Sunday, October 14, 2012

I See… the Great Debate




The Mormon Third Eye has taken more than a casual interest in the current great debate underway. Never has there been such a clear choice between the two candidates and their positions, plans and policies. Good or evil; freedom or tyranny;  love or lust; choice or control.


If you thought the MTE was referring to the current presidential debates between Governor Romney and President Obama, then you are guilty of imprinting your own political beliefs on a debate about a much more important eternal issue.

The greatest debate ever in the history of mankind occurred eons ago, before the foundations of the world were laid, in the pre-earth life, where all mankind lived together as spirit children of a loving Heavenly Father. Much like this month’s presidential debates discuss positions, plans, and policies that will determine the destiny of our nation for at least the next four years (and perhaps longer depending on their lasting impact), the plan of salvation discussed in the great debate in the pre-earth life determines the destiny of our very eternal existence.

Our Father in Heaven sponsored this great debate on the plan of salvation. It was the only question on the agenda. How do we provide the children of God the opportunity to grow and learn and develop into eventually becoming like him and inheriting all that He hath?  The first candidate was Jesus Christ, the only Begotten Son of God. He came before God proposing that His spirit children obtain physical bodies and gain earthly experience to progress towards perfection:

“We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell;  And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them;  And they who keep their first estate shall be added upon; and they who keep not their first estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate; and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their heads for ever and ever."

The other candidate, Satan, came before 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.”

Christ’s plan also included himself as a Savior, to atone for the sins of the world- the result of  poor choices that would inevitably be made by His sons and daughters exercising their free agency.

At the closing of the great debate, God considered both positions then made a choice: “And the Lord said: Whom shall I send? And one answered like unto the Son of Man: Here am I, send me. And another answered and said: Here am I, send me. And the Lord said: I will send the first.”

Although the Savior won this debate, Satan was apparently very persuasive promoting a seemingly enticing position- he would force everyone to do the right thing and bring everyone back into the presence of God.  When God chose the Savior over Satan, one third of the hosts of heaven rebelled with him, and forfeited the right to participate in the plan. 

The sore loser of this debate took the spirits that followed him and started the War in Heaven, a war for the souls of men.  Although the debate is over, the war continues; Satan and his disembodied disciples are hell-bent on denying us our eternal destiny. In this context, the ripple effect of this debate is both great and current.  The Book of Mormon prophet Jacob effectively summarized it this way:  “Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.”

There will be another presidential debate in just a few days.  Hopefully you’ll be on the right side, and if you end up choosing the loser, you won’t compound your woes by also choosing to start a war over it. While there are many issues worth voting for, there are very few issues worth dying for.

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