Is One Mortality Enough, and Other Easy Existential Questions

I firmly believe in the immortality of souls.   While others may wrestle with the idea, I do not.  It makes no sense for us to deal with the pains and sufferings of this life without some purpose or reason.  And while this certainty is one of faith, I am as sure of this truth as I am that I am writing here.   I assume that I exist!

My faith in my LDS religion informs me that we come to this planet from a premortal realm, experience life while growing and becoming, and at an unforeseen time are called back to our heavenly home.  My faith informs me that there are experiences in mortality that can only be obtained here, and that my purpose on earth is to have those good and bad experiences, learning to choose wisely but learning from my mistakes.  I have confidence that I exist for a reason!

I also believe that my mortal sojourn is choreographed by an all-knowing, all-loving Supreme Being who is only interested in giving me learning and becoming opportunities.  That is not to say that everything in my walk is predetermined.  While He may know my beginning and end, I don’t.  He knows what is going to happen in my life but I still have choice, or agency.  And I believe that every mortal's life is likewise choreographed.

However, those who are mentally incapacitated lack the ability to choose and to experience the full breadth of life, although their lives can often be a blessing to those who care for them. Others who become truly addicted to a substance or behavior, or who were born with or developed psychological maladies like obsessive compulsive disorder or schizophrenia, or whose upbringing caused these mental dysfunctions to happen, have limited agency and lack the ability to fully experience life. 

Those difficult conditions beg some questions: what learning and becoming experiences can such persons have?  Do they "get a free pass" for the tests of mortality, or are their conditions for the learning and becoming of those who interact with them?  Did they choose these deficiencies in that premortal realm?  Is it possible that they will learn all that they need to learn in a future time (the Millennium period, in LDS belief), free from the chains of their dysfunction, before they are judged? Or are they just out of luck?

On a related subject, can someone who did not have a full mortal life in which to experience mortality learn all there is to know in a millennial period (another LDS belief), assuming they have all 1000 years in which to experience "life?"  The Church teaches of a terrestrial, peaceful 1000 years.  How can one experience how to choose between good and bad, or much more difficult, good and good, when there won't be bad?  LDS belief dictates that the Devil "will be loosed for a season."  I wonder how long that "season" is, and what really can be learned in a "crammed test?" 

And how can physically and emotionally sound people (are there many of us?) experience all that there is to learn in mortality in 70 to 90 years? I’m 61 and I am still learning so much, and arguably, I am on the downside of my mortality and don’t have 61 more years left.  How can I learn experientially about mortality in a postmortal spirit world (yet another LDS belief)?  Are we put in charge of overseeing mortals in that realm?  I can learn theory there, learning from my experience in life, but I believe that I knew theory before I came to earth and I needed this mortality to actually experience what I had learned theoretically.  

Is one mortality enough to gain the experiential insight we need?

Because of LDS doctrine which teaches an exclusive salvation, I have wondered about the literal tens of billions (a billion is a 1000 million!) of people born on earth through the millennia, most of whom never will hear about God the Father or His Son, Jesus Christ.  There is the LDS doctrine of performing “ordinances of salvation” for ancestors and others who did not have the opportunity to participate and accept such works, as well the genealogical work to account for dead ancestors. LDS people believe that temples will be open 24 hours a day during the millennial reign of Christ, but work in the temple for tens of billions?  Will there be more billions of bodies born in the millennium for those spirits who were aborted naturally or by man, have been given another body?  

Most of my LDS brothers and sisters will read my esoteric questions and either roll their eyes or pat me on the head and say something to the effect of “there are answers to all of these questions and God knows them all, so just have faith that He’ll take care of things.” Just because I have questions does not mean that I am on the road to apostasy, nor does it mean that I am tempted to abandon all that I do know.   I just don't see with my limited experience how all of this is going to work out.

I'm glad that I have these questions.  But at their core, I wonder if a single mortality is enough to experience and learn all that is needful to experience and learn in order to become a god (yet another and very uniquely LDS doctrine)?  And yes, it makes perfect sense to me that if in fact God is the father of my spirit that inhabits my physical body, He would want me, His son, to become like Him!

"Thank you for believing in me when I didn't believe in myself"

My son BJ (Robert) sharing at the Tree Trimming gathering

"Thank you for believing in me when I didn't believe in myself."  So stated a number of guys at the Beacon House in San Pedro last night.  The occasion was an annual "tree trimming" gathering put on for the approximately 100+ guys and alumni of the "House."  It was a chance to share their hearts and their gratitude with their brothers and others, and then hang a meaningful ornament on a Christmas tree. I felt so blessed that my wife and I had been invited to attend.

"I am where I am supposed to be," said some, commenting on how profoundly the Beacon House has turned their lives around and given them hope, a hope that many said they never have experienced.  Some stated that they had been to other rehabiliation centers but felt that the Beacon House was different, but they somehow knew this was home.

"Thank God for my life," announced another, reflecting on the despair and depression he had felt for most of his life, and how the "House" had given him another chance.  Some spoke of times past when they had felt suicidal because they had lost all hope, and how bleak their lives were, but then spoke of renewal and enthusiasm for the future, and how blessed they felt for having another chance.

"I really love my life right now," said others, talking about new outlooks, new schooling completed, new jobs, the sense of community and brotherhood and unconditional love they now feel.

"Words cannot express what I'm feeling right now," stated others tearfully as they stood humbly before a filled hall, realizing they now were clean and sober, being overcome with gratitude for the "House" and its staff, feeling the warm love and caring eminating from their brothers. These are men who had lost faith in themselves and in their ability to change course; many men who had lost everything because of their addictions.

"All the things I was promised have come true," some said as they reflected on how Bill and Brent, the managing and program directors, challenged them to "shut up and follow directions," and that if they did they would finally become the man they always wanted to be.

"Are you going to abandon your son again," said another, quoting something very poignant Bill had said to him when he was given a second chance for sobriety and recovery at the "House" after having willfully left prematurely.  There was always complete openness, transparency, and rawness as hearts were softened during the share.

The Beacon House

"I know God is in this House," stated another.  His heart was full as he gave thanks for the grace and mercy extended to him by his higher power, as well as offering thanks for the love and compassion offered him by the staff and his brothers.  There was talk about how there were miracles that occured routinely at the "House" as men came around to themselves and changed their life's course and credited their higher power for the miracle.

"This place is my home," opined many others, noting that they felt more at home among the people at the "House" than even with their own families, noting the positive feelings and comfort they felt.  Some longed to be with their families at Christmastime, but then stated that they knew this was where they needed to be.

"You never gave up on me," said various men filled with emotion.  They expressed profound appreciation to Bill and Brent, often noting that they seemed like father figures they had never had in their lives and how they looked up to them, and feeling so profoundly grateful for that blessing in their lives.  Some talked about second and rare third chances to be admitted to the "House," even relating how Bill and Brent had on occasion sent some guys to pick them up on the streets because they had lost hope in themselves.

"I'm grateful for my brothers," said nearly all the guys who stood in line for a long time for a chance to express their profoundly deep and raw emotions to the guys who had accepted them with open arms and hearts.  Some expressed how hesitant they were to engage with others when they first arrived, but how they were greeted with open minds and hearts.

"You showed me the real meaning of family," stated many who had felt they had been so selfish and proud with their own families and who, free from the grasp of addiction, had been able to feel the warmth and love of caring brothers walking similar paths.  There really was a feeling of acceptance, forgiveness, caring and love that permeated the hall.

"God's got my life now," announced another, reflecting on how through actively embracing the rules and directions of the "House" and developing a firm belief in a higher power, he felt connected to God and felt His influence in the daily workings at this rehabilitation program.

"I want to sparkle again," said a one-day veteran of the Beacon House, holding a sparkling ornament and using it as metaphor for what he hopes will happen to him there in the coming months and years.  Others who shared had been to this tree trimming event for many years but who come back annually to express profound gratitude for their lives given back to them by the staff and brothers of the Beacon House.

On a personal note, I feel to express my deep appreciation to Bill and Brent and the "House" for giving me back my son BJ and for giving him the opportunity to bless the lives of others there.  It is continually amazing to me how God worked in his life to help him face his demons, and how in His amazing grace and mercy He has helped him turn his life completely around.  

I loved to hear last evening how in his ministry, if I can call it that, at the "House" as part of the young staff, he is touching lives and sharing his knowledge gained through that school of hard knocks.  It's one thing to be licensed as a Drug and Alcohol Rehab Counselor, and another to actually be touching hearts on a daily basis.  He has been been in the dark place that the guys know well, and can not only relate to them but to call them out when they lie to themselves as he did.

So Merry Christmas to the staff and the guys at the Beacon House.  I felt so honored to be in your humble presence.  And thank you for my son. 

Not the staff of Beacon House; just a picture of my son repesenting the "House."