DAVEH: Thanx Blaine. However, I am curious whether or not you
disagree on any of the details, or if you would add anything to it?
(And I am aware that there is much that could be added, however for the
purposes of explaining the basic outline to Lance, I didn't think it
would serve any purpose to get sidetracked on too many details.)
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
Nice explication, Dave--I should have it printed off and give it
out next time I teach a SS class--
Blainerb
In a message dated 12/9/2005 12:35:10 A.M. Mountain Standard
Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
DAVEH: Sorry to take so long getting back to you on this,
Lance. While I can give you a longer version than before, I certainly
can't give you all the details, as I have neither the time (I do need
some sleep!) nor the knowledge. But...
As you must know, I believe God created us spiritually prior to the
creation of the world. IOWwe were spirit beings in a pre-mortal
existence. It is my belief that God the Father consists of a spirit
housed in a physical body. He created us as spirit beings, with the
intent that we could (if we desire and are obedient) become not only
one with him, but also perfect (complete, as Perry would suggest) as he
is perfect.
That basic process is known by LDS folks as eternal progressioneffectively
progressing from a created spirit being to one who is like God. As has
been often quoted, one LDS authority said...
As man is, God once was. As God is, man may become.
.which is a catchy phrase that tends to excite many Christians,
yet it implies the thinking of many LDS folks who believe we have the
potential to become like GodIFF we so desire to fulfill our
potential to become one with the Lord by being obedient to him. Those
who do so, bring glory to the Lord. Those who don't will suffer
damnation (hell) to some extent, by impeding their eternal progression.
In order that the spirit beings in the pre-mortal existence can
progress to the point of gaining a glorified resurrected body of flesh
and bone, as the Savior now has, it was necessary for us to be born
into a world created perfectly, so to speak. Adam and Eve were created
as immortals, and as such were incapable of death. Not only that, but
they were incapable of understanding the difference between good and
evilthey were innocent. Yes, they were pure and undefiled, but yet
they were also naive in their innocence.quite unlike God who knows
the difference between good and evil.
By placing the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the garden,
and then commanding them not to eat of that tree, explaining that they
would die IF they partook of the forbidden fruit, God made it possible
for them to not only gain the knowledge needed to become like him, but
he also provided a way they could shed their bodies of flesh and
bloodby dying, which separates the spirit from the body.
In partaking of the forbidden fruit, not only did AE subject
themselves to the possibility of physical death (which we define as the
separation of the spirit from the physical body), but they also were
separated from God.which we define as spiritual death. In
essence, this resulted in AE experiencing two forms of
hellfirst the separation from God, and second being returned to the
state of a spirit being, without the ability to overcome that deficit.
Hence, they would remain in that eternal state of damnation forever, if
it were not for God's plan of salvation.
That plan of salvation was prepared before the foundation of the
world, and Jesus was chosen to implement it. God prepared his Son to
be a perfect sacrifice to atone for AE's (and all of
mankind's) transgressions. Not only that, but the Son he foreordained
to save us from our (specifically, AE's in this instance) sins
also was able to overcome physical death in a process we know as the
resurrection. Neither of these impediments to our progression were
things we could overcome on our own though. We had to have a Savior do
that for us. Due to his resurrection, all will be resurrected and gain
an immortal physical body. Due to his atonement, all will have the
opportunity to have their sins remitted and return to heaven IF they so
desire and are willing to be obedient to the Lord's commandments. That
is why it is through his grace that we are saved...nothing we could
do on our own could accomplish that salvation. Once Jesus fulfilled
that mantle of salvation (both physical and spiritual), the only thing
standing between us and God is ourselves. Effectively...We can
either keep the commandments, and return to the Lord in heaven, or we
can eschew them and suffer damnation (impedance) to our eternal
progression.
I hope that answers your query, Lance. If you want a slightly
deeper (and different) view of the Fall, I can post an interesting
perspective of the Fall that was recently posted to an LDS
Forum.just let me
