The Sanctity of Life
Mortal life is of ultimate importance in God's eternal plan; it is sacred and holy. Without the opportunity for us to live mortally on this earth, we cannot receive our physical bodies, experience opposition and testing to progress and fulfill our divine destiny to become like God.
Because Satan and his followers cannot receive mortal bodies or experience mortal life to progress and become like God, they try to devalue and end our lives and progress on this earth. They also try to convince us that creating life and a family is undesirable and a barrier to our success and happiness. As a result, children conceived inside and outside of marriage today, are often unwanted or seen as a burden.
Additionally, one of Satan's greatest lies is that we can have sexual relations inside or outside of marriage and easily and conveniently get rid of the lives we have created without any consequences. Aborting a fetus or unborn child is ending a life; it is murder. Tragically, there have been over 1.5 billion lives terminated through abortion just in the last 50 years. We can choose to terminate a life, but we do not get rid of the consequences of that sin and its effects on our soul. Many abortion providers and the women who have chosen to end their pregnancies suffer serious emotional guilt, trauma, and spiritual pain as a consequence of choosing to end or take a life, and they will be accountable to God for their choices and actions. Thankfully, God has mercifully provided a Savior, Jesus Christ, who has suffered and paid for our sins, so that we can be forgiven and redeemed if we repent and have faith in Him.
Our families were organized in our pre-mortal existence. We made sacred covenants with each other and with God to fulfill our family responsibilities when we came to this earth. We agreed to create lives for our children and help them progress and reach their full potential here on earth. When we choose to not give them life, we deny our heavenly inheritance and God justly and mercifully gives them to other families who are willing to receive them, so they can still have the opportunity to receive a mortal body and experience their own earthly probation.
Sadly, many today are self-centered and have their priorities on the things of this world and the present, rather than the things of God and eternity. Education, careers, hobbies, travel and entertainment often come far before marriage and creating a family. Many spend most of their life focused on things that have no lasting value or eternal worth. Life becomes meaningless and empty when we focus only on the things of this world, our own will and pleasure. When we refuse to create and sustain lives, we go against God's Plan for us to become like Him; we "dam" or stop ourselves and others from progressing.
It is through creating the mortal lives of our posterity that we experience a purposeful and joyful life, now and throughout eternity. Though parenting requires much responsibility and sacrifice, it is central to the Creator's plan for the destiny of His children, and it is necessary for us to become like Him. What could be of greater value and purpose than to create lives and nurture them to become all that they were created to be?
God's work on this earth is not complete until every single one of His children has had the opportunity to receive their body and have the experience or life here that they need in order to progress. Another consequence of refusing to give children a life or to end the lives of those that are conceived is that we as a collective society delay the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, for He cannot return until God's work is finished.
Another way we devalue the sanctity of human life is through euthanasia; the ending of a life prematurely. Though it may seem merciful and right to spare someone from the pain and suffering of a debilitating disease or old age, it is still murder. God has commanded us, "Thou shalt not kill". He values mortal life because it is the testing and training ground that is necessary for each of us to become as He is. He went through the same experience eons ago. Just as we experience difficult tests and trials in our lives that stretch, shape and refine us, so did He. It was part of His eternal progression as well. Just as mortal parents desire their children to grow and progress to become like themselves, so do our heavenly parents. They have designed a perfect plan for each one of us to progress to become like them. Every test and trial is designed for our growth and progression toward godliness. When we choose to end our own life or the life of others, we interfere with God's plan for us and deprive ourselves and others of the experiences that are necessary for us to progress and become like our heavenly parents.