Perhaps you have already asked yourself one of these questions:
- Where did I come from?
- Why am I here?
- Where am I going?
- What is the purpose of my life?
If you have asked yourself one of those questions you are not alone. Many people want to know if this life has purpose.
Fortunately, there are answers to these questions.
We are each a child of God. Before we were born, we lived as spirits with God, our Heavenly Father. We were happy, but God knew that we could not progress further unless we left Him for a time and came to Earth. So, He presented His plan—the plan of salvation. Just as parents teach their children to one day grow into adults, our Heavenly Father sent us to Earth so we can one day become like Him. His plan allowed us to come to Earth, where we would obtain physical bodies and have experiences that help us learn and grow.
But here on Earth we make mistakes. Heavenly Father knew we all would, so, as part of His plan, He provided a Savior. This Savior is Jesus Christ, who volunteered in Heaven to come to the Earth. He would teach and serve and eventually take upon Himself the sins of all—every man and woman who would ever live—and die for us. He suffered for our sins in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross. Because we do need to be perfect to live with God again, Jesus Christ made it possible for all people who accept His sacrifice to repent and be forgiven of their sins. By taking all of our sins upon Himself and dying for us, He paid the price that justice requires for our sins. This means that we can be forgiven by our Heavenly Father for whatever mistakes we make in this life. It is important to remember, though, that in order to be forgiven we must accept Jesus Christ’s sacrifice in each of our lives.
To accept Jesus Christ’s sacrifice, or Atonement, we need to come unto Him, love Him and keep His commandments. We need to confess our sins to God, ask God to forgive us, do all we can to correct the problems we may have caused, and finally, turn away from our sins and never repeat them. This process allows the power of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice to cleanse us.
John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
The fact that we all are here living on Earth means that we accepted Heavenly Father’s plan in Heaven and came here to learn and do all we can to live with Him again. By following Heavenly Father’s plan for us we can feel peace in this life and be eternally happy in the life to come.