First let me say that I belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. That is the actual and proper name for our church. Our church is often referred to as the LDS Church, or the Mormon Church. This series of posts was at the request of some of my friends on Facebook. You can read more about that here–on my Landing Page or introduction for the Write 31 Days Challenge.
This is a very abbreviated lesson on The Plan of Salvation. If you would like to know more, I encourage you to visit with the full time missionaries of the Church. You can get information on how to contact them here.
From the Preach My Gospel Manual:
Our message helps us understand the purpose of life and who we are. It gives us hope and helps us find peace, joy, and happiness. It tells us where we came from, why we are here on earth, and where we will go after this life. God is our Father, and He loves us. We are His children. We are part of His family, and we lived with Him before we were born on this earth. He has a plan of happiness that makes it possible for us to return to His presence after this life. Our progress depends on how we use our God-given agency, or ability to choose. As part of that plan, the Fall of Adam made it possible for us to come to earth, gain a physical body, have experience, and have families of our own. But the Fall also brought physical death, which is separation of the spirit from the body, and spiritual death, which is separation from God.
Jesus Christ is central to God’s plan. Christ’s atoning sacrifice overcame the effects of both physical and spiritual death. We will all be resurrected and will live forever with physical bodies free of pain and sickness. Christ also made it possible to overcome spiritual death. As we live His gospel He will mercifully forgive our sins. He will heal us and replace guilt and shame with peace and happiness in this life.
As part of God’s merciful plan, we will all suffer a physical death. Our spirits will be separated from our bodies and will live for a time in the spirit world. We will then be resurrected with an immortal body, an eternal union of our body and spirit. We will be judged according to our works and desires. Those who have lived the gospel will receive our Father in Heaven’s greatest gift, the gift of eternal life in His presence.
- Pre-Earth Life: God’s Purpose and Plan for Us
- –God is our Heavenly Father, and we are His children (see Acts 17:16–34; Hebrews 12:9).
- –God has a plan for our happiness. Jesus Christ is central to that plan.
- –God’s plan of happiness makes it possible to return to His presence (see Moses 1:39).
- –Our eternal progression depends on how we use our agency (see 2 Nephi 2:27–29).
- The Creation
- –Under the Father’s direction, Jesus Christ created the earth (see Hebrews 1:1–3).
- Agency and the Fall of Adam and Eve
- –Adam and Eve were created in God’s image (see Genesis 1:26–27).
- –In the Garden of Eden they were innocent and lived in God’s presence.
- –Because they partook of the forbidden fruit, they were cast out of the garden (see Moses 4:19–31). This is called the Fall.
- –They became mortal, were able to have children, and were also subject to sin and death (see 2 Nephi 2:22–25; Moses 5:11).
- Our Life on Earth
- –Our purpose in life is to find lasting peace, joy, and happiness as families and to prepare to return to live with God.
- –We came to the earth to be tested (see Abraham 3:24–25).
- –We gain a body of flesh and bones, but we are subject to physical death.
- –God gives commandments. If we obey, we are blessed. If we disobey, we sin and receive the consequences.
- –All sin must be paid for, either by ourselves or by Christ (see D&C 19:15–20).
- –We make choices, and we all commit sin (see Romans 3:23).
- –We have experiences that bring us happiness and also sorrow.
- –We cannot overcome either physical or spiritual death without Christ.
- The Atonement
- –Because Jesus Christ overcame physical death, we will all be resurrected (see Alma 11:41–43).
- –Through Christ’s Atonement we can become clean from sin so that we can return to live in God’s presence (see 2 Nephi 9:8–9).
- –Christ will forgive our sins as we have faith in Him, repent, receive baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost, and endure to the end.
- The Spirit World
- –All people must die.
- –At death our spirits go to the spirit world.
- –We live in either a state of misery or a state of peace and rest, depending on how we lived in this life.
- The Resurrection, Judgment, and Immortality
- –Our spirits and bodies will be reunited in the resurrection (see Alma 11:42–45; 40:23).
- –We will return to God’s presence to be judged according to our works and desires.
- –If we have repented, we will receive mercy.
- –Eternal life is a gift of God given to those who fully obey the gospel of Jesus Christ (see D&C 14:7).
- Kingdoms of Glory (see D&C 76; 137; 1 Corinthians 15:40–42).
- –We receive rewards according to our works and desires (see D&C 137:9).
- –Those who receive the gospel and live it valiantly throughout their lives will receive the celestial kingdom (see D&C 76:50–70).
- –Honorable people who are “blinded by the craftiness of men” and who are “not valiant in the testimony of Jesus [Christ]” receive the terrestrial kingdom (see D&C 76:75, 79).
- –Those who sin and do not repent will receive the telestial glory after they suffer and pay for their sins.
I found a really fun video of a couple of Elders teaching The Plan of Salvation through a rap.
If you want to know more, here is a non-threatening way to see what a lesson with the missionaries would be like (without the interaction of course.) These videos are done by a couple of members of the church to share what would be taught by missionaries.
Pre-Earth Life: God’s Purpose and Plan for Us, The Creation, Agency and the Fall of Adam and Eve
Our Life on Earth, The Atonement
The Spirit World
The Resurrection, Judgment, and Immortality, Kingdoms of Glory
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