10,000 Years From Now

Today I got invited to a class reunion for my Book of Mormon class—scheduled 10,000 years from today. I thought to myself, “Only at BYU would a professor plan something that far into the future.” But it also made me wonder about people who don’t believe we will live after death, and what that says about the purpose of life. If we ceased to exist once we died, the only meaning in life is finding pleasure and happiness here and now. Every moment of life becomes driven by selfish desires that benefit ourselves. We exploit others for more money and gain. We give into sexual desires for brief pleasure. Nothing lasts, and because there is no eternal consequence, laws are just man-made and true morals don’t exist.

I believe that way of living will not bring about long-term happiness. I believe that living a life of obedience to God’s commandments will bring us the most joy in this life, and in the life to come. This may mean denying yourself of sins that give you instant pleasure or gratification in order to work towards something that will last for eternity. In Moroni 10:32, Moroni exhorts us to “come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness… that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ.” As we come unto Christ and resist temptations, we will become perfected and complete. Through Jesus Christ and His Atonement, I know I can live with my family and God for eternity in a perfected, resurrected body. Because of Christ, I can receive the gift of eternal life and be able to attend my Book of Mormon reunion 10,000 years from now.