As a believer, I loved the idea that this life was an opportunity to grow, and that this was the reason for the opposition we experience on earth.
As the Book of Abraham puts it:
“…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.”
I loved the perspective that this life is like a school that makes it possible for us to grow up to become like our Heavenly Parents.
As Elder Maxwell put it, “Mortality without the dimension of temptation or trial would not be a full proving; it would be a school with soft credits and no hard courses.”
But the numbers tell a different story.
It’s estimated that there have been 117 billion people born on planet Earth. Most estimates say the total number of Mormons that have ever lived is somewhere around 25 million. Some stretch it to 40 million. Let’s allow for that. Or, even better, let’s assume that there were more people who had the gospel during periods of restoration and more than double it to say 100 million. That is still less than 1% of the total people ever born—0.08%, to be exact.
As a believer, I realized the number was small, but I had no perspective on it.
I once heard Elder Scott say in a conference talk that we (Latter-day Saints) had the best chance of returning home to live with our Heavenly Father.
Of course, I believed this implicitly, but hearing it spoken made me pause. Why is there so little opportunity for Gods children, in his perfect plan, to have the gospel if having it is such an important factor? Something seemed wrong.
But it gets worse.
Of the 117 billion people who were born throughout history, only an estimated 50–70 billion have lived past eight years old. That means half of the people who have ever been born never made it to the age of accountability and go straight to the Celestial Kingdom. This is designed to be a comforting part of the gospel, but it also strikes me as a glaring problem.
And it gets even bigger.
It’s estimated that between 70 and 200 billion never even made it that far. They were either stillborn, died in utero, or were aborted. That would mean, potentially, that for as many people born on the earth, there are just as many of God’s children who not only get “a school with soft credits and no hard courses,” but who get no courses at all.
I still find some beauty in these ideas even though they don’t work.
But I no longer live for another world. In fact I would argue that the biggest problem with the plan is not the numbers; it’s the idea that a fullness of joy belongs in the next life, not this one, and that the way to achieve it is through obedience.
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