Mormon Articles

 

 

 

 

 

 


 


Video & Audio on Mormonism

 

Veil of Forgetfulness

 

Anxiety & the Holy Ghost

"There must have been anxiety when we learned of the need to leave our Father and come to this earth through a veil of forgetfulness. We must have known that there would be opposition, choices to make, the possibility of mistakes and failure. If we forgot all, how would we know the right thing to do or how to do it? It must have been a great comfort as Father made covenants with us to send one member of the Godhead to be a guide and companion—one with delegated power to communicate the truths of the plan to us, that by the power of spiritual communication we could make correct decisions and grow and mature after the nature of our Father, who is a God. We know this great counselor as the Holy Ghost."—William R. Bradford, "Selfishness vs. Selflessness," Ensign (April 1983), on LDS Church Magazines CD-ROM.

Concern

"Man's approach to a fullness of joy is pictured in his revealed history. Through the veil of forgetfulness we see but dimly our pre-existent condition. The Gospel student does not really concern himself greatly with the details of the life before this one; so much needs to be done in this life that he is content to know the great outlines of pre-existence which may assist him to understand the eternal journey of intelligences. Of the primeval condition of man little is known."—John A. Widtsoe, A Rational Theology, 3rd ed. (United States: Kessinger reprint, 1915), 29.

Free Agency

"So that we would come to a knowledge of him in and of ourselves, our Heavenly Father proposed that when we came into this earth life a veil of forgetfulness would be placed over our minds so that we would not remember our pre-earthly existence with him. Only then could the choices that we made here upon this earth truly come from within us. Our Father in heaven then promised us that while we were here on the earth he would give us laws, would provide the possibility of opposites, would give us free agency, and would send angels and prophets to teach us and give us scriptures so we could learn the laws and the reasons why we should keep them. Thus, he promised us the necessary conditions on this earth wherein we could become morally free before him."—Daniel H. Ludlow, "Insights: To Know and To Really Know," Ensign (March 1980), on LDS Church Magazines CD-ROM.

When we lived with our Father in heaven, we did not need to exercise a fullness of faith in whether or not he existed. We knew that he lived because we saw him; we walked and talked with him. We knew he existed and were convinced of his existence, but we were not necessarily converted to him and to his great principles because our knowledge of him had come from external sources without virtually any effort on our part. So that we would come to a knowledge of him in and of ourselves, our Heavenly Father proposed that when we came into this earth life a veil of forgetfulness would be placed over our minds so that we would not remember our pre-earthly existence with him."—Daniel H. Ludlow, "Moral Free Agency," New Era (November 1976), on LDS Church Magazines CD-ROM.

Humans

"We now have a veil of forgetfulness drawn over our minds, and we do not remember the details of those premortal events; yet the spiritual capacity that we developed in the pre-earth life has come with us into mortality, and when we hear the gospel preached it strikes a familiar note."—Robert J. Matthews, A Bible! A Bible! (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1990), on Infobases Gospel Library CD-ROM.

Jesus

"Over His mind had fallen the veil of forgetfulness common to all who are born to earth, by which the remembrance of primeval existence is shut off."—Daniel H. Ludlow, A Companion to Your Study of the Doctrine and Covenants, (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1982), on Infobases Gospel Library CD-ROM.

Probation

"All the spirit children of God developed various degrees of intelligence and maturity. Those who voluntarily subscribed to the conditions of mortality were embodied and made subject to the Light of Christ "that lighteth every man that cometh into the world" (D&C 93:2). So that earth life may be a probation, a veil of forgetfulness has been drawn over the former life."—Daniel H. Ludlow, Encyclopedia of Mormonism (New York: Macmillan, 1992), 1180, on Infobases Gospel Library CD-ROM.

Purpose

"One of the major purposes for our mortal existence is to give us the opportunity to learn to walk by faith. A veil of forgetfulness is placed over our minds when we are born into this world so that we will not remember our previous existence with our Father in heaven. Therefore, we must exercise faith in him and in his prophets and his scriptures before we can come to know him as we did before we came to the earth."—Daniel H. Ludlow, A Companion to Your Study of the Doctrine and Covenants, 2 vols. (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1978), 2: n.p., on Infobases Gospel Library CD-ROM.

"A condition of the Plan seems to be that the spirits transferred to this earth shall remain on earth in forgetfulness of an earlier existence. As in a dream, in moments of deep spiritual feeling, we occasionally seem to recall our pre-existent life. A veil has been drawn over the past; and, without the aid of memory, man fights his battle with the world of gross matter. This forgetfulness seems reasonable. The spirit o man accepted the earth-plan in detail, and if he remembered every step that led to this acceptance, and every detail of the Plan itself, there would not be much need for the exercise of will in adhering to it. Left as he is, with little memory to steady him, he must exercise all his power to compel surrounding fources to serve him in searching out the past and in prophesying for the future. By such vigorous exercise of his will he develops a more intimate acquaintanceship with the things of the earth."—John A. Widtsoe, A Rational Theology, 3rd ed. (United States: Kessinger reprint, 1915), 38-39.

"Our present mortal state places a veil of forgetfulness over our minds, allowing us to prove ourselves able to “do all things whatsoever the Lord [our] God shall command” (Abr. 3:25). But even though our present long-range view of eternity is limited, the Lord has not left us without direction. He has provided scriptures and Apostles and prophets through whom he has revealed his plan for our exaltation and eternal life. And we have the Comforter, the Holy Ghost, to guide us."—M. Russell Ballard, "Answers to Life's Questions," Ensign (May 1995), on LDS Church Magazines CD-ROM.

"In our premortal existence we were taught the plan of salvation. We accepted that divine plan, including the privilege and responsibility of becoming daughters, sisters, wives, mothers, and grandmothers. We knew as we came to earth that we would be tested and tried to see if we would do all things whatsoever the Lord would command us. (See Abr. 3:25.) Then a veil of forgetfulness was placed on us so we would be dependent on faith in a Savior to guide us back to our heavenly home."—Joanne B. Doxey, "Remember Him," Ensign (November 1989), on LDS Church Magazines CD-ROM.

Reason

"One of the major reasons why we came upon this physical world with a veil of forgetfulness over our minds is so we can learn for ourselves that God is our Heavenly Father and that Jesus Christ is his Divine Son. The things of God are known only by the Spirit of God. The gaining of a testimony is a great blessing, and every blessing is predicated upon obedience to law. Every person on this earth should be interested in learning the steps and laws that must be followed in order to gain a testimony; the wise person will then live those laws so that the testimony can come."—Daniel H. Ludlow, A Companion to Your Study of the Doctrine and Covenants, 2 vols. (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1978), 2: n.p., on Infobases Gospel Library CD-ROM.


"Each of us comes into this life without a recollection of our former home. There may be several reasons why God imposed this memory block on all of us as we enter mortality, but for now we do not fully understand his reasons. The scriptures offer no explanation. Some significant statements, however, appear in sermons of some of the latter-day seers. By their seeric gift to perceive hidden truths, these prophets assist us in discerning more clearly the role of the veil in our mortal sojourn."—Brent L. Top, The Life Before (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1988), n. p., on Infobases Gospel Library CD-ROM.

"Although your spirit had a veil of forgetfulness placed over it at the time of your birth into mortality, it retained its power to remember all that happens—precisely recording each event of life."—Russell M. Nelson, "Self-Mastery," Ensign (November 1985), on LDS Church Magazines CD-ROM.

Removal

"If the veil of forgetfulness were lifted from our minds temporarily so that we could remember who our former friends and dearest companions were in the premortal world, we undoubtedly would view the needs of our earthly fellowmen in sharper perspective. We would more clearly recognize our neighbors, acquaintances, and even our enemies, as members of our own spirit family. As Latter-day Saints, however, we should not need to have the veil lifted, because we already know by revelation that we are, in truth, brothers and sisters to every inhabitant of the earth."—Brent L. Top, The Life Before (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1988), 195, on Infobases Gospel Library CD-ROM.