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The Purpose of Mortality Latter-day Saints understand that mortality is a significant stage in our eternal progression. When asked about the purpose of mortality, a Latter-day Saint will often respond with a statement similar to this one: There came a time [in our premortal existence] when . . . we were taught that we would come down here for two purposes: first, to gain bodies, mortal bodies, which would be given us again in immortality, in a resurrected state, as a consequence of an infinite and eternal atoning sacrifice which would be made; and secondly, that we would come here to be examined and tried and tested, to see if we would believe the truth, accept the truth, live the truth, walk in conformity to the mind and will of the Lord, as that was revealed to us by his prophets. 18The classic scriptural statement on the purpose of mortality is in the book of Abraham: 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. (Abraham 3:24–6) These and other passages emphasize that there is a divine purpose to our mortal existence and that the acquisition of a physical body is essential to our progress. However, this idea of mortality as a second stage of development, which follows the opportunity we had for progression in our premortal existence, appears to be totally absent from the Dead Sea Scrolls. While members of the Qumran community seem to have believed in the existence of spirits before mortality, I am not aware of any passage in the scrolls that indicates the community’s view of why spirits come to earth. Furthermore, there are no passages that indicate that receiving a physical, mortal body is a positive step. Again, it could be argued that our information is incomplete, but if the statement by Josephus that the Essenes viewed mortal bodies as "prisons" from which spirits are glad to be released at death is accurate, then it is not surprising that passages contradicting that view are not attested in the scrolls. Similarly, there is no specific indication in the Dead Sea Scrolls of the idea that mortality is a training and testing period. However, as we might expect to find in the records of a community grounded on a particular interpretation of the Hebrew Bible, there is ample evidence that faithfulness to God’s will was extremely important. Consider the opening lines of the Rule of the Community which express in general terms the expected commitment from those who wished to enter this covenant community: In order to seek God with [all the heart and soul] doing what is good and right before him, as he commanded Moses and through all his servants the prophets, and in order to love all that he has chosen, and to hate all that he has rejected, keeping away from all evil and adhering to all good works, and in order to perform truth and righteousness and justice upon the earth; to walk no longer with the stubbornness of a guilty heart, and (no longer with) lustful eyes doing all evil; in order to receive all those who devote themselves to do the statutes of God into the covenant of mercy, to be joined to the Council of God, to walk perfectly before him (according to) all revealed (laws) at their appointed times, and in order to love all the Sons of Light each according to his lot in the Council of God, and to hate all the Sons of Darkness each according to his guilt at the vengeance of God; all those devoting themselves to his truth bringing all their knowledge, and their strength, and their property into the Community of God in order to strengthen their knowledge by the truth of God’s statues, and discipline their strength according to the perfection of his ways, and all their property according to his righteous counsel, and in order not to deviate from any single one of all the commands of God in their times, . . . thus all those who are entering shall cross over into the covenant before God by the Rule of the Community, in order to act according to everything which he has commanded. They must not turn back from following after him because of any terror, dread, affliction, or agony during the reign of Belial. 19Similar thoughts, less extensively developed, are also attested in other sectarian scrolls, such as these in the Thanksgiving Hymns: {I will} look for the spirit [. . .] to be strengthened by the spirit of holiness, to adhere to the truth of your covenant, to serve you in truth, with a perfect heart, to love your [will.] (1QH VIII [16] 14–5)
(1QH VI [14] 17–8) Thus, those who entered into this covenant group at Qumran were expected both to know and do God’s will as it was understood by the community. Sentiments such as "not to sin against you and not to do anything which is evil in your eyes" are attested elsewhere in the Dead Sea Scrolls, suggesting the strict nature of obedience expected in this covenant group. Several passages, especially in the Thanksgiving Hymns, indicate that these people felt the need for divine assistance as they tried to strictly observe their covenant obligations. Consider these representative statements: I give thanks, Lord, because you have sustained me with your strength, you have spread your holy spirit over me so that I will not stumble, and you have fortified me against the wars of wickedness. (1QH XV [7] 6–7)
(1QH XX [12] 33–5) Both the need for obedience to God’s will and the importance of God’s strength to assist one in being faithful to him finds rich expression in the Hebrew Bible and in these and other passages from the Dead Sea Scrolls. We must again note, however, that several passages from the scrolls cited above indicate that these people believed that God had predestined certain people to be faithful and thus to be saved. According to this view, those who were obedient to God’s will had already been designated by God to be so. This perspective alone distances the Latter-day Saint view of the nature and purpose of mortality from what is attested at Qumran. Given the silence in the scrolls concerning the relationship between premortal spirits and God, no indication of a positive attitude about gaining a mortal body, and the concept that obedience is a consequence of predestination and not an indication of faithfully exercised agency, it seems clear that the purpose and significance of mortality as understood by Latter-day Saints is nowhere to be found in the documents from Qumran.
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