Line upon Line

The Council in Heaven

Abraham saw the spirits gathered before anyone was born on earth.

Abraham 3:22–23

22 Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones;

23 And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born.

intelligences

Intelligences in this scripture are beings. The intelligences spoken of here are children of God with spirit bodies.

organized before the world was

The beings Abraham saw were organized as God’s spirit children. They were brought together in a Council in Heaven. This Council took place before any people came to the earth. This is when Heavenly Father’s plan of salvation was explained to everyone.

noble and great ones

Part of being noble and great means to be honorable and virtuous and to bring about much good. It includes doing the small and simple things that God has asked us to do.¹

rulers

The kinds of rulers this verse is talking about are not kings or presidents. These are spiritual leaders like prophets and others who have callings to serve God’s children.

chosen before thou wast born

You were chosen before you were born to play an important role in God’s work. But you have to continue to choose righteousness to have that opportunity.²

Notes

1. See Howard W. Hunter, Apr. 1982 general conference (Ensign, May 1982, 19–20).

2. See Gospel Topics, “Foreordination,” topics.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.