Finding Your Purpose in Life and Why are You Here?
· If God is good, why does He allow so much pain, suffering, and evil in the world?
· How can I avoid disease and be vibrant and healthy in the midst of all the pollution?
· I have heard stress is a killer; how do I best deal with its killing effects?
· Can I know God is there for me?
· Will He help me know my mission and purpose in life?
· How can I best use my time and talents?
Are we here to suffer for 75 years and then get turned into dust? How pathetic is the atheist’s view?
All of the above questions are answered in my book, It’s About Time, as I draw upon some 207 of the world’s experts and on inspiration from the heavens, and I use an advanced scientific method in providing these answers. Here I share a synopsis.
The Grand Counsel
In pre-mortal realms we counseled together with our loving Heavenly Father regarding His Perfect Plan of Happiness based on agency (our right to choose) and opposition that we may grow as we overcome the challenges of life. Our goal is as He has asked us, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” (Matt. 5:48)
Most believe perfection and a fullness of joy are impossible, but with God all things are possible. If we truly come to Christ, He will perfect us; He knows how. (Moroni 10:32-33)
In opposition to Father’s perfect plan, Satan and his angels wanted to take away our agency — resulting in a war in heaven, and they were cast out of heaven down to the earth. (Rev. 12:) Father could have cast them into outer darkness, but notice He cast them to the earth – to provide opposition and an opportunity for our growth here in mortality. God can turn every evil into good.
Have Joy
Lehi said it well: “…Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.”
“And the Messiah cometh in the fullness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the fall. And because that they are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon, save it be by the punishment of the law at the great and last day, according to the commandments which God hath given. Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself. (2 Nephi 2:25-27)”
Father’s plan is about liberty, eternal life, love, joy, and peace. Satan’s plan is about captivity, spiritual death, fear, hate, and jealousy with the goal to make us miserable and take away our agency. God created this beautiful earth for us, His children that His plan and purposes may come to fruition. The creation, the fall, and the atonement are the three pillars of eternity to help us receive a fullness of joy and eternal life with Him and to become perfect. There isn’t a better plan. The creation is for us, the fall is for us, and the atonement is for us. These are living-vital parts of His perfect plan in the midst of our imperfections. It is miraculous; it is of God.
Most miss the divine perspective that our designed purpose in life is to have joy. Most don’t know that Jesus was a man of joy as he walked the earth. Did He suffer? Yes, more than any other. In His infinite atonement, He took upon Himself the sum of all suffering as well as all of our sins that He might succor us, because of His love for us. He took upon Himself the full measure of opposition and overcame all. In so doing, He is able to extend the invitation:
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matt. 11:28-30)”
The Way, The Truth, and the Life
So, it is not God, but “man’s inhumanity to man that makes countless thousands weep.” And that weeping comes as man follows Satan’s plan and turns from Christ.
As I show in my book, in the journey of life we can grow in light and truth and help others to do the same. That path is one of vibrancy to body, mind, and spirit. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6) and whosoever follows Him shall not walk in darkness but have the light of life – even the abundant life (John 10:10); He is the light of the world. (John 8:12) In Him we find peace, love, and joy, which are the antidotes to stress and all its killing ways.
The Apostle Paul says a profound amount in his great sermon on Mar’s Hill as he tells them and us we are the offspring of God.
“And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. (Acts 17:26-28)”
In other words, in premortal realms, we counseled with the Lord as to where and when we would be born that it would be best for us in our desire and hope to return to Him. We not only agreed with the plan, but shouted for joy in anticipation (Job 38:7). We signed up for the challenges knowing that in them was opportunity for growth. Genesis tells us we were created in His image, male and female, which implies God is male and female. Knowing and seeing their grandeur and beauty, we knew that the challenges of life would be well worth going through in our path to become like them – perfect in fullness of joy.
The Good News
We further had the promise that they would be close by to help us during our life’s journey if we would but reach out to them in faith, trust, humility, and repentance. If we feel God is not there, He hasn’t moved from us but we from Him because of the lack of sufficient faith, prayer, repentance and humility. The gospel is not only the “good news,” it is the best new.
David Allan