Small and Simple Things

In the garden, Adam and Even had perfect bodies– immortal– no sickness or death. They were like children. Innocent. They had forgotten life before mortality. They also could not have children. When God created them, he gave them two commandments:

1. Here’s the Garden of Eden. Lots of good fruit here. Eat whatever you want. But you are commanded not to eat of this one particular tree. It’s the tree of knowledge of good and evil. If you eat that fruit, you will become mortal.
2. Multiply and replenish the earth, start a family, learn to be parents, and be happy (men are that they might have joy).

But, wait, these two commandments conflict with each other!

From the Book of Mormon we learn the purpose of the Creation of the earth:

Behold, the Lord hath created the earth that it should be inhabited; and he hath created his children that they should possess it.

– 1 Ne 17:36

Mankind is God’s crowning creation. God created a human couple and placed them on earth: Adam and Eve.

We live on a “Goldilocks planet”– not too hot, not too cold. Perfect for sustaining complex life. As a scienties that’s awesome. As a religious person, that’s “awe”-some. What a wonderful blessing God has given us by providing us this beautiful world to live in.

How the Church is structured may seem like a boring, day-to-day detail. But it impacts how we serve, what we do each week, and gives us a framework for how to worship God with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

When God presented His Plan of Salvation to His children, we all shouted for joy. Well, OK, not all of us.

Coming to earth and experiencing the “school” of mortal life is a risky business. We forget God. We make bad choices. We sin. So God promised to send a Savior to suffer with us and suffer us. To conquer death so we could return to God and be cleansed from our sins. But we would have to choose to apply that saving gift in our lives. Not everyone would want to.

We’ve already talked about how God is our loving Heavenly Father. And how every man, woman, and child ever born to earth are His spirit children. We lived with Him and learned and grew. But there’s only so much you can learn and experience while “living at home.” So God presented a plan to all of us: the Plat of Salvation (aka the Plan of Redemption, aka the Plan of Happiness, etc). This plan included several key components

In the previous episode, we talked about how God didn’t instruct us to call Him “Father,” merely to create a sense of closeness. He is literally the Father of our spirits. We are not merely creations but children. Continuing with that theme, today we address the answer to the first of the “Big Three” questions: Where did I come from?

Who (or what) is God? Like other Christian faiths, the Church of Jesus Christ teaches that God is perfect, all-knowing, all-powerful, and loves us far more than we can comprehend in this life. Like our fellow Christians, we follow Christ’s command to address Him as Our Father in Heaven and thank Him for loving us so much that He would send His Son, Jesus Christ, to suffer for our mistakes and qualify us to live with God after this life.

Ever had questions about what members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (aka Mormons) believe? Then, “this is the right place” for you.