Abraham

(See Abr. 1–3 and Moses 4:1 in the Pearl of Great Price.)

And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them (Abr. 3:25).

Abraham, the mighty prophet, was a righteous man. Because of his goodness in the premortal existence, he was chosen to be one of the Lord’s leaders. He experienced many difficult things during his lifetime—his own father even helped wicked priests try to sacrifice him to a pagan god. But Abraham cried to the Lord to save him, and He did. Because of his righteousness, Abraham was greatly blessed and was able to talk directly with the Lord.

The Lord showed him many wonderful things, including planets and stars that He had created. There were so many stars that Abraham couldn’t see them all. Then the Lord said, “I will multiply thee, and thy seed after thee, like unto these.”

The Lord told Abraham about premortal life. He showed him the spirits of those who were good and noble even before they were born onto the earth, and He said that He would make them His rulers. “Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou was born,” He said.

Abraham saw that the Lord presented a plan to these spirits, saying that He would create a world on which they could dwell and that He would “prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them.” All those who were righteous during the premortal life would live on the earth to prove themselves there. Then, if they followed the Lord’s plan and obeyed His commandments, they would be able to live with Him again someday. To help them overcome the mistakes they would make, a Savior, someone who could live a perfect life and then give up that life for their sake, would be needed.

Among the spirits Abraham saw was one who was “like unto God.” This was Jesus Christ. Jesus said that He would teach the people what they should do, and He would pay with His life for the mistakes they would make if they would repent. All the glory would be the Father’s for giving His children the chance to progress.

There was another spirit, Lucifer, who presented another plan. He would force men to return to heaven by taking away their right to choose. All the glory for doing this would be his, he claimed, not Heavenly Father’s.

Because Heavenly Father chose to send Jesus Christ to the earth instead of Lucifer, Lucifer became angry and disobedient, and he was cast out of heaven, along with his spirit followers. Though Heavenly Father was sad to see these spirits rebel, He knew that the only way His children could become righteous enough to live with Him again through all eternity, and create worlds of their own, was if they were able to make their own choices. They would need to prove that they would always choose the right.

Abraham was grateful for his knowledge of Heavenly Father’s plan. He taught it to his people so that they, too, would have the peace of knowing that Heavenly Father had provided a way for them—and all of us—to return to Him someday.

Illustrated by Mike Eagle