The Pillars of Eternity Are the Human Experience

Bruce R McConkie taught in a BYU Devotional in 1981 the following:

"The three pillars of eternity, the three events, preeminent and transcendent above all others, are the creation, the fall, and the atonement. These three are the foundations upon which all things rest. Without any one of them all things would lose their purpose and meaning, and the plans and designs of Deity would come to naught."

As I pondered over these key events after a recent visit to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple, I realized that we emphasize the pillars of eternity because they are a representation of our own lives and include a pattern we must follow.

Creation Is a Spiritual Birth
The creation of the Earth is its birth and is a critical event, for without it, the future events would not be possible. The journey of discipleship begins when one is baptized, a spiritual rebirth. This is the "creation" of a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints because covenants are made to follow the Savior and take His name upon oneself. I propose that the weekly partaking of the Sacrament is a weekly "creation" as we renew our covenants and are spiritually born again.

The Fall is Personal Sin
Despite our best intentions as disciples of Jesus Christ, we sin and fall short of the glory of God. None of us can maintain the state of purity in which we arise from the baptismal waters or obtain through repentant participation in the Sacrament. Sin is not something God can tolerate and the consequences are inevitable as they are just. It leaves us in a fallen state, distanced from God and unable to make amends on our own. We find ourselves falling short weekly, even daily.

The Atonement of Jesus Christ Saves Mankind from the Fall and Us from Personal Sin
Just as Christ's Atonement saves mankind from many of the consequences of the Fall, it also saves us personally from the consequences of our own personal sins. When I sin, I know that I can receive forgiveness and be cleansed through the grace of Jesus Christ. The Savior's Atonement is infinite and should help us every time we fall short, even daily.

Conclusion
These three personal pillars of eternity are the foundation upon which all things rest in our own lives. This mortal existence loses its meaning if we do not choose to follow Christ and make repentance a part of our life throughout our journey of discipleship. We must do our best to avoid sin, but when we do make mistakes, let us recognize them as opportunities to grow closer to our Savior through sincere repentance and reliance on Him.

I personally believe this parallel is a key reason we are reminded of the pillars of eternity so powerfully in our temple worship. The process of partaking of the Sacrament weekly, of making mistakes constantly, and of relentlessly repenting is the process of sanctification and becoming perfect (eventually). This is the human experience.

Who is God?

I want to explore a little bit about what the scriptures teach about God because without a basic understanding of God, we cannot understand our relationship to Him or his plan for us.

God Is the Supreme Ruler and Creator of the Universe
God told Moses very plainly who he was when he said, "I am the Beginning and the End, the Almighty God; by mine Only Begotten I created these things; yea, in the beginning I created the heaven, and the earth upon which thou standest." (Moses 2:1)

In the Book of Mormon, King Benjamin exhorted his people, "Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend." (Mosiah 4:9)

God Has a Body
We know that God is perfect, all-knowing, and all-powerful, but what is his body like? A couple scriptures teach us the answer. In Genesis Moses writes, " Let us make man in our image, after our likeness...So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them." (Genesis 1:26-27)

Likeness and image suggests that God and man are similar in their appearance, so God looks like a man, though perfect and glorious. Another insightful scripture is found in the Doctrine and Covenants where the Lord revealed to the prophet Joseph Smith, "The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s..." (D&C 130:22)This scripture goes on to explain that Jesus Christ also has a tangible, physical body like the Father, but the Holy Ghost is a personage of Spirit, without a tangible body.

Other Scriptures about God
There are many other scriptures that teach us more about God. Here are a couple that I like because they testify of his love, mercy, and power:

"And my joy is carried away, even unto boasting in my God; for he has all power, all wisdom, and all understanding; he comprehendeth all things, and he is a merciful Being, even unto salvation, to those who will repent and believe on his name." (Alma 26:35)

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)

"O Lord God Almighty, hear us in these our petitions, and answer us from heaven, thy holy habitation, where thou sittest enthroned, with glory, honor, power, majesty, might, dominion, truth, justice, judgment, mercy, and an infinity of fulness, from everlasting to everlasting." (D&C 109:77)

Get to Know God
Jesus Christ taught us that it is very important for us to get to know God and who he is. The Savior said, "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." (John 17:3)

The best way to get to know God and Jesus Christ is by studying their words. As we immerse ourselves in the holy scriptures, we will get to know them on a more personal level. I also recommend sincere, heartfelt prayer to pour out our hearts to God and seek his guidance in our daily lives. We can also trust and love God more by committing ourselves to obey all of his commandments, for the Lord said, "If ye love me, keep my commandments." (John 14:15)