spirits. Also, verse 19 makes a comparison
between two spirits, suggesting that some spirits had gained more intelligence than others. This
is particularly significant, because it suggest we had agency and the ability to make choices, both
correct and incorrect, in the preexistence. Without the ability to choose, all of us would have
followed the same path, leading to the same levels of development. However, with that ability to
choose, not all spirits would have had equal attainment.
The idea that we had different levels of achievement and knowledge because of agency is
further supported by additional teachings and scripture. Joseph Fielding Smith expounded on this
“During the ages in which we dwelt in the pre-mortal state we not only developed
our various
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What a blessing it is that while “the Savior’s sacrifice,
though not made in actuality until He had taken a physical body in mortality, was regarded in our
premortal existence as having already been accomplished.16”
14 https://rsc.byu.edu/archived/jesus-christ-son-god-savior/3-premortal-godhood-christ-restoration-
15 http://www.southvalleybaptist.com/pastors-blog/did-we-pre-exist-in-heaven
16 https://rsc.byu.edu/archived/jesus-christ-son-god-savior/3-premortal-godhood-christ-restoration-
The revelations given to us in the Pearl of Great Price are of great value to anyone who
wishes to better understand their relationship with our Heavenly Father and with Jesus Christ, as
well as those seeking to better understand the origins of their existence. Within its pages our
knowledge and understanding about these issues are greatly expanded and deepened. We learn
about our eternal nature, our divine heritage, and our development as individuals in the premortal
world. Our understanding of the Savior and his redemptive power through the Atonement is
increased. We can learn more about the preexistence from this book of scripture than we
We are only a brief second in the long history of the universe; many things have preceded us to make us the most complex creatures that ever walked the Earth. We are a “new level of complexity” which makes us different from all other creatures that have come before us. Our species has only been around for 250,000 years, a short time compared to the formation of the Earth at 4.5 billion years ago and the creation of the Universe at 13.7 billion years ago, but the time we have had on this Earth has greatly affected the outcome of history. In an attempt to provide an overview of human history in his book This Fleeting World, David Christian introduces it in the context of the history of the universe and then systematically breaks it down
One of the greatest things that has happened throughout history was the creation of the earth, and the creation of the humans. We aren’t just floating around in the universe with no purpose and God is real. The Secularists and Evolutionists of this day and age shun Christianity, the Bible, and the fact that there is a purpose for each individual on earth. This paper is about some of the different phenomenons that have occurred in the history, but from a Biblical worldview. Many of the Phenomenons mentioned would be: how the dinosaurs became extinct, how the Genesis Flood fits into history, what created the Grand Canyon, and how all of the different languages and skin tones spread throughout the world. The purpose of this paper is to go into
The story of Creation found in Genesis 1-3 has captured the attention of countless Christian theologians throughout the ages. Despite the fact that the text of these chapters are quite short, it has proved itself to be a fertile ground from which many of the central tenets of Christian doctrine have sprouted. This fruitful text has also spurred a variety of differing interpretations of the Creation and Fall. Augustine of Hippo and Lady Julian of Norwich are two theologians who interpreted Genesis 1-3 in vastly different ways. The aim of this paper is to make a thematically organized comparison of Julian of Norwich’s interpretation (which is mostly apparent within her short parable on the Lord and the Servant, Revelations of Divine Love) with Augustine’s influential interpretation of Genesis 1-3.
One of the fundamental questions that religions seek to answer is that of origin. How was man put on earth? Why and from what was he created? Who created him? What does his creation imply about the status of human beings? Some or all of these questions are answered by a religion’s creation stories. Every religion’s creation myths attempt to give solutions to problems present to that religious society. Because of this, each religion may have one or more creation stories, each of those different from one another in the questions they ask and the answers they give.
We have now come to the fourth and final book of Mere Christianity. In this book, the author takes us to the place in our Christian growth where we begin to rely more heavily on the power of God and less on ourselves to become the being that God originally intended for us to be — a son of God. He begins with an explanation of the difference between “making” and “begetting.”
On the other hand, the set of talent and role that is refined through time, concern that a person live out while completely doing away with the unpredictable of hereditary characteristics. Therefore, a person invests their time and effort into something that they are good at even if it is not in their lineage. For this reason, when a person is born with certain distinctiveness and even though their nurture may have influences on their personalities to change or be improved, their genes encompass a large influence on how they will live their life. Children may see their friend cheat on a test at school but will not do the same, because they now it wrong because of punishment indirect or direct learning from their parents (Benokraitis, 2010). For this, “one strategy is longitudinal research in which children's initial characteristics can be observed to change over time in relation to specific parenting experiences” (Collins, Maccoby, Steinberg, Hetherington & Bornstein, 2000, p. 223).
2Alexander, T. D. (2008). From Eden to the New Jerusalem: Exploring God’s Plan for Life on Earth (p. 7). Nottingham, England: Inter-Varsity.
It is one’s choice to apply this to their life and to decide whether if they are “good” or “evil.” “But the Hebrew word, the word timshel - ‘Thou mayest’ - that gives a choice… That says the way is open” (301). Any obstacle a human faces, they will always have a choice. As humans, it is a natural right to choose who and what we want to be. We have the control in our lives to decide and determine anything. We all have a choice. An individual’s destiny is chosen on his or her
The ways that the Navajo and Judeo-Christians view the story of creation are starkly different, and they shed light onto the cultural differences between the two groups. Many things can be inferred from the ways these tales differ, but in this paper I will be analyzing the different things these stories imply about human nature. The Judeo-Christian story of Genesis describes humans as something close to the divine and different in nature from the beings around them. They are the center of the story, and the events they run into are about their relationship with their own humanity. The Navajo story of The Emergence treats humanity as on the same level as the rest of nature, and their struggle is one with the world around them.
A different approach to this question is that our life’s destiny is predetermined for us, but based on the
Despite centuries of deliberation, the origin of the human soul remains a point of contention among theologians, as the Scriptures appear to support either the creationism or traducianism hypothesis. This issue is far from an insignificant anthropological quandary, as ontological commitments produce numerous philosophical and theological ramifications when considering doctrines relating to the nature of man, original sin, and the incarnation. In the absence of conclusive biblical evidence, Stephen P. Greggo seeks insight from natural theology, attempting to address the topic from a developmental psychology perspective. This paper will offer a critique of Greggo’s article, demonstrating its failure to provide a valuable contribution to the theological discussion of soul ontology.
=predestination, predetermined out lives in a causal sense. Doesn’t the benevolence of God require that we should indeed be free to choose
Purpose of Writing: The Book of Genesis has sometimes been called the "seed-plot" of the entire Bible. Most of the major doctrines in the Bible are introduced in "seed" form in the Book of Genesis. Along with the fall of man, God's promise of salvation or redemption is recorded (Genesis 3:15). The doctrines of creation, imputation of sin, justification, atonement, depravity, wrath, grace, sovereignty, responsibility, and many more are all addressed in this book of origins called Genesis. Many of the great questions of life are answered in Genesis. (1) Where did I come from? (God created us - Genesis 1:1) (2) Why am I here? (We are here to have a relationship with God - Genesis 15:6) (3) Where am I going? (We have a destination after death - Genesis 25:8). Genesis appeals to the scientist, the historian, the theologian, the
“Man cannot do without the make-believe of a beginning.” Beginnings, it turns out, can be quite unusual, complex, and deceptive. (Richardson, 2009).
“Man cannot do without the make-believe of a beginning.” Beginnings, it turns out, can be quite unusual, complex, and deceptive. (Richardson, 2009).