Pre-Existence of Man

Modern Christianity views of God:

GOD THE FATHER: In His very nature and essence God is a spirit—not a man. There was never a time when He did not exist, nor can there ever be a time when He will cease to exist as the one true God. He does not change or progress. In addition to being omnipresent (present everywhere), He is eternally omniscient (all knowing) and omnipotent (all powerful), and thus, He is not bound by the constraints of His creation.


LDS views of God:

GOD The FATHER: "To understand the doctrine of pre-existence two great truths must be accepted:1. That God is a personal Being in whose image man is created, an exalted, perfected, and glorified Man of Holiness (Moses 6:57), and not a spirit essence that fills the immensity of space; and 2. That matter or element is self-existent and eternal in nature, creation being merely the organization and reorganization of that substance which 'was not created or made, neither indeed can be.' (D. & C. 93:29.) Unless God the Father was a personal Being, he could not have begotten spirits in his image, and if there had been no self-existent spirit element, there would have been no substance from which those spirit bodies could have been organized.

Biblical Verses of the Pre-Existence of Man

(Numbers 16:22.)
22 And they fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation?

(Numbers 27:16.)
16 Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation,

(Job 38:7.)
7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

(Ecclesiastes 12:7.)
7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

(Jeremiah 1:5.)
5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

(Zechariah 12:1.)
1 The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.

(John 9:2.)
2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?

(Acts 17:28.)
28 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.


(Hebrews 12:9.)
9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?


"Pre-existence is the term commonly used to describe the pre-mortal existence of the spirit children of God the Father. Speaking of this prior existence in a spirit sphere, the First Presidency of the Church (Joseph F. Smith, John R. Winder, and Anthon H. Lund) said: 'All men and women are in the similitude of the universal Father and Mother, and are literally the sons and daughters of Deity'; as spirits they were the 'offspring of celestial parentage.' (Man: His Origin and Destiny, pp. 351, 355.) These spirit beings, the offspring of exalted parents, were men and women, appearing in all respects as mortal persons do, excepting only that their spirit bodies were made of a more pure and refined substance than the elements from which mortal bodies are made. (Ether 3:16; D. & C. 131:7-8.)

"To understand the doctrine of pre-existence two great truths must be accepted:1. That God is a personal Being in whose image man is created, an exalted, perfected, and glorified Man of Holiness (Moses 6:57), and not a spirit essence that fills the immensity of space; and 2. That matter or element is self-existent and eternal in nature, creation being merely the organization and reorganization of that substance which 'was not created or made, neither indeed can be.' (D. & C. 93:29.) Unless God the Father was a personal Being, he could not have begotten spirits in his image, and if there had been no self-existent spirit element, there would have been no substance from which those spirit bodies could have been organized.

"From the time of their spirit birth, the Father's pre-existent offspring were endowed with agency and subjected to the provisions of the laws ordained for their government. They had power to obey or disobey and to progress in one field or another. 'The first principles of man are self-existent with God,' the Prophet said. 'God himself, finding he was in the midst of spirits and glory, because he was more intelligent, saw proper to institute laws whereby the rest could have a privilege to advance like himself.' (Teachings, p. 354.)
"The pre-existent life was thus a period—undoubtedly an infinitely long one—of probation, progression and schooling. The spirit hosts were taught and given experiences in various administrative capacities. Some so exercised their agency and so conformed to law as to become 'noble and great'; these were foreordained before their mortal births to perform great missions for the Lord in this life. (Abra. 3:22-28.) Christ, the Firstborn, was the mightiest of all the spirit children of the Father. (D. & C. 93:21-23.) Mortal progression and testing is a continuation of what began in pre-existence." (Mormon Doctrine, 2nd ed., pp. 589-590.)
(Bruce R. McConkie, Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 3 vols. [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1965-1973], 3: 227.)


(Jude 1:6.)
6 And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.


Jude's argument here is: Why should the wicked and ungodly think they shall escape damnation when God even cast one-third of the hosts of heaven out for their rebellion? See 2 Pet. 2:1-9.

Implicit in his usage of this illustration is the fact that his readers (members of the Church who had already received the truth!) knew about pre-existence, the war in heaven, and the probationary nature of this mortal estate.

The angels which kept not their first estate] See Rev. 12:1-17.

First estate] "Both Abraham and Jude speak of pre-existence as our first estate, that is, it was the first time we lived as conscious identities. The spirits who were faithful in that first estate earned the right to be born into this world and get mortal bodies, bodies which would become the eternal habitation of the spirit after the resurrection. (Abra. 3:22-28.) But the rebellious pre-existent spirits, 'the angels which kept not their first estate' (Jude 6), have been denied bodies and the probationary experiences of this second estate of mortality." (Mormon Doctrine, 2nd ed., p. 282.)

Of our first estate and the eternal plan of salvation there formulated, Joseph Smith says: "At the first organization in heaven we were all present, and saw the Savior chosen and appointed and the plan of salvation made, and we sanctioned it. We came to this earth that we might have a body and present it pure before God in the celestial kingdom. The great principle of happiness consists in having a body. The devil has no body, and herein is his punishment." (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 181.) Also: "They who have tabernacles, have power over those who have not." (Teachings, p. 190.) And also: "The spirits in the eternal world are like the spirits in this world. When those have come into this world and received tabernacles, then died and again have risen and received glorified bodies, they will have an ascendency over the spirits who have received no bodies, or kept not their first estate, like the devil. The punishment of the devil was that he should not have a habitation like men." (Teachings, pp. 305-306.)

In everlasting chains] Lucifer and one-third of the hosts of heaven are damned forever. For them there is no progression, no advancement, no light—only darkness to all eternity. Of them and of the sons of perdition who shall be added to their number, the Lord says: "I will say unto them—Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. And now, behold, I say unto you, never at any time have I declared from mine own mouth that they should return, for where I am they cannot come, for they have no power." (D. & C. 29:28-29.)

Pre-existence] See Heb. 12:9-10.

(Bruce R. McConkie, Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 3 vols. [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1965-1973], 3: 420.)


(Revelation 12:7.)
7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,


Satan Maketh War in Heaven and on Earth

John now sees the organization of the Church in the meridian dispensation and the attempt to create the Millennial Kingdom by the saints of that day. He sees the inevitable and destined failure of that attempt, the full restoration of the kingdom to Israel being reserved for a later dispensation. See Commentary II, pp. 21-27. Then the day of universal apostasy and spiritual darkness is revealed; the great warfare of Satan with earth's inhabitants is shown forth; the restoration of the gospel is alluded to; and some events, probably in this dispensation, in which the Church is preserved are named.

A woman ("the church of God"!) gives birth to a man child ("the kingdom of our God and his Christ" which shall hold sway during the Millennial Era, the kingdom John has just seen in vision!). See Rev. 11:14-19. Such is the Prophet's inspired interpretation. Among Biblical scholars of the world, the man child is presumed to be Christ, a speculative conclusion which, though seemingly persuasive, is refuted by the obvious fact that the Church did not bring forth Christ; he is the Creator of the Church. Among Latter-day Saint scriptural exegetes, it is not uncommon to say that the man child is the priesthood, a seemingly persuasive speculation, which again however must be rejected by the same line of reasoning. The Church did not bring forth the priesthood, but the priesthood is the power that brought the Church into being.

A woman clothed with the sun] The Church in all its glory, beauty, power and perfection—a glory like the sun in the firmament; the Church in which there is power to prepare men to attain that celestial world whose glory is typified by the brightness of that same heavenly luminary. (D. & C. 76:70.)

The moon under her feet] As the moon shines by reflected light, so do all earthly churches and kingdoms. They are under, beneath and lower than the true Church. The highest eternal reward they can offer is the terrestrial kingdom, whose glory is like the moon. (1 Cor. 15:40-41.)

Upon her head a crown of twelve stars] The twelve apostles of the Lamb, who are at the head and preside over the Church, and who with "the saints, ... small and great" (Rev. 11:15), shall have place in the promised kingdom.

3. John saw Lucifer (the great red dragon), who appears in various forms (having seven heads and ten horns), and who rules over many nations and kingdoms (wearing seven crowns).

4, 7-10. The whole chapter deals with warfare between the saints and the devil. These five verses are parenthetical interpolations; they are inserted to show that this war on earth (note verse 17) actually commenced in heaven and is but a continuation of the conflict commenced there.

4. The third part] One-third of that great host of spirit children destined to receive a mortal probation on this planet rebelled and followed Lucifer. (D. & C. 29:36.)

The stars of heaven] Figurative language describing the spirit children of the Father, among whom were "the morning stars" who sang together at the prospect of gaining mortal bodies and the experiences of an earthly probation. (Job 38:4-7.)

Cast them to the earth] The rebellious spirits, denied bodies, were cast down to earth. "I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven," Jesus said. (Luke 10:18.) And so it was also with all those who followed him.

5. A rod of iron] The gospel, the priesthood, the laws and power of God. In Lehi's dream, seen later by Nephi, "the rod of iron. . . was the word of God" which led to eternal life. (1 Ne. 11:25.)

6, 14. In the war on earth, Satan prevailed over the meridian saints, and the Church of God was taken away; dire and universal apostasy prevailed until the day of restoration.

And there was war in heaven] What kind of war? The same kind that prevails on earth; the only kind Satan and spirit beings can wage—a war of words, a tumult of opinions, a conflict of ideologies; a war between truth and error, between light and darkness, between the gospel of Jesus Christ, with all its saving power, and the false religions of the world, which have a form of godliness but are devoid of saving grace. And the battle lines are still drawn. It is now on earth as it was then in heaven; every man must choose which general he will follow.

Michael] See Jude 7-13.

9. The Devil] "The devil (literally meaning slanderer) is a spirit son of God who was born in the morning of pre-existence. (D. & C. 76:25-26.) Endowed with agency, the free power of choice, he chose the evil part from the beginning, thus placing himself in eternal opposition to the divine will. He was 'a liar from the beginning.' (D. & C. 93:25.)" (Mormon Doctrine, 2nd ed., p. 192.) See Commentary I, pp. 166-169; 266-269; 307-314; 416-417.

Satan] "Satan is a formal Hebrew name for the devil and means adversary, signifying that he wages open war with the truth and all who obey its principles." (Mormon Doctrine, 2nd ed., p. 677.)

10. Now is the time and the day when salvation may be won because Satan has been cast down to earth. He and his followers are here in opposition to all righteousness. It is only by resisting his wiles and rising above his carnal way of life that men can pass the test of mortality which assures them of salvation. Without opposition there could be no salvation; "it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so,. . . righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad." (2 Ne. 2:11.)

11. Overcame him by the blood of the lamb] If there had been no atonement of Christ, Satan's designs for men would have prevailed. In that event, there would have been neither immortality nor eternal life, and all men would have remained forever in "the grasp of this awful monster. . . death and hell." (2 Ne. 9:6-26.) Except for the shedding of the blood of Christ there is no way to overcome the world and gain salvation.

12-13. Satan makes war with the saints in the meridian of time.

14. He prevails; the Church is taken from the earth—for a specified period, for the age of spiritual darkness and universal apostasy.

15-17. Again the Church is found among men; there has been a restoration of the everlasting gospel. Satan continues his warfare, but the Lord preserves his latter-day kingdom. As Satan centers his opposition upon the gathered remnants of a once glorious people, the especial targets of his fiery darts are those who are obedient and faithful.

(Bruce R. McConkie, Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 3 vols. [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1965-1973], 3: 520.)