One of life's greatest questions is, where did we come from? It is a powerful question and one that has been answered by ancient and modern prophets. Mormons--properly referred to as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints--believe that before all people were born on earth, we lived as spirits with God, our Heavenly Father. In God's presence, we learned of His plan to provide each of us an opportunity to come to earth to receive a physical body. The Old Testament prophet Jeremiah learned one truth about the reality of our premortal life when God spoke to him and said, "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee." At birth, all people receive a physical body but, by God's design, are unable to remember their experiences in God's presence before they were born. This allows for life on earth to be a time of testing, an opportunity to learn of God and develop our faith in Him as we prepare to return to Him. Some people have difficulty understanding that their existence before life on earth could be forgotten. The fact that we do not recall the first few years of early childhood does not mean that we didn't exist, that we didn't eat, play, laugh, and interact with family and friends. So it is with our premortal existence, our existence before we were born as mortal beings on earth. In God's presence, we lived, grew, and learned, yet we cannot recall those former activities. Our mortal life has purpose. God Himself stated, "For behold, this is my work and my glory--to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." Our premortal experiences in heaven and our mortal experiences on earth are part of God's plan to bless us with immortality and eternal life. This plan is called the plan of salvation and was presented by Heavenly Father to all of His children in the premortal life. Part of that plan required a Savior to suffer and die for our sins. Jesus Christ willingly accepted that role and was born on earth for that purpose. Another vital aspect of that plan is every person's ability to use their personal agency to choose whether or not they will repent and prepare themselves to return to God. That is the central purpose of each of us being born on this earth, an opportunity to continue our progress of becoming more like our Heavenly Father and receiving all of His blessings. This process began in our premortal life, continues today on earth, and, depending on our willingness to obey God's commandments, will continue after we return to Him. One of God's modern-day prophets has stated, "Nothing is going to startle us more when we pass through the veil to the other side than to realize how well we know our Father and how familiar his face is to us." Where did we come from? Before birth, we lived in the presence of our Heavenly Father. There, and here, we learn of Him and have the opportunity to show faith in Him as we journey back to our heavenly home.

Now you know.