Posted by rayww on November 14, 2004, at 23:58:23
In reply to Lou's response to rayww » rayww, posted by Lou Pilder on November 14, 2004, at 20:09:56
By:
A long time ago when we all lived in heaven in one big family as spirit brothers and sisters there arose a bit of a problem. we loved it there and wanted to be able to stay forever and progress like our heavenly parents. You may have heard of the great war in heaven. http://scriptures.lds.org/gsc/cnclnhvn
We were there, and all those who have ever been born on earth accepted Christ's plan and fought the battle against Satan. Christ's plan was the plan of salvation (including resurrection) and it was created "by" Jesus Christ in the pre-mortal existancehttp://scriptures.lds.org/query?words=Rev+19%3A10-21&search.x=30&search.y=9
Satan, also known as the devil or Lucifer, is an enemy of God and of all those who endeavor to do the will of God. He attempts to entice and tempt all men and women to do evil or wrong. He uses deception and the imitation of good to lead people away from God. He cannot force or coerce an individual against his or her will to do evil and follow him. His objective is to make all mankind miserable. He once lived in a pre-earth or premortal life in the presence of God before this earth was created. He rebelled against God and the eternal plan of progress and righteousness. He persuaded many others to follow his rebellion all of whom were cast out of God’s presence. They are damned in their development for they do not receive physical bodies. They work to influence and tempt those who dwell as mortals on the earth. All who are obedient to God’s commandments and follow the principles of goodness and righteousness are protected from Satan’s influences. The time will come when Satan will no longer have power over men and women, and his works will cease.
Through:
In order to qualify for eternal life in the presence of God, we would all need to be perfect like Him. As you know, none of us, no matter how hard we try, could never be perfect, and would fall short of our goal to return to live with God. Christ (first born spirit son of god) offered to come to earth and take upon himself our debt by suffering for all the sins of mankind in our behalf, feeling all the pain and grief, because he understood the problem, and loved us. He came to earth as the only begotten Son of god, the only one capable of performing an infinite atonement for our sins. He also came to show us how we should live in order to be happy. "Through" Christ means accepting Him, and activating the atonement in our personal lives by going through the procedure of faith, repentance, etc. It is not a free gift. It comes "through" the atonement. We have to become a part of it, it goes "through" us as we go through it.
http://www.mormon.org/learn/0,8672,885-1,00.html
By and through Christ means the plan was created by Christ and the redemption was wrought through Him.
http://scriptures.lds.org/query?words=wrought+redemption+christ&search.x=31&search.y=10http://scriptures.lds.org/bdc/christ (top frame)
poster:rayww
thread:408646
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/faith/20040914/msgs/416087.html