Come, Follow Me

Jeremiah 1

God Knew Me Before I Was Born

girl with outstretched arms looks at stars in sky

We lived with Heavenly Father before this life. “Our personal journey did not begin at birth. Before we were born, we were together in a world of preparation where we ‘received [our] first lessons in the world of spirits’ [Doctrine and Covenants 138:56].”¹ The Lord made this truth clear to the prophet Jeremiah when He said, “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; … and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5).

Did the Lord give us missions to fulfill too?

Sister Wendy W. Nelson said:

“Premortally you and I were each given wonderful missions to fulfill while we are here on earth. …

“The choice is yours and mine. Will we choose to do whatever it takes to fulfill the wonderful missions for which we were sent to earth?”²

In this same vein, Elder Bruce R. McConkie (1915–85) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught, “[The Apostle Paul] says also of members of the Church that God ‘hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love,’ and that we were foreordained to become the children of Jesus Christ by adoption, thus gaining a ‘forgiveness of sins’ in this life and an inheritance of eternal glory in the life to come [Ephesians 1:7].”³

Discussion

How might it help you to remember that God knew you before you were born? (see Jeremiah 1:5; see also Abraham 3:22–23).

How does knowing that you chose to follow Heavenly Father’s plan in the premortal life affect your choices in this life? (see 2 Nephi 2:26–27; Abraham 3:25–26).

Notes

1. Neil L. Andersen, “The Personal Journey of a Child of God,” Liahona, May 2021, 46.

2. Wendy W. Nelson, “Hope of Israel” (worldwide youth devotional, June 3, 2018), HopeofIsrael.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

3. Bruce R. McConkie, “God Foreordains His Prophets and His People,” Ensign, May 1974, 73; see also Gospel Topics, “Foreordination,” topics.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.