We are Known by the Father and the Son

August: Romans 7-16

Sometimes it is hard to feel known and loved. One of the problems with living on social media is our reaching out to the world for notice and acknowledgment, but the world does not like or love us back. If we don’t have enough likes or enough views, we can too often think that this is our standard for being loved and liked by others.

Our Heavenly Father and our Savior love us. They know us –our sins, our scars, our sorrows, and our joys. They knew us before our life on earth – not for a few years, or a few decades. They knew us forever!

In this premortal life, we were taught the gospel. We were told about the problems we would have on earth, and we made the choice to still come down. Our earth life was our choice! We wanted to come. We were also asked to make certain choices and have a certain purpose. Elder Bruce R. McConkie taught: “And hence comes the doctrine of foreordination. When we come into mortality, we bring the talents, capacities, and abilities acquired by obedience to law in our prior existence. Mozart composed and published sonatas when but eight years of age because he was born with musical talent. Melchizedek came into this world with such faith and spiritual capacity that ‘when a child he feared God, and stopped the mouths of lions, and quenched the violence of fire.’ (JST, Gen. 14:26.).”ⁱ The talents and the abilities that we bring with us from our premortal life will enable us to accomplish the work that the Lord has asked us to accomplish while on earth.

Paul taught this doctrine to the Roman saints. He taught them that the Savior was predestined for His role as the Firstborn of God and the Anointed One. The prophets of the Old Testament were preordained to their missions on earth and the Roman saints also had a predestined job to do. “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.” (Romans 8:29-30)

Both Elder Neal A. Maxwell and the Prophet Joseph Smith taught us more about this concept. Elder Maxwell taught: “Premortality is not a relaxing doctrine. For each of us, there are choices to be made, incessant and difficult chores to be done, ironies and adversities to be experienced, time to be well spent, talents and gifts to be well employed.”ⁱⁱ

Joseph Smith said, “Every man who has a calling to minister to the inhabitants of the world was ordained to that very purpose in the grand council of heaven before this world was.” Then the Prophet said of himself, “I suppose that I was ordained to this very office in that grand council.”ⁱⁱⁱ

The doctrine of predestination and premortality are glorious doctrines that should make us feel loved by our Father in Heaven. Just like our mortal parents have hope and dreams for us because they know us and know our possibilities, our Heavenly Father also feels the same way for us. He cares for us and knows our abilities. We still have the choice to accomplish the dream and hope that our Father has for us. But He is there to help us through prayer and His words of encouragement are found in the scriptures.

Christ is the perfect example of this doctrine. He was foreordained to be our Savior. But He had the choice to accomplish the work He was sent to earth to do. We have been sent to earth at this time to prepare for His Second Coming. We should ask ourselves: Are we choosing to do the things we were sent to earth to do? The Spirit will reveal to us the answer to that question.

i Bruce R. McConkie, “God Foreordains His Prophets and His People,” April GC 1974.

ii Neal A. Maxwell, “Premortality, A Glorious Reality,” Oct. GC 1985.

iii Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 365.