And if you keep my commandments and endure to the end you shall have eternal life, which is the greatest of all the gifts of God.
D&C 14:7
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
John 3:16
The most sublime of feelings we can experience as children of our Heavenly Father, while dwelling here on earth, is the awareness of His Love. It suffuses our whole being with warmth, transcending sunrays, or the radiance of a warm fireplace on a winter’s evening. Unlike these, which penetrate our body from without, the awareness of the Love of God wells up from within and fills our entire being.
It is that love which motivated our Heavenly Father to present us with His plan of Salvation, His plan of happiness, which included the gifts of agency and repentance as essential elements, to give us the opportunity to accept the atonement of Jesus Christ, and eventually return to our Heavenly parents.
While Eternal Life is the ultimate goal, and thus the greatest gift our Heavenly Father has in store for us, it would not be possible without the Atonement which was voluntarily accomplished by Jesus Christ with unimaginable pain and suffering to pay for the sins, pains and sorrows of all mankind. In turn, the gift of His Son is the evidence of our Heavenly Father’s Love for His children.
As we consider Eternal Life as the goal of our existence, we realize that the quantitative element of that life has no beginning and no end, unlike any concepts associated with our earth life, which exhibit limitations. On the other hand, the qualitative aspects of Eternal Life suggest a life in the presence of our Heavenly Father, in creative harmony with Him. This suggests a level of competence achieved through steps of growth unimaginable in earthly terms. Such growth requires free choices resulting in learning, and failure overcome through repentance. Both, agency and repentance are two of the great gifts of our Father to make the trip to Eternal Life possible.
In Summary, the gift, greatest of all, Eternal Life, which includes life itself, death and the resurrection, made possible through the Atonement of Christ, which includes ability of free choice and repentance to enable ultimate freedom from sin, as well as growth to prepare for life in the presence of God, is made possible by the Love of a Heavenly Father for His spirit offspring, His children, You and Me.
