That is why we are here on this beautiful planet earth—because God offered us the opportunity, and we chose to accept it. Our mortal life, however, is only temporary and will end with the death of our physical body. But the essence of who you and I are will not be destroyed. Our spirits will continue living and await the Resurrection—a free gift to all by our loving Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. At the Resurrection, our spirits and bodies will be reunited, free from pain and physical imperfections.
Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "O How Great the Plan of Our God!", General Conference, October 2016
My kids ask me sometimes why I watch nature shows on TV a lot. These shows are interesting to me. I seem to learn something new each time.
But as I watch these shows, a couple of things pop into my head.
One, this world is beautiful. Simple, yet so complex. Simple...in that it is self-sustaining. So much so, that there are many things we take for granted. Like the sun. Like gravity. Like even breathing.
Yet so complex with all the cells, elements, diatoms, etc., working harmoniously so that we CAN take those things for granted in the first place.
And....there are many worlds just like this one. Crazy! With all the intricacies, the miniscule workings, the grand events, the sheer beauty!
Two, the second thing that pops into my head is Heavenly Father's Plan. The Plan of Salvation. The Plan of Happiness. This beautiful world was created for us, as His children. To come here and gain a body. Then, we leave this body and move on to the next phase. No more mortal, or corporeal sicknesses, scrapes and bruises, heartaches, irritations like allergies, hunger and thirst, need for sleep and exercise, etc. No more suffering.
We are not aware of the huge, over shadowing, mortal burden, if you will, that our physical bodies heap onto our spirits. Then our body is gone, eventually. It is separated from our spirits. We are free from that burden. Then, at the resurrection, we are united again to those bodies, only, this time, they are glorified, perfect, non-mortal, and non-burdening. We are immortal. Every one of us who has lived, is living, or will yet live on one of these beautiful worlds. Christ gave each of us that gift.
That's what we want. That's why we chose to endure all these hard, mortal things. We have to endure for a bit. But, once we make it through....wow! I can't even fathom the joy, the happiness, the glory.