Why are we here? The purpose of life and my testimony of Jesus The Christ

 Blog Post #30 - Written August 22, 2025

Hi everyone. This is obviously not your typical travel blog post. But I wanted to share something that's been on my mind lately, and I finally took the time to type it out tonight.

I hope you enjoy it and if you feel so inclined, please share your own thoughts in the comments or message me directly! I'd love to hear from you :)

I recently had an experience that made me stop and think. A "shake your faith" kind of moment. So I sat back and have been thinking about what I really believe. So here goes. My testimony. Hmm...this feels like a much bigger deal to write down rather than sharing briefly over the pulpit at church. I've been thinking about this for a couple weeks now and decided to read "Jesus The Christ" (by James E. Talmage) because of it.  As I was reading, I was struck by something that I believe very strongly and feel strongly about; and that is 'the purpose of our mortal life' and what 'Heaven' looks like, or is. I don't want to offend anyone when I say this, but I still want to say it. When people talk about our purpose being 'to return to live with Heavenly Father", it bugs me to no end. When people say heaven will be living with and worshiping God forever and singing His praises into eternity, I say "No thank you. Not my heaven."  Because I believe God created us for more. And He surely risked our eternal lives for more than just a chance to return to live with Him (which we were already doing). Lucifer's plan would've gotten us back to live with God. If that's all there was to heaven, we could've just gone with Satan's plan and not lost a single soul.   But we didn't.  Because that's not what our eternal life is about.  Progress, achievement, growth, goodness, creation, Godhood! That's what it's all about! That's why we fought for our agency. And that's why God knew He had to risk letting his children try and fail, in order for some (hopefully lots and lots!) succeed. Because becoming a God is such an awesome opportunity and responsibility, it has to be earned and learned.

That's my testimony and belief of why we're all on this beautiful Earth together. Because our Father, who loves us enough to risk losing us, put us here to gain a physical body, learn and grow from mortal experiences, and prove ourselves good enough and worthy to continue studying and practicing under His tutelage during the Millenium to become like He is.

The problem with learning through mortal experiences and practicing being like God, is it's impossible to do without making mistakes.  And that's why God asked for someone to volunteer to be our Savior and our Redeemer.  I have faith in Jesus Christ. I believe that He fulfilled His end of the bargain and did His part, during His mortal life, to pave the way for our redemption from our mistakes. I know He conquered not only physical death through the Resurrection, but he also made available the possibility to overcome the spiritual death that is sin. I am so grateful for His atoning sacrifice. I am so grateful for His infinite love and patience. Heaven knows I need it! When I lose my patience with my kids, I often remember how patient God and Christ are with me, and I'm humbled to repent and ask for Their help to love my children as They love them. To see them as They do and guide them through this mortal journey, in small and big ways.

There are many things I don't know. And that's okay. Because I'm not omniscient...yet! Working on it ;)  One thing I sometimes wonder is why (or if) we need a church. Do we really need a church to worship God? Do we need a church to follow Christ? And obviously I'm not alone in wondering this. So I'd like to share my thoughts on the matter. To start, I think the two most important things we need to do are (1) Love God with all our heart, might, mind, and strength, and (2) Love our Neighbor as a fellow child of God. That's what I think really matters in the end. Our efforts to obey and live those two great commandments will have the greatest impact in changing us (again, going back to our real purpose. Life isn't a pass/fail test.).  So where does a church come into play here? Well first, to love God and do His will, we need to be able to learn about Him and His will/commandments. So he's talked with men and women and sent them (prophets) to teach all His children. He started with Adam and continued through Abraham, Moses, John the Baptist, Christ himself, and Christ's Twelve Apostles. Plus Nephi, Jacob, Alma, Mormon, and Moroni in the Americas. And many others. And they received his word and guidance and commandments and wrote them down. And many good people over the years and kept them safe and compiled them and translated them so we can read them today. They are the Bible and the Book of Mormon. They teach us of God and of Jesus Christ. They teach us a lot, actually, if we read them.  I've read most of the Old Testament (I know, not all of it, but let's be honest, not all Scripture is created equal), the entire New Testament several times, and the entire Book of Mormon many times. I've studied them, cross-referenced them, and prayed about them. There are some things I don't fully understand, or that don't quite make sense to me (remember, not omniscient yet), but I believe they came from God. I know He's told me they are true. The scriptures are pretty plain that Christ organized a church for His people to gather together and teach and support each other. And even though sometimes it feels like church can be repetitive, I have to admit that we mortals need that. We are so quick to forget, it's amazing. We need constant reminders and exercise to stay focused.  As to which church, that is a lengthy conversation in and of itself, but for now, I will just state the simple fact that if the Book of Mormon is truly the word of God (see above, I believe it is), then The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is His Church.  And to be frank, its structure, organization, doctrine, practices, and basically everything else make sense. It all makes logical sense to me and God is logical, so it all fits together.  And then there's the living prophet and on-going revelation and the restored Priesthood authority to act in His name for things like baptism (again, by itself it's just getting wet, but per scripture, it's also a required outward symbol of our inner commitment and promise to follow Him and a requirement). 

I love God. I love His great and incredible Plan. It's absolutely amazing that He created us and this world for us! I love learning about fascinating animals and natural processes, all of which point to a Master Creator. I love talking with and serving fellow travelers and disciples. I love helping and serving and trying to be like Jesus. I love Jesus and the eternal progress He makes possible.

I know in my heart and mind that these things are true and right. Faith and trust are beautiful things, cherish them.

A few weeks ago, Megan and I got to go back to the Bountiful Temple where we were married for time and sealed for all eternity. Yet another part of God's Plan and His Church I am very grateful for!