Before coming to this life we had a choice to make, that choice involved an eternal plan and two brothers. One supported the eternal plan, respecting agency and offering himself a sacrifice, the other brother desired the glory the plan offered without any of the restrictions/sacrifices the plan required. In order to progress we had a choice to make, did we choose the responsibility of a body and mindful agency or for a myriad of reasons opt out and follow Satan. Now some chose to follow the Savior because they had taken the time to get to know Him, to hear His teachings and develop faith that He would fulfill the Atonement on our behalf. Some chose to follow the Savior because we had spent time with our Father in Heaven, we had learned to see our potential and realize that we had gone as far as we could without a body and we trusted Father when He told us we could trust Christ our elder brother. I sometimes wonder if others, like Cain, saw that they would have more ability to gain power in evil with a body than without, so they chose to come to this life wanting power that Satan could never have because they had a body and he did not. And perhaps others chose to come to earth because they were just trying to hedge their bet, they knew they were stuck if they stayed, ultimately doomed if they followed Satan and figured their best bet was to at least keep their first estate and take a try at their second estate.
For as we know from the Book of Abraham and the Doctrine and Covenants those who chose to come to this mortal life kept their first estate and are now working to keep their second estate. Thus it would seem to follow that those who choose to live this life with faith, who seek greater light and knowledge and desire to progress will then keep their second estate and receive an as of yet not completely explained third estate. Yet I would guess that as precious and necessary as keeping our first estate it is even more precious, important and necessary to keep our second estate.
Before receiving the Abrahamic Covenant Abram said that:
"...finding there was greater happiness and peace and rest for me, I sought for the blessings of the fathers, and the right where unto I should be ordained to administer the same; having been myself
a follower of righteousness, desiring also to be one who possessed great knowledge, and to be a greater follower of righteousness, and to possess a greater knowledge, and to be a father of many nations, a prince of peace, and desiring to receive instructions, and to keep the commandments of God, I became a rightful heir, a High Priest, holding the right belonging to the fathers." (Abr 1:2)
It isn't enough to just hedge our bets anymore, perhaps we did choose to come to this life because it seemed like a better alternative than following Satan or damming our progression by staying. Yet in making that choice we leveled up, we chose to progress and that means to keep moving forward we need to continue leveling up.
When Abraham went seeking the blessings of the fathers he had already been righteous, Jehovah came to stop the wicked priests of Elkenah from killing him, this would tell me that he was already firm in his testimony, yet that wasn't enough for him, he desired, not only did he want the blessings of the fathers, he wanted them to such a degree that he could offer them to others to bless their lives. He sought to be a greater follower of righteousness, to receive greater knowledge, to become like Christ as a prince of peace and to receive greater instruction. Abram who later became Abraham desired to be all that the Lord knew he could be. The Lord promised him posterity, then offered Abraham the opportunity to test his faith by waiting 25 years to fulfill that promise with a covenant son. As children of Israel, literal or adopted we are heirs to Abraham, not only to the responsibilities (Abraham spent much of his life sharing the gospel, he and Sarah spent time with the patriarchs, yet ultimately had to leave them so that they could share the gospel) and blessings of eternal increase (literally godhood D&C 132) but also heir to his example. We are called to be more, to seek greater light and knowledge, to seek to see the Savior, to seek the faith to one day prepare for that interview. The Lord will call us in many different ways and directions, we like Abraham must follow where He leads if we truly seek to find and be prepared for our third estate. There is soon coming a day when hedging our bets won't be enough, there is a greater world before us than we can even imagine, but our Savior must be our friend and companion long before that world arrives or we might find ourselves unprepared for all He desires us to receive. He will call us along many roads and to many places as He called Abraham. We could do much worse than following the example of our father Abraham.
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