President Joseph F. Smith plainly taught, “Where did we come from? From God. Our spirits existed before they came to this world. They were in the councils of the heavens before the foundations of the earth were laid. We were there. We sang together with the heavenly hosts for joy when the foundations of the earth were laid, and when the plan of our existence upon this earth and redemption were mapped out. We were there; we were interested, and we took a part in this great preparation” (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, pp. 331-332).

Consider these two ways of how understanding the premortal life can bless you today.

You were a Spirit child of heavenly parents

First of all you were a spirit child of heavenly parents. Speaking to the prophet Jeremiah, the Lord said, “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee” (Jeremiah 1:5). God knew Jeremiah before Jeremiah was born on earth. And God knew you before you were born. He really is your Father and you knew him well in the premortal life. In fact, President Ezra Taft Benson said, “Nothing is going to startle us more when we pass through the veil to the other side than to realize how well we know our Father and how familiar his face is to us” (“Jesus Christ—Gifts and Expectations,” in Speeches of the Year, 1974, Provo: Brigham Young University Press, 1975, p. 313.)

In the rush of our busy world we can lose sight of the fact that you are an eternal spirit. You are the spirit offspring of God. You were born for greatness.

You fought in the “war in heaven”

One of the most important events that happened in the premortal life was what is commonly known as the “war in heaven” (Revelation 12:7).

Were you present at the heavenly councils where we chose to accept God’s plan? President Joseph F. Smith taught, “We were unquestionably present in those councils…when Satan offered himself as a savior of the world if he could but receive the honor and glory of the Father for doing it” (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, p. 332).

Let’s put some facts together and see if we can see some implications for us today.

Fact: You were present in the heavenly councils where the devil and Christ offered to fulfill the Father’s plan.

Fact: Those who followed Lucifer never received a body

Fact: You have a body.

Therefore, what?: These simple facts add up to tell us that in the premortal life you chose to follow the Savior. One of most the most powerful lessons we can learn from the premortal life is this: You chose to follow the Savior then, you can choose to follow him now.

You are a divine child of God. You were faithful then. Be faithful now.

Sometimes we hear that in order to repent we need to remember the five “R’s” (Realize, Remorse, Reveal, Restore, Resolve).  While it is a clever way to remember some of the parts of repentance, it misses the most important “R” of all:  The Redeemer.

Elder Richard G. Scott taught: “Formulas have been crafted to help remember some of the essential actions required for full repentance. While these can be helpful, generally they ignore the most fundamental aspect of repentance—that it is centered in Jesus Christ and in His Atonement (Elder Richard G. Scott, The Path to Peace and Joy, Ensign (CR), November 2000, p.25).

We must remember that real repentance is based on faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His atonement’s ability to pay the price of sin, and to cleanse, change, and heal us.  As True to the Faith says, “Repentance is an act of faith in Jesus Christ—an acknowledgment of the power of His Atonement” (pp. 132-135).  All other aspects of repentance are appendages to this truth.

We testify that if our repentance is centered on Christ, and not on a checklist or some formula,  then the atonement will more readily be able to cleanse, heal, and change us–resulting in increased faith in Jesus Christ.

As may of you know, HOW? will be coming out next month…we are very excited. It is answers over 100 “how” questions, and is actually about 20% longer than WHY?

We wanted to let you that with the release of HOW? parts of our website will change. One change is that you will be able to find samples from all the chapters in HOW? We thought that some of you might want to see a sneak peek of these chapters, so they are available here (please note: as this site moves out of beta, this link is subject to change).

This past week my wife and I (Anthony) went to go see a show of forty small paintings of the Savior by LDS artist J. Kirk Richards.  Each portrait was a little different, and the artist intentionally left the paintings a little undone or “rough” (not too detailed), which gave an unclear or vague look to each piece.   On the drive home from the show my wife and I talked about how we imagine Jesus in our minds is sometimes a little unclear or fuzzy, and that each of us probably has a little different image in our mind of what the Savior looks like.  Who knows, perhaps the traditional way we paint him isn’t what he looks like at all.  Maybe the mortal redeemer was a little more Middle Eastern looking than we suppose, with darker skin and features.  Or, maybe he was fair and “ruddy,” or of reddish complexion and hair like Jesus’ forefather David (1 Samuel 17:42).  Who knows for sure?  But, what we do know is how we will feel when we see the Savior.  We will be overpowered by his love when we see him, not by how he looks.  Consider the following two stories:

Artist James C. Christensen relates: “I had the opportunity to visit with President Kimball at his home. I had painted a portrait of him and his wife, and when I brought up the fact that I was working a picture of Christ, we were invited to come to his house with reference material and notes to discuss the painting. My wife and I sat around the kitchen table eating milk and cookies with the prophet and his wife. All the pictures of Jesus I could find  were laid out on the table. Sister Kimball had opinions on several of the pictures, but the prophet said nothing. Finally I said, ‘Look, President, I have been around (I was very young and just thought I had been around) enough to know that we’re not going to be given a detailed physical description of the Savior, but if you were going to hang a painting of the Savior in your office, what would you want that picture to be like?’ He took  off his glasses and put his face about a foot away from mine and said, ‘I love people; that’s my gift. I truly love people. Can you see anything in my eyes that tells you that I love people? In that picture, I would like to see in the Savior’s eyes that he truly loves people. It is not affected; it is not his job. He truly loves all people’” (James C. Christensen, “That’s Not my Jesus” BYU Studies v39, Number 3–2000).

Elder Melvin J. Ballard relates the following dream/vision he had of the Savior: “I had sought the Lord . . . and that night I received a wonderful manifestation and impression which has never left me. I was carried to this place—into this room. I saw myself here with you. I was told there was another privilege that was to be mine; and I was led into a room where I was informed I was to meet someone. As I entered the room I saw, seated on a raised platform, the most glorious being I have ever conceived of, and was taken forward to be introduced to Him. As I approached He smiled, called my name, and stretched out His hands towards me. If I live to be a million years old I shall never forget that smile. He put His arms around me and kissed me, as He took me into His bosom, and He blessed me until my whole being was thrilled. As He finished I fell at His feet, and there saw the marks of the nails; and as I kissed them, with deep joy swelling through my whole being, I felt that I was in heaven indeed. The feeling that came to my heart then was: Oh! If I could live worthy, though it would require four-score years, so that in the end when I have finished I could go into His presence and receive the feeling that I then had in His presence, I would give everything that I am or ever hope to be!” (Melvin J. Ballard—Crusader for Righteousness, Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1966, p. 65-66.)

In the scriptures Jesus promises the faithful that, one day, they “shall see my face and know that I am” (D&C 93:1).  What a glorious day that will be.  But what will be so impactful will not be what we see, but what we experience—what we feel. The beauty of it all is that we do not need to wait until then to feel the love of the Savior. Through the Holy Ghost we can each feel that now—each day.  When the moment does come that we meet Jesus, although his physical appearance might be unfamiliar to us, the love we have felt from him on a daily basis will make him as familiar to us as anyone we’ve ever known.

We recently received an email asking the question, “Is anorexia a sin?”  This is a really important question and we’re glad it was asked. Here’s the email response we gave. We’re not experts on eating disorders and would welcome others to share thoughts, insights and other links.

Hi K—,

I’m really glad that you wrote. When I was in Junior High I had some friends who struggled with eating disorders and I know that these are really difficult issues.

The scriptures themselves do not directly say anything about anorexia, but one test we can use to tell if a certain activity is good is, “Does it bring me closer to Christ? Is it helping me build a deeper relationship with him?” Anorexia definitely does not pass this test.

We need to remember that our bodies are temples of God (see 1 Corinthians 3:16-17). Although it is hard for some people to realize, eating disorders harm our bodies. Anything that damages our bodies is not good.

I looked up some articles from the church on this topic and thought they might help:

http://www.providentliving.lds.org/ses/emotionalhealth/0,12283,2130-1—53,00.html

http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=bfe5092480e6c010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=024644f8f206c010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD

http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=44882ee01e31c010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD

http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=91fbc1de5cfeb010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=024644f8f206c010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD

http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=059d2150a447b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD

K—-, if you are struggling with anorexia or bulimia I want to promise you that you will be happier if you talk to an adult that you personally know. It could be your mom, dad, young woman’s leader, bishop, but I just want to testify to you that God loves you and he can help you. Eating disorders are serious challenges and they are not something that we should try to overcome on our own. Again K—-, if you are struggling with this issue, I urge you to talk to a parent or church leader.

Remember these verses — God has said:

“I know thee by name” (Exodus 33:12)

“I have loved thee with an everlasting love” (Jeremiah 31:3)

“I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5)

“I the Lord…will hold thine hand” (Isaiah 42:6).

He will help you and we encourage you to seek help directly from a trusted adult.

Since the days of the Savior, the saints have wanted to be prepared for his second coming (see Matthew 24:3).  Most faithful saints look forward to the day of the second coming with anticipation and excitement, but also with a little bit of fear and trepidation—wondering if we are ready or not for his coming.  This week we received a question asking us what we can do to prepare for the second coming.  While there are many things we can do, the scriptures give us a simple answer to know if we are ready or not:

“And at that day, when I shall come in my glory, shall the parable be fulfilled which I spake concerning the ten virgins.

“For they that are wise and have received the truth, and have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide, and have not been deceived–verily I say unto you, they shall not be hewn down and cast into the fire, but shall abide the day” (D&C 45:56-57).

We testify that one day Jesus will return to the earth.  We don’t know when that will be—whether sooner or later—but  we do know that we can be prepared at any time.  The key question to ask ourselves is if we are being influenced by the Holy Ghost and letting him guide our lives.  If we are simply living in harmony with the Spirit of God, then we will be just fine at the second coming.  So, the best thing we can do to be prepared is to do all those things that help us to remain in tune with the Holy Ghost.

The sad truth is that life isn’t always fair.  As one of our good friends is fond of reminding his kids, “There’s only two ‘fair’s’ in this life:  State and County”

Although some things in this life aren’t fair, we must always remember that God is perfectly fair.  The following quotes might be helpful for some who are dealing with things in their life that might not seem to be fair or just:

“Elder Dallin H. Oaks taught, “Singleness, childlessness, death, and divorce frustrate ideals and postpone the fulfillment of promised blessings…But these frustrations are only temporary. The Lord has promised that in the eternities no blessing will be denied his sons and daughters who keep the commandments…and desire what is right” (Elder Dallin H. Oaks, Ensign, Nov. 1993, 75).

“Because the Savior endured perfectly his staggering [injustices], we will be recompensed for our own faithful endurance of life’s contradictions, injustices, and  flat-out unfair circumstances. That is, through the Atonement, all of life’s contradictions, all injustices, and all unfair circumstances will be made up to us, all unfair disadvantages will be made right in the eternal scheme of things” (BYU professor Andrew Skinner, “Gethsemane”).

“How much is it worth to those who are discouraged, to those who have been harshly dealt with, to those for whom life has been hard, to those who don’t quite seem to have found their place; to those who have been misjudged, to those who have been deprived of opportunity, to know that God is our Father, that he is mindful of us, that all we cannot understand will sometime be understood; that all injustices will be corrected, that in the ultimate working out of our Father’s ways, no one will receive anything he shouldn’t, and no one will be deprived of anything he should receive?” (Elder Richard L. Evans, Conference Report, April 1965, Afternoon Meeting, p.135)

In the end, all wrongs will be made right, and our “immortal spirit [will] join the choirs above in singing the praises of a just God.” (Mosiah 2:28)

We’re please to announce that HOW? the sequel to WHY? will be coming out in the end of September. We’ve been working on it for the past 18 months and are really excited to see it. You’ll notice some changes to our website reflecting this new release, including several excerpts from the book.

We cover questions like:

How can I overcome peer pressure?

How can I stay morally clean?

How can I get more from my scripture study?

And over a 100 more!

If you’d you like, you can see the front and back covers of the book here: HOW-cover.

We hope that this will be a help resource for the youth of the church, and their parents and leaders.

1. Sin is like a mosquito bite.

At first, it may not seem like a big deal, and once you are bitten the consequences may not be immediate, but they do come. If the “sin” isn’t treated properly it can take even longer to heal.

Or, how about this one: Sin is like a sunburn — at first you don’t notice that it’s there, but by the time you are feeling the burn it is too late. It takes longer to get rid of the sunburn (repent) than it takes to get the sunburn (sin).

Elder Boyd K. Packer taught, “If we have something difficult to teach, such as honesty or reverence or love, we should begin with the experience of the student and talk about the things he already knows. Then when we make a comparison with what we want him to know, he will perceive the meaning” (read the talk here).

Based on your experience to what would YOU liken sin to better help people understand it?

Actually, what we would truly recommend is that you read (or re-read) some of Sister Elaine Dalton and the general Young Women’s Presidency’s comments on this very question.   The following is a portion of the transcript of a discussion between Sister Dalton, Sister Dibb, and Sister Cook on the subject of swimsuits (you can read the entire talk at www.byub.org/talks/Download.aspx?id=1663&md=pdf ).  We would invite you to consider the principles they discuss and find your answer to which swim suit is or is not modest:

We want to share with you a journey

that a group of young women recently took to

find answers to a question in their life. They

learned the power of personal revelation

through the guidance of the Holy Ghost.

Last summer, the swimming season was

in full tilt. Seeing the variety of swimming suits

at the pools, questions arose about what

constituted a modest swimsuit. They

approached their Young Women leaders to find

out the Church’s official policy on swimsuits.

They wanted to be obedient. Rather than giving

them the answer, the leaders determined that

the youth could learn from Joseph Smith’s

example; each could ask God to help them find

their answer to their question.

SISTER DALTON: These leaders were

very wise. They knew the doctrine and led the

young women on a journey to discover the

process of finding their own answers. They had

high expectations, giving the girls assignments

to independently search in the scriptures for

the doctrines on modesty, the body, and

chastity. The girls found conference talks on

modesty. They were encouraged to listen to

general conference and the words of the living

prophets with their question in mind. They

processed together what they were feeling and

learning.

SISTER DIBB: The leaders provided a

safe environment and had faith in the girls that

they’d find the answer. They provided the tools,

then “got out of the way,” avoiding giving

answers and personal opinions. Rather, they

gathered them, formally and informally, to

discuss what they’d learned from study. They

encouraged the girls to pray about their

question and their answers. They asked the

young women to record their feelings and

thoughts in a journal.

SISTER COOK: It was interesting to hear

the words of the prophets woven into their

conversation. One girl said, “I liked what Elder

Oaks said at general conference. I think that

thinking in terms of ‘good, better, best’ can help

us make the best choices, not just the ones that

aren’t too bad.” Another said, “Remember what

Elder Holland said? He said that modesty is

always in style. I like that.”

SISTER DIBB: From their study of the

scriptures, they identified principles of

modesty. The one I really liked that the girls

came up with was “representation.” They were

reminded that as members of the Church, they

were disciples of Jesus Christ, and as such they

had a responsibility to be His representatives.

SISTER COOK: As they shared their

thoughts and feelings on things of eternal value,

something wonderful happened in their

relationships. The meaningful, honest

conversations brought them together spirit‐tospirit

and stripped away the adolescent

competition that can complicate friendships.

They listened and learned—to the Spirit and to

each other.

SISTER DALTON: They reported their

findings to us a few months into their journey. I

remember them talking about how they wanted

to be perceived by others. They said that the

going term at the high school for a cute girl was

“hot.” They thought that term degrading, so

they came up with their own term: “adorable.”

When they would see each other at school

dressed modestly, they would go up to each

other and whisper, “You look so adorable.”

They were united and bonded in a cause. They

found there was strength in numbers as they

banded together.

SISTER DIBB: And we can band together

as mothers to encourage our sons to invite

these adorable girls to the prom.

SISTER COOK: Sisters, as we band

together and support one other in living these

standards, think of the powerful influence we

will have upon the world!

SISTER DIBB: The question wasn’t

answered for the girls. That’s because they

individually came to their own answer about

swimsuits. They were at different places on the

path, but they were on the path!