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God is Our Loving Heavenly Father
1. "God is the
Father of our spirits. We are literally His children, and He loves us. We lived
as spirit children of our Father in Heaven before we were born on this earth....
God’s whole purpose—His work and His glory—is to enable each of us to enjoy all
His blessings" (Preach My Gospel).
2. "Every person
who was ever born on earth is our spirit brother or sister. Because we are the
spirit children of God, we have inherited the potential to develop His divine
qualities. Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we can become like our
Heavenly Father and receive a fulness of joy" (Gospel Principles, Our
Heavenly Family).
Q How does your
knowledge that you are a child of God influence your thoughts, words, and
actions?
Heavenly Father Presented a Plan for Us to Become Like Him
3. "In the
premortal existence, Heavenly Father prepared a plan to enable us to become
like Him and receive a fulness of joy. The scriptures refer to this plan as
“the plan of salvation” (Alma 24:14; Moses 6:62), “the great plan of happiness”
(Alma 42:8), “the plan of redemption” (Jacob 6:8; Alma 12:30), and “the plan of
mercy” (Alma 42:15)" (True to the Faith).
"Our Heavenly
Father knew we could not progress beyond a certain point unless we left Him for
a time. He wanted us to develop the godlike qualities that He has. To do this,
we needed to leave our premortal home to be tested and to gain experience. Our
spirits needed to be clothed with physical bodies. We would need to leave our
physical bodies at death and reunite with them in the Resurrection. Then we
would receive immortal bodies like that of our Heavenly Father. If we passed
our tests, we would receive the fulness of joy that our Heavenly Father has
received. (See D&C 93:30–34.)
"Our Heavenly
Father called a Grand Council to present His plan for our progression (see
Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, 209, 511). We learned that
if we followed His plan, we would become like Him. We would be resurrected; we
would have all power in heaven and on earth; we would become heavenly parents
and have spirit children just as He does (see D&C 132:19–20)....
"However, we
also learned that some would be deceived, choose other paths, and lose their
way. We learned that all of us would have trials in our lives: sickness,
disappointment, pain, sorrow, and death. But we understood that these would be
given to us for our experience and our good (see D&C 122:7). If we allowed
them to, these trials would purify us rather than defeat us. They would teach
us to have endurance, patience, and charity (see Teachings of Presidents of the
Church: Spencer W. Kimball [2006], 15–16).
"At this council
we also learned that because of our weakness, all of us except little children
would sin (see D&C 29:46–47). We learned that a Savior would be provided
for us so we could overcome our sins and overcome death with resurrection. We
learned that if we placed our faith in Him, obeying His word and following His
example, we would be exalted and become like our Heavenly Father. We would
receive a fulness of joy" (Gospel Principles, Our Heavenly Family).
Q How does the plan of
salvation help us to become more like our Heavenly Father?
Q Why is adversity and
sorrow part of the plan of happiness?
Q How can we grow
instead of wither during adversity?
Q How does the
atonement of Jesus Christ enable us to successfully follow and live the plan?
4. "Faith through
tribulation brings peace and joy.... Each of us must go through certain
experiences to become more like our Savior. In the school of mortality, the
tutor is often pain and tribulation, but the lessons are meant to refine and
bless us and strengthen us, not to destroy us.... Tests of our faith are priceless
opportunities to discover how deeply the Master cares about the welfare of our
souls.... however dark conditions may seem in this world today, whatever the
storms we are facing personally... joy can be ours now..... The One who had
power to calm the elements of earth has power to calm our souls, to give us
refuge from the storm" (Robert D. Hales, April 2003 General Conference).
5. "True, enduring
happiness, with the accompanying strength, courage, and capacity to overcome
the greatest difficulties, will come as you center your life in Jesus Christ.
Obedience to His teachings provides a secure ascent in the journey of life.
That takes effort. While there is no guarantee of overnight results, there is
the assurance that, in the Lord’s time, solutions will come, peace will
prevail, and happiness will be yours.... When the lesson you are to learn is
very important, trials can extend over a long period of time, but they should
not be allowed to become the confining focus of everything you do. Your life
can and should be wondrously rewarding. It is your understanding and
application of the laws of God that will give your life glorious purpose as you
ascend and conquer the difficulties of life" (Richard G. Scott, October
2006 General Conference).
A Savior and Leader Was Needed
6. "Jesus Christ
was chosen and foreordained to be our Savior. Many scriptures tell about this
(see, for example, 1 Peter 1:19–20; Moses 4:1–2). One scripture tells us that
long before Jesus was born, He appeared to a Book of Mormon prophet known as
the brother of Jared and said: “Behold, I am he who was prepared from the
foundation of the world to redeem my people. Behold, I am Jesus Christ. … In me
shall all mankind have life, and that eternally, even they who shall believe on
my name” (Ether 3:14)" (Gospel Principles, Jesus Christ, Our Chosen Leader
and Savior).
The War in Heaven
7. "[Satan] came before
me [the Lord God], saying—Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I
will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do
it; wherefore give me thine honor. But, behold, my Beloved Son [Jesus Christ],
which was my Beloved and Chosen from the beginning, said unto me—Father, thy
will be done, and the glory be thine forever. Wherefore, because that Satan
rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord
God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power; by
the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down; And he
became Satan, yea, even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to
blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not
hearken unto my voice" (Moses 4:1-4).
8. "[The devil] rebelled
against me [the Lord God], saying, Give me thine honor, which is my power; and
also a third part of the hosts of heaven turned he away from me because of
their agency; And they were thrust down, and thus came the devil and his
angels" (D&C29:36-37).
The casting out of Satan and his followers
is known as the war in heaven (see Revelation 12:7-11 and D&C 76:25-29).
These scriptures teach that there were 3
reasons Satan was cast out and became the devil:
- He sought to steal God's power
- He sought to destroy man's agency (the power/ability to choose and act)
- He turned a third of the hosts of heaven away from God
Q How does the devil
still try to do these things today?
9. "Because we are
here on earth and have mortal bodies, we know that we chose to follow Jesus
Christ and our Heavenly Father. Satan and his followers are also on the earth,
but as spirits. They have not forgotten who we are, and they are around us daily,
tempting us and enticing us to do things that are not pleasing to our Heavenly
Father. In our premortal life, we chose to follow Jesus Christ and accept God’s
plan. We must continue to follow Jesus Christ here on earth. Only by following
Him can we return to our heavenly home" (Gospel Principles, Jesus Christ,
Our Chosen Leader and Savior).
The Creation
"Under the direction of the
Father, Jesus Christ created the earth as a place for us to live and gain experience.
In order to progress and become like God, each of us had to obtain a body and
be tested during a time of probation on the earth. While on the earth we are
out of God’s physical presence. We do not remember our pre-Earth life. We must
walk by faith rather than by sight" (Preach My Gospel).
"And behold, all things have their
likeness, and all things are created and made to bear record of me, both things
which are temporal, and things which are spiritual; things which are in the
heavens above, and things which are on the earth, and things which are in the
earth, and things which are under the earth, both above and beneath: all things
bear record of me" (Moses 6:63).
Q How do God's
creations testify of Him? Show His love for us?
Key talks about the Atonement of Jesus Christ can be found
at
Key talks about the Plan of Salvation can be found at
Key talks about Adversity can be found at
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