Pre-Existence

PRE-EXISTENCE. BY CHARLES H. WHITE. The world today is in darkness concerning this great principle of divine truth. Even among those of Christian belief there is but little known where we, as human beings, originated. The ques- tion is often asked —Did we have an existence prior to coming to this earth? and if so, what was the nature of the existence? Today there is a philosophy among the religious sects which teaches that there is within each being a substance that is immor- tal. This substance is designated by many writers of goo'd author- ity as spirit, and is described as the thinking, feeling, intelligent part of man. Most people of our day admit the fact that there is within each being a spark that never dies, but that at the separation of the body and the spirit, which takes place at death, the body goes back to the dust as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it (Ecc. 12: 7). The passage here quoted implies that the spirit of man had at some time previous to death (which is the result of the separation of body and spirit) been in the presence and association of God. Were it not so, the spirit at death could not make its return trip to the courts of heaven, but would naturally make his first and only voyage from the earth to the realms of glory. After organizing the earth upon which we live, the statement ismade by the Creator, that he had made man in his own image (Gen. 1 26, 27). : 'And God said, Let us make man in our image, ' after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth

28 IMPR0VEMEN7 ERA. upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them." Thus we have in the words of God, through Moses, an account of the creation of man, who we are told was to have dominion over all other things that God had created. At the completion of the earth and all things that were to be therein, the Creator rested from his work, and, it being the seventh day, he blessed it and sanctified it, because in it he had finished all his work. We read that every plant of the field and every herb of the field be- fore it grew, and the fish of the, sea, the cattle, and every living thing, had been created before they were placed on the earth, be- cause at this time there was not a man on the earth to care for the creations of God, neither had the Creator caused it to rain, that moisture might be provided for the life and growth of the plants (Gen. 2: 1-5). In the creations of God, as far as we have followed them, we find the spiritual and not the temporal creation. It is plain that all things were created spiritually before they were created tempo- rally (Moses 3: 5). At this time God caused a mist to go up from the earth, and the whole face of the ground was watered; and the Lord God formed man of the dust of the earth, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life — or, in other words, the spirit which had been previously created enterc d the body made from the dust of the earth —and man became a living soul. A garden was planted in Eden, in which God caused to grow the tree, and all that was pleasant in the sight of man (Gen. 2: 6-9). It is plain from the above quotations that all things had a spiritual creation, and dwelt with God even before he brought this earth into existence. During our associations with God in the spirit world, and at a time when the creation of this earth was under contemplation, we gave our sanction, and, as the sons and daughters of God, shouted for joy at the thought of coming to the earth to taber- nacle in the flesh (Job 38: 4-7). Jesus, our Lord, in speaking to his apostles, upon one occa- sion, taught them the philosophy of this great truth. "I came forth from the Father into the world, again I leave the world and

PRE-EXISTENCE. 29 go back to my Father" (John 1: 28). We would infer from this scripture that our Savior had, at some time previous to his earthly career, been with the Father. It might be thought bj some that it was the body of Jesus as he appeared on the earth, that had an ex- istence with the Father before the world was, but let us see. Jesus, we are told, was born of the Virgin Mary, being brought into the world of woman, as all other children are; then, it is plain that the flesh had not been with the Father, but, on the other hand it was the spirit which was chosen before the foundation of the world, to come and take possession of that body which should be born of Mary; and, as the angel said to the mother of Jesus, he shall be called the Son of God, and it will be he who will offer his life for the sins of the world. Again, in the prayer to his Father, he asks that he might be glorified with his Father, even with the glory I had with thee be- fore the world was (John 17: 5). The spirit of Jesus existed and had glory with his Father be- fore, the foundations of the earth were laid; in fact, he took part in the great work of creation. We will here introduce one or two witnesses from the Book of Mormon as touching the pre- existence of Jesus Christ. Nephi, a prophet of the western hemisphere, who lived about five hun- dred years B. C, testified that he had beheld the Redeemer (II Nephi 2: 2, 3). He also makes the statement that his brother Jacob had also seen him, and that he was the one of whom Isaiah prophesied hundreds of years before his birth. While the brother of Jared was on the mount receiving in- structions concerning their journey to the promised land, the Re- deemer appeared to him and conversed at some length upon his earthly mission, and, owing to the greatness of his faith, the Savior appeared to him in the same likeness as he would appear on the earth (Ether 3: 6-20). It will be seen from the above that Jesus had an existence prior to his advent into this world, and that after his mission on earth was finished, he ascended into heaven, in the presence of his disciples, and resumed the enjoyment of that glory which he pos- sessed before the worlds were created. The Lord in speaking with Jeremiah makes him acquainted

30 IMPRO VEMEN T ERA. with the fact that he was ordained to be a prophet unto the nations befor his birth into the world (Jer. i: 5). The possibility of such a thing is more or less troubling the minds of a great many people. By way of explanation, I could do no better than to refer the reader to the Pearl of Great Price (Abraham 3: 22-28), where the Lord, in speaking with Abraham, makes mention of the spirits that stood before him, and expressed the fact that there were some among them that were noble and great, and of these he would make his prophets and rulers among his children during their probation on the earth. At this time Jeremiah, no doubt, received his ordination to be a prophet to the nations of the earth. In the spirit world, the same men are as on this earth, governed by law, and as a result there were some among them who advanced to higher stations than did those of their fellow spir- its. Some, by applying themselves to conditions and making use of the opportunities as they presented themselves, reached a higher mark of perfection than those who were less ambitious. We may, by way of illustration, take the earth upon which we live. All men are born into the world equal as far as wealth is concerned. Some men apply themselves to the conditions that surround them, and by close attention to business succeed in amassing great fortunes. On the other hand, there are those who do not apply themselves, and fail to take advantage of oppor- tunities. These are the men who make no progress, and conse- quently die poor. The same may be said of a people in a religious way. Many persons there are who apply" the gospel of Christ to their lives, and by close observance of the commandments of God they gain as a reward a crown of glory in the kingdom of heaven. Again, we have a class of people who care nothing for the laws of God, neither do they feel the need of obeying his gospel, and as a result of this kind of life they can expect to be rewarded only for the work done, and can never obtain the degree of glory that he who is faithful has received. Free agency was enjoyed in the spirit world, and there, the same as here, men could choose good or evil. This is made plain in the Revelations of John while on the isle of Patmos. The visions of the past were opened to his view, and he was privileged to behold

PRE-EXISTENCE. 31 the great war that was fought between Michael and his angels, and the dragon and his angels. Satan, through his great ability as a leader, was successful in obtaining a third part of the spirits of men as his followers (Rev. 12: 7-9). This war, we believe, took place at a time when the great plan of redemption was being dis- cussed, and as a result of disobedience, and not wishing to extend to man the great principle of free agency, Lucifer and his angels were cast out of heaven, and were deprived of coming to earth and taking a body of flesh and bones. Sin was within the reach of all, and consequently spirits had power to commit sin, even as men do today, In proof of this, let me refer you to the writings of John (chapter 9: 1-3). While in course of their travels in the land of Judea, they met a man who was blind. The apostles, understanding our pre-existent st^te^ asked Jesus this question: Who did sin, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Now bear in mind this fact, that the man came into the world blind, and consequently it could not have been a punishment for sin committed in this life. Had the wrong which brought blindness to him been the result of his disobedience, it would have been perpetrated in the spirit world during the as- sociation with his fellow spirits, as they dwelt with God during a probation in which they existed before the worlds were created. As a reward for our faithfulness in our pre-existent home, we have the privilege of coming to earth and possessing a body of flesh and bone; or, it may be expressed in the following terms: having kept our we are now upon the earth to see first estate, whether or not we will keep our second estate. Through proper care and preparation of our bodies, which comes by obedience to the laws of heaven, we fit ourselves for a crown of celestial glory, and we shall dwell with God and his Son, Jesus Christ, throughout the vast eternities. Kansas City, Mo.