Tage,
So I’m staying home from church today because a disk slipped in my back yesterday. So I’ll try to endure the pain of sitting and write you a letter.
My hope with this letter is to impress on your mind the difference between our bodies, our Spirits, and our eternal souls, and why that is important to know.
1. Intelligences
We have lived forever. We’ve always been with God. The difference is that until He begot us as Spirits, we were “intelligences”. We were independent beings using as much agency as we had access to to progress. Our agency is limited to the amount of knowledge and power we have. We can only exercise agency if we are given the capacity (tools), knowledge to use those tools, and power to use those tools.
2. Our Spirits.
Our spirits are the literal offspring of God the Father. It is through our spirits that we have inherited a divine nature. Just like our bodies have inherited the fallen nature from our earthly parents, our spirits “genes” for lack of a better word, are inherited from a perfect Father and Mother in heaven. It is this Heavenly father that joins our spirits with our bodies. This gift of a Spirit expanded our agency in a dramatic way. It allows us to do things we could not do as intelligences.
3. Our Bodies
As you know we inherit our bodies from our parents. It is through our bodies that we have inherited a fallen nature. Genes passed down from generation to generation. Science tells us that these genes change and mutate a bit with each passing of the baton. We know from the Scriptures that Adam and Eve fell from the terrestrial state they were in. This “Fall” was not just a change of venue, but an actual change came upon their bodies. They became subject to the bodily appetites and weaknesses. Including hunger, thirst, pain, sexual appetites, mental illness etc. But with that change they were able to procreate and provide bodies to the rest of the Spirits who had kept their first estate. Our bodies allow for an unlimited expansion of our agency.
Because of the two natures that reside inside each of us, there is a war going on inside of us over which nature we will embrace as “us”. We all have sinned and given into the temptations of the flesh. This means at one time or another each of us have chosen our fallen nature over our divine nature. Because of this, we have been kicked out of the Fathers family and in order to return we need a Savior. We need someone who has not broken any of the laws that can adopt us and thus bring us back into the family.
This Savior is Jesus Christ.
3. Immortal Souls
Christ is the father of our Immortal Souls. How so? Without Him, our bodies and spirits would have forever been separated. Without Him, our sins would make it impossible to go back in the presence of the Father. So when we are baptized, we “take upon ourselves the name of Christ”. He becomes our Father. We are adopted by Him and thus are heirs to all He has. And He has all that the Father has. We also inherit a resurrection from Him. This is the reuniting of our divine spirits (inherited from the Father) and our bodies (inherited from our earthly parents). The difference is that these will never be separated again. And the body will no longer be fallen, it will be a glorified perfected body. It will not feel pain, there will be no sickness, there will be no mental illness there will be no temptation.
So I know that you have been taught all of this but I wanted to review it to help give you perspective. Right now we are fighting the battle on more than one front.
We are fighting:
1. The unrighteous desires and natural weaknesses inside of us that we inherited through the fall. (Including our own weaknesses in our minds and bodies not just sinful weaknesses)
2. Those that did not keep their first estate (i.e. the Devil and his followers who didn’t get bodies but can tempt us to do things)
3. Those who have chosen to follow Satan in this life and want you to join them.
But the good news is that we have many tools to fight the fight:
1. Our divine natures that we inherited as spirit children of God the Father (Our Spirits)
2. The Light of Christ (our Conscience)
3. The Gift of the Holy Ghost
4. The Holy Priesthood.
5. The Atonement
6. Our righteous family and friends are love and care about us.
7. Medical science and inspiration given from the Lord to help us with the problems of our minds and bodies.
This is all important to know because it helps us understand some important things about ourselves…
1. We are not inherently evil. We are not born evil. We just have a fallen nature to contend with as the test of this life
2. Because we are not inherently evil, we are capable to doing good. This means our works are important. Our works alone can never save us, but they are an important part or our salvation as the evidence of our faith in Jesus Christ. We are required to do what we can do. And we are capable (because of the gifts God has given us) of doing good works.
3. We will overcome our fallen natures and weak bodies because of Christ.
4. We are only accountable for those things we have control over. We will not be held accountable for those weaknesses we have in our bodies or minds that we cannot control. For instance, the Prophet Ezra Taft Benson said in his book “Come unto Christ” that we are not accountable for the thoughts that come into our minds, only what we do with those thoughts. The Atonement and Christ’s grace is sufficient to cover those things we can’t control if we will put our faith in Him. Those weaknesses will be eliminated in the Resurrection.
No matter how hard it is right now please know that we are with you. We love you and we know you can overcome with the help of all the tools God has provided. He is a miracle worker. He will work Miracles in your life if you pass the trial of your faith.
You have all the tools. You will succeed. In the end God wins. I love you Tage. You are great! And don’t you let anyone including yourself tell you otherwise.
A couple of scriptures:
Mosiah 3:19
19 For the anatural bman is an cenemy to God, and has been from the dfall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he eyields to the enticings of the Holy fSpirit, and gputteth off the hnatural man and becometh a isaint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a jchild, ksubmissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.
Ether 12:27
27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their aweakness. I bgive unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my cgrace is sufficient for all men that dhumble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make eweak things become strong unto them.
You are an amazing man Tage. May the Lord bless you in your work.
Love,
Uncle Ben