Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday that provides us an opportunity to express gratitude to God, our families, our friends, and our employers for the many blessings we have.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that all blessings come from God. It is important to acknowledge God's hand in all aspects of our lives. In fact, expressing gratitude is a commandment from God. "Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things." Doctrine and Covenants 59:7. For those who are thankful, the Lord has promised "[H]e who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious." Doctrine and Covenants 78:19.

All of us should make an effort to pray to God and thank Him for the blessings in our lives. We should also extend thanksgiving not only to those we love but also to those who have treated us unkindly. By blessing our enemies and doing good to those who despitefully use us and persecute us, we will become "the children of [our] Father which is in heaven." Matthew 5:43-45.

The Purpose of Life

All of us, at one point or another, are likely to ask questions like, "Where did I come from?", "Why am I here?", and "Where am I going after this life?" Such soul-searching questions often arise during those quiet moments of pondering when we are trying to step back and determine what we are supposed to be doing with our lives.

As the restored gospel of Jesus Christ again on the Earth, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ("LDS Church") teaches that God has a plan for us, His children, to return and live with Him again after this life. The blessing of living with God again depends on our obedience to His commandments while in this life. In a short space, I will do my best to explain the purpose of life as taught by the holy scriptures and God's modern-day prophets and apostles, the leaders of the LDS Church.

Pre-Mortal Life
Before we were born on this Earth, we lived with God as His spirit sons and daughters (Acts 17:16-34). He loved us and taught us. He wanted us to become like Him. However, we were different from Him in two ways: we lacked a body and we lacked experience. In order for us to obtain these two vital things, He devised a plan for us to be born on Earth, gain bodies, gain experience, die, and return to live with Him again (Moses 1:39). This plan is called the Plan of Happiness or the Plan of Salvation. He would give us commandments to live by, which would be a roadmap t0 happiness and peace. God knew that we would be imperfect and that we would make many mistakes. These mistakes, or sins, make us unworthy and unclean because they are contrary to God's will and commandments. This is called spiritual death because it separates us from God. He also knew that we could not return to live with Him in an imperfect and unclean state. So, He sent His Son Jesus Christ to atone for our sins. Jesus would pay the price of all our sins; He would suffer on our behalf so that if we repented, had faith in Him, and kept the commandments, we could return and live with God again.

Mortal Life
This is where we are now. Life is essentially a test (Abraham 3:24-25). God provides us with prophets (i.e., Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Samuel, Isaiah, Ezekiel, etc.) who teach us how we should live and how to return with God. It is our duty to learn these commandments and obey them. When we follow the commandments, we are happy. Unfortunately, many temptations try to lead us astray. These temptations may provide fleeting pleasure or worldly power, but ultimately lead to sadness. We are constantly tempted to act carnally, violently, and foolishly. Our mortal experience is designed for us to learn wisdom by learning truth and obeying God's commandments through loving God and our fellow men. We should repent constantly of our weaknesses and sins and rely on the atonement of Jesus Christ to save us from our transgressions. At the end of mortal life, we all die. We cannot overcome this physical death by ourselves, just as we could not overcome spiritual death without Jesus' atonement.

After This Life
When we die, we return to God. We will await the resurrection of all men and women, when each of our bodies will be reunited with our spirits. Because of Jesus Christ's resurrection, we will all be resurrected. We will then be immortal and live forever. We will be judged of our works, words, and thoughts in the great judgment. God knows each of us individually, and will judge us individually. He knows our trials, temptations, and limitations. He has promised that He will judge us mercifully if we judge others mercifully during our mortal lives. After the judgment, we will be assigned to one of three kingdoms of glory; the Celestial Kingdom (where we will live with God and become like Him), the Terrestrial Kingdom, or the Telestial Kingdom. The glory of each of these kingdoms is as the glory of the sun, moon, and stars (1 Corinth. 15:40-42).

Summary of the Plan of Happiness
We lived with God before we were born. We were sent to Earth to gain bodies and gain experience through living mortal lives. However, we all sin which separates us from God (spiritual death) and we all die (physical death). To overcome both deaths, God sent His Son Jesus Christ to atone for our sins and to be resurrected. All of us will someday be resurrected which is a free gift from Christ, but not all of us will repent of our sins. That is a choice we must make individually. After this life, we will return to God to be judged. We are then assigned a kingdom of glory where we will live forever.

To learn more about the Plan of Happiness, click here. In fact, www.mormon.org is an excellent resource for all those with questions about LDS Church teachings, the purpose of life, and how to find peace and happiness.

Author's Note: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does not have a monopoly on truth. Many readers will discover that the truth about the purpose of life as taught by the LDS Church includes many teachings from their own churches. That is because God, in His mercy, has blessed many individuals and peoples with portions of the truth to bring them joy and happiness. To each of you, the LDS Church extends the invitation to bring all that you have that is good and true, and see if the Church can add to it. The fullness of the truth regarding the purpose of life can be found only in the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The Church and Polygamy

Recently, a colleague at work asked about the Church and polygamy. What is the LDS Church's stance on plural marriage? It is a valid question that deserves a thoughtful answer.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized in 1830 in western New York. Because of persecution, members of the Church ("Saints" or "Mormons") were forced to settle in Ohio, then Missouri, and finally in Illinois. During this difficult time, the Prophet Joseph Smith received a revelation from the Lord commanding some of the Saints to practice plural marriage. Following the Prophet's assassination in 1844 in Carthage, Illinois, the Saints continued practicing polygamy as they moved west to Utah with Brigham Young as the next president of the Church. It was an extremely difficult commandment to follow for the Saints, and one that was a significant trial of faith. It required constant personal revelation and divine help from the Lord.

Plural marriage was continued in the Church until 1890 when the President of the Church, Wilford Woodruff, announced the end of the practice. Today, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that marriage is between one man and one woman. Anyone advocating or living a different standard is excommunicated from the Church.

Many ask why the Lord commanded the early Saints to engage in plural marriage. One reason given by the Lord for plural marriage is mentioned in the Book of Mormon: “If I will, saith the Lord of Hosts, raise up seed unto me, I will command my people; otherwise they shall [have only one wife]” (Jacob 2:30; see also v. 27). Like Abraham, Jacob, and other servants of God in the Bible, early leaders of the LDS Church were commanded by the Lord to take multiple wives. I am grateful for the sacrifices of these early Saints in keeping God's commandments and even MORE grateful that the commandment is no longer in force.

I do not understand all the dealings of God with His children. As the Lord told His children in the Old Testament, "My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways." (Isaiah 55:8). Certainly, God has a purpose for all His commandments. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and that he did what the Lord commanded him to do.

Some of the material of this post can be attributed to the Church's website. To read more about the Church's stance on marriage, plural marriage, and Mormons' early practice of polygamy, click here.