Mindful Latter-day Saint Apologetics
Providing thoughtful and faithful responses to criticisms and questions of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ
As we submit ourselves, with willingness, to follow Christ and the commandments of our Heavenly Father, we are continually renewed, strengthened, and growing in faith. As we increase in our faith and knowledge of Christ, the power of His intimate atonement, and endure with patience and long-suffering - we shall stand ready to be cleansed and purified of all unrighteousness.
In Word: The Tree of Life is symbolism of the Plan of Salvation. The love of God who is Jesus Christ. The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil is the representation of moral agency. It stands in opposition to the tree of life. It represents mortality. Adam and Eve remained in a state of spiritual existence. A state of innocence. A state of perfect union and harmony. Yet, to bring about the reality of the Plan of Salvation - humanity needed to make a choice. That choice led to the temptation and partaking of the forbidden fruit. The Tree of Life represented immortality and eternal life. The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil represented mortality and moral agency. All that encompasses human liberty and freedom of choice comes suffering, adversity, and sorrow. Yet, our Heavenly Father has prepared a way for us to overcome and endure temptation (1 Corinthians 10:13).
This is the great plan of Salvation whereby our Heavenly Father brings to pass the immortality and eternal life of each one of us. Attached to this is our liberty and freedom of choice. Whether we choose to walk in humility, submission, and obedience to the laws and principal doctrines of God’s revealed truth - we shall inherit eternal life. Christ himself said that those who endure as He has endured shall be granted permission to sit on the throne with Him as he sits on the Throne with the Father
As we go forward with faith and purpose, we do so with the mindset that this life is a test. That there is a purpose for our mortal existence, and that we are called and assigned to endure those conflicts and challenges. To live for God through service and obedience, placing our hope and trust on Jesus Christ, and striving to be perfected so that we are able to say with conviction: I have fought the good fight, I have finished my course and now there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness.
Much like the Israelites, we are wandering in the wilderness and desert of life. Seeking freedom from those things that have us bound. Sin enslaves us, pressing upon us, and the more we resist, the weaker we seemed to become. Our Heavenly Father sent His Only Begotten Son to free us from the snares of sin and death. The Apostle Paul writes to the Romans wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin so also does life come from the infinite atonement of Jesus Christ (Romans 5:12-19).
This article is the third and final part of a three part response to Biblical Gender Roles article regarding the nature of God, the question of masculinity and femininity, and specific gender roles as established within the context of the Bible. A careful and thoughtful review of the article has required an adequate response to some… Continue reading Part Three: The Work and the Glory of God is to Bring to Pass Man's Eternal Life and Immortality
Mindful Latter-day Saint Apologetics 
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