|
DIRECTORY
Home
General LDS Information
Basic LDS Beliefs
LDS Videos
Critics' Questions
Submitted Questions
Scriptures/LDS Literature
Genealogy/Family
LDS Temples
Missionary
Music and Arts
LDS Online Stores
Priesthood, Humor, Miscel.
Site Map
Suggest a Site
Now accepting banner ads!
|
|
KIRK - I just wondered why aren't our spirits made of flesh and bones when Heavenly Father created them? Knowing that He had a glorified and perfect body.. and then why we are born as spirits only?? Does our Heavenly mother also has a perfect body like our Heavenly Father had?
JOEL - Church authorities have described spirit birth as an organization of existing matter. Spencer W. Kimball wrote, "Our spirit matter was eternal and co-existent with God, but it was organized into spirit bodies by our Heavenly Father" (The Miracle of Forgiveness, p. 5, Salt Lake City, 1969). Marion G. Romney, of the First Presidency, speaking of people's divine origin as children of God, stated, "Through that birth process, self-existing intelligence was organized into individual spirit beings" (Ensign 8 [Nov. 1978]:14).
The exact process of how this "organization" of intelligence into spirit beings happened has not been revealed to us yet, although we can be fairly certain that, even though people say we were "born" as "offspring" of our Heavenly parents, our newly organized spirit bodies probably did not look like infants. The scriptures do indicate that our spirits were innocent as a child at first.
We know that when people are resurrected they consist of a flesh and bone body with spirit matter in their veins rather than blood. According to Joseph Fielding Smith:
"In the resurrection from the dead, the bodies which were laid down natural bodies shall come forth spiritual bodies. That is to say, in mortality the life of the body is in the blood, but the body when raised to immortality shall be quickened by the spirit and not the blood. Hence, it becomes spiritual, but it will be composed of flesh and bones, just as the body of Jesus was, who is the prototype. (Doctrines of Salvation, 1954-1956)
Keeping this in mind here's an opinion from Elder Melvin J. Ballard:
"What do we mean by endless or eternal increase? We mean that through the righteousness and faithfulness of men and women who keep the commandments of God they will come forth with celestial bodies, fitted and prepared to enter into their great, high and eternal glory in the celestial kingdom of God; and unto them, through their preparation, there will come children, who will be spirit children. I don't think that is very difficult to comprehend and understand. The nature of the offspring is determined by the nature of the substance that flows in the veins of the being. When blood flows in the veins of the being, the offspring will be what blood produces, which is tangible flesh and bone, but when that which flows in the veins is spirit matter, a substance which is more refined and pure and glorious than blood, the offspring of such beings will be spirit children. By that I mean they will be in the image of the parents. They will have a spirit body and have a spark of the eternal or divine that always did exist in them." (--Melvin J. Ballard, Teachings of the Latter-day Prophets, SLC: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 1986, pg. 386.)
We don't know how exalted flesh and bone beings can create our spirits, but we do know that it took both a Heavenly Father and Mother(both glorified beings with resurrected bodies) to create our spirits.
|
|
|
