Mormon basic belief states that God is our Heavenly Father. He is all-knowing, all-powerful, kind, merciful, and just. He loves us and wants us to be happy. We are all children of God and existed before we were born. Before the world was created we each existed as spirits with individual personalities and lived with God in heaven. As children of God we have the opportunity to become like Him. To accomplish this, God created a plan for us. This is called the Plan of Salvation.
The Plan of Salvation sums up the purpose of existence in Mormon basic belief. In the Pearl of Great Price the Lord says, “For behold, this is my work and my glory–to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39). In order to become like our Heavenly Father, He created the world for our eternal progression. Our mortal life is a probationary state where we received a body and are tested to see if we will obey the commandments of God. At the end of the world all are judged before God and receive a reward according to each person’s faithfulness during mortality. The scriptures speak of three degrees of glory that mankind can inherit. The highest is the Celestial, with glory compared to the sun; the next is Terrestrial, with glory compared to the moon; and the third is Telestial, with glory compared to the stars. While each is a kingdom of glory beyond comprehension, only those of Celestial glory will receive all that God has.
Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior in Mormon basic belief and is the most important part of the Plan of Salvation. As the Only Begotten Son of God, Jesus came to earth and sacrificed Himself for the sins of all people. Only through this atonement can we overcome sin and death and be worthy to return to heaven. While on earth, Jesus established His Church to save all mankind. According to Mormon belief, after the death of the Apostles, the Church fell into apostasy and the authority of God was no longer on the earth.
The Restoration was necessary to again establish the Church of Jesus Christ on earth. Through the prophet Joseph Smith, the Lord restored the authority of God, the priesthood, and organized the Church of Jesus Christ. As a witness of the Restoration, the Lord had Joseph Smith translate new scripture, which became the Book of Mormon, and so the Church became known as Mormonism. With the priesthood restored through Joseph Smith the laws and ordinances of the gospel were also restored. Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, and giving the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands are ordinances necessary for salvation. Higher ordinances were also revealed to Joseph Smith which are performed in Mormon temples. Through these ordinances the highest blessing offered by God may be obtained.