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[LDS] Pre-Mortal Exsistence

This is the first in a series of topics that I will open dealing with specific LDS doctrines, beliefs, and practices. If anyone wants a specific doctrine addressed, please PM or email me. Discussion, questions, and feedback are all welcome here. Anti-Mormon, anti-Christian, or anti-anything else statements are not.

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One of the foundational beliefs held by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is that God is literally our Father in Heaven. That He created us long before the creation of the Earth, and that we were fully aware of what was happening before our mortal existence.

So, we believe that we not only existed before mortality, but that we were aware, active, progressing, learning, and acting before mortality. Another aspect of this doctrine is that we are all literally brothers and sisters.

As part of this doctrine, we believe that God called all of us together before the foundations of the world, and presented us with an opportunity to come to mortality, to gain physical bodies and experience things that are only possible with physical bodies. We were all thrilled with this plan (otherwise we wouldn't be here).

According to our beliefs, Jesus Christ was/is the Firstborn of all Heavenly Father's children in the Spirit. So, He is our Eldest Brother. He created the world, under the Father's direction and supervision. He also volunteered to come to mortality as He did, to suffer and die for us, to show us the way back to the Father, as well as provide many of the teachings and specifics that help us to do so.

This doctrine is the foundation of our understanding of Heavenly Father's Plan of Salvation.

Exsistence Pre-Mortal LDS

This is quit possibly the most interesting principle I have ever heard. I have gotten a book of Mormon and am studying the issue now. I find the prospect of having existed before mortality exciting and different from what I have been taught growing up. What a wondrous possibility!

[LDS] Pre-Mortal Exsistence Studies Doctrine Mormon

This particular doctrine is not particularly developed within the Book of Mormon. However, the Book of Mormon is an extremely good place to start, as the principles within it are very helpful in understanding everything else among our doctrines.

Actually, this leads more into our understanding of the Plan of Salvation. I will start a topic on that soon. (Unless someone else wants to start it - and keep it tightly focused)

Exsistence Pre-Mortal LDS

Nighthawk... you are right. I didn't see anything on this in my first cursory reading of the Book of Mormon. When I first heard the notion, it was foreign to me as I had not encountered 'pre-existance' except in the case of God coming as man (Jesus) thru woman without 'male assistance'... I John 4:2 denotes several things but one is his uniqueness as a man pre-existing. If you have any references iterating pre-existance (no matter how remote) in the BOM it would be welcome.

My approach to reading scripture is that I always treat the older writing as having greater weight than the younger. I subscribe to the rabinical PRDS approach in order to render some consistant understanding of scripture. I won't discuss PRDS now. But... Keeping this in mind... All succeeding writings of prophets must agree with Torah and each younger one, in turn with the older. All principle of Tanakh (OT) must have greater weight than New Testament... and so on.

This is why I read in Genesis 2:7 that God gives the element of God's Spirit [nashamah] (breath of life)... mixing it with matter/stuff [aphar] so that the combining of it animates into a living personality (soul)... I.e., spirit + matter = soul (A Triune person - II Thess 5:23)

This follows the pattern of physical material generating then spiritual material in tandem to create new life... (Zech 12:1, I Cor 15:46, etc)

I hope you can understand by how I read these passages, that the concept of pre-existent humans would toss me about somewhat.

P.S. Nighthawk... you said: 'please PM or email me'... how? Being new, I tried that and ooops; I broke a rule.

Exsistence Pre-Mortal LDS

There is not much beyond vague references to this in the Book of Mormon. The understanding of a pre-mortal existence begins in The Pearl of Great Price. Building on that foundation, there are many verses in the Bible that support and explain it more clearly.

https://scriptures.lds.org/tgm/mnntmrtl
If you follow the link above, you will find many other scriptures related to this.

Offtopic but, At the bottom of every page, there is a link to help you contact a moderator. You can send me email through there.