Lessons on the Plan of Salvation
Lesson No. Twenty-Eight
Our Spirit Gives Us Individual Identity and Is Who We Really Are
“All human beings…are a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny” (Proclamation on the Family). In God’s family we are all brothers and sisters. Furthermore, in all life if the off spring grows properly it becomes like the progenitor. Likewise, if our spirits mature as intended we become like our Heavenly Parents.
Our spirit is what gives us life and it never dies – Physical death is when the spirit leaves the body and goes to the grave, but our spirit lives on and never dies. It lived in the pre-earth existence and it will continue to live in the eternities to come.
Our spirit, not our body, has agency and can receive light and truth (D&C 93:28-33) – Through our spirits we do our thinking and make our choices. Developing our spirit is far more important than developing our body which is on an irreversible course of decay. Our body is the instrument our spirit uses to grow toward perfection. Satan tries to captivate our spirit and rule over us through the appetites and additions of the flesh. (See 2 Nephi 2:29)
Our spirit is unique and individual – More than our physical body, our spirit distinguishes each of us from every other person. “There are no identical twins so far as personages of spirit are concerned” (The Final Frontier: The Spirit by Daniel H Ludlow).
Our spirit can remember everything we have ever learned or experienced –While in mortality and housed in a “corruptible” physical body we have a “veil of forgetfulness” drawn across our minds. Our spirit is far more efficient and effective than the most advanced computer in storing and recalling information. Our spirit also has a perfect memory of all our experiences. President Joseph F Smith taught: “Let God Almighty touch the main spring of the memory, and awaken recollection, and you will find then that you have not even forgotten a single idle word that you have spoken” (Joseph F. Smith, “A Sermon of Purity,” Improvement Era, May 1903; see also 2 Nephi 9:13-15; Alma 12:14) Repentance allows us not to be pained by the memory of our sins. (See Alma 36:18-21)
Our spirit has direct “on line” communication with our Heavenly Father – I marvel at the access of the internet, but this is nothing compared to the access our spirits have to our Father in Heaven who is all powerful and all knowing, and perfect in his love for his children. There are no security systems. All that is required is sincere and humble prayer. He answers through His Spirit directly to our spirits through revelation and inspiration. It becomes very frustrating when we lose connection with the internet, but it is far more important not to lose connection to our Heavenly Father and to His Spirit than it is to the internet.
Our spirit is not limited by either time or space – Our spirit is restricted within our body by location, but it is not restricted in thought or memory and time or place. All things past, present, and future are continually before the Lord (D&C 130:7). As described above, if our spirit has direct on-line communication with His Holy Spirit then we have the capacity and potential, as appropriate, to know and experience all things past, present, and future.
Testimony – The degree of righteousness achieved by our spirit will determine the degree of glory to which our body will be resurrected – In the resurrection, if our spirit is worthy of a celestial glory, we will have power to receive a celestial body and live in the celestial kingdom. It is the same with the terrestrial and telestial kingdoms. (See D&C 88:27-28)
It is a blessing to have a strong and healthy body, but it is far more important to have a strong and healthy spirit. Our spirit is who we really are and will determine our eternal inheritance.