The question is often raised, “What is the purpose of life? Why are we here?” As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we don’t believe that we are here randomly, through some sort of scientific anomaly. We believe that we were created by a loving Heavenly Father who sent us to earth to try and test us to see if we will prove worthy to attain the glory He has.
In the Book of Abraham, in the Pearl of Great Price (which came from papyrus found in the 1800s) we read of the pre-existence, where we lived in Heaven with all the other spirits waiting to come down to earth:
24. 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 take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell;
25. And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them;
26. And they who keep their first estate shall be added upon; and they who keep not their first estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate; and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their heads for ever and ever.
Here we have the Savior, Jesus Christ, laying out the plan of salvation. The spirits were then sent to the earth that was created to be tested. If they do the things which they are commanded, they will have glory added upon their heads forever.
Life is not happenstance. Everything we do does affect our eternities. We believe that God has asked us to take the moral high road, that we deal honestly with those around us, and that we serve them. Above all, we are asked to love God and to worship Him. As we make decisions consistent with this ideology, we grow closer to Him and eventually attain the glory He has promised.
Mormons are not alone in this belief. The concept of returning to live with our Heavenly Father after death and being rewarded for our deeds is a common thread throughout the Christian religions and indeed, many of the other religions of the world. However, we do differ in that we believe that Heavenly Father Himself went through a very similar type of testing, and that as we learn and grow, we may have the opportunity to be exalted as well.
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