Lessons of 2026
Lesson No. Three

The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and Pre-Mortality

The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary is located in Louisville Kentucky and is 167 years old having been founded in 1859. It is one of the world’s largest theological seminaries, with a total enrollment of more than 5,000 students from more than 70 nations.

When I became the president of the Kentucky Louisville Mission I learned that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Mormons to this Seminary, along with the Jehovah’s Witnesses, Seventh Day Adventist, and the Christian Scientists were invited every year to send a representative to speak during a course the Seminary sponsored entitled Heretics and Cults.

The first year I was the mission president the stake mission leader, who was well known in the community, wanted to go and try to make friends. It did not go well. The second year my Assistants went and tried to teach a First Discussion. The Seminarians knew the Joseph Smith History, and they challenged my assistants on every point.

During our third and last year as mission president I decided to go myself. Southern Baptists consider the Bible to be the only authoritative source of the word of God. The Seminary’s First Fundamental Principle is: “The Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments were given by inspiration of God, and are the only sufficient, certain and authoritative rule of all saving knowledge, faith and obedience.”

Bring all the truth you have and see if we can add to it. Knowing that the Bible has only a few vague references to pre-mortality I decided to make my topic our pre-mortal existence. I began by saying there are very many righteous Baptists who desire to know truth. Our Church invites you to bring all the truth you have and see if we can add to it. The following are examples:

The pre-mortal calling of prophets. I asked them to explain Jeremiah 1:5: “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” They understood that God ordained Jeremiah to be a prophet before he was born.

I then read: “Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones; And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born” (Abraham 3:22-24).

I explained that in the pre-mortal existence God knew Abraham, Jeremiah, and all the prophets, including latter day prophets, and they were all among the noble and great spirit sons of God. But even more than just prophets we believe that all men who hold the priesthood were ordained to their ministry in pre-mortality.

A preparatory redemption. I asked if any of them had thought of or heard about “a preparatory redemption. None had. I explained that life in the premortal spirit world was in many ways like our life on the earth. In the pre-mortal existence everyone began equal and “on the same standing” (Alma 13:5). When we had matured to a certain point it was time to leave our celestial home with our Heavenly Parents, and continue our spiritual growth in a premortal spirit world which our Father had prepared for this very purpose.

There, living away from our celestial home, we experienced greater opposition, our agency increased, and Lucifer promoted sin and rebellion. However, “on account of [our] exceeding faith and good works…being left to choose good or evil; therefore having chosen good, and exercising exceeding great faith, are called with a holy calling, yea, with that holy calling which was prepared with, and according to, a preparatory redemption…through the atonement of the Only Begotten Son” (Alma 13:3-5), emphasis added). Through a preparatory redemption everyone who was born on earth “became again, in their infant state, innocent before God” (D&C 93:38).

The first estate. I then asked the seminarians to tell me what was meant by the “first estate” referred to in Jude 1:6. There was silence. I then read:

“And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell; And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them;

“And they who keep their first estate shall be added upon; and they who keep not their first estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate; and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their heads for ever and ever.

“And the Lord said: Whom shall I send? And one answered like unto the Son of Man: Here am I, send me. And another answered and said: Here am I, send me. And the Lord said: I will send the first. And the second was angry, and kept not his first estate; and, at that day, many followed after him” (Abraham 3:25-28). I explained that the first estate was our pre-mortal existence, and it was Satan and his followers who kept not their first estate. Those who keep their second estate (mortality) will inherit eternal life.

The war in heaven was about agency and power. They had a basic understanding of Revelation 12:7-9: “And there was a war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”

I then read: “And I, the Lord God, spake unto Moses, saying: That Satan, whom thou hast commanded in the name of mine Only Begotten, is the same which was from the beginning, and he came before me, saying—Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor.

“But, behold, my Beloved Son, which was my Beloved and chosen from the beginning, said unto me—Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever.

“Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down; (emphasis added)

“And he became Satan, yea, even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not harken unto my voice” (Moses 4:1-4).

Grace. The Seminary’s Fifth Fundamental Law is: “Election is God’s eternal choice of some persons unto everlasting life-not because of foreseen merit in them, but of His mere mercy in Christ-in consequence of which choice they are called, justified and glorified”.

I explained we believe in grace, but there is more to it. In the Book of Mormon Nephi explained: “For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do” (2 Nephi 25:23).

“All we can do” refers to our use of agency. I explained that having agency, which is the ability and freedom to choose good or evil, makes us accountable for our choices and will result in certain and sure consequences. While we can choose good or evil we cannot chose the consequences of our choices. Choosing good will inevitably bring happiness, joy, light and eternal life. Choosing evil will inevitably bring misery, darkness and damnation.

I invited them to keep the truths they already have, but to add to their truth by considering the contributions of Joseph Smith, particularly the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon was first published in March 1830 when Joseph Smith was 25 years old. Three months latter Joseph began an inspired translation of the Bible known as the Joseph Smith Translation (JST) One of the main parts of the JST is the Book of Moses where much of our knowledge of the pre-mortal existence is found. I testified that if they studied the Book of Mormon and then if they asked God with a sincere heart and real intent He would manifest the truth of it by the power of the Holy Ghost.

I don’t know if any of the seminarians ever put the Book of Mormon to this test, but I do know that their mouths were shut because they were told things that they had not heard and now must consider. (See 3 Nephi 21:8).

Testimony. My experience at the Southern Baptist Seminary brought the Holy Spirit into my life, and I rejoiced for many days. Now, over 30 years later, the memory of how the Lord supported me at that time still brings me great joy.

Released on January 25th. 2026.