Why were we created? The Bible is very clear as to why God created man, so Mormonism as well as Jehovah's Witnesses, both claiming to be Christian and correct, should agree with what Christianity teaches about this question. Right? Weeeeeell let's just take a look and see. Shall we?
1. We were created in the image of God to glorify Him.
. . . I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.2. We were created for His pleasure.
–Isaiah 43:7
Thou are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour, and power: for3. We were made for fellowship/relationship with God and with others.
Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were
created.
–Revelation 4:11
"...our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.
-1John 1:3
And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone, I will make a helper for him . . . And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day . . . And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where are thou?
–Genesis 2:18; 3:8 and 94. We were made to rule over and take care of His creation.
And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
–Genesis 1:26
Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of Thy hands; Thou hast put all things under his feet: All sheep and oxen, yea and the beasts of the field; The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.It’s obvious as we read the above verses that we were created for God's Glory. Numbers 2 -4 all bring glory to God. Now that we have established a base line on which to build our answer, let's look at what Mormonism teaches about this subject.
—Psalm 8:6-8
Latter-day revelation teaches the eternal nature of spirits, that all things (including us) were first created spiritually, before physically:
The plan of the parent gods goes like this: Life did not begin here on earth. You lived before you were born you will live on in the spirit world after your mortal life is ended.” “We all once lived in the presence of God the eternal father. In the world before your were a spirit child of his. With this divine parentage, your destiny, through righteous living, is to become like your Father in Heaven and return to his presence” (The Purpose of Life Pamphlet handed out at the Temple on BYU campus).
By golly I think we have something here. "...your destiny, through righteous living, is to become like your Father in Heaven...". Ok, I think we have an answer. We were created to become gods. Hmm.
Now, as we already know, The Bible teaches that we were created to glorify God, not become gods. Soooo, that is strike number one. Also it is not through "righteous living" that we "become like our Father" or more accurately, "Christ like" it is through the inputation of Jesus' righteousness that we are saved and become like him. Strike two. Strike three for Mormonism is that not one verse in their Book of Mormon tells us why we were created. You will only find such things in their other literature. Well, it is very difficult to reconcile Mormonism to Christianity if they can't even agree as to why we are here. So let us now take a look at what the Jehovah's Witnesses say about it.
Jehovah's Witnesses say that Jehovah, God created mankind as an expression of his love—he wanted to share life and happiness with humans. They go on to say, God experienced great joy in fashioning physical creations of all kinds, so that man would be surrounded by beauty and plenty. Above all, humans were to have a meaningful relationship with their Creator, knowing him and communicating with him. They were created to live forever under perfect, peaceful conditions.—Genesis 3:8, 9; Psalm 37:11, 29."For I, the Lord God, created all things, of which I have spoken, spiritually, before they were naturally upon the face of the earth.... And I, the Lord God, had created all the children of men; and not yet a man to till the ground; for in heaven created I them" Moses 3:5Well, perhaps it was to "till the ground" after we became "physical" beings. Let's keep looking.
The plan of the parent gods goes like this: Life did not begin here on earth. You lived before you were born you will live on in the spirit world after your mortal life is ended.” “We all once lived in the presence of God the eternal father. In the world before your were a spirit child of his. With this divine parentage, your destiny, through righteous living, is to become like your Father in Heaven and return to his presence” (The Purpose of Life Pamphlet handed out at the Temple on BYU campus).
By golly I think we have something here. "...your destiny, through righteous living, is to become like your Father in Heaven...". Ok, I think we have an answer. We were created to become gods. Hmm.
Now, as we already know, The Bible teaches that we were created to glorify God, not become gods. Soooo, that is strike number one. Also it is not through "righteous living" that we "become like our Father" or more accurately, "Christ like" it is through the inputation of Jesus' righteousness that we are saved and become like him. Strike two. Strike three for Mormonism is that not one verse in their Book of Mormon tells us why we were created. You will only find such things in their other literature. Well, it is very difficult to reconcile Mormonism to Christianity if they can't even agree as to why we are here. So let us now take a look at what the Jehovah's Witnesses say about it.
Jehovah also assigned humans fulfilling and meaningful work to do. God told the first humans: “Be fruitful and become many and fill the earth and subdue it, and have in subjection the fish of the sea and the flying creatures of the heavens and every living creature that is moving upon the earth.” Genesis 1:28
Wow, not one mention of the "Glorification of God". Hmm. What else do they have to say? Well, I'll tell you. Nothing! Their New World Translation apes the Bible, but unfortunately it has been "translated" so poorly (see my previous blog) it is not trustworthy. Even so, I have been unable to find a Jehovah's Witnesses web site or any writings (other than what was listed in this blog) out side their NWT that discusses why we were created. It is my contention that if we don't even know why we were created, then it is impossible to know what God's plans are for us is.
Christianity teaches that we were created to glorify God. And how do we do that? By putting our trust and faith in Jesus Christ and living according to his will. This pleases the Lord and glorifies HIM! Well, it seems quite obvious that Mormonism and Jehovah's Witnesses do not agree with Christianity on the subject of "Why Were We Created". Your prayers for them are needed and appreciated.
May the truth of the Lord be your goal.
Ernest Eulenfeld