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| "Angels" by Mark Mabry |
My dear brothers and sisters. We so often forget, or maybe don't know, that this life is but a small moment. There is more. I imagine, even when we have completed it all, we will need a reminder of God's great plan for us. As you read, picture yourself in a Heavenly place hearing the story you will have already lived and learned to love.
Let me tell you a story…
Let me tell you a story…
Once upon an eternity, you and I, and all of us lived in a magnificent place. We were spirits. I don’t know what we looked like or what we wore. I don’t know how long we were there; but I do know that we were happy. We lived with God and we called Him “Father”.
Our Father loved us very much. He wanted us to have every happiness and joy. He wanted us to grow up to be just like Him. But, He knew we would have to get a body and be tested. He needed a plan.
Father came to us and presented His plan in all of its glory and perfection. He told us that He and our oldest brother Jesus were going to create a world for us. We could go there and get a body like His! He explained that we would be able to run and jump, to sing and laugh, to fall in love. That we would learn, grow, and become. We must have shouted for joy! (Job 38:7) Then He told us it would not be all easy…. Our bodies would not be perfect like His. They would get tired, sick, and die. We would experience anger, pain, and sorrow, we would sin. We were faced with a decision. Would it be worth it?
For most, it was. The decision was made and we were then taught all we would need to know. Preparations made, our time was at hand. We came to Earth.
Hunger. Satisfaction. Fear. Peace. Love. Frustration. Sorrow. Disappointment. Serenity. Peace. Joy. We were human. But, "...whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the lord: for we walk by faith, not by sight..." (2 Corinthians 5:6-7).
We were born to a mother and a father who were to nurture us, care for us, and help us understand our responsibilities on Earth. The things we needed to do were simple: when given the opportunity we must accept Jesus Christ and have faith in Him, repent of our sins, be baptized and receive the Holy Ghost, and endure our time here well by keeping His commandments. Though simple, it was not easy! It was a time to prove ourselves. Father knew if we remembered our life with Him that it would not be a true test. We had to walk by faith having forgotten any and all of our existence before.
Again, His plan was so very simple. Yet we each fell short in many ways. In order to live with Him again we needed to become perfect but we failed each day. The very moment we sinned or turned away from Him, every chance to live with Him again was dashed. Though we didn't quite understand the devestation, our Father in Heaven provided an escape from the chains of sin. He sacrificed our oldest brother, Jesus, who volunteered to take upon Him the consequences of our mistakes. He paid for our sins.
Our time on Earth was just that: only a time. We left our bodies and returned to our Home.
We waited for what seemed a very long time. We dearly missed our bodies and being "families" with those we had loved for so long. But while we waited we were given an extaordiany opportunity. We were involved in a very great work. "...the gospel [was] preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit" (1 Peter 4:6).
As more and more of our brothers and sisters came home we knew the day was coming soon. And so it did! The spirit and the body were reunited again in its perfect form; both limb and joing were restored to its proper frame. This restoration came to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, both the wicked and the righteous; and even there was not so much of a hair of their heads that was lost; but everything was restored to its perfect frame and we were brought to stand before God (Alma 11:43-44).
This was a time of great fear for many of our brothers and sisters because they knew they would have a "bright recollection of all their guilt" (Alma 11:44). But for many of us it was a time of jubilation!
I remember well my nerves as my turn came and I walked toward the Father. Oh, how I had missed Him; but, had I done enough? As I approached I felt a presence walking beside me. My brother, Jesus! He took me by the hand and led me to Father. His eyes were filled with the love I hadn't seen for so very long. Jesus stayed beside me and told the Father that I had done my part on Earth. He explained that I often fell short, but that the places I had could be forgotten because He, Himself, had suffered and paid for them.
He stood next to us all through the day of judgement, mercifully pleading our cause. Father, in perfect justice and mercy, assigned us to a Heavenly mansion in His kingdom.
Now as we look back on our lives on Earth they seem but a small moment. It was such a short time that we spent away. But it is a time we would never give back. Remember.
Remember what you learned. Remember what you gained. Remember our Brother's sacrifice. And remember Father's great plan of Happiness that was the only way.
Again, His plan was so very simple. Yet we each fell short in many ways. In order to live with Him again we needed to become perfect but we failed each day. The very moment we sinned or turned away from Him, every chance to live with Him again was dashed. Though we didn't quite understand the devestation, our Father in Heaven provided an escape from the chains of sin. He sacrificed our oldest brother, Jesus, who volunteered to take upon Him the consequences of our mistakes. He paid for our sins.
Our time on Earth was just that: only a time. We left our bodies and returned to our Home.
We waited for what seemed a very long time. We dearly missed our bodies and being "families" with those we had loved for so long. But while we waited we were given an extaordiany opportunity. We were involved in a very great work. "...the gospel [was] preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit" (1 Peter 4:6).
As more and more of our brothers and sisters came home we knew the day was coming soon. And so it did! The spirit and the body were reunited again in its perfect form; both limb and joing were restored to its proper frame. This restoration came to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, both the wicked and the righteous; and even there was not so much of a hair of their heads that was lost; but everything was restored to its perfect frame and we were brought to stand before God (Alma 11:43-44).
This was a time of great fear for many of our brothers and sisters because they knew they would have a "bright recollection of all their guilt" (Alma 11:44). But for many of us it was a time of jubilation!
I remember well my nerves as my turn came and I walked toward the Father. Oh, how I had missed Him; but, had I done enough? As I approached I felt a presence walking beside me. My brother, Jesus! He took me by the hand and led me to Father. His eyes were filled with the love I hadn't seen for so very long. Jesus stayed beside me and told the Father that I had done my part on Earth. He explained that I often fell short, but that the places I had could be forgotten because He, Himself, had suffered and paid for them.
He stood next to us all through the day of judgement, mercifully pleading our cause. Father, in perfect justice and mercy, assigned us to a Heavenly mansion in His kingdom.
Now as we look back on our lives on Earth they seem but a small moment. It was such a short time that we spent away. But it is a time we would never give back. Remember.
Remember what you learned. Remember what you gained. Remember our Brother's sacrifice. And remember Father's great plan of Happiness that was the only way.
