You chose to be tested here on Earth, and you completely failed by leaving Mormonism.

[Philo Sofee]

I suppose the test is to see if you can ‘obey’ no matter how absurd, illogical, and damaging the LDS truth claims are to your life. Whew, lad.

- Doc

I like to think the plan is to put you in impossible positions and see how well you will use the best part God gave, your brain. That makes vastly more sense to me. The church has distorted the importance of obedience out of all proportion as being the first law of heaven. It isn't. Love is the great law which all else flows, that is, assuming the head man, Jesus, had a grasp of the situation. I notice they never ever focus on that, or much else of what he actually taught, just on his name. It appears to me that they seem to believe just by invoking his name, it all be like cool man.

[JohnW]

I see Mormons hold two completely contradictory views about the test.

1)failing the test (leaving the church) in this life is a serious sin and breaks the eternal family ties

2)everything can be fixed in the spirit world after death, and nothing in mortality actually matters

Which one is it?

Again, you equate failing the test with leaving the church. If that is the case, then only a minuscule percent of the people on Earth are even tested. That is a terribly designed test. The true test is designed for everyone, regardless of whether they are religious or not. But I think I know what you are trying to get at, so setting that disagreement aside. Those are probably two extremes of a continuum. A little bit of both . . . somewhere in the middle, maybe?

[drumdude]

I see Mormons hold two completely contradictory views about the test.

1)failing the test (leaving the church) in this life is a serious sin and breaks the eternal family ties

2)everything can be fixed in the spirit world after death, and nothing in mortality actually matters

Which one is it?

Again, you equate failing the test with leaving the church. If that is the case, then only a minuscule percent of the people on Earth are even tested. That is a terribly designed test. The true test is designed for everyone, regardless of whether they are religious or not. But I think I know what you are trying to get at, so setting that disagreement aside. Those are probably two extremes of a continuum. A little bit of both . . . somewhere in the middle, maybe?

It’s not a well defined test, is it? It seems like something the church uses to scare people into paying tithing.

Contrast it with another branch of Mormonism, the community of Christ. They have apostles who don’t presume to know much about the test (if there even is one) which seems much more honest to me.

Why do Latter-Day Saints worry so much about this test if it’s really not that important? Why do they interview children, ban parents from weddings, force people to settle tithing every year if this test is so wishy-washy?

[JohnW]

I suppose the test is to see if you can ‘obey’ no matter how absurd, illogical, and damaging the LDS truth claims are to your life. Whew, lad.

- Doc

Mere obedience isn't the test either, although that is part of it. The test of this life is to gain a body and become like God. That is it. The end. The first part is rather easy. The second part is strictly impossible. Neither of those requires religion or that you be part of a particular religion. Anyone, rich or poor, religious or irreligious, can become like God. The irreligious would call it something different. They would say they were trying to become a good person.

In fact, that is much of what this board is all about. All of you are complaining about people who aren't acting like good people and trying to encourage each other to become good people. Like any community, there are those who still have a ways to go and there are those who have come quite far.

[JohnW]

It’s not a well defined test, is it? It seems like something the church uses to scare people into paying tithing.

Contrast it with another branch of Mormonism, the community of Christ. They have apostles who don’t presume to know much about the test (if there even is one) which seems much more honest to me.

Why do Latter-Day Saints worry so much about this test if it’s really not that important? Why do they interview children, ban parents from weddings, force people to settle tithing every year if this test is so wishy-washy?

I think it is a well defined test. See my answer to CamNC4Me above. I also don't think the church is trying to scare people into anything, but I recognize I am biased in that judgement. I think the church invites over and over. I think the church encourages strongly. I think the church tries to help people understand the importance of the situation. I can certainly see how that may be viewed as the act of scaring people into things. I personally think otherwise, but I understand how that may be confused.

[Morley]

The test of this life is to gain a body and become like God. That is it. The end. The first part is rather easy. The second part is strictly impossible. Neither of those requires religion or that you be part of a particular religion. Anyone, rich or poor, religious or irreligious, can become like God.

Bishop JohnW, believing he's created a Mormon kōan: "The test is to become like God. It is impossible to become like God. But anyone can become like God."