# "Thou Wast Chosen before Thou Wast Born"

Abraham 3; Moses 4:1-4

Last week we learned about who Moses was, and how he used that knowledge to fight satan. This week we are going to learn about Abraham’s experience with the Lord and how the things he was shown about Stars helped him to parallel His own life and what that meant.
I love the way the Lord teaches Abraham here about who he is. First, He starts off showing him the planets and the stars. In Abraham 3 :2 He shows them there is a star closest to the throne of God I am going to diagram this on the board 2 circles one is Celestial Kingdom one is Kolob there were other stars more circles near it too but He just focuses on Kolob here for a minute, 3:3 the other circles represent the ones that are in the same order as the one which Abraham or we stand on. 3:4 Kolob represents the Lord Jesus Christ who becomes the governing body he explains in v4 that the star that Abraham and we are on is in sync with Christ’s star in time and revolution. Another way of putting that is that each of these representations of stars also parallel us as beings. 1 day in the Lord’s day is one thousand days of our days. In 3:5 it states that there are other stars that are greater than ours and lesser than ours. I wanted to point out 3:13 as well because as He is showing these stars to Abraham he starts to point out and name some of them. In v14 He tells Abraham that He has the potential to be like some of these other stars which are close to the throne of God like Kolob is in v.16. Then in v18 He explains that the way the stars are configured is similar to the way spirits or intelligences are configured. We are all in different places in the eternal scheme of things. Some are closer to God some haven’t even started on their spiritual journey’s yet so they are a little further away. All are great but their glory depends upon their proximity to the Savior, and Eloheim.

Now to v 22 Where he shows him the way those intelligences were organized. He saw many noble and great ones. He saw what the scriptures call our first estate. (our life in the pre-existence) He saw in v23 which ones were chosen to be rulers and tells Abraham that he was chosen as one of those. Joseph Fielding Smith tells us what differentiated them from each other. “We know they were all innocent in the beginning; but the right of free agency which was given to them enabled some to outstrip others, and thus, through the eons of immortal existence, to become more intelligent, more faithful, for they were free to act for themselves, to think for themselves, to receive the truth or rebel against it.” (Doct. Of Salva. 1:59)

So here is the question: Has anything changed? Do we still have agency to act for ourselves? So we still have opportunities to prove ourselves, to gain more intelligence, more faith, and to become a noble and great one? Yes, nothing has changed as far as that goes, but a couple of things have changed. We have been sent here with a veil-I believe that is part of the plan, to see if we can figure out who we were and are, and what our purposes are here in our second estate, if we are indeed going to still pick the Father’s plan and continue to progress and move our stars closer to His or just be here and exist, waiting for life here to be over.

Let’s explore this further. 3:23 Abraham thou was chosen before thou wast born. So were we; let’s have 3 volunteers come up, they are going to represent us coming to earth for our second estate.

We agreed to come and be “proven” we are given certain opportunities, gifts, and circumstances special ordered for our lives Give out envelopes, sealed within is a particular task to accomplish 1-You are hereby foreordained to write inspiring music that will bring your brothers and sisters closer to Jesus Christ, and put them on the path back home.
2-You are hereby foreordained to build churches and temples to help your brothers and sisters access the keys necessary to return.
3- You are hereby foreordained to draw or paint pictures of things or places that will remind your brothers and sisters of their Heavenly Home so they will do all in their power to return there.

These people can open their envelopes and read them, they still have their agency to choose whether or not to keep their second estate. If they choose not to ask for another volunteer to take their place and point out that it works like this today, when we are asked to do something and we refuse someone else will step in the Lord will see to it that everyone has an opportunity to serve in his Kingdom or not.

When all the volunteers are ready to participate ask them to read their assignments to the class and have the class point out the things each person will need to accomplish these goals.
1st one would need a family, equipped with the talents, experiences and personality types that will help them on their path. That will provide them with opportunities to grow towards their tasks of foreordination. But what if they aren’t born into a family like this will they still be given everything they need to accomplish their goals? Yes! Heavenly Father will see to it that they are given every opportunity, through schooling, other people who believe in us, our patriarchal blessings can point out some the things we are to accomplish, or at least give us clues of where to focus. Etc.
Next our 1st person will need what to be able to write inspiring music? Music Lessons, (hand him/her a beginning music book) an appreciation for music of past composers and writers who have come before him/her. (hand them a hymn book, a cd of the Mormon Tab. Choir, and a book of Classical pieces) Supplies, (a pencil, music paper, assist them to the piano etc.), A testimony of the person to whom you need to inspire people to come to. (Scriptures)

Our 2nd person will need some things, what would they be? A background or an appreciation in building things, A mom that will allow such building to go on even though it may be a mess, Supplies with which to build (legos) Schooling to get you the knowledge required to build something that will withstand the earth’s chaos.

Our 3rd person will need what? A love of nature, and God’s creations, a faith that you can be creative and accomplish the task that is before you, Art lessons, supplies (paper, pencils, colored pencils, water colors, easel, pictures of nature to get an idea of how to begin etc)

Now they can get to work doing those tasks while we continue our discussion.
However what are the things that can get in our way? Discouragement, Comparing ourselves to others, pride, lack of time, health problems, financial problems, lack of faith in ourselves and our abilities. Worldly desires such as: our favorite tv shows, working 5 jobs to pay for the house cars, credit card charges, etc.

You listen to some things Elder Maxwell says about our 1st and 2nd estates and see what strikes you about the whole scenario.
Neal A. Maxwell quotes: “Premortality is not relaxing doctrine. For each of us, there are choices to be made, incessant and difficult chores to be done, ironies and adversities to be experienced, time to be well spent, talents and gifts to be well employed. Just because we were chosen ‘there and then’ surely does not mean we can be indifferent ‘here and now.’…
“In fact, adequacy in the first estate may merely have ensured a stern, second estate with more duties and no immunities! Additional tutoring and suffering appears to be the pattern for the Lord’s most apt pupils. Our existence, therefore, is a continuum matched by God’s stretching curriculum…
“Agreeing to enter this second estate, therefore was like agreeing in advance to anesthetic-the anesthetic of forgetfulness. Doctors do not deanesthetize a patient, in the midst of what was previously authorized, to ask him, again, if it should be continued. We agreed to come here and to undergo certain experiences under certain conditions” Ensign, Nov. 1985, p17)

I got tons from that quote, we are almost surely guaranteed to tough time of life here, especially if we were even just adequate in premortality. We are here we agreed, there isn’t any going back now, we will continue to the end of mortality. The choice we have now is merely are we going back more valiant, more intelligent, more experienced, closer to our Father? Or are we going back to the same state we came down in? Our daily choices dictate that for us.

So how are our volunteers coming? How’s the church? How’s the song? How’s the painting?
Our lives are mapped out one day at a time it’s true, but we will have as much time as we need to accomplish whatever we were supposed to accomplish here. We won’t be absolutely perfect in every talent and gift, the purpose of life is that we do the best we can with what we have been blessed with. Then more will come both temporally and spiritually; Thank goodness for the Lord's atoning power! Of these things I bare testimony along with the fact that we all were foreordained to do something, we just have to figure out how it is we are going to contribute to making ourselves more intelligent and building up Gods Kingdom and by bringing others towards their full potential, in the name of Jesus Christ Amen.