R&E Did We Choose To Be Born?

[Road Runner]

Now, before you guys say anything as I'm already well aware of how strange this sounds, but my whole entire life I've had one single memory on the back of my mind for as long as I can remember that has never changed,.. and it's about when my soul entered my body as a baby. Why I think about this from time to time I have absolutely no idea,.. but if it were a dream, I think that I would have forgotten about it years ago,.. I just could never explain exactly what it is if my brain made up a false memory or what because I don't even know if you can call it that. My current belief is that we did choose to be born though as God made us, but He gave us the choice of us whether or not we wanted to choose to except our bodies as He gave us a free choice with everything else in our lives.

 

[Gabe Lackmann]

Yes...Buddhists call it samsara.

It is the cycle of birth and death.

we must cycle through the many millions of lives until we find the solution to our suffering.

Yes, you have lived thousands upon thousands of times before.

This is a great big universe.

 

[Chuz Life]

Did We Choose To Be Born?

No.​

 

[JustAnotherNut]

Strange.........I have heard that is a Mormon belief, that we have chosen our life. I have no idea if that's true or not.

 

[Disir]

My current belief is yes and no. No because why would I choose some of this crap. Sometimes I have to stand back and ask, "What was the point?"

I do believe in past lives and there are lessons to be learned in many of those experiences and it isn't all about me. Sometimes it's about other people and what they need to go learn from an experience. I have come across something that discussed being able to watch your life in motion and it was like a play with everyone playing their parts on stage. I had something significant happen recently where I completely disengaged from people and situations. I saw the writing on the wall and I was not about to be used as a shield for people and things that I had advocated against for several years. I got slammed for telling the truth. When I disengaged, I was able to step back and see that as a play. My part was instrumental over here and a bit player over there. It made sense to me then that I chose and sometimes agreed to certain things.

 

[Meriweather]

When I disengaged, I was able to step back and see that as a play. My part was instrumental over here and a bit player over there. It made sense to me then that I chose and sometimes agreed to certain things.

A lot of wisdom in that...thank you.

 

[Road Runner]

Strange.........I have heard that is a Mormon belief, that we have chosen our life. I have no idea if that's true or not.

That's odd because I'm not a Mormon.

 

[onefour1]

In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints we believe that before coming to this earth life, we existed as the spirit children of our Heavenly Father. Paul the apostle taught that we are the literal offspring of our Father in Heaven. Jesus taught that we are gods, even children of the most high. It was we who come to this earth life and receive bodies of flesh and bones who fought against Satan and his minions in the great war in heaven. So yes, we do believe that we were given the opportunity to take on a body of flesh and bones and experience this mortal life. We chose to do so because we could then see that God the Father has a body of flesh and bones and is immortal. We all wanted be like him and have immortality. Jesus came to this earth and was the first among us to take on an immortal body of flesh and bones. We believe that spirit and element, inseparably connected, can receive a fullness of joy.

Here are some verses that corroborate the above:

Hebrews 12:9
9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?

In this verse we learn that God the Father is the Father of our spirits.

Acts 17:28-29
28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.

29 Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device.

We learn from this verse that we are the offspring of God. He is the literal Father of our spirits.

Job 38:3-7
3 Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.
4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.
5 Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?
6 Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;
7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

Here we learn that before the foundations of the earth, the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy.

Jeremiah 1:5
5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

In this verse we learn that the prophet Jeremiah was known by God before he was in his mother's belly and that before he came forth out of the womb Jeremiah was sanctified and ordained to be a prophet unto the nations.

Ephesians 1:4
4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

This verse tells us that God chooses some of us before the foundation of the world to great and holy callings.

Revelation 12:7-11
7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

Here we read about the war in heaven. Notice that Michael and his angels fought against the dragon (the Devil and Satan) and his angels. This occurred before we came to this earth. In the days of Adam and Eve, Satan was already cast down to the earth. Satan did not prevail but was cast out of heaven into the earth. But what happened to Michael and his angels? Verse 11 tells us that they needed the blood of Lamb to overcome Satan and also that they had become subject unto death. This verse shows that we who have come to this earth and need the blood of the lamb and subject unto death are those who fought in the great war in heaven alongside Michael, Jesus , our Father in Heaven.

John 9:1-3
1 And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.
2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.

From this verse we learn that the disciples of Jesus wonder if the man who was born blind had sinned before being born. This begs the question, if we did not exist before being born, how could the man have sinned in order to be born blind? Interestingly, Jesus did not say that the man did not exist before being born but simply told his disciples that the blind man did not sin.

Ecclesiastes:12:7
7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

This verse tells us that our spirits will return unto God after death. You cannot return to somewhere you have never been.

2 Timothy 1:9
9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

God called his disciples with an holy calling before the world began.


Here are other verses in LDS scriptures that are mostly not in the bible:

• called and prepared from the foundation of the world, Alma 13:3.
• bringeth them back into the presence of the Lord, Hel. 14:17.
• third part of the hosts of heaven turned he away, D&C 29:36.
• seraphic hosts of heaven, before the world was made, D&C 38:1.
• man, according to his creation before the world, D&C 49:17.
• Man was also in the beginning with God, D&C 93:29.
• choice spirits who were reserved to come forth, D&C 138:53.
• before they were born … received their first lessons, D&C 138:56.
• in heaven created I them; and there was not yet flesh upon the earth, Moses 3:5.
• he beheld the spirits that God had created, Moses 6:36.
• intelligences that were organized before the world was, Abr. 3:22.
• he stood among those that were spirits, Abr. 3:23.
• took his spirit … and put it into him, Abr. 5:7.
• See also Prov. 8:22–31; John 1:2, 14; 8:58; 16:28; 17:5, 24; 2 Tim. 1:9; Titus 1:2; 3 Ne. 1:13; 26:5; Ether 3:16.

 

[onefour1]

Jude 1:6
6 And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.

In the above verse Jude, when speaking of Satan and his angels, tells us that they did not keep their first estate. What this means is that the first estate is that time we spent with God in the premortal existence in his presence. Lucifer (Satan) and his angels failed in their first estate and rebelled against God. They did not keep their first estate but fell from heaven due to their rebellious attitude. This earth life is our second estate.

Abraham 3:22-28
22 Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones;
23 And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born.
24 And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell;
25 And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them;
26 And they who keep their first estate shall be added upon; and they who keep not their first estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate; and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their heads for ever and ever.
27 And the Lord said: Whom shall I send? And one answered like unto the Son of Man: Here am I, send me. And another answered and said: Here am I, send me. And the Lord said: I will send the first.
28 And the second was angry, and kept not his first estate; and, at that day, many followed after him.

 

[task0778]

Those who believe in reincarnation also believe that we choose our next life for whatever reasons.

 

[onefour1]

To Christians, reincarnation is a false doctrine.

Hebrews 9:27
27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

When one is resurrected they put on immortality. This means that they are joined to a resurrected body to never die again.

1 Corinthians 15:53-57
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

The resurrection of Jesus brought about the victory over death and allows our mortal corrupt body to be resurrected to an incorruptible, immortal body to never die again.

To John the Revelator, Jesus declared that once he was resurrected he would be alive forever more.

18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

Reincarnation does not occur according to the Bible. We are appointed to die only once then cometh the judgement. We will be resurrected to an incorruptible, immortal body to be alive forever more just as Jesus declared. Reincarnation is a false doctrine.

 

[skye]

I think we choose to be born.

Otherwise we wouln't be here.

To learn our lessons , to grow spiritually....and yes to suffer..... and pay for what we have done.

That is what I believe, a personal opinion.

 

[JustAnotherNut]

That's odd because I'm not a Mormon.

Neither am I but I've been told I have a few Mormon traits or beliefs and I've never studied their faith or have any real knowledge of it

 

[Road Runner]

Those who believe in reincarnation also believe that we choose our next life for whatever reasons.

Oh I don't believe in reincarnation,.. I just believe that our souls get to choose our bodies before birth as God asks us first about it and that sounded a lot less crazy and weird in my head.