Daria Posted September 16, 2018 Share Posted September 16, 2018 about people before birth? I have several kids in my life who are absolutely convinced that they were in heaven, and then they came down and inhabited the fetus growing in their mom and were born. In none of these cases, was this something that they were taught. So, I'm curious if there are religions that do teach this belief, or where the kids might have picked it up. Or if it's a natural result of a kid's inability to comprehend the idea that maybe there was a time when they didn't exist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawana Posted September 16, 2018 Share Posted September 16, 2018 The Mormons explicitly teach this. That people existed as spirits who then inhabited fetuses, as you stated, and then continue as spirits after the mortal body dies. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selkie Posted September 16, 2018 Share Posted September 16, 2018 When you say they are convinced they were in heaven, do you mean they have memories of being in heaven? Or just that that's where they think they came from? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daria Posted September 16, 2018 Author Share Posted September 16, 2018 2 minutes ago, Selkie said: When you say they are convinced they were in heaven, do you mean they have memories of being in heaven? Or just that that's where they think they came from? No, I don't think they have memories. That's just the story that they tell, and seem to believe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daria Posted September 16, 2018 Author Share Posted September 16, 2018 6 minutes ago, Lawana said: The Mormons explicitly teach this. That people existed as spirits who then inhabited fetuses, as you stated, and then continue as spirits after the mortal body dies. Interesting. Neither of the kids I've talked to the most about this idea are Mormon. One of them is my kid, and I know that at the time he developed this idea, he didn't have any exposure to Mormonism, beyond maybe hearing the temple in our area described as "Mormon". The other kid comes from a Jewish family, and his parents are clear that he didn't learn it from them! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennyD Posted September 16, 2018 Share Posted September 16, 2018 (edited) 18 minutes ago, Daria said: The other kid comes from a Jewish family, and his parents are clear that he didn't learn it from them! Probably not! For one thing, Judaism doesn't have a really robust concept of an afterlife. Furthermore, under Jewish law the fetus is not a full person. Indeed, I'd hazard that neither heaven nor fetuses are particularly frequent topics of conversation in most Jewish educational settings. The Hasidic/mystical tradition does contain teachings about reincarnation, but I would be very surprised if a modern Jewish child who is not Hasidic had been exposed to those. Edited September 16, 2018 by JennyD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted September 16, 2018 Share Posted September 16, 2018 (edited) We lived with Heavenly Father before this life as His spirit children, and we came to earth to gain a body and to learn and grow and eventually return to Him. Long before the Creation of this earth, our Heavenly Father provided a plan that made it possible for us, His children, to become like Him. This plan is called the plan of salvation. Understanding this plan gives us greater purpose in life. Before this mortal life we lived with God as His spirit children, without physical bodies. We chose the Father’s plan, which included the Creation of this earth and provided us the opportunity to come here to gain a body, make choices, develop faith, and accept responsibility for our actions. This allows us to progress beyond what was possible in the spirit world when we lived with God. https://www.mormon.org/beliefs/plan-of-salvation The above is a basic explanation of Mormon beliefs about the our pre-earth life. Sorry for weird formatting, I'm on my phone and have limited editing abilities. I just cut and pasted. Edited September 16, 2018 by maize 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daria Posted September 16, 2018 Author Share Posted September 16, 2018 3 minutes ago, JennyD said: Probably not! For one thing, Judaism doesn't have a really robust concept of an afterlife. Furthermore, under Jewish law the fetus is not a full person. Indeed, I'd hazard that neither heaven nor fetuses are particularly frequent topics of conversation in most Jewish educational settings. The Hasidic/mystical tradition does contain teachings about reincarnation, but I would be very surprised if a modern Jewish child who is not Hasidic had been exposed to those. We were looking at pictures of embryos and fetuses, and he was pretty clear that he was never a "blob" or an "alien looking thing". He said he didn't leave heaven until "it" looked like a person. Again, I know that's not what Judaism teaches. Just saying what I was told today. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennyD Posted September 16, 2018 Share Posted September 16, 2018 7 minutes ago, Daria said: We were looking at pictures of embryos and fetuses, and he was pretty clear that he was never a "blob" or an "alien looking thing". Well, in fairness, it is a pretty weird concept! I could certainly see why a kid would reject it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scholastica Posted September 16, 2018 Share Posted September 16, 2018 People don't exist before conception in our faith tradition. God creates the soul and places it in the person at the moment of conception. Thus, we refer to parents as co-creators with God. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daria Posted September 16, 2018 Author Share Posted September 16, 2018 Just now, scholastica said: People don't exist before conception in our faith tradition. God creates the soul and places it in the person at the moment of conception. Thus, we refer to parents as co-creators with God. Which faith tradition? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scholastica Posted September 16, 2018 Share Posted September 16, 2018 Just now, Daria said: Which faith tradition? Roman Catholic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted September 16, 2018 Share Posted September 16, 2018 I am a Latter-day Saint. aka: Mormon's. we believe we (everyone who ever lived on earth) lived in Heaven before we were born. That we knew Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, and chose to follow Him. That we would come to earth, forgetting everything we knew - so we would be able to chose to follow Jesus based upon faith. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted September 16, 2018 Share Posted September 16, 2018 3 hours ago, Daria said: Interesting. Neither of the kids I've talked to the most about this idea are Mormon. One of them is my kid, and I know that at the time he developed this idea, he didn't have any exposure to Mormonism, beyond maybe hearing the temple in our area described as "Mormon". The other kid comes from a Jewish family, and his parents are clear that he didn't learn it from them! I have memories of leaving Heaven and entering my body. (and frankly - I felt gipped.) It took my a long time to understand what they meant. I was not raised LDS, and not actually Christian- christmas and easter were very secular in my home growing up - my parents weren't very religious/eventually agnostic. just as there are people who have reported 'near-death experiences', there are people who have reported 'before birth experiences'. . . . One that stuck out was reported by the mother of a four-year old child. one day, the child was sucking her thumb - pulled it out of her mouth and said "I love you mommy. I love you so much, I asked Jesus if you could be my mommy". - . . . they were Jewish. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted September 16, 2018 Share Posted September 16, 2018 I remember reading a book by a midwife over a decade ago; she had a few stories of children talking about pre-birth spirits. One was her son, who told her very matter of factly how each woman had spirits circling around her who were her potential children. If they did not end up being born to that mother they would go to someone else. The family was not, as far as I recall, religious. A friend of mine who experienced a miscarriage had a very strong impression with a later pregnancy that this was the same spirit being given another opportunity to join her family. I have had a distinct impression with every one of my children that there was a spirit who was waiting to come. It never comes until shortly before I get pregnant, even with my first when we had been trying for a year with no success. Once that impression came I was pregnant within a month. This is why I am uncertain that I am done having children; I like the idea of no more pregnancies and of moving on from the baby phase of life--but if the time comes that another child communicates they are ready to join my family I am not going to say no. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausmumof3 Posted September 16, 2018 Share Posted September 16, 2018 Ours teaches that existence begins at birth except that we are known by God - in the sense of him knowing what and when and how we’ll be but not in the sense of having any actual being. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted September 16, 2018 Share Posted September 16, 2018 I'm a Christian. At least in my church, we don't believe we existed before our lives on earth, but rather emerged at some point after conception. (A version of emergence theory I suppose.) This topic reminds me of the Shirley Temple movie "The Blue Bird" -- where children live in a Heaven-like place before being placed on Earth. Sorry, I don't mean to trivialize the topic! It was actually really interesting to me to think about it in that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted September 16, 2018 Share Posted September 16, 2018 Hmm, I don't think I've heard that theory from recent generations. I seem to recall it being a teaching of some Christian group that babies used to be angels or some such. Or maybe that was just a kiddy story that was not an actual belief of the adults. I do believe they are considered to have a soul before they are born. Hence baptizing premature babies in danger of dying shortly after birth. My sister came up with the theory that a baby starts as an amalgamation of what the mother eats. I don't remember what my kids told me about how they thought babies started when they were little. Nor do I remember what I used to think as a wee kid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted September 16, 2018 Share Posted September 16, 2018 But then again, there is the verse, "before I formed you in the womb I knew you ...." I guess I should ask what our church thinks that means. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daria Posted September 16, 2018 Author Share Posted September 16, 2018 14 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said: Ours teaches that existence begins at birth except that we are known by God - in the sense of him knowing what and when and how we’ll be but not in the sense of having any actual being. Which religion? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momto6inIN Posted September 16, 2018 Share Posted September 16, 2018 12 minutes ago, SKL said: But then again, there is the verse, "before I formed you in the womb I knew you ...." I guess I should ask what our church thinks that means. I always told my kids (when they are looking at scrapbooks of times before they were conceived asking where they are) that "they were in God's mind". So yes He knew you and planned for you but you didn't really exist yet except for in His mind. I'm Christian but I have no idea if that's what my religion would teach or not ? I just didn't want them to think that they used to be angels. For some reason that misconception really bugs me lol 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausmumof3 Posted September 16, 2018 Share Posted September 16, 2018 (edited) edited Edited September 16, 2018 by Ausmumof3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted September 16, 2018 Share Posted September 16, 2018 I have ONLY ever heard this from the LDS. I haven't heard of any other ideology that believes this, not saying it doesn't exist, I just haven't heard of it. I am a Christian and do not believe we pre-existed. I do believe we will post-exist! (is that a word?) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted September 16, 2018 Share Posted September 16, 2018 1 hour ago, SKL said: But then again, there is the verse, "before I formed you in the womb I knew you ...." I guess I should ask what our church thinks that means. I have always been taught that God is all knowing, past, present, future, he is omnipotent. He knew you would be born, because he is all knowing. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted September 17, 2018 Share Posted September 17, 2018 Some Indigenous stories talk of child-spirits residing in a well before their mother dreams them into their womb. I've had dreams of dead relatives talking about reincarnation. Neither of them had any belief in it when they were alive, as far as I know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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