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.”
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.