The Lord has outlined the purpose and goal of mortality: "to bring to pass the immortaility and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39). His plan—the plan of salvation—decrees that the Father's children will pass through mortality, where they can exercise their agency and be tested "to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them " (Abraham 3:25).

"The choices the children of God make in the exercise

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf has earned a reputation among members of the Church for using his decades of experience as a pilot to draw gospel metaphors. He has even joked about the frequency of the phenomenon from the pulpit, once noting that a congregation may be asking, "What does this have to do with an airplane?" President Uchtdorf's ability to draw on real-life experience and share easily interpreted analogies has endeared him to Church members

If such a thing were possible, Elder Neal A. Maxwell became even more reflective and tender toward the end of his life. Just before his passing, in July 2004, he completed this final book of thoughts and reflections. In it are three chapters adapted from landmark talks that have not previously appeared in any book—"The Cosmos," "Free to Choose," and "Unto This Very Purpose." Using a style reminiscent of his Whom the Lord Loveth, Elder Maxwell