He is the Firstborn Son of God in the spirit, and thus is the Elder brother of us all, as we are also the sons and daughters of God in the spirit. In our pre-earthly existence we knew him as our Elder Brother, a position and title he shall hold forever.
In the pre-earthly councils when the great plan of progression and eternal life was presented to us by his and our Heavenly Father, our Elder Brother lovingly and voluntarily offered to become our Redeemer and Savior in this physical, earthly existence. He agreed then to take upon himself the suffering that normally would come upon us whenever we disobey divine law, upon the condition that we would repent and stop breaking the law. He also agreed to offer his life to save us from the permanent effects of physical death. When his offer was gratefully accepted by those of us who agreed then to participate in the glorious plan, he became known as the one “chosen from the beginning” (Moses 4:2) and was the foreordained one from before the “foundation of the world” (1 Peter 1:20).
The basic meaning of the word damned is “to condemn to a punishment or fate”; another meaning is “to be constricted in or prevented from growth and progress.” A person is damned whenever he is prevented from reaching his potential as a son or daughter of God. This damnation may result from the poor choices of the individual, from his unwillingness to obey those laws upon which certain blessings are predicated, or from his lack of valiancy. Therefore, even a person in the lower degrees of the celestial glory might be considered as damned in that he does not have the power of eternal increase and cannot enjoy eternal life nor reach his potential as a son of God. Usually the words damned and damnation are used in connection with the lower degrees of glory terrestrial and telestial), and they are particularly relevant to those who are not worthy to inherit any of the degrees of glory.
Why is a “veil of forgetfulness” at the time of our physical birth necessary for the mortal experience? It is necessary in order for us to truly exercise faith. Brigham Young: “It has . . . been decreed by the Almighty that spirits, upon taking bodies, shall forget all they had known previously, or they could not have a day of trial.”
If repentance has been preached by all the prophets, it must be very important. But why, one might ask, is it necessary to repent? One answer to this question is that repentance of our sins is the only way we can regain the presence of God. The scriptures tell us that no unclean or sinful thing can dwell in God’s presence; thus we must repent of our sins and receive a remission of them if we are to enter into the presence of God. Another answer to the necessity of repentance is that repentance is the principle upon which all progress is based. Essentially repentance is forsaking a wrong thing or way for a right or better thing or way. That is the only method by which progress is made.
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) All four steps are necessary in order for people to be cleansed or sanctified from their sins and to be found worthy to regain the presence of God. Therefore, the Savior meant exactly what he said to Nicodemus: “Except a man be born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”
Gospel means “good news”—the good news that Jesus Christ has made it possible for us to return to the presence of our Heavenly Father. Through the Savior's perfect, sinless life and his suffering in Gethsemane and on the cross, Jesus Christ atoned for the original transgression of Adam and Eve and made it possible for us to be redeemed from spiritual death, which is the consequence of sin. Also through his atonement, including his crucifixion and resurrection, he has saved us from the permanent effects of physical death.
President Joseph Fielding Smith and others have made it abundantly clear that the descendants of Ephraim hold the presiding keys to carry forth the work of the Restoration and of the gathering of Israel in the last days. He said ... “That the remnants of Joseph, found among the descendants of Lehi, will have part in this great work is certainly consistent, and the great work of this restoration, the building of the temple and the City of Zion, or New Jerusalem, will fall to the lot of the descendants of Joseph, but it is Ephraim who will stand at the head and direct the work.” From what the prophets have said, then, most members of the Church come from Gentile nations, but they have some Israelite ancestors in their lineage. Therefore, they are not “assigned to” or “adopted into’ the house of Israel. They are legal heirs of the covenant, and the lineage proclaimed in their patriarchal blessings identifies the blood line that ties them back to Abraham.
A war was fought in heaven. It was not a war of bloodshed resulting in physical casualties, but a war involving ideologies and faithfulness, resulting in spiritual casualties … However, one third of the host of heaven decided not to accept the plan …Through open rebellion against our Heavenly Father, they became sinful and were cast out of heaven and out of his presence.
In the physical creation, God prepared a garden “eastward in Eden” (Genesis 2:8) and a physical body for man. Then the spirit of man was placed in the body, or as the scriptures put it, God “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (Genesis 2:7). According to the teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, the spirit that was put into this body of the first man was the spirit of Michael the Archangel, who became known on the earth as Adam or, as Daniel called him, the Ancient of Days. Thus, the Adam of this world is in reality the Michael of the pre-earthly existence who helped defend the plan of God in the great war in heaven as spoken of by John the Revelator. He was one of God’s chosen leaders before he ever came to the earth.
The basic meaning of the word damned is “to condemn to a punishment or fate”; another meaning is “to be constricted in or prevented from growth and progress.” A person is damned whenever he is prevented from reaching his potential as a son or daughter of God. This damnation may result from the poor choices of the individual, from his unwillingness to obey those laws upon which certain blessings are predicated, or from his lack of valiancy. Therefore, even a person in the lower degrees of the celestial glory might be considered as damned in that he does not have the power of eternal increase and cannot enjoy eternal life nor reach his potential as a son of God.
In the physical creation, God prepared a garden “eastward in Eden” (Genesis 2:8) and a physical body for man. Then the spirit of man was placed in the body, or as the scriptures put it, God “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (Genesis 2:7) According to the teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, the spirit that was put into this body of the first man was the spirit of Michael the Archangel, who became known on the earth as Adam or, as Daniel called him, the Ancient of Days. Thus, the Adam of this world is in reality the Michael of the pre-earthly existence who helped defend the plan of God in the great war in heaven as spoken of by John the Revelator. He was one of God’s chosen leaders before he ever came to the earth.
How important is our mortal physical experience? It is a necessary and important part of the plan of eternal progression. Joseph Fielding Smith: “This life is the most vital period in our eternal existence.” Bruce R. McConkie: “In a very real and literal sense the life that we are now living is the final examination for that infinite period of preparation that we had in the premortal life. Now if we do not respond as we ought to respond . . . then in effect we are throwing away all of the preparation that we made in the premortal life. . . . Now this life is not only the final examination for the life, the eternity, that went before, but this mortal probation is an entrance examination to determine the sphere, and the place, and the kingdom and the reward that we will have in the mansions ahead. . . . In a very real and definite sense, that singles out this mortal probation as the most important part of all eternity.”
When viewed in connection with the atonement of Jesus Christ, the Fall of Adam takes on an entirely new light. Instead of thwarting the plan of God, it was the means by which God made it possible for Adam and Eve to have children and therefore for us to come to this earth, it was the means by which God made it possible to us to live in a world of opposition—of good and evil—where we could obtain valuable experience learning to walk by faith out of his presence. It was also the means ordained of God to accomplish his work and glory in connection with this earth: “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39).
The idea is quite generally taught in Christianity that at the time of resurrection a person is assigned either to heaven, a place in the presence of God, or to hell, a place in the presence of the devil. According to this belief there is no other alternative: If a person is not worthy of the presence of God, he is thrust into the presence of the devil … Paul identifies three degrees of glory and gives names to two of these heavens. In speaking of the order of resurrected bodies, he states: ‘There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead’ (1 Corinthians 15:40-42; emphasis added). Thus Paul indicates that the highest heaven, whose glory is like the sun, is called the celestial. The second heaven, whose glory is like the moon, is the terrestrial. The lowest order of heaven, whose glory is like the stars, is not named by Paul.
Does an individual on this earth now have choice or agency as to whether he or she will die a physical death? No. Does that mean we are predestined to die? That depends on your definition of predestination. In the pre-earthly existence, we had agency or freedom of choice as to whether or not we would come upon this physical earth and take upon ourselves mortal bodies; however, we “used up” that agency in the pre-earthly existence. Thus, now we must die. Those people who do not believe in (or understand) our pre-earthly existence would probably say we are predestined to die. But the fact is that at one time we had agency in whether or not we would die.
In order for a person to inherit eternal life, however, he must keep not only the first principles and ordinances of the gospel, which are prerequisites to the celestial kingdom, but also the higher ordinances of the gospel, including temple marriage for time and all eternity. A man cannot obtain eternal life by himself; he must have the companionship of a wife. If a man and his wife receive these higher ordinances and remain faithful to the covenants they make, they are entitled to the gift of eternal life, which includes the right of eternal increase—the power and right to have children after the resurrection. This right and power will be given only to those who fulfill all the requirements.
What a wonderful message the gospel has for us concerning our pre-earthly existence. We are all truly brothers and sisters—all sons and daughters of divine parentage. This knowledge should help us understand one of the major purposes of life on this earth: to learn to walk by faith in an existence out of the presence of God where a veil is drawn over our eyes concerning our previous life with God. This enables us to gain a testimony of God through faith rather than by sight.
The other word that appears to me to be somewhat misleading is used in connection with the soul or the spirit of man. That word is pre-existence. I suspect that when this word is used we are really thinking of a pre-earthly existence, not of an existence of man before he actually existed, which, of course, would be a contradiction of terms. Therefore, in discussing the subject of an earlier existence of man, I should like to use the terms “pre-earthly existence” rather than the traditional term of “pre-existence.”
Job also understood this doctrine [a pre-mortal existence]. He was asked by the Lord: “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). Notice in these verse that the sons of God existed before the earth existed in its present form. Also, notice the plurality of the term “sons.”
Jesus Christ himself defined the word gospel to the Nephites: “Behold I have given unto you my gospel, and this is the gospel which I have given unto you—that I came into the world to do the will of my Father, because my Father sent me.” The Savior then reviewed for the Nephites the facts of the Atonement, including the need to repent, be baptized, receive the Holy Ghost, and endure to the end. (3 Nephi 27:13-22)
In order to be born again to a spiritual life, people must have faith in the atonement of Jesus Christ, repent of their sins, and be baptized in water for the remission of their sins. Then—and not until then—can they be baptized with the Holy Ghost and be sanctified from their sins. This gift of the Holy Ghost is given only by the laying on of hands by those who have the proper authority, and it is given only to those who have been previously baptized of water … All four steps are necessary in order for people to be cleansed or sanctified from their sins and to be found worthy to regain the presence of God. Therefore, the Savior meant exactly what he said to Nicodemus: “Except a man be born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” (John 3:5)
All of us were present at that great council and heard the plan presented by God. After the plan had been presented, the firstborn son of God in the spirit, whose name was Jehovah (or Jesus Christ), spoke in favor of the plan. However, another of the spirit son of God, named Lucifer, opposed the plan and led an active resistance against it. A great conflict raged in heaven over the merits of the plan. Another of the sons of God, called Michael, came to the support of, and was instrumental in defending, the plan of God. After some time, the proposal of God was accepted. Lucifer and his followers, however, refused to accept the plan of the atonement of Jesus Christ, which would enable men to return to God’s presence with physical bodies. Because of their rebellion, Lucifer and his followers were denied the privilege of obtaining these earthly bodies.
Stories of faith, devotion, diligence, perseverance, and bravery are in the Old Testament. These, in turn, have inspired and illuminated much of the best literature in the world. The heroic attributes and characteristics of many of these role models—Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Elijah, Job, and Daniel, to name a few—are sorely needed in today’s world. President Spencer W. Kimball stated “To know the patriarchs and prophets of the ages past and their faithfulness under stress and temptation and persecution strengthens [us and our] resolves.”
He is the Firstborn Son of God in the spirit, and thus is the Elder brother of us all, as we are also the sons and daughters of God in the spirit. In our pre-earthly existence we knew him as our Elder Brother, a position and title he shall hold forever.