Before I came to Earth...

Have you ever been to a viewing at a funeral and felt that your loved one was not there in that body any more?

Our bodies are vessels that house our spirit...our true self.  We were spirits before we came to earth and we lived with our Heavenly Father.  We were not quite like our Father yet, because He has a body.  This is why we came to earth, to receive a body and learn through our experiences to become like our Father.

God wants each of us to find peace in this life and return to Him and enjoy all the blessings He has to offer.  The way to return to him is through the plan He laid out for us.  Jesus Chris is central to the plan, and His Atonement makes it possible for each of us to enjoy immortality and eternal life.  Satan is against this plan.  God gave us agency, so that we could choose whether to follow Jesus Christ or Satan.

In the Pre-existence we all chose to follow Heavenly Father's plan and come to earth to be tested and tried, and have the agency to choose good or evil.  One third of the hosts of heaven chose to follow Satan's plan, to take away agency and force everyone to choose the right.  There was a war in Heaven and Satan and his followers were cast out.  They continue to fight to take away our agency here on earth by enticing us to sin.

The beauty of the gospel of Jesus Christ is that it pours knowledge into our souls and shows things in their true light.  With that enhanced perspective, we can discern more clearly the choices before us and their consequences.  We can, therefore, make more intelligent use of our agency.  Many of God's children fall into unanticipated traps and unhappiness because they either lack or ignore gospel light.  They are unaware of their options or are confused about the outcomes of their choices.  Ignorance effectively limits their agency.
-Elder D. Todd Christofferson, June 2009 Ensign

Satan wants us to be selfish, hateful, unforgiving, addicted to harmful substances, fighting with each other, and full of sadness.  He wants us to be miserable...because he is.

I hope we can all choose to do things that uplift and nourish those around us and serve God and our fellow men.  Be kind to everyone, and forgive when we are wronged.  He wants us to be happy.  He wants to bless us!