A braham 3; M oses 4:1-4

1. Abraham 3; Moses 4:1-4 The Premortality of Mankind

2. Abraham 3; Moses 4:1-4 are based upon thebasic gospel premisethat mankind was created to become like their Heavenly Parents. Consider the following statements: The Family: A Proclamation to the World The First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles [T]he family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of his children.All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny.(Ensign, Nov. 1995; emphasis added) Dallin H. Oaks Quorum of the Twelve Apostles Our theology begins with heavenly parents. Our highest aspiration is to be like them. (“Apostasy and Restoration,” Ensign, May 1995, p.84)

3. Principle Concepts from Abr. 3; Moses 4:1-4 • Mankind is co-eternal with God (Abr. 3:18; cf. D&C 93:29, 33) • Mankind was spiritually organized with divine potential (Abr. 3:21-26; cf. D&C 49:17)

4. Joseph Smith (1805-44) President • God himself, finding he was in the midst of spirits and glory, because he was more intelligent, saw proper to institute laws whereby the rest could have a privilege to advance like himself. The relationship we have with God places us in a situation to advance in knowledge. He has power to institute laws to instruct the weaker intelligences, that they may be exalted with himself, so that they might have one glory upon another, and all that knowledge, power, glory, and intelligence, which is requisite in order to save them in the world of spirits. (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, [1976], pp. 343, 354; emphasis added)

5. First Presidency Statement (Joseph F. Smith, President) • The scriptures plainly and repeatedly affirm that God is the Creator of the earth and the heavens and all things that in them are. In the sense so expressed the Creator is an Organizer. God created the earth as an organized sphere; but He certainly did not create, in the sense of bringing into primal existence, the ultimate elements of the materials of which the earth consists, for “the elements are eternal” (D&C 93:33). • So also life is eternal, and not created, but life, or the vital force, may be infused into organized matter, though the details of the process have not been revealed unto man. . . God showed unto Abraham “the intelligences that were organized before the world was”; and by “intelligences” we are to understand personal “spirits” (Abr. 3:22,23); nevertheless, we are expressly told that “intelligence” that is, “the light of truth was not created or made, neither indeed can be” (D&C 93:29). (“The Father and the Son: A Doctrinal Exposition by the First Presidency and the Twelve” in Messages of the First Presidency, 6 vols., comp. by James R. Clark [1965-75], 5:26, emphasis added)

6. First Presidency Statement (Joseph F. Smith, President) • All men and women are in the similitude of the universal Father and Mother, and are literally the sons and daughters of Deity. … • The doctrine of the pre-existence,-revealed so plainly, particularly in latter days, pours a wonderful flood of light upon the otherwise mysterious problem of man's origin. It shows that man, as a spirit, was begotten and born of heavenly parents, and reared to maturity in the eternal mansions of the Father, prior to coming upon the earth in a temporal body to undergo an experience in mortality.... • Man is the child of God, formed in the divine image and endowed with divine attributes, and even as the infant of an earthly father and mother is capable in due time of becoming a man, so the undeveloped offspring of celestial parentage is capable, by experience through ages and aeons, of evolving into a God. (“Origin of Man,” November 1909 Messages of the First Presidency, 6 vols. comp. James R. Clark, comp., [1965-75), 4:203 -6; emphasis added).

7. M. Russell Ballard Quorum of the Twelve Apostles • Before the world was created, we all lived as the spirit children of our Heavenly Father. Through a natural process of inheritance we received in embryo the traits and attributes of our Heavenly Father. We are His spirit children. Some of what our Eternal Father is, we have inherited. What he has become we may become.(Our Search for Happiness [1993], p.70; emphasis added)

8. Principle Concepts from Abr. 3; Moses 4:1-4 • Mankind is co-eternal with God (Abr. 3:18; cf. D&C 93:29, 33) • Mankind was spiritually organized with divine potential (Abr. 3:21-26; cf. D&C 49:17) • Growth and development of spirits (Abr. 3:22-23; cf. Alma 13:3-5)

9. Abraham 3:22-23 

10. 22 Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones; Abraham 3:22-23 

11. 22 Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones; Abraham 3:22-23 

12. 22 Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones; Abraham 3:22-23 

13. 22 Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones; 23 And God saw these souls that they were good*, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born. Abraham 3:22-23 

14. 22 Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones; 23 And God saw these souls that they were good*, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born. Abraham 3:22-23 

15. 22 Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones; 23 And God saw these souls that they were good*, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born. Abraham 3:22-23

16. 22 Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones; 23 And God saw these souls that they were good*, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born. Abraham 3:22-23 *1828 American Dictionary of the English Language

17. 22 Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones; 23 And God saw these souls that they were good*, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born. Abraham 3:22-23 • * 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language • Good: 1. Valid; legally firm; not weak or defective; 2. Valid; sound; not weak, false; 3. Complete or sufficiently perfect in its kind; 4. Having moral qualities best adapted to . . . the qualities which God's law requires.

18. 3 And this is the manner after which they were ordained--being called and prepared from the foundation of the world according to the foreknowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and good works; in the first place being left to choose good or evil; therefore they having chosen good, and exercising exceedingly great faith, are called with a holy calling, yea, with that holy calling which was prepared with, and according to, a preparatory redemption for such. Alma 13:3-5

19. 3 And this is the manner after which they were ordained--being called and prepared fromthe foundation of the world according to the foreknowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and good works; in the first place being left to choose good or evil; therefore they having chosen good, and exercising exceedingly great faith, are called with a holy calling, yea, with that holy calling which was prepared with, and according to, a preparatory redemption for such. Alma 13:3-5

20. 3 And this is the manner after which they were ordained--being called and prepared from the foundation of the world according to the foreknowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and good works; in the first place being left to choose good or evil; therefore they having chosen good, and exercising exceedingly great faith, are called with a holy calling, yea, with that holy calling which was prepared with, and according to, a preparatory redemption for such. Alma 13:3-5

21. 3 And this is the manner after which they were ordained--being called and prepared from the foundation of the world according to the foreknowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and good works; in the first place being left to choose good or evil; therefore they having chosen good, and exercising exceedingly great faith, are called with a holy calling, yea, with that holy calling which was prepared with, and according to, a preparatory redemption for such. Alma 13:3-5

22. 3 And this is the manner after which they were ordained--being called and prepared from the foundation of the world according to the foreknowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and good works; in the first place being left to choose good or evil; therefore they having chosen good, and exercising exceedingly great faith, are called with a holy calling, yea, with that holy calling which was prepared with, and according to, a preparatory redemption for such. Alma 13:3-5

23. 3 And this is the manner after which they were ordained--being called and prepared from the foundation of the world according to the foreknowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and good works; in the first place being left to choose good or evil; therefore they having chosen good, and exercising exceedingly great faith, are called with a holy calling, yea, with that holy calling which was prepared with, and according to, a preparatory redemption for such. 4 And thus they have been called to this holy calling on account of their faith, while others would reject the Spirit of God on account of the hardness of their hearts and blindness of their minds, while, if it had not been for this they might have had as great privilege as their brethren. Alma 13:3-5

24. 3 And this is the manner after which they were ordained--being called and prepared from the foundation of the world according to the foreknowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and good works; in the first place being left to choose good or evil; therefore they having chosen good, and exercising exceedingly great faith, are called with a holy calling, yea, with that holy calling which was prepared with, and according to, a preparatory redemption for such. 4 And thus they have been called to this holy calling on account of their faith, while others would reject the Spirit of God on account of the hardness of their hearts and blindness of their minds, while, if it had not been for this they might have had as great privilege as their brethren. 5 Or in fine, in the first place they were on the same standing with their brethren; thus this holy calling being prepared from the foundation of the world for such as would not harden their hearts . . . Alma 13:3-5

25. 3 And this is the manner after which they were ordained--being called and prepared from the foundation of the world according to the foreknowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and good works; in the first place being left to choose good or evil; therefore they having chosen good, and exercising exceedingly great faith, are called with a holy calling, yea, with that holy calling which was prepared with, and according to, a preparatory redemption for such. 4 And thus they have been called to this holy calling on account of their faith, while others would reject the Spirit of God on account of the hardness of their hearts and blindness of their minds, while, if it had not been for this they might have had as great privilege as their brethren. 5 Or in fine, in the first place they were on the same standing with their brethren; thus this holy calling being prepared from the foundation of the world for such as would not harden their hearts . . . Alma 13:3-5

26. M. Russell Ballard Quorum of the Twelve Apostles • Before the world was created, we all lived as the spirit children of our Heavenly Father. … • Life in our heavenly home was a little different from life on earth, as we weren't subject to the frailties and challenges of mortality. But we were still very much involved with learning and growing, maturing and developing; and we had meaningful association with one another. We had the opportunity in our premortal existence to make decisions and choices, and some of us proved to be better at that than others. (Our Search for Happiness [1993], p.70)

27. John A. Widstoe(1872-1952) Quorum of the Twelve Apostles • The time came . . . when through the intervention of the Lord, personal intelligences became invested with spirit bodies. Man was born as it were into the spirit world. God became the Father of our spirits. . . • This event, our birth into the spirit world, into our First Estate, is but dimly understood. We can comprehend that the spirit body became a tool for the exploration of spiritual things–the world of spirits–and that, thereby, increased power over the universe was given the rising personal intelligences. An extended education into the things of the spiritual world was made possible by the possession of the spirit body. • Long ages, marked by progress, were spent in the spirit world.(Program of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints [1941], pp. 200-201; emphasis added)

28. Principle Concepts from Abr. 3; Moses 4:1-4 • Mankind is co-eternal with God (Abr. 3:18; cf. D&C 93:29, 33) • Mankind was spiritually organized with divine potential (Abr. 3:21-26; cf. D&C 49:17) • Growth and development of spirits (Abr. 3:22-23; cf. Alma 13:3-5) • Council regarding mortality was held (Abr. 3:24-26; cf. D&C 121:25-32) • Foreordinations were made (Abr. 3:23) • There was a war in heaven (Abr. 3:27-28; Moses 4:1-4; cf. D&C 76:25-29; 2 Ne. 2: 17-18; 9:8-9, 16)