The process of proving ourselves is a fundamental part of Heavenly Father’s great plan of happiness. I promise that as we both prepare and press forward with faith in the Savior, we all can receive the same grade on the ultimate examination of mortality: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”
It is astonishing what we can learn when we look a little closer at our Heavenly Father’s plan of salvation and exaltation, the plan of happiness, for His children. When we feel insignificant, cast off, and forgotten, we learn that we may be assured that God has not forgotten us—in fact, that He offers to all His children something unimaginable: to become “heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ.”2 What does this mean? That we will live forever, receive a fulness of joy,3 and have the potential to “inherit thrones, kingdoms, principalities, and powers.”4 It is so humbling to know that this magnificent and supernal future is possible—not because of who we are but because of who God is. Knowing this, how could we ever murmur or remain embittered? How could we ever keep our eyes on the ground when the King of kings invites us to take flight into an unimaginable future of divine happiness?
The spirit of man accepted the earth-plan in detail, and if he remembered every step that led to this acceptance, and every detail of the Plan itself, there would not be much reason for the exercise of will in adhering to it.
Such a law, for instance, is faith, which, in its simple universal meaning, is man's certainty that in the universe is found everything he may desire for his up building and advancement, and that the eternal relations of universal forces will prevail for his good.
Another such fundamental law to which man must conform, is that of repentance, which in its larger sense, is merely faith made active.
A person may be able to serve in the advancement of the whole race of man, only when there is a unity of purpose and effect, which can be secured only by organization.
God's purpose in the Plan will be incomplete so long as one soul remains unconverted.
...ultimately, the intelligent will shall control for its own use not only the things of this earth but all forces of the universe.
Men are directed, no doubt, by beings of higher intelligence, but in that directing,... our wills must be allowed to play their part. There can be no real satisfaction, if it were possible, in advancement which has been forced upon man Lucifer's plan was impossible.
Nevertheless, though men are not evil because they refuse to accept the Gospel, they retard themselves of necessity, when they fail to obey the law; and thereby they invite upon themselves the punishment that comes without fail to all who are not in full harmony with the great, controlling universal laws.
In the Great Plan there is no provision for the eternal damnation of man.
Those who refuse to accept truth or to abide by law, will gradually take less and less part in the work of progression. They will be left behind, while their intelligent fellows, more obedient, will go on.
Man asks, Why am I on earth? Science is silent. Up to the present time, many scientific men have not found it necessary to postulate an intelligent force behind the phenomena of nature, which would explain our earthly existence.
The Mormon answer to this question lies in the Mormon doctrine of the plan of salvation. There can be no attempt to harmonize the Mormon plan with that of science, for science has none; but, that the Mormon plan of salvation is strictly scientific, and rests upon the irrevocable laws of the universe can certainly be demonstrated.
Perfection comes only when matter, spirit and intelligence are associated.
Fundamental, in the doctrines of Joseph, is the statement that all intelligence is eternal; and that God at the best is the organizer of the spirits of men. The ether of science has been compared with the Holy Spirit of Mormonism. The spirit body may be likened to an ether body of man, and is the condition of his original existence. From the original condition, at man's spiritual birth, under the law of evolution he has steadily grown in complexity, which means in power.
For man's perfection, it then became necessary that his spiritual body should be clothed with a material one, and that he should become as familiar with the world of matter, as he had become with the world of spirit. God, as the supreme intelligence, who desired all other spirits to know and become mighty, led in the formulation of the plan, whereby they should obtain knowledge of all the contents of the universe.
President Nelson has taught: “Death is a necessary component of our eternal existence. No one knows when it will come, but it is essential to God’s great plan of happiness. Thanks to the Atonement of the Lord, eventual resurrection is a reality and eternal life is a possibility for all humankind. … “… For sorrowing loved ones left behind … the sting of death is soothed by a steadfast faith in Christ, a perfect brightness of hope, a love of God and of all men, and a deep desire to serve them. That faith, that hope, that love will qualify us to come into God’s holy presence and, with our eternal companions and families, dwell with Him forever.”
Our Heavenly Father wants us to love ourselves—not to become prideful or self-centered, but to see ourselves as He sees us: we are His cherished children. When this truth sinks deep into our hearts, our love for God grows. When we view ourselves with sincere respect, our hearts are open to treat others that way too. The more we recognize our divine worth, the better we understand this divine truth: that God has sent us right here, right now, at this momentous time in history, so that we can do the greatest possible good with the talents and gifts we have. This is our time!
The process of proving ourselves is a fundamental part of Heavenly Father’s great plan of happiness. I promise that as we both prepare and press forward with faith in the Savior, we all can receive the same grade on the ultimate examination of mortality: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”