The pre-existence is a foundational concept in Mormonism and carries some emotional weight. But this belief is not taught in the Bible, and can be an issue for people leaving Mormonism.
[Related: Tackling Theological Issues]
Understanding the Appeal of the Pre-Existence
Latter-day Saints believe that all humans lived with God before coming to Earth, as literal spirit sons and daughters of Heavenly Parents. God decided that his children should go through a mortal existence on earth, as a test. This idea was an innovation of Joseph Smith. It was connected to his unique portrayal of God as an exalted human being, and to his claims about the eternal nature of families. But the Bible does not teach that we lived as spirits with God before we came to this earth, or that we are literally God’s offspring.
The idea of a pre-mortal life can have tremendous emotional appeal. People feel a deeper connection with family members, and imagine different generations who would live in different eras on Earth.
The LDS Argument for a Premortal Life.
The LDS Church claims that the concept of the pre-existence is biblical, mainly based on two verses. First, God spoke to the prophet Jeremiah to call him to his prophetic ministry:
Jeremiah 1:5 “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.”
This verse is understood to mean that Jeremiah lived, in some manner, before he was conceived. But God is an eternal being who is not restricted by time, and whose knowledge is infinite.
Psalm 139:4 “You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord.”
So God could easily have been thinking about Jeremiah in a profoundly personal way before Jeremiah actually existed.
The LDS Church also applies a verse in Ecclesiastes to the pre-existence, which speaks of the end of a person’s life:
Ecclesiastes 12:7 For then the dust will return to the earth, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.
At death, a person’s body goes back to the elements it was formed from. But is this also saying that the non-physical part of a person, the “spirit”, goes back to where it existed with God before birth? Actually, the Hebrew word “spirit” used here simply means “breath.” A person’s elements return to the earth, from which they came. And a person’s breath returns to God, who originally gave human beings the breath of life.
[Related: How Mormons Think About Salvation]
What the Bible Teaches About Pre-Existence.
Genesis 2:7 helps us understand Ecclesiastes and Jeremiah in light of the overall teaching of the Bible.
Genesis 2:7 Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person.
This describes a definite beginning for Adam. His body and spirit were created and came to life at the same time. The act of God breathing the breath of life into him indicates that not just Adam’s body is in view. If this is true, we did not exist as spirits before we received bodies.
In the book of Job. God speaks to Job to humble him with with a picture of God’s greatness. God asks Job:
Job 38:4 “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?”
This implies that when God created the physical world, Job wasn’t there. Job was not living with God in some premortal realm, because at that time, Job did not exist.
The gospel of Johnn speaks of the eternal existence of Jesus.
John 1:1 In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Verse 14 explains that “the Word” mentioned here is Jesus. But this kind of language describes only him. Jesus is the only one born into our world who already existed before birth, because among all human beings, he alone is God.
[Related: Jesus – Older Brother or Eternal God?]
What the Bible Teaches About Being God’s Children.
Another verse in John 1 relates to this topic. The doctrine of the pre-existence assumes that all human beings are literal sons and daughters of God. But as John 1 describes the coming of Jesus into the world, he describes what Jesus accomplished:
John 1:12 “But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.”
Humans are not assumed to be God’s children. John says that they can BECOME children of God. God’s children are not those who were conceived by God and his wife in a pre-mortal world, as those who believe in Jesus and accept his saving work.
Galatians 3:26 For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 1 uses the language of adoption to talk about the children of God. No one is a child of God by nature. Being a child of God assumes a new kind of relationship with God, not as our natural Father, but as our adopted Father.
