In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we believe that all mankind on this earth existed prior to being born on this earth. We believe that we were the spirit children of God and existed in heaven as spirits before the foundation of this earth.
Man, Antemortal Existence of
- See also Council in Heaven; Foreordination; Man, a Spirit Child of Heavenly Father; Spirit Creation
- God of the spirits of all flesh, Num. 16:22 (27:16).
- all the sons of God shouted for joy, Job 38:7.
- the spirit shall return unto God who gave it, Eccl. 12:7.
- Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee, Jer. 1:5.
- Lord … formeth the spirit of man within him, Zech. 12:1.
- who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind, John 9:2.
- poets have said, For we are also his offspring, Acts 17:28.
- For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate, Rom. 8:29.
- chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, Eph. 1:4.
- subjection unto the Father of spirits, Heb. 12:9.
- angels which kept not their first estate, Jude 1:6.
- Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, Rev. 12:7.
- 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.
Just as Jesus himself existed before the foundation of this earth, we too existed as the spirit children of the Father and we all planned to come down to a mortal world and receive bodies of flesh and bones and be given a chance to experience good and evil and with our free will be tested to see if we would choose good over evil. Our memory of our premortal existence has been veiled and we are free to choose good or evil without our premortal life influencing our decisions.
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.
Here the Apostle Paul teaches that we are the literal offspring of God. In Genesis we learn that we were made is God's very image and likeness.
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?
Here the Apostle Paul teaches us the God the Father is the very father of our spirits.
While in heaven, our premortal spirits existed in the presents of God and the firstborn of all of God the Father's children, Jesus Christ, was chosen to be a Savior before the foundation of this earth. There was another among the children of God who was a high ranking spirit who was named Lucifer. Instead of giving us free will to choose between good and evil, Lucifer thought it was a better idea that we be forced to obey God in this life and in that way not one soul would be lost. Upon presenting his idea before God the Father, it was rejected because God the Father knew that we would not become good beings in and of ourselves without learning to choose good over evil of our free will and choice. Lucifer thought his plan was better than that of God the Father and rebelled against the Father in heaven and actually got 1/3 of all the hosts of heaven to side with him. He was cast out of heaven along with those who followed after him and his name was changed to Satan an Perdition. Jesus was willing to go along with God the Father's plan and became part of the godhead before the foundation of this world.
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.
Those spirit children in heaven who sided with God our Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ our Savior were permitted to come to this earth and receive a body of flesh and bones and experience good and evil. They are the Michael and his angels who fought against Satan and his minions. It is they who are spoken of in verse 11 who need to overcome Satan by the blood of the Lamb and their testimonies of Jesus and to suffer death in this life. All of us who have come to earth and received bodies were valiant in the war in heaven.
Isaiah 14:12-16
12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
16 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;
Here we learn that Lucifer was not always the devil. He was a son of God and a son of the morning (or a morning star) but he came out in open rebellion against God the Father and lost his status in heaven and became Satan and Perdition and was cast out into the earth.
Moses 4:1-6
1 And I, the Lord God, spake unto Moses, saying: That Satan, whom thou hast commanded in the name of mine Only Begotten, is the same which was from the beginning, and he came before me, saying—Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor.
2 But, behold, my Beloved Son, which was my Beloved and Chosen from the beginning, said unto me—Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever.
3 Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down;
4 And he became Satan, yea, even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice.
5 And now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which I, the Lord God, had made.
6 And Satan put it into the heart of the serpent, (for he had drawn away many after him,) and he sought also to beguile Eve, for he knew not the mind of God, wherefore he sought to destroy the world.
Satan and his minions were denied the opportunity to receive a body of flesh and bones. They will remain spirits forever. Our premortal spirit are eternal and cannot be destroyed or die. We are children of an immortal Father in Heaven who, with his immortal wife, has given birth to immortal spirit children. Our immortal spirits are a combination of eternal spirit matter and eternal self-existing intelligence. When a spirit takes on matter he receives more joy. Those of us who have the opportunity to receive resurrected bodies of flesh and bone will be able to receive a fullness of joy.
Doctrine and Covenants 93:33-34
33 For man is spirit. The elements are eternal, and spirit and element, inseparably connected, receive a fulness of joy;
34 And when separated, man cannot receive a fulness of joy.
God the Father is a being who has an immortal body of flesh and bones. Jesus, like his Father also has an immortal body of flesh and bones. They have received a fullness of joy.
Doctrine and Covenants 130:22-23
22 The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit. Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us.
23 A man may receive the Holy Ghost, and it may descend upon him and not tarry with him.
When Jesus resurrected He became the express image of the person of the Father. Like the Father, He too now had a resurrected body of flesh and bones and received a fullness of joy.
Hebrews 1:1-3
1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
Here we learn that as Jesus takes on the brightness of the glory of the Father, He also has taken upon him the very express image of the person of the Father. Not only does Jesus have a resurrected body of flesh and bones but the Father also has a body of flesh and bones and they are the very express image of each other. We also as the children of God will be able to take upon us immortality through the grace of Jesus Christ and have resurrected bodies of flesh and bones. All mankind, as Doctrine and Covenants 93:33 tells us above, are spirit. We all have a spirit. Yes, God the Father is a spirit also, but He too has a body of flesh and bones just as his immortal Son Jesus Christ. The life of the resurrected body is in the spirit and not in the blood. We are all spiritual beings and taking on and immortal body of flesh and bones can bring us a fulness of joy just as our Father in Heaven and our Lord Jesus Christ have a fulness of joy!
