According to the LDS faith, if our spirits lived with God before this life, why is spiritual birth during life on earth required?
Upvote:6
I think a distinction is required between being a child of God (the Father) and being adopted as a child of Christ (the Son).
According to LDS doctrine, all people are spirit children of God, our Heavenly Father. We don't know much at all about what our spiritual creation entailed, but we know that we are not just creations, we are offspring (Hebrews 12:9, Acts 17:29, Psalm 82:6), and we inherit from him our individual worth and divine potential. Besides what we inherit, as children of God, we are loved by Him in the same way that a good earthly father loves his children – though in a more perfect, eternal way than we can understand in mortality. Everything he does is for us – His work and His glory is to bring about our immortality and eternal life (Moses 1:39). He loves us so much that He sent us His Son, Jesus Christ (John 3:16, 1 Nephi 11:16–23).
But, as children of God, we have to choose to accept Christ. When we accept Christ and as we make and keep covenants with Him, we are reborn spiritually and become the adopted children of Christ. Every person must be born of God – reborn spiritually, born of Christ – or they can't inherit the kingdom of God (John 3:5, Mosiah 27:25–26, Moroni 7:19–22, Moses 6:64–68, 1 John 3:1–3).
Therefore, I would that ye should be steadfast and immovable ... that Christ, the Lord God Omnipotent, may seal you his (Mosiah 5:15).
And of course, the alternative:
For behold, if ye have procrastinated the day of your repentance even until death, behold, ye have become subjected to the spirit of the devil, and he doth seal you his (Alma 34:35).
Upvote:8
You seem to have a misunderstanding of what death is. Death is separation, not ceasing to exist. Spiritual birth is required because of spiritual death.
- spiritual death- separation from God (the first source is the Fall and the second is our own disobedience)
- physical death- separation of the spirit from the body
Both deaths came because of the Fall, and both are overcome through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. See also
- Helaman 14:16 - the Fall brought about both kinds of death
- 1 Corinthians 15:20-22 - the Fall brought death, through Christ we are made alive
Romans 8:6-7 on spiritual death
- For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
Being carnally minded leads to sin, or to disobey God. See also
- Mosiah 3:19 - natural man is enemy to God
Being righteous means we are born of God.
- If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.
On being spiritually reborn, see also
- John 3:3-6 - baptism is part of spiritual rebirth
- 2 Corinthians 5:17 - new person in Christ
- 1 John 3:9 - born of God when don't commit sin
In your first paragraph, you mention lots of thoughts or beliefs that you seem unsure of, there are many scriptures that let us know that we lived with God before we were here on earth and that we are his children. Also know that the Doctrine & Covenants, Book of Mormon, and Pearl of Great Price all contain principles of the gospel that are restored truths (and so are not completely or at all in just the Bible, that's why all are considered scripture).
Pre-earth life
- Moses 3:5 - God created us in heaven
- Romans 11:2 - he foreknew man
- Doc&Cov 138:56 - received lesson before coming to earth
Children of God
- Acts 17:29 - offspring of God
- Romans 8:14-17 - children of God (read the next few verses, and verse 14 is about being heirs of God)
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