How souls choose their parents

Mildly interesting. For the record, I don’t totally discount reincarnation (as described in this article) as a possibility but I also don’t buy into the Saturday’s Warrior speculation about pre-earth life either. Pre-earth life is essentially a mystery to me – and one I don’t care to investigate very deeply because it has little meaning to me.

So, here are a couple things that stood out to me in the article that also might match some LDS beliefs:

It is my belief that once a soul has made the decision to have (another) earthly incarnation, the first step is to decide on what kind of life they want. This is contingent upon what lessons they wish to learn. This involves being matched with a parent or set of parents. This process really depends on the soul’s purpose and desire for specific lessons and lifestyle.

we certainly do choose our family members, the location we will incarnate, and the different life events that will take place.

If such is the case, why would anyone choose to be born into some of the horrific circumstances some people live in? I get life experiences and generally believe experiences here do benefit us to some extent (but that they are not specifically given us individually by God). But I cannot for the life of me figure out why anyone would choose to be born into family (including, and maybe especially, the author’s “sole groups”) where he or she may be tortured and killed. It all breaks down for me at that point.

The idea that everyone chooses their trials too often is used to salve our collective conscience when we don’t do enough to stop the pain and suffering in the world.

It is one of the best examples of a privileged worldview there is, since most people who create those views are in relatively good situations at the time. (“I deserve / earned this?”) It also leads to judgmentalism, since it is easy to believe “they deserved their difficulties” as a punishment for their previous lives.

I know, Sam. I should have made that clear. Sorry.

I do not believe the following quote represents modern LDS doctrine on the subject but is interesting nonetheless.

“Lady — whence comest thou? . . . “Knowest thou not that eternities ago, thy spirit, pure and holy, dwelt in thy Heavenly Father’s bosom, and in his presence, and with thy mother, one of the Queens of heaven, surrounded by thy brother and sister spirts in the spirit world, among the Gods. That as thy spirit beheld the scenes transpiring there, and thou growing in intelligence, thou sawest worlds upon worlds organized and peopled with thy kindred spirits, took upon them tabernacles, died, were resurrected, and received their exalt[at]ion on the redeemed worlds they once dwelt upon. Thou being willing and anxious to imitate them, waiting and desirous to obtain a body, a resurrection and exaltation also, and having obtained permission, thou made a covenant with one of thy kindred spirits to be thy guardian angel while in mortality, also with two others, male and female spirits, that thou wouldst come and take a tabernacle through their lineage, and become one of their offspring. You also choose [chose] a kindred spirit whom you loved in the spirit world, (and had permission to come to this planet and take a tabernacle,) to be your head, stay, husband, and protector on the earth, and to exalt you in the eternal worlds. All these were arranged, likewise the spirits that should tabernacle through your lineage. Thou longed, thou sighed, and thou prayed to thy Father in heaven for the time to arrive when thou couldst come to this earth, which had fled and fell from where it was first organized, near the planet Kolob. Leave thy father and mother’s bosoms, and all thy kindred spirits, come to earth, take a tabernacle, and imitate the deeds of those you had seen exalted before you.

Thy spirit filled with joy and thanksgiving rejoiced in thy Father . . . Thou bade father, mother, and all, farewell and along with thy guardian angel, thou came on this terraqueous globe. [(]The spirits thou had chosen to come and tabernacle through their lineage, and your Head having left the spirit world some years previous.) Thou came a spirit pure and holy, thou hast taken upon thee a tabernacle, thou hast obeyed the truth, and thy guardian angel ministers unto thee and watches over thee. Thou hast chosen him you loved in the spirit world to be thy companion. Now, crowns, thrones, exaltations and dominions are in reserve for thee in the eternal worlds . . . That when mortality is laid in the tomb, you may go down to your grave in peace, arise in glory, and receive your everlasting reward in the resurrection of the just, along with thy Head and husband. Thou will be permitted to pass by the Gods and angels who guard the gates, and onward, upward to thy exaltation in a celestial world among the Gods. To be a Priestess Queen unto thy Heavenly Father, and a glory to thy husband and offspring, to bear the souls of men, to people other worlds, (as thou didst bear their tabernacles in mortality,) while eternity goes and eternity comes . . .

John Taylor, “The Origin and Destiny of Women,” in The Mormon (Aug. 29, 1857),

I have a friend who deeply believes that her and her mom were meant to be a mother-daughter pair. Her very improbable birth, undeterred by multiple birth control methods, seems to uphold that belief. However, I’ve never felt “destined” for my family. What defines my family’s relationships is a combination of chance and effort, in my eyes. I think my mom disagrees, and deeply believes in an interesting combination of foreordination/pre-destination and choice. To each their own, I guess.

Roy, thanks for posting that excerpt. I definitely don’t believe in it, but it’s fascinating to see where leaders of the church land on different issues. It helps me gain more confidence in discovering the beliefs that work for me.

The idea that everyone chooses their trials too often is used to salve our collective conscience when we don’t do enough to stop the pain and suffering in the world.

It is one of the best examples of a privileged worldview there is, since most people who create those views are in relatively good situations at the time. (“I deserve / earned this?”) It also leads to judgmentalism, since it is easy to believe “they deserved their difficulties” as a punishment for their previous lives.

I absolutely agree.

We know for a fact that we DO undergo a memory wipe. This is so called infantile amnesia – basically under the age of three we remember little or nothing (I’m convinced I do but that is another matter).

What is the point of learning to speak or to walk if we can barely remember doing so?

It is a good thing perhaps we can’t remember soiling our diapers or breast feeding perhaps or some of the diseases we caught. As for birth – the jury’s out whether it can be remembered. It is a horrific experience.