The Life Before
By Brent L. Top
Synopsis: Written by a BYU professor noted for his research regarding the teachings of the prophets on matters relating to the spirit world, this book is a study of the preexistence based on the scriptures and the teachings of the prophets.
Strong Points: This book is well-researched and very insightful. It covers the topic well in a systematic fashion, handling all of the major questions people would have about the world before this one. It also uses the scriptures effectively and pulls in teachings of various prophets to help round out the picture for the reader. If you are looking for an illuminating study about the pre-earth life, this is an excellent choice.
Weak Points: Generally, the book is excellent and I agree with the various conclusions of the author. He did, however, make a strange claim that, “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” (p. 172). I thought the answer to this is easily findable within the scriptures, for instance, in Alma 12:24, or any of the scriptures that speak about life as a probationary state or a test.
Interesting: 4.5/5
Must Read: 3/5
Overall: 4/5
Selected Quote: “Surely the doctrine of man’s premortal relationship to God was among the ‘plain and precious’ doctrines that were lost from the scriptures during the dark period of apostasy that prevailed during the first few centuries after Christ. The disappearance from canon of the doctrine of premortal life was virtually completed by A.D. 543 when the pop’s council, convened by Justinian, labeled such teaching as heresy. Despite the adversary’s efforts, as seen by Nephi, to remove such ‘plain and precious’ teachings from the Bible, there remain glimpses of man’s premortal role in both the Old and New Testaments. While not understood by much of the world and misinterpreted by most of Christianity, these scanty scriptural glimpses, when coupled with modern revelation, provide valuable insight into man’s spiritual origin.” (p. 342).
“As Elder Pratt has pointed out, the revelations teach that the spirits of mankind resemble their respective earthly bodies generally rather than expressly. As a result, differences among peoples on earth such as racial distinctions, genetic imperfections, and inherited physical characteristics may not be due to any differences in the spirits. President David O. McKay said, in reference to the racial distinctions among the peoples of the earth, ‘There were no national distinctions among those [premortal] spirits such as Americans, Europeans, Asiatics, Australians, etc.’ He further stated that those distinctions came about only after these spirits entered their earthly existence. Similarly, the children in a family who resemble each other or a parent closely do so because of the natural, biological laws of genetics rather than by virtue of some premortal relationship, choice, or covenant. However, it must be emphasized that every person’s spirit was created literally in the image of God and that the form and likeness of that spirit is due to divine parentage and ‘spiritual genetics.’” (p. 66).