My Articles of Faith (part 2)

IN MY LAST POST, I shared some of my core beliefs, which I call "articles of faith," in a tradition going back almost two thousand years. In that post, I discussed my views of the nature of God. I gave only minimal rationale for my beliefs for two reasons: 1) these are statements, not arguments, and 2) this is not an attempt to proselyte. My desire here is merely to encourage the reader to carefully consider what precepts might form the basis of their own belief system.

In this post, I will continue positing my articles of faith, this time focusing on my view of the nature of man and mortality. To me, these beliefs are logical extensions of my beliefs about God.

THE NATURE OF MAN

I believe we are eternal entities who are presently clothed mortal bodies by God. For the same reason I believe in God when I gaze up at the star-strewn night sky, I also believe my origin is from that God and that he has placed me here on this earth.

I believe in eternal progression. Because God is love and agency is eternal, nothing we do on earth can prevent us from progressing, unless we so choose. Consequentially, what we do during our moment of mortality could not possibly change the entire course of our future, given the weight, depth, and breadth of our past experiences and accomplishments, as indicated by our presence here on earth.

I believe man’s destiny is to transcend mortality. Our eternal nature is intelligence, not mortal matter. Intelligence has no gender. Our spiritual and mortal bodies may contain parts and passions, but our souls do not. The body and its experience here on earth are tools designed to teach us specific lessons and when we learn those lessons we will discard those tools and move on to the realm of pure intelligence, perfected by mortality.

I believe there is a plan designed to help us transcend mortality. There are many probations that yet await us, tests and experiences that will help us progress on our eternal path, though I do not know the form these probations will take.

I believe the purpose of our eternal progression is to become gods if we so desire. That is the ultimate definition of God’s love—that we might have all that he has or experiences.


THE NATURE OF MORTALITY

I believe the earth is perfect. Far from being a "fallen" planet, it is the ideal testing place for our mortal probation and was created to aid our eternal progress. When we pass beyond mortality, we will return to the realm of intelligence, unbound by mortal matter. The earth, as all physical things, shall pass away.

I believe God communicates with man on earth. He guides and influences us though inspiration, visitations and dreams, and through mortal guides and exemplars.

I believe in reincarnation. Each of us has lived may lives on this earth, progressing at our own rate. Mortality simply has too many lessons for one life, and God’s loving nature requires that we receive the maximum opportunity mortality can afford us so we will be prepared for the higher realms. This also explains the disparity in the quality of life and abilities across the human spectrum—the only just explanation for this is that each challenge and ability is designed to teach a valuable lesson and each lifetime has its own unique emphases. Wicked people are simply those who have not learned their life’s lessons and must continue returning to earth until they do. In contrast, those who master love will finally leave this world and move on to higher planes of existence.

Next time: THE NATURE AND MISSION OF JESUS