Tuesday, November 1, 2016

An Example of Pre-mortal Memory Returned


When Jesus asks the Nephites about the past records they have kept, there is this interesting verse:

Verily I say unto you, I commanded my servant Samuel, the Lamanite, that he should testify unto this people, that at the day that the Father should glorify his name in me that there were many saints who should arise from the dead, and should appear unto many, and should minister unto them. And he said unto them: Was it not so? (3 Nephi 23:9)

I was struck by this curious example of Christ’s memory.  Samuel the Lamanite’s witness was given five years before Christ’s birth, and after he was chased out, he never was heard of more among the Nephites. So Jesus remembered something He had commanded one of his servants before Jesus’s pre-mortal ministry.

Some might argue that Jesus never had a veil over His memory at all, but I personally believe He had to walk by faith like us and learn of His mission through divine tutorials so that He could share our experience of mortality.  But the resurrected Christ knew what He had commanded His servants in the Americas, which makes me think He had that pre-mortal memory restored. 

That suggests to me that we will have our pre-mortal memory restored as well.  I don’t know whether it would be after death or after the resurrection, but the important thing is that it will.

And if we get that memory back, what a tragedy it would be if we discover we have become little stunted scrubby beings instead of noble Saints poised on the brink of godhood with Christ.  On the other hand, how happy we will be if we find we have acted in complete harmony with our divine identities, even while walking without full knowledge or sight.

I was pondering how I might know if I was living up to a forgotten divine identity, and I realized that just knowing I am a daughter of God is a great help because it invites me to make the best decisions I can.

Today let’s concentrate on making decisions that are most consistent with our knowledge that we are children of God.

2 comments:

Rozy Lass said...

My mission president (LeGrand R. Curtis, Sr.) said that his idea of hell would be to meet the person you could have become. Regret weighs tons! Anyway, I like your perspective and comments.

Michaela Stephens said...

Yikes! Meeting the person we could have become DOES sound hellish!
Makes one think! It might also be an interesting story idea, though sad.

Thanks for dropping by!