Lessons on the Plan of Salvation
Lesson No. Nineteen
Our Spirit Is Who We Are
Our spirit is the source of what we call “life” – When the spirit body enters the physical tabernacle of a baby, it provides the life-force that animates the physical body throughout mortality. When the spirit permanently leaves, the physical body dies.
“The spirit of man (is) in the likeness of his person” (D&C 77:2) – Expounding on this doctrine, Parley P. Pratt taught that a spirit body looks and functions like our physical body: “This organized spirit we call a body, because, although composed of spiritual elements, possesses every organ after the pattern, and in the likeness or similitude of the outward or fleshy tabernacle it is destined eventually to inhabit. Its organs of thought, speech, sight, hearing, tasting, smelling, feeling, etc., all existed in their order, as in the physical body, the one being the exact similitude of the other” (Key to Theology, 50).
Our spirit had gender in the premortal existence and this gender continues in the next life – “All human beings – male and female – are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose” (The Family – A Proclamation to the World).
Our knowledge of the plan of salvation and its purposes, including the eternal nature of gender, answers the gender and marriage related questions that are prevalent today.
Before the spirit body enters into a physical body, it is fully grown – When the premortal Savior appeared to the brother of Jared two thousand years before his mortal birth, he said: “Behold, I am Jesus Christ…Seest thou that ye are created after mine own image? Yea, even all men were created in mine own image. Behold, this body, which ye now behold, is the body of my spirit; and man have I created after the body of my spirit; and even as I appear unto thee to be in the spirit will I appear unto my people in the flesh” (Ether 3:14-16).
When a child dies the spirit goes to the post-mortal spirit world as the fully mature spirit it was prior to coming to earth to obtain a body. However, the physical body of that child does not grow or mature while in the grave. The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that the mother of a child who dies will have the privilege of raising her child in the resurrection where the child’s body will grow to the full stature of its spirit.
As spirit children in our pre-earth life we could to choose between good and evil – In our pre-earth life we were subject to sin and temptation, and we developed our personalities, abilities, and interests. The most important ability that we could develop in our pre-earth life, as in this life, was faith in the atonement of Christ, a willingness to repent, and the inclination for obedience. (Alma 13:3-5).
In the pre-earth existence one third of the spirit children rebelled against their Father and chose to follow Lucifer. All other spirit children of God believed in the atonement of Christ and repented of their sins. Therefore, they were born into this life innocent. (See D&C 93:38)
If we did it before we can do it again - Our circumstances in this life were determined by what we did in or pre-earth life just as our circumstances in the next life will be determined by what we do in this life. Our ability to exercise faith and do good works was developed in our pre-earth existence and came with us into this life. We can now have confidence that if we did it before we can do it again.