Man's Relationship with God

We Are God's Children

"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, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose."1

It is important for us mortals to understand who we are, where we come from, and what our relationship is with Deity.

"And I, God, created man in mine own image, in the image of mine Only Begotten created I him; male and female created I them."

-Moses 2:27 (Cf. Genesis 1:27)

Due to the fact that we are created in the image of God the Eternal Father, this establishes our relationship to Him more significantly. Throughout human history, mankind has sought out the meaning of life. The Apostle Paul helps define this for us, when he addressed his audience in Athens on Mars' Hill.

"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."

-Acts 17:27

We Lived with God Before This Life

"In the premortal realm, spirit sons and daughters knew and worshipped God as their Eternal Father and accepted His plan by which His children could obtain a physical body and gain earthly experience to progress toward perfection and ultimately realize their divine destiny as heirs of eternal life. The divine plan of happiness enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave. Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally."2

There is the term called pre-existence, to which I declare that there is no such thing. And why? It's because we have always existed!

In a vision of the eternities, Father Abraham was able to see into that pre-mortal realm and witness the spirits of mankind before they were on the earth.

"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;

"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.

"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 go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will take of these materials, adn we will make an earth whereon these may dwell;

"And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them." 

-Abraham 3:22-25

This is verified by the writings of Jeremiah:

"Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

"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."

-Jeremiah 1:4-5

Joseph Smith summarized all of this in the following statement:

"The first principles of man are self-existent with God. God himself, finding he was in the midst of spirits and glory, because he was more intelligent, saw proper to institute laws whereby the rest could have a privilege to advance like himself. The relationship we have with God places us in a situation to advance in knowledge. He has power to institute laws to instruct the weaker intelligences, that they may be exalted with himself, so that they might have one glory upon another, and all that knoweldge, power, glory, and intelligence, which is requisite in order to save them in the world of spirits."

-Joseph Smith, Jr., Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 354 

Intelligence, Spirit, and Element

"Man was also in the beginning with God. Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can be."

-Doctrine & Covenants 93:29

From the teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, we can find the following:

"The spirit of man is not a created being; it existed from eternity, and will exist to eternity."

 -Joseph Smith, Jr., Teachings, 158

A question to be posed here then, is: What defines creation, or what is created? The answers are provided here.

"Anything created cannot be eternal; and earth, water, etc., had their existence in an elementary state, from eternity."

-Joseph Smith, Jr., Teachings, 158

"For man is spirit. The elements are eternal, and spirit and element, inseparably connected, receive a fulness of joy;

"And when separated, man cannot receive a fulness of joy.

"The elements are the tabernacle of God; yea, man is the tabernacle of God, even temples; and whatsoever temple is defiled, God shall destroy that temple."

-Doctrine & Covenants 93:33-35

The Apostle Paul also addressed this matter to the saints living in Corinth, concerning the sacredness of our bodies.

"Know ye not that ye are the temple of God; and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

"If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are."

-1 Corinthians 3:16-17

Some might ask, how is element eternal? My answer is simple. Think upon the Elementary Periodic Table, and we discover that such things are made out of matter which came from star dust. Element, like energy, can neither be made or destroyed, but transformed.

1, 2) The Family: A Proclamation to the World