"There were no surprises to God." p. 65
"...mortal life would not be easy. Choices and decisions would constantly be before us, and our challenge would be to choose good and reject evil. A veil of forgetfulness would cloud our memory of premortal life, and it would seem at times though mortal life would be our only life." p. 65
OPPOSITION
President Russell M. Ballard: "Satan will seek to tempt us at times and in ways that exploit our greatest weaknesses or destroy our strengths. But his promises of pleasure are short-lived deceptions." p. 65
"The Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself. Wherefore, man could not act for himself save it should be that he enticed by the one or the other." 2 Nephi 2:16
A REDEEMER
"Should we choose to repent, the Redeemer would ransom us from our sins, meaning He would eliminate the mistakes and sins found in our book of life, as part of His infinite Atonement ... And through our Savior's influence and the Holy Ghost, we would become much more than what we were in the premortal world." p. 66
THE FALL OF ADAM & EVE
"Their new life was a stark contrast to life in the Garden of Eden. Many days were painful and difficult as the burdens of life pushed upon them. Because of the veil of forgetfulness, they did not fully understand the principles of the plan of redemption. Nevertheless, they kept the commandments they had received before leaving the garden." p. 67
President Dallin H. Oaks: "The awful demands of justice upon those who have violated the laws of God ... can be intercepted and swept away by the Atonement of Jesus Christ. This relationship between justice on the one hand and mercy and the Atonement on the other is the core idea of the gospel of Jesus Christ." p. 67-68
"You are now here on earth, a glorious son or daughter of God. You have entered a mortal world with all the deficiencies, temptations, and enticements of a secondary existence where Satan and his followers are allowed to tempt you, to seduce you, and to ensnare you. While you have made mistakes, these sins do not describe who you are. Your identity is not defined by the sins of this world, but by the righteousness of another." p. 68
"...your soul cries out for divine help." p. 68
"The Fall does not define you; it helps to refine you." p. 69
President Jeffrey R. Holland: "“Because this doctrine [of the natural man] is so basic to the plan of salvation and also because it is so susceptible to misunderstanding, we must note that these references to ‘natural’ evil emphatically do not mean that men and women are ‘inherently’ evil. There is a crucial difference. As spiritual sons and daughters of God, all mortal men and women are divine in origin and divine in their potential destiny ... But it is also true that as a result of the Fall they are now in a ‘natural’ (fallen) world where the devil ‘taketh away light’ and where some elements of nature—including temporal human nature—need discipline, restraint, and refinement." p. 69
"There are many types and degrees of sin, but sin in some form will remain with us in this mortality." p. 69
REPENTANCE IS NECESSARY
"Repentance is not our backup plan; it is the only plan." p. 70
"Are we not all beggars?" Mosiah 4:19
"We need not feel discouraged when we sense our spiritual progress seems too slow or when we continue to see the weaknesses in our character. We must never become 'weary in well doing.'" p. 71
LANCE
Emma has been one of Lance's closest friends since they were in junior high. She and Lance had the same group of friends through junior high and into high school. After graduation, Lance went on his mission and Emma went off to college, but they still stayed in touch through emails and texts. Emma recently returned from her mission to Scotland. Emma always thought of Lance like a brother so they would confide in each other about stuff that they didn't talk to other people about. One day shortly after she had arrived home, she got a text from Lance: "Hey Em! Remember when I wrote to you about going to go talk to my bishop about some stuff I was dealing with? I had a good visit with him and have been meeting with him about every month for the last few months. It's been good. But the other day, I was on one of my drives and thought I should probably crack open the scriptures for the first time in a long time, and I finally felt like maybe I could make some lasting changes. I was reading about the premortal life just the other day and was reminded that I've been making good choices for a really long time. I guess I'm writing you to ask: Do you think I'm a good guy??? I mean ... do you think I can really do this? Change? Become someone that God can trust and use? My issues have been so huge in my life that it's been hard to see past them."
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