In his talk “The Plan of Salvation” Elder L Tom Perry explains the Plan of Salvation. He begins by sharing the story of a young woman who was able to share the gospel with an acquaintance. The most important thing that she shared was the Plan of Salvation. It affected the acquaintance and caused him to look more closely at the church.
Elder Perry then goes on to explain the Plan of Salvation. He begins by explaining that we are each Spirit children of our Heavenly Father. He speaks of the many who are wandering lost unsure of why they are here and what their purpose is in life. Many do not know where to look for answers.
He goes on to talk about the counsel in Heaven where we were given the choice to come to Earth. We do not know much of what happened before we were born, but we do know that we were allowed to choose whether or not we would come to Earth. We learned about the importance of the Savior in the Plan of Salvation. Elder Perry goes on to speak about the purpose of this life:
“There are two purposes for life in mortality. The first is that we might gain experiences that we could not obtain in any other way. The second is to obtain tabernacles of flesh and bones. Both of these purposes are vital to the existence of man. We are now being tried and tested to see if we will do all the things the Lord has commanded us to do. These commandments are the principles and ordinances of the gospel, and they constitute the gospel of Jesus Christ. Every principle and ordinance has a bearing upon the whole purpose of our testing, which is to prepare us to return to our Heavenly Father and become more like Him.”
Elder Perry then goes on to emphasize the importance of the Savior in the plan. It is through the Atonement that we can repent and have the opportunity to return to Heavenly Father. It is also through his resurrection that we each will be resurrected regardless of how we lived our lives.
Elder Perry then speaks briefly of Christ’s life and the falling away after he died. He speaks of the Reformation and then the Restoration of the gospel through the Prophet Joseph Smith. He urges us to grasp hold of the teachings of the Plan of Salvation because it guides us through this life.
This is an excellent talk, which outlines the basic principle of the Plan of Salvation. I am grateful that I have been taught the plan of Salvation. It gives meaning to my life and helps me to know why I am here and what my purpose is. I hope that you will take the time to read this wonderful talk.
Related Articles:
General Conference: “The Great Plan of Happiness”
General Conference: “The Great Plan of Happiness” by Elder Nash
Discipline and the Plan of Salvation