Mormon Beliefs: Life’s Purpose & Meaning
Have you ever wondered whether there is a purpose to your life? Do we just live here on the earth for a time and then die? Do we live on only in the memory of others? Are we, at the end, alone?
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Church) has a message for you. You do have a purpose, and the purpose of life is more glorious than you have ever imagined. What you see around you—life on this earth, that begins with birth and ends with death—is only a very small part of your existence. You existed for eons of time before you were born. You are a spirit-child of God, and you lived with Him in heaven.
When the time came, your spirit entered a physical body, and you were born on earth. A physical body was essential for your personal progress. You forgot your heavenly existence and centered your attention on your current life. You arrived with a personality, talents, and gifts meant to touch the people near you, help you learn compassion, and bring you joy. You also arrived with a longing to find deeper meaning than what material life offers, and to discover your personal purpose for being here. That longing is a desire to believe in a Creator, the desire to connect with your Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, and to accept His sacrifice for sin. From that longing, faith is developed. From faith can come a personal communication with Father in Heaven, who knows you and loves you.
God sent you here for a purpose, and that is to learn and do what is necessary to become more like Him. He also sent you to accomplish certain things that only you can do. Life on earth is a training ground and is meant to be challenging. Opposition helps us grow spiritually. Death is the portal to an eternal existence, where you will be resurrected to a perfect, immortal state. Those faithful to Jesus Christ can be reunited with worthy loved ones forever. As God Himself said, “For this is my work and my glory ─ to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39 The Pearl of Great Price; see also 2 Timothy 1:10).
Mormon Beliefs: Jesus Christ
There is a plan for your life called the “Plan of Salvation,” or the “Plan of Happiness.” This plan encompasses the purpose of life. The desire of God the Father was and is to help you reach your full potential and attain the glorious existence that He enjoys. Part of the plan began in a pre-mortal existence where we lived as spirit children of God. In order to become like Him, it was necessary that we gain physical bodies, and dwell on earth, where we could overcome challenges, gain knowledge, develop relationships, and attain faith. The goal of the Father has always been to exalt us in a kingdom of glory after our death and resurrection.
However, only the pure can dwell in God’s presence, and all men and women have sinned. Jesus Christ, who created this earth and was the only perfect man to live upon it, offered Himself as an eternal sacrifice and suffered for our sins, so that if we would only repent, or strive to change our ways through His power, we could be purified and enter God’s kingdom. The atonement of Jesus Christ guarantees that all men and women will be resurrected, that they will gain perfect, immortal bodies in the afterlife.
The Plan of Salvation teaches that Jesus Christ, Savior and Redeemer, has overcome the grave, that death is a portal just like birth. Death is the door to eternal life, and after death, we can be eternally reunited with all worthy friends and loved ones in eternal relationships and families. (The gospel teaches that infants and little children are innocent and need no baptism or repentance.) Life on earth is difficult, and for many, it is even brutal, but God has prepared a plan for us which in the end will heal us and bring us happiness. Jesus Christ beckons us to come unto Him and receive peace, healing, and comfort. God said, “…Men are, that they might have joy” (2 Nephi 2:25 The Book of Mormon; see also John 15:11).
Mormon Beliefs: Families
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes mistakenly abbreviated as the”Mormon Church”) have a saying, “Families are Forever.” This is because the Lord has revealed through ancient and modern prophets that families are meant to be reunited after death. In other words, the bonds of love that we form during our mortal lives can last eternally, as family members keep certain promises to the Lord Jesus Christ and strive to honor the right. This is why marriages performed in Mormon temples are said to be sealed for “time (earth life) and all eternity.” Mormons make eternal covenants that have the potential to bind their families together forever.
These promised blessings exist for everyone on earth who will pre-qualify through Jesus Christ’s prescribed path for entrance to His kingdom and into His House, the holy temple.