestrial and Telestial kingdoms. The glory of these kingdoms are often compared to the light of the sun, moon and stars, respectively. Within the Celestial Kingdom are another three levels of glory, of which there are not names. The highest of these three within the Celestial glory is the Kingdom of God. This is where God the Father and Jesus Christ live. To be in this kingdom is to have eternal life. Only God knows which kingdom we will live in, as he is the great judge and creator of the plan. According to the teachings of President Brigham Young, the prophet following Joseph Smith, the true number of kingdoms is innumerable. There may be countless kingdoms in all the degrees of glory (Celestial, Terrestrial and Telestial). Because God is a just God, when he judges all men, the righteous and the wicked will not inherit the same kingdom. A sinner will not get the same reward as one that followed His commandments. In the same way a sinner and righteous man wont inherit the same kingdom, it is safe to say that one sinful man will not inherit the same as a more sinful man. Likewise, neither will a righteous man receive the same as a more righteous man. But exactly where someone ends up we know not. Only God can say that. However, some guidelines have been given, through revelation, to help us better understand Gods plan. -Celestial Kingdom Those who reach the celestial kingdom are those with a sure testimony and knowledge of Jesus Christ. These people have learned the commandments of God and have sought to live them their entire lives. Among the these necessary to obtain this kingdom of glory is to receive the ordinances put on the earth: Baptism, Priesthood, Endowments, Marriage. Baptism: The first saving ordinance is baptism by immersion. In order for the baptism to take place, you must be baptized by someone with the authority from God, this means that they hold the priesthood and live worthy of it.

Proper baptism requires complete submersion into the water. This is called baptism by immersion and is the only proper way to baptize. This form of baptism, immersion, is a symbol of Christ. The person goes completely under the water, symbolizing the death of our Savior, and then comes back out of the water, symbolizing the resurrection of the Lord. After baptism a person with the proper priesthood authority then confers the gift of the Holy Ghost upon the newly baptized person. Priesthood: The priesthood is the power and authority to act in Gods name on the earth. This ordinance is one that is only given to the men of the church, so for a woman wanting to reach eternal life they must find a husband that holds the priesthood. There are two priesthoods, the Aaronic and the Melchizedek, and both are required for exaltation. Aaronic: The Aaronic priesthood is often called the preparatory priesthood, which simply means a holder of the Aaronic priesthood uses it to prepare to obtain the Melchizedek priesthood, or higher priesthood. A holder of the Aaronic priesthood must remain worthy to use it, and although it is referred to as the lesser-priesthood, many responsibilities lay upon those who hold it. Preparing, blessing and giving the sacrament are all things Aaronic priesthood holders can, and should, take part in. They can also baptize people and ordain members, with proper authorization. Melchizedek: This priesthood is the higher-priesthood. In order to give blessings to the sick, receive endowments or have a temple marriage a man must hold the Melchizedek priesthood. Also, this priesthood is required to hold positions such as: apostle, quorum of seventy, patriarch, high priest and elder. Endowment: The endowment is a gift to those worthy of entering the temple to receive it (for a man, it means holding the Melchizedek Priesthood). When a person receives their endowments they are making covenants with the Lord that are necessary to obtain eternal life. Marriage: The marriage required for exaltation is to be married in a temple of the Lord. This marriage seals you and your spouse, as well as the kids you have in the future, together from that point on forever. When married in the temple you are now able to spend eternity as a family. This is the last saving ordinance. After receiving all of these ordinances, it is important to keep the covenants made with each one in order to make it to the Celestial Kingdom. Celestial life is not only knowing the commandments and covenants of God, but listening to them and keeping them all your life. -Terrestrial Kingdom The middle kingdom of glory is one obtained by people who lived without the law. This means those that died before they heard the gospel of Christ, but did not have a heart open to accepting it would they hear it. This kingdom is also one bestowed upon those that reject the Church and the gospel while living in mortality upon the earth, but accept it after they die. A third group of mankind that obtain this degree of glory are the good and honorable men on the earth that were tricked by the devil. These men were righteous in many ways, but were led astray in others.

-Telestial Kingdom The wicked people of the earth are those that inherit the Telestial Kingdom of glory. Those that rejected the gospel, but did not commit the single unpardonable sin, end up with the lowest form of salvation. These are the liars, adulterers, cheaters, false prophets, and all those who follow a lifestyle in opposition to God. People that end up with this lifestyle will not be resurrected at the first resurrection, the resurrection of the just, and will stay in their awful state of mind of misery until after the Millennium. At that point, when the work of Christ is finished on the earth, the second resurrection will come and these spirits will reunite with their physical bodies.

Outer Darkness Outer Darkness is another term for Perdition which means destruction. Perdition is both a place and a state of being. Those people in this state of being are called Sons of Perdition. Sons of Perdition include the third of the heavenly hosts that followed Lucifer when he was cast out of the presence of God. In addition to these spirits, Sons of Perdition also includes all those who commit a sin that is unforgivable by God. There is only one such sin that is unpardonable by God. This sin is to have the Holy Ghost and know the things of God and then reject Him and his teachings. To commit this is to put you in a state of perdition, or destruction. All other sins you can gain forgiveness from. Those that are in this state of mind, a state of perdition, are those that live in that hell described as a lake of fire and brimstone. Hell, Perdition, is not a literal place of fire as it is often misunderstood to be. Rather, it is a place of such misery that it feels you are in a lake of fire. These beings will not come forth until the second resurrection, after the Millennium, (unless they were of the host of heaven that did not come to earth, which do not get resurrected). Together, these bodies and spirits spend eternity in the place of Perdition.