If the general picture however of a big bang, followed by an expanding universe is correct, what happened before that? Was the universe devoid of all matter and then the matter suddenly, somehow created? How did that happen? In many cultures the customary answer is that a god or gods created the universe out of nothing. But if we wish to pursue this question courageously, we must of course ask the next question, where did God come from? If we decide that this in an unanswerable question why not save a step and conclude that the origin of the universe is an unanswerable question? Or, if we say that God always existed, why not save a step and conclude that the universe always existed? There's no need for a creation, it was always here. These are not easy questions. Cosmology brings us face to face with the deepest mysteries. With questions that were once treated only in religion and myth.
At another level, however, the question might be, “Can’t God do whatever He wants and save us just because He loves us, without the need for a Savior?” Phrased this way, quite a few people in today’s world would share that question. They believe in God and a postmortal existence but assume that because God loves us, it doesn’t matter so much what we do or don’t do; He just takes care of things.
This was not simply a case of Jesus supporting the Father’s plan and Lucifer proposing a slight modification. Lucifer’s proposal would have destroyed the plan by eliminating our opportunity to act independently. Lucifer’s plan was founded on coercion, making all the other sons and daughters of God—all of us—essentially his puppets. As
To be made whole, and to be made holy, we need a Savior. So, the answer to our question is, “No, God cannot act any way He pleases to save a person. He cannot be arbitrary and also be just. And if He is not just, He is not God.” Therefore, salvation and exaltation must be accomplished in a way that upholds and conforms to immutable law, to justice. And thanks be to God, He has upheld justice by providing a Savior.
Let it be noted that in the great premortal council, Lucifer was not volunteering to be our savior. He was not interested in suffering or dying or shedding any of his blood on our behalf. He was not seeking to become the embodiment of justice but to become a law unto himself.4 It is my opinion that in saying to the Father, “Give me thine honor” (Moses 4:1), Lucifer was saying, “Give me the right to rule,” intending to exercise that power capriciously. The law would be whatever he said it was at any given moment.
Jesus, on the other hand, understood that both inalterable justice and mercy would be required for His brothers and sisters to progress. With the Father, He was seeking not to coerce and dominate us but to free and lift us so that we might “be above all” and “have all power” with the Father (Doctrine and Covenants 132:20).