What Is God’s Plan For His Children?

 My Come Follow Me studies for this week took me to Alma 8-12 in a lesson titled “Jesus Christ Will Come to Redeem His People.” The lesson was introduced by the following paragraph. 

God’s work will not fail. But our efforts to help with His work sometimes seem to fail – at least, we may not immediately see the outcomes we hope for. We might feel a little like Alma when he preached the gospel in Ammonihah – rejected, spit on, and cast out. Yet when an angel instructed him to go back and try again, Alma courageously “returned speedily” (Alma 8:18), and God prepared the way before him. Not only did He provide Alma with food to eat and a place to stay, but He also prepared Amulek, who became a fellow laborer, a fierce defender of the gospel, and a faithful friend. When we face setbacks and disappointments as we serve in the Lord’s kingdom, we can remember how God supported and led Alma, and we can trust that God will support and lead us too, even in difficult circumstances.

The principle that I feel impressed to discuss tonight is taught in Alma 11-12: “God’s plan is a plan of redemption.” Amulek taught about the plan in detail, which can be seen in this video titled “Amulek Testifies of Jesus Christ.” 

The following is a summary of God’s plan for the eternal happiness of His children. The purpose of the plan is to enable God’s children to be exalted and to become like Him. The plan is known by several names: “great plan of happiness,” “the plan of redemption,” and the “plan of salvation” (Alma 42:8, 11, 5).

The plan began with a Council in Heaven where we, as spirits, wanted to achieve eternal life and to be like our heavenly parents. However, we had progressed as far as we could “without a mortal experience in a physical body,” according to President Dallin H. Oaks. This earth was created to provide that experience.

Heavenly Father knew that we would make mistakes and commit sins during our mortal experience and become subject to physical death. Heavenly Father’s plan provided for a Savior to reclaim us from death and sin. President Oaks taught, “His Resurrection would redeem all from death, and His atoning sacrifice would pay the price necessary for all to be cleansed from sin on the conditions prescribed to promote our growth. The Atonement of Jesus Christ is central to the Father’s plan. President Oaks continued his teachings (“The Great Plan,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2020, 93-96). 

In the Council in Heaven, all the spirit children of God were introduced to the Father’s plan, including its mortal consequences and trials, its heavenly helps, and its glorious destiny. We saw the end from the beginning. All of the myriads of mortals who have been born on this earth chose the Father’s plan and fought for it in the heavenly contest that followed. Many also made covenants with the Father concerning what they would do in mortality. In ways that have not been revealed, our actions in the spirit world have influenced our circumstances in mortality….

The purpose of mortal life and the postmortal growth that can follow it is for the offspring of God to become like He is. This is Heavenly Father’s desire for all His children. To achieve this joyful destiny, eternal laws require that we must become purified beings through the Atonement of Jesus Christ so we can dwell in the presence of the Father and the Son and enjoy the blessings of exaltation….

The divine plan for us to become what we are destined to become requires us to make choices to reject the evil opposition that tempts mortals to act contrary to God’s commandments and His plan. It also requires that we be subject to other mortal opposition, such as from the sins of others or from some defects of birth. Sometimes our needed growth is achieved better by suffering and adversity than by comfort and tranquility. And none of this mortal opposition could achieve its eternal purpose if divine intervention relieved us from all the adverse consequences of mortality.

The plan reveals our destiny in eternity, the purpose and conditions of our journey in mortality, and the heavenly helps we will receive. The commandments of God warn us against straying into dangerous circumstances. The teachings of inspired leaders guide our path and give assurances that promote our eternal journey.

God’s plan gives us four great assurances to assist our journey through mortality. All are given to us through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, the centerpiece of the plan. The first assures us that through His suffering for the sins of which we repent, we can be cleansed of those sins. Then the merciful final judge will “remember them no more” (Doctrine and Covenants 58:42).

Second, as part of our Savior’s Atonement, He took upon Him all other mortal infirmities. This allows us to receive divine help and strength to bear the inevitable burdens of mortality, personal and general, such as war and pestilence….

Third, the Savior, through His infinite Atonement, revokes the finality of death and gives us the joyful assurance that all of us will be resurrected….

Fourth and finally, modern revelation teaches us that our progress need not conclude with the end of mortality. Little has been revealed about this important assurance. We are told that this life is the time to prepare to meet God and that we should not procrastinate our repentance (see Alma 34:32-33). Still, we are taught that in the spirit world the gospel is preached even to “the wicked and the disobedient who had rejected the truth” (Doctrine and Covenants 138:29 and that those taught there are capable of repentance in advance of the Final Judgment (see verses 31-34, 57-59).

Heavenly Father’s plan of redemption is a simple plan. This plan involves listening to the words of prophets and apostles, repenting of our sins, making covenants with God, and keeping His commandments. Those people who follow the plan will find happiness on earth and joy in their postmortal lives.