I recently returned from a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also referred to as the “Mormon” Church).  A large portion of my mission was spent teaching people about God, our Heavenly Father, and salvation through His Son Jesus Christ, known as the Plan of Salvation.  I developed a great love for the Plan of Salvation while I taught other people about it.  Today, as I am enrolled in a religion class at BYU, my love continues to grow.  Ultimately, the Plan of Salvation answers three questions that many of us ask ourselves during this life.  Where did I come from? Why am I here? Where am I going after I die?  As I answer these questions I am filled with happiness because God provided a way for us to be happy and return to His presence.

Before we came to Earth, we lived with our Father in Heaven.  We were not, however, like our Heavenly Father.  We saw He had a glorious and perfect, incorruptible physical body and power, love, and knowledge we did not have.  So, Heavenly Father, being the loving father He is, provided a plan for us to become like Him.  He gave us a choice to be able to come here to Earth and gain those things he did not have.  Because we are here on Earth we know we chose to become like our Father in Heaven. This life is a time to have great experiences and to learn from them every day. It is a time to press forward with all of our faith to show God we are desirous to live in His presence. God knew that we would fall short though, so he provided His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to come and take upon Himself all the sins, afflictions and temptations of the world.  It is through Jesus Christ that we gain our salvation. Without Him, the Plan of Salvation would fail. God has provided all of His children “three degrees of glory.”  This is heaven.  We are rewarded according to how we lived here on Earth.  In the highest kingdom of heaven,  we can live with Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and our families forever.

Family

We can live with our family forever.

In the Book of Mormon, a prophet, Nephi, sees a vision of what depicts the Plan of Salvation very well.  In it, Nephi sees a rod of iron leading to a tree, known as the tree of life, with tons of precious fruit on it.  Before reaching the tree, however, a rod of iron leads through “mists of darkness.”  I visualize this rod climbing a steep mountain where the tree rests at the top.  Life on Earth is difficult; everyone can agree to that.  But God has provided compasses for us to use. The iron rod, interpreted as the word of God, helps us through the mists of darkness (temptations of the devil) to be able to reach the love of our Heavenly Father, depicted by the tree.  It takes a lot of faith and determination to reach the tree of life but if we do so, it is the most rewarding thing we can possibly do.  As I have tried to read the scriptures every day, I can visualize myself holding to the iron rod leading to my loving Heavenly Father.

by Conor S