Boyd
K. Packer, “The Mystery of Life,” Ensign, Nov. 1983, 16
I want to tell you of an incident that happened many years ago.
Two of our sons, then little boys, were
wrestling on the rug, and they had reached that line which separates laughter
from tears. So I worked my foot carefully between them and lifted the older one
back to a sitting position on the rug. As I did so, I said, “Hey there, you
little monkeys. You’d better settle down.”
To my surprise he folded his little arms, his eyes swimming with deep hurt,
and protested, “I not a monkey, Daddy, I a person!”
The years have not erased the overwhelming feeling of
love I felt for my little sons. I was taught a profound lesson by my little
boys. Many times over the years his words have slipped back into my mind, “I not
a monkey, Daddy, I a person!” I was taught a profound lesson by my
little boy.
Now the cycle of life
has moved swiftly on, and both of those sons
have little boys of their own, who teach their fathers
lessons. They now watch their children grow as we watched them. They are coming
to know something as fathers that they could not be taught as sons. Perhaps now
they know how much their father loves them. Hopefully, they know as well why
prayers begin “Our Father who art in heaven.”
All too soon their children will be grown with little “persons” of their own, repeating the endless cycle of life.
There is on the West Coast a statue by Ernesto Gazzeri which depicts in
marble that cycle of life.
There are toddlers and children, teenagers, young lovers, the mature and the aged,
gazing at a newborn baby. Two figures to the back, however, face away from the
group. An aged couple, supporting one another, haltingly moves away from the
family circle.
Persons enter life through mortal birth and, in due time,
disappear through the veil of death. Most of them never sense why we are here.
Nothing is more obvious than what the statue represents, but the sculptor
entitled it The Mystery of Life.
Occasionally, as at the time of birth, we
pause in awe of what nature has to say. We see patterns of creation, so ordered and so beautiful as to sponsor
deep feelings of reverence and humility. Then, just when
we might discover the meaning of life,
we are jerked back by the wild, uncontrolled things that humanity is doing to
itself.
There are so many unanswered questions. Why the inequities in life?
Some are so rich.
Some so wretchedly poor.
Some so beautifully formed, and others with pitiful handicaps.
Some are gifted and others retarded.
Why the injustice, the untimely death? Why the neglect, the sorrow, the
pain?
Why divorce, incest, perversion, abuse, and cruelty?
If there be order and meaning to life, they are
hardly visible in what mortals do to one another and to themselves.
In counterpoint, we see love and devotion, sacrifice, faith, and humility;
we see humanity in exalted expression of
courage and heroism.
When at last the mystery of life is unraveled, what
will be revealed?
I know a man who studied for the ministry. Then just before his ordination
he dropped out because there were so many unanswered questions. He still
regarded himself as a devout, if somewhat disillusioned, Christian. He found
another profession, married, and was raising a family when our missionaries
found him.
He made a very superficial study of the doctrines of the Church and found them tolerable enough. The
fundamentals of Christianity were visible. But he was
most interested in programs and activities that would benefit his family.
It was after he was baptized that he made the discovery of his life. To his surprise
he found, underlying the programs of the Church, a
solid foundation of doctrine. He had no idea of
the depth and breadth and height of our theology.
When once he moved from interest in the programs to a study of
the gospel of Jesus Christ, he found answers which
explained to his full satisfaction the deep questions that had left him unable
to accept ordination as a clergyman.
One doctrine was completely new to him. Although he was a student of the Bible, he had not found it there until he read
the other revelations. Then the Bible was clear to him and he understood.
The doctrine is so logical, so reasonable, and explains so many things, that
it is a wonder that the Christian world rejected it. It is so essential a part of the equation of
life that, left out, life
just cannot add up, it remains a mystery.
The doctrine is simply this: life did not
begin with mortal birth. We lived in spirit form before we entered mortality.
We are spiritually the children of God.
This doctrine of premortal life
was known to ancient Christians. For nearly five hundred years the doctrine was
taught, but it was then rejected as a heresy by a clergy that had slipped into
the Dark Ages of apostasy.
Once they rejected this doctrine, the doctrine of
premortal life, and the doctrine of
redemption for the dead, they could never unravel the mystery
of life. They became like
a man trying to assemble a strand of pearls on a
string that was too short. There is no way they can put them all together.
Why is it so strange a thought that we lived as spirits before entering
mortality? Christian doctrine proclaims the Resurrection, meaning that we will
live after mortal death. If we live beyond death, why should it be strange that
we lived before birth?
The Christian world in general accepts the idea that our condition in the
Resurrection will be determined by our actions in this life.
Why can they not believe that some circumstances in this life
were determined by our actions before coming into mortality?
The scriptures teach this doctrine, the doctrine of
premortal life. For His own reasons, the Lord provides
answers to some questions, with pieces placed here and there throughout the
scriptures. We are to find them; we are to earn them. In that way sacred
things are hidden from the insincere.
Of the many verses revealing this doctrine, I will quote
two short phrases from the testimony of
John in the ninety-third section of the Doctrine
and Covenants. The first, speaking of Christ, says
plainly, “He was in the beginning, before the world was.” (D&C
93:7.)
And the other, referring to us, says with equal clarity, “Ye were also in
the beginning with the Father.” (D&C
93:23.)
Essential facts about our premortal life
have been revealed. Although they are sketchy, they unravel the mystery of life.
When we comprehend the doctrine of premortal life, we know that we are the children of
God, that we lived with him in spirit form before entering mortality.
We know that this life is a test, that life did not begin with birth, nor will it end with
death.
Then life begins to make sense, with meaning and
purpose even in all of the chaotic mischief
that mankind creates for itself.
Imagine that you are attending a football game. The teams seem evenly
matched. One team has been trained to follow the rules; the other, to do just
the opposite. They are committed to cheat and disobey every rule of sportsmanlike conduct.
While the game ends in a tie, it is determined that it must continue until
one side wins decisively.
Soon the field is a quagmire.
Players on both sides are being ground into the mud. The cheating of the opposing team turns to brutality.
Players are carried off the field. Some have been injured critically;
others, it is whispered, fatally. It ceases to be a game and becomes a battle.
You become very frustrated and upset. “Why let this go on? Neither team can
win. It must be stopped.”
Imagine that you confront the sponsor of
the game and demand that he stop this useless, futile battle. You say it is
senseless and without purpose. Has he no regard at all for the players?
He calmly replies that he will not call the game. You are mistaken. There is
a great purpose in it. You have not understood.
He tells you that this is not a spectator sport—it is for the participants.
It is for their sake that he permits the game to continue. Great benefit may
come to them because of the challenges they
face.
He points to players sitting on the bench, suited up, eager to enter the
game. “When each one of them has been in,
when each has met the day for which he has prepared so long and trained so
hard, then, and only then, will I call the game.”
Until then, it may not matter which team seems to be ahead. The present
score is really not crucial. There are games within games, you know. Whatever
is happening to the team, each player will have his day.
Those players on the team that keeps the rules will not be eternally
disadvantaged by the appearance that their team somehow always seems to be
losing.
In the field of destiny, no team or player will be
eternally disadvantaged because they keep the rules. They may be cornered or
misused, even defeated for a time. But individual players on that team,
regardless of what appears on the scoreboard, may
already be victorious.
Each player will have a test sufficient to his needs; how each responds is
the test.
When the game is finally over, you and they will see purpose in it all, may
even express gratitude for having been on the field during the darkest part of the contest.
I do not think the Lord is quite so hopeless about what’s going on in the
world as we are. He could put a stop to all of
it any moment. But He will not! Not until every player has a chance to meet the
test for which we were preparing before the world was, before we came into
mortality.
The same testing in troubled times can have quite opposite effects on
individuals. Three verses from the Book of
Mormon, which is another testament of Christ, teach
us that “they had wars, and bloodsheds, and famine, and affliction, for the
space of many years.
“And there had been murders, and contentions, and dissensions, and all
manner of iniquity among the people of Nephi; nevertheless for the righteous’ sake, yea,
because of the prayers of
the righteous, they were spared.
“But behold, because of the exceedingly
great length of the war between the Nephites and the
Lamanites many had become hardened, because of
the exceedingly great length of the war; and many
were softened because of their afflictions,
insomuch that they did humble themselves before God, even in the depth of humility.” (Alma
62:39-41; italics added.)
Surely you know some whose lives have been
filled with adversity who have been mellowed and strengthened and refined by
it, while others have come away from the same test bitter and blistered and
unhappy.
There is no way to make sense out of
life without a knowledge of
the doctrine of premortal life.
The idea that mortal birth is the beginning is preposterous. There is no way
to explain life if you believe that.
The notion that life ends with mortal
death is ridiculous. There is no way to face life
if you believe that.
When we understand the doctrine of premortal life, then things fit together and make sense. We then
know that little boys and little girls are not monkeys, nor are their parents,
nor were theirs, to the very beginning generation.
We are the children of God, created in his
image.
Our child-parent relationship to God is clear.
The purpose for the creation of this earth is
clear.
The testing that comes in mortality is clear.
The need for a redeemer is clear.
When we do understand that principle of
the gospel, we see a Heavenly Father and a Son; we see an atonement and a
redemption.
We understand why ordinances and covenants are necessary.
We understand the necessity for baptism by immersion for the remission of sins. We understand why we renew that covenant by
partaking of the sacrament.
I have but touched upon the doctrine of
premortal life. We cannot, in these brief conference talks,
do more than that. Oh, if we but had a day, or even an hour, to speak of it.
I assure you there is, underlying the programs and activities of this church, a depth and breadth and height of doctrine that answers the questions of
life.
When one knows the gospel of Jesus Christ, there
is cause to rejoice. The words joy and rejoice appear through the
scriptures repetitively. Latter-day Saints are happy people. When one knows the
doctrine, parenthood becomes a sacred obligation, the begetting of life a sacred
privilege. Abortion would be unthinkable. No one would think of
suicide. And all the frailties and problems of
men would fade away.
We have cause to rejoice and we do rejoice, even celebrate.
“The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words,
light and truth.” (D&C
93:36.)
God bless us that we and all who will hear His message can celebrate the
Light! Of him I bear witness, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Gospel topic: premortal
existence
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