Of all the articles I've read recently in school, I'd have to say that Why Marriage, Why Families, has had the biggest impact on my understanding of "the plan of salvation," the great plan of happiness,", and "the plan of redemption."
I knew earth was important in Heavenly Father's plan, but I had never thought that earth was created entirely to fulfill this divine plan successfully. In Why Marriage, Why Families, Elder D. Todd Christofferson shares four of the things necessary to make the plan successful and number one is the Creation of earth.
Elder D. Todd Christofferson says, "First was the Creation of the earth as our dwelling place. Whatever the details of the creation process, we know that it was not accidental but that it was directed by God the Father and implemented by Jesus Christ—“all things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made."
"Second is the condition of mortality. Adam and Eve acted for all who had chosen to participate in the Father’s great plan of happiness. Their Fall created the conditions needed for our physical birth and for mortal experience and learning outside the presence of God. With the Fall came an awareness of good and evil and the God-given power to choose. Finally, the Fall brought about physical death needed to make our time in mortality temporary so that we would not live forever in our sins."
"Third is redemption from the Fall. We see the role of death in our Heavenly Father’s plan, but that plan would become void without some way to overcome death in the end, both physical and spiritual. Thus, a Redeemer, the Only Begotten Son of God, Jesus Christ, suffered and died to atone for Adam and Eve’s transgression, thereby providing resurrection and immortality for all. And since none of us will have been perfectly and consistently obedient to the gospel law, His Atonement also redeems us from our own sins on condition of repentance. With the Savior’s atoning grace providing forgiveness of sins and sanctification of the soul, we can spiritually be born again and reconciled to God. Our spiritual death—our separation from God—will end."
"Fourth, and finally, is the setting for our physical birth and subsequent spiritual rebirth into the kingdom of God. For His work to succeed to “[exalt us] with himself,” God ordained that men and women should marry and give birth to children, thereby creating, in partnership with God, the physical bodies that are key to the test of mortality and essential to eternal glory with Him. He also ordained that parents should establish families and rear their children in light and truth, leading them to a hope in Christ."
Without step one, the creation of the earth, steps two, three, and four would not be possible. As a youth, I constantly struggled to answer the question "how was this earth created?" Was it by God or was it scientifically explained by the Big Bang Theory? As I searched for answers, I came to believe that God created this earth. He created earth particle by particle, so why couldn't science be part of his plan. Why couldn't the Big Bang Theory and God exist at the same time? After years of struggling to answer this question, I found comfort in knowing that the LDS church says "Yes" they can.
Although the thing that struck me most in this talk had to do with the creation of earth, there is significantly more information on the importance of marriage between a man and woman and the necessity of marriage in establishing families. I invite you all to watch or read this talk in it's entirety.
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