Svithing the Plan

Sunday I had the opportunity to teach in Relief Society. I love teaching in church for various reasons. It is, perhaps, my most favorite calling ever. While I wish I could get myself to do all of my scripture study as in depth as I do for a lesson, I don't. I love that it gives me motivation to try and understand a subject well enough that I can field questions confidently (and competently) as well as explain concepts well enough that others can find comfort and understanding as I have.

This week's lesson was on The Great Plan of [Salvation, Redemption, Happiness, God]. I hope that you all get a chance to read it.

(Now, what I say next is not to boast or compare myself to anyone. I know I am nothing without God.) Gospel understanding has always come easy to me. It has just always made sense. In my patriarchal blessing it says I "have the an eager mind and the ability to store wisdom and to understand and grasp the mysteries of the gospel." I know I don' t know all of the mysteries of the gospel. Not even close. I know that there are a lot more lessons for me to learn and that I've merely scratched the surface. That is why I get really excited to discover new (to me) doctrinal principals.

I was a bit blown away while reading this lesson. Yes there were a lot of things I'd heard my whole life, but there were some things I'd never even considered.

Take this for example:

"As the Lord liveth, if it had a beginning, it will have an end. All the fools and learned and wise men from the beginning of creation, who say that the spirit of man had a beginning, prove that it must have an end; and if that doctrine is true, then the doctrine of annihilation would be true. But if I am right, I might with boldness proclaim from the house-tops that God never had the power to create the spirit of man at all. God himself could not create himself. (emph. and italics added by me.)

Intelligence is eternal and exists upon a self-existent principle. It is a spirit from age to age and there is no creation about it. All the minds and spirits that God ever sent into the world are susceptible of enlargement.

The first principles of man are self-existent with God.

Okay, so I was with Joseph Smith up until this point, but what follows is what really made me stop and think. I'd never once considered this next little bit (though I should have since I've read the book of Abraham and it's right in there).

God himself, finding he was in the midst of spirits and glory, because he was more intelligent, saw proper to institute laws whereby the rest could have a privilege to advance like himself. The relationship we have with God places us in a situation to advance in knowledge. He has power to institute laws to instruct the weaker intelligences, that they may be exalted with himself, so that they might have one glory upon another, and all that knowledge, power, glory, and intelligence, which is requisite in order to save them in the world of spirits.

Now, here's where my mind started reeling. I thought, "Okay, so does this then mean that God our Father didn't actually have a Heavenly Father himself? Does this mean we were just immortal matter out in space from eternity to eternity until God our Father figured out how to organize everything?" I actually can't definitively give you an answer. It sure seems like that could be a plausible answer. That He is the first. However, after giving more thought to the subject, I can't disallow for the possibility that while we were intelligences with God, he very well could have had a mortal experience just as we are now having, by such gaining the knowledge necessary to instruct and organize instruct the spiritual matter which is now us.

I mean, if have the ability to become like God through His Plan of Salvation with the help of our Savior, Jesus Christ, then we will one day be Gods and Goddesses with the ability to create and organize worlds of our own. That statement could be then applied to us. Finding [myself] in the midst of spirits and glory, because he [I] was more intelligent [because of the mortal experiences I'd gained], saw proper to institute laws whereby the rest could have a privilege to advance like [myself].

I found this very fascinating indeed.

Okay, now on to the lesson.

Besides the Intelligence point, it focused on the beginning of the Plan of Salvation. The pre-mortal existence, the war in heaven, earth, and agency.

We spoke about how Lucifer was a noble spirit. He was a spirit of great enough light that he was in a position to actually have a plan to present. On the surface, his plan looked enticing (hey, that's how he still operates). Everyone makes it back safely. No one is lost. The credit and glory would be all his. This disallows for agency. He's also on a power trip wanting God's power and glory essentially. (Now isn't this an interesting aside point. If he'd followed Jesus Christ, come to earth, received a body and become exalted he would have had the opportunity to be as God is without usurping his power and authority...)

One sister wondered if any of the host of heaven who followed him ever felt remorseful for the choice they made because Satan had "pulled the wool over their eyes". Here's how I feel about that: Before them stood Lucifer, Christ, and God. On the one hand you have Lucifer who was a pretty influential, clever, intelligent and bright being. On the other hand you have Christ and God who are more intelligent and more full of light and are unified. The souls who chose to follow Satan were physically in the midst of God when they did so. To be a Son of Perdition you have to have a sure knowledge of God and then deny Him. They had their agency. Satan did not force. Just as he couldn't force people to do good and return, he can't force people to do bad. We cannot blame him for all the bad done in the world. People are agents who move closer to God or closer to Satan with every choice, thought, and decision they make.

On with the lesson, one of the other points that kept coming to my mind while I was preparing had to do with bodies. Joseph S. says, "We came to this earth that we might have a body and present it pure before God in the celestial kingdom. The great principle of happiness consists in having a body. The devil has no body, and herein is his punishment." The thing that kept coming to my mind after reading this was: It's so easy, especially for women, to despise our bodies. To be frustrated with our appearance. It's easy to think "I'm too [fat, short, tall, skinny, ugly, etc.]". But really, those thoughts are planted by a jealous and bitter opponent. "The devil has no body, and herein is his punishment." Our bodies are gifts from God. Without them we could not share Eternal Life with Him. Our responsibility is to love, respect, and take care of our bodies as best as we can. To not abuse it with drugs, illicit sexual relations, and other such things that defile. It is to present it pure before God. That is all he asks.

And with that I must end. Dean just woke up from his nap. So without proof reading this, I will now post it. Please forgive me for the errors that are surely here.