What if I further replied, “Just push the accelerator all the way to the floor.”
You might smile and respond, “That’s not possible.” Further suppose I asked you to drive in neutral. Suppose for a moment my wife and I invited you to drive from California to our home in Utah. “Wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery doing no good, for they knew no sin” ( 2 Ne. When Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden, they lived in a state of innocence-meaning they had only a limited knowledge of good and evil. God has spoken clearly and frequently and forthrightly on our destiny from the very beginning. Identity and destiny are, in truth, inseparable partners. If one does not correctly understand his divine identity, then he will never correctly understand his divine destiny. It is this doctrine of identity that defines our potential destiny of godhood. However many generations in your mortal ancestry, no matter what race or people you represent, the pedigree of your spirit can be written on a single line. Fix that truth in your mind and hold to it. Spiritually you are of noble birth, the offspring of the King of Heaven. On the other hand, as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we believe that we are the spirit offspring of God with inherited spiritual traits that give us the divine potential to become like our parent, God the Father. In essence, their doctrine of identity has defined and dictated a diminished destiny. For example, can a mere creation ever become like its creator? Can a building ever become an architect? A painting a painter? Or an invention an inventor? If not, then those who believe we are creations of God, rather than His spirit offspring, reach the inevitable conclusion that we do not have the capacity to become like our creator, God. They teach that we are the literal spirit offspring, or children, of God our Father.1 The difference is monumental in its consequence because our identity determines in large measure our destiny.
The scriptures teach, however, a much different doctrine.
There is a sentiment among many in the world that we are the spirit creations of God, just as a building is the creation of its architect or a painting the creation of its painter or an invention the creation of its inventor. And so today I speak of the true nature of our identity and a correct vision of our divine destiny.įirst, our identity. That answer resonated with me, not only as a response to that specific question but as an appropriate response to most of the challenges we face in life. Nelson stood and replied, “Teach them their identity and their purpose.” At a recent training session for General Authorities, the question was asked: “How can we help those struggling with pornography?”Įlder Russell M.
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