Where Were You? Part 5

Blogger's Note:
This is a speculative perspective on doctrine, and it should not be taken as official doctrine, whether of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, or of any other church.  It is based on doctrine of the LDS church, but it is the musings of a single person put into a fictional situation, and so, we can not be sure how accurate this will be as to how these situations will actually happen. 
For more information, read the scriptures, such as The Holy Bible, The Book of Mormon, and refer to published books from the LDS church, such as Gospel Principles, Preach My Gospel, and the Ensigns, and you can find more information at Mormon.org
Pretty much, this is my personal fictionalized take on it, and I am not an official representative of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and use some common sense as to this being a fictionalized piece of literature.



And We Come to the End of Our Knowledge...

You have lived your life, died, and then lived again. You have your body, and you will never be separated from it again. It is so much nicer than when you first had it, no more scrapes, bruises, scars, aches, pains, or illnesses, and you are in your prime.

Christ has come, and you have seen the fulfillments of scripture. The Millennium comes, and for a thousand years, it is the most amazing time of peace.

Yet, it passes in the blink of an eye, and it is now time for judgement day. It is done with incredible order that you recognize as your Heavenly Father's work. His house is a house of order. When it comes to be your turn, you are surprised when the person you come before is Jesus Christ, your brother. You were sure it would have been Heavenly Father, and you ask Him why that is.

His voice is kind and endearing as he tells you, "I have paid for you already. I have fulfilled the demands of justice, so I and my Father may give you mercy. You are mine."

You feel His love emanating around you, and you discuss your life with Him. He knows all about you--he already went through everything you went through--but He listens to you sincerely. As the interview comes to a close, He tells you about the many mansions of His father's kingdom, and He talks about who will be in each one.

"The Telestial," He starts, "is a place of glory and there will be some of your siblings there. They are just like the people you knew on Earth, and it will be more glorious than Earth, with a brightness of the stars in the night sky. Those who will go there will feel comfortable with each other. They lived the same sort of lives, though they were not as valiant nor as righteous as they should have been," he gives a smile. "Do you feel worthy to go to that kingdom? To have a mansion there?"

Your eyes widen. "A place of glory?" You think for a moment. "I wasn't as good as I should have been. Yes, I feel like I should be there."

"What about the Terrestrial?" He asks. "It is even more glorious than the Telestial, as bright as a full moon in the sky.  You can even see it in the light of day. Many good people will be there, and they will enjoy their lives with those they knew from Earth and their dear friends they knew from before. They are good people, but they were not valiant in their testimonies or in following My example. Do you feel worthy to go to the Terrestrial kingdom?"

"I think I'm a good person," you say, "and I tried to have a testimony."

He chuckles. "There is the Highest kingdom, where our Father lives. Did you love me and keep my commandments?"

"I tried, but I fell short a lot. I'm not perfect."

"You did enough," He says, pulling you into an embrace. "I make up the difference. You are worthy of the Celestial Kingdom. You will be with your family forever. You will be with our Father and I. Your children, your parents, your dear spouse, they are worthy as well. Your family is eternal. Well done, my faithful servant."

He shows you to a glorious place, brighter, whiter, more peaceful, and more joyful than you could have even imagined.  You see your family there, people you didn't think you would see ever again after your life on Earth.  You and your family rejoice at fulfilling Heavenly Father's plan, and you go with them to meet with your Heavenly Father, to honor and worship and hug your Father that you hadn't even known you had missed, but now, you couldn't imagine your life without. 

You notice that there are people missing, and you search for them, and then you learned that they chose lower mansions.  You go and visit, and as you speak with them, you learn of how they were so sad in Heavenly Father's presence, and how they just felt as if they did not belong there with the way they lived their lives, how they felt awful and dirty, but Heavenly Father knew that, and after they had come to Him, He directed them to their own glorious homes, their amazing rewards. 

You visited the Terrestrial kingdom on occasion, and even though it took a moment to adjust from the brightness of being in Heavenly Father's presence, you were so in awe of its beauty.  You were so happy for your friends having a place where they would be content.

You only visited the Telestial Kingdom once, and you didn't like it.  It was like going from a bright afternoon to inside a house with all the shades pulled.  It wasn't bad at all, but you noticed that Heavenly Father wasn't there.  It was a magnificent place.  You tried to compare it back to what your favorite places on Earth were, but your times on Earth was so much less fulfilling than what this level of Heaven offered.  This place was beyond the words you knew when you were on Earth.  You wouldn't have been able to describe it to yourself when you were a mortal human being. 

As you surveyed what occurred throughout your journey, back home in the Celestial with your family, you were filled with the love of Heavenly Father, reassuring you that you are His child, and that all of the plan was for you.  You were amazed at how big the problems of life were to you then as you rejoiced in glory now.  You now know why so many things had to happen, why others had to go through such awful things. 

Echoes of words you heard in mortality come back to you.  "Salvation is not a cheap experience."  Christ paid the price for you.  You went through those difficult challenges to rub off the rough spots and to strengthen the weak things. 

You smile at the thought of yourself back in mortality, and you whisper, "You just wait.  You just wait."

Where Were You? Part 4

Blogger's Note:
From this point on, this is a speculative perspective on doctrine, and it should not be taken as official doctrine, whether of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, or of any other church.  It is based on doctrine of the LDS church, but it is the musings of a single person put into a fictional situation, and so, we can not be sure how accurate this will be as to how these situations will actually happen. For more information, read the scriptures and refer to published books from the LDS church, such as Gospel Principles, Preach My Gospel, and the Ensigns, and you can find more information at Mormon.org
Pretty much, this is my personal fictionalized take on it, and I am not an official representative of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and use some common sense.



But Wait! There's More!

You are now dead. D-E-D dead. Your spirit and your body are separated. It is so weird without your body. You're still you, but you don't have the same feelings or abilities as you had when you were in your body.

When you first came into the spirit world, you were greeted by family and friends and people you knew on Earth. They explained things to you, how life was now that you're dead, things you'd have to know. They show you around the Spirit World.

The place you're in is beautiful and wonderful, and you ask if it's Heaven.

"Yes," a dear friend answers. "This is paradise, Heaven, limbo, whatever you would like to call it. But this isn't it, this isn't all there is. This is just a waiting place and a resting place."

As the tour continues, you and your guides come to bridges that go from the wonderful lit world into a dark sad place.

"Hell?" You ask.

"Yes and no." The cryptic answer comes.

"These are the bridges Jesus Christ made when He died and came here," a grandparent told you. "These lead to Spirit Prison, where those who don't know about Christ and the gospel, or those who were disobedient in life go. It is a sad place, but our job is to go to those in spirit prison and teach them."

A friend who died many years before you gave a toothy grin. "I've been back and forth teaching a lot. I've helped many people come across the bridges. You must see the light in their eyes when they recognize that what we're teaching is true and start to act on it."

You remember in life when you were first taught the gospel and when you first realized it was true. You ask if you can help teach. There were laughs around, and they said of course.

You enjoy your life after death, teaching and resting and enjoying paradise.

You continue this life as the events on Earth hasten to Christ's Second Coming. You check in once in a while, surveying life on Earth, and you recognize things you had read in the scriptures that had never made sense before.

Christ's coming is glorious, and you are there in a chorus of angels.

You are resurrected with those that were righteous, and you wonder at your now perfected immortal body. You are so grateful to have it back, especially without its creaks and groans and pains.

It's not all over yet. The Millennium has just begun.

Where Were You? Part 3

Blogger's Note:
This piece is different for everyone, but I tried to make it as generic as possible.  I've been pondering a lot on how our lives end up, and our lives are so different from each others.  I've been having a few experiences recently that really played a big part in this piece, and I've found a video that has pulled at my heartstrings that has deeply colored this part. You should definitely check it out: It's called 'The Hope of God's Light.'  I know that God has a plan for our lives here on Earth.  I know that He knows what He is doing.  Everything in our lives has been put here to help us to learn and to grow and to become the best versions of ourselves that we can be.  To read the earlier parts, Part 1 and Part 2.


My Life Isn't Quite What I Thought It Would Be

It came your turn to receive a body. Just as you had seen happen to your brothers and sisters, a veil of forgetfulness was drawn over your memory. You had no memory of your family, no memory of your Heavenly Father, no memory of the plan.

You were sent to a good family, a mother and a father, and you learned and grew. You would sometimes feel as if there was something greater, but you didn't know what and so you would continue on in your life, school, work, friends, and then you are married, starting a family of your own.

Religion was not a big part of your life, but you knew there was something out there.

A friend invited your family to a church party, a holiday BBQ, and you agree. There, two young men in white shirts, ties, and name badges introduce themselves as Elder and Elder and you wonder if the name tags were a joke because they had the same first name. Your friend invites you over to his home to talk with Elder and Elder, and you don't see the harm in it.

You chuckle when you learn that they weren't really named Elder, and that this was just a title for the church's missionaries, you listen politely to their message, and then they share the story of a young boy named Joseph Smith. Something changes in the room, and you feel something different. You continue to learn from the missionaries, and they help you realize what this feeling is.

You learn that you can live with your family forever, and you share that with your spouse, and the next time the elders come over, you both are there asking questions and listening to what they have to say.  They ask you to read a book and pray, and you do that, and you learn for yourself that there is a God and that He loves you and your family.  The strangest thing is that this feeling is familiar.  You make the decision to follow Christ.

Throughout the next several years, your family makes leaps and bounds working to follow Christ, feeling happier day by day.  The hardships aren't gone, but you feel as if they are more manageable.  You feel as if you have more hope and the tools to succeed in your life.  You and your family are sealed together for time and all eternity, and as you look at your family that day, you know that this is what was meant for your family, and you will have your family with you forever. 

As everyone does, you die, but you're not afraid.  You know what is coming next.  You know your Heavenly Father is excited to see you.

Where Were You? Part 2

Blogger's Note:
This part is about what happened in God's plan between the creation of the world and the present day.  This is how God put His plan into action and a few important events that occurred, specifically, the creation of the world, the Fall of Adam and Eve, and the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
This is a summary of the stories of Adam and Eve, an overview of the pattern of prophets in the Bible, and then an overview of the story of Jesus Christ.


God Has a Plan
You watched as the earth and all that inhabit it were created.
You watched as Adam and Eve were put on the earth, and you marveled at them in their bodies. They were put in charge of a garden, and they were taken care of, plenty of food, no worries. Time passed, and Satan found his way into the garden, as stealthy and sly as a snake. You and your siblings stared in horror as he went first to Adam and told him to eat of a certain tree. You had watched as Father had commanded them not to, and you were scared as the devil worked to try to get Adam to eat, but he would not. Satan would not give up. He went to Eve, talking with her, tempting her, and then she did eat the fruit.

Your siblings who were watching were in an uproar.
"Isn't this what Father promised us?" You ask. "That we could choose?"
Some quieted and others became louder.

Adam and Eve were then cast out into the lonely world, and they began to fend for themselves and to learn, and they began to have children. You were happy to see your siblings start to gain their own bodies.

You watched patiently as more of Gods children obtained bodies. You were amazed at them. They had all forgotten how they lived with God before. They made all sorts of choices, some changing all mankind, others so wicked it broke your heart.

God sent his messengers, though, to preach the gospel and His plan. You rejoiced as your siblings followed the council and direction of these prophets, but all had their choice, and many prophets were killed, many were not listened to. God, the all loving parent, wouldn't keep a prophet on the earth when no one would listen, and so there were times where there was no prophet, and though some could remember what the prophets taught, they couldn't remember all of it, and they didn't always understand, and they would worship God as they saw fit, not always the way they were supposed to.

This pattern happened over and over and over.  God sent a prophet. And another.  And another. 

This is when Father really put His plan into action.  He sent His Son, Jehovah, down to Earth.  He was called Jesus.  You rejoiced with the angels as He was born.  You watched over Him as He grew, and you laughed with Him as a little child, and you were in awe as He taught in the temple. 

He was perfect.  He was kind and loving, and He taught so that any willing listener could understand.  His miracles were amazing things.

He was the chosen one, the anointed one, the Christ, the Messiah, the Savior, and as this was His end, His purpose, He obeyed. 

You were there, watching, as He went to the Garden of Gethsemane and took on all of the pains and weaknesses and sins and afflictions of the world.  You knew that He was taking on yours as well, though you hadn't been born yet.  You were so grateful, but you hated to see Him hurt so much.
You could hardly watch as He was taken and accused.  You turned your eyes away as He was beaten and scourged.  You saw Him be put up on the cross, and you couldn't stand the sight.  You left long before He gave up His life.  You knew that Father couldn't even watch.  This was His Beloved Son, and He could not save Him and save the rest of His children as well. 

You stayed away from Earth for a while, knowing that there would be so much destruction after the death of your beloved brother.  You knew that He would overcome death, and you made sure that you were there for that.
You knew that death had been overcome, that sin had been overcome, and that if you followed Christ while you were on Earth, then you would receive so many blessings.  You knew that Christ was your Savior, and you wanted to follow Him.

Of course, He had to leave, and you went about your way, waiting for it to be your turn for a body.  You learned what you could.  You watched the human race, and you felt sorrow that there were no more prophets, and that the apostles were killed.  You were so sad that pieces of the gospel were lost, some on mistake through mistranslation or misinterpretation, some through those who wished to manipulate others, but all you could hope for was that you would be able to find the truth when it was your turn.

And you did.

Where Were You? Part 1

Blogger's Note:
The next few posts are of a different nature.  While I have usually done a summary or a fictionalized rendition of the scriptural chapters, this is more of an original story take on what is known as the Plan of Salvation.  This is a predicted three part series, but as many planned trilogies go, it often turns into four or more, and it will cover the three main stages of the Plan of Salvation, or in other words, it answers the three questions that everyone seems to ask in their lives, namely "Where did I come from?" "Why am I here?" and "Where am I going?"  As you read, put yourself in the story, and ponder on what it would have felt like and on how you would have felt.  This story takes from several points of inspiration, Moses 4, Abraham 3, Revelations 12, Genesis, and I Lived in Heaven.
I hope you enjoy it.


I Lived in Heaven a Long Time Ago

You are a child of God. You are but a spirit. Your Heavenly Father has watched over you and taught you and cherished and loved you. Your heavenly home is a beautiful place, and you are surrounded by your loving brothers and sisters. You feel their love, and they feel yours. You and your siblings adore your dear Father, and you have such a desire to become like Him, just as a little toddling child puts on Daddy's oversized dress shoes and Mommy's flamboyant straw sunhat. You have learned, and you have grown, and now, there is not much more to do with just your spirit being. Your father isn't just a spirit. You want to be like Him. He has what is called a body. You want a body. All of His children want bodies.

You and all your family are in a large council. You are sitting between your very best friends, and you wonder what this is about. You are sure that this will be exciting. It is. All of your siblings are chatting among themselves. There's a roar of chatter from your family around you. Your father enters, and there is a reverent quiet throughout the spirits. You feel yourself get even more excited. Your father starts to talk, and He tells of a plan that will provide a way for His children to become like him, to obtain a body, to learn how to use it, to succeed with it.

At that, cheers start, and then they spread, and there are great yells and shouts of joy from your siblings, and you join, and you cheer as loud as you can for joy.

He elaborates in great detail. There are questions, and he answers and discusses them. He talks about how there must be someone to die for all of our siblings, and overcome sin and death. Someone asks about what death is. You don't understand. You have always been with your Heavenly Father. What sort of thing is death? Why does it need to be overcome? What is sin? Why does sin make you unclean? You ask those questions, and a few around you answer them.

Father calls for a volunteer to be an example and a sacrifice for all who choose to follow the plan.

Your brother, Jehovah, steps forward and answers, "Here am I. Send me." You know he is a good choice. He is strong and obedient, and you love your brother very much.

 

Another steps forward, and you recognize this brother as well. He announces, "Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor."

You recognize this brother as Satan. He has achieved much, and his ideas sound pleasing. Wouldn't it be wonderful that not any of your family would be lost? You look to Father, and His face is drawn out in concern.

Jehovah again speaks up, "Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever."

You realize what Satan was asking for. In exchange for bringing every soul back to Father, he wanted all of God's glory and honor, to be greater and above and to be praised for not even losing one being.

"I will send the first," Father announces.

Satan steps back in alarm, and you recognize his anger at not being given what he wants. Afterwards, he begins to go throughout all of his siblings, and he talks with them, explaining his position, telling others why they should not follow Father's plan. He comes to you.

"You will surely not return to Father," he tells you. "You won't see any of us again. There will only be pain and suffering because of this plan. I should be the savior. I won't lose anyone. Father only wants to keep His glory to Himself. He doesn't really care about us."

"I don't know everything," you say in return. "But I do know Father loves me, and He loves all of us, and I know Jehovah loves us, as well. I will obey Father and go through His plan. Get thee hence."

He leaves, but his attempts escalate, and he succeeds in gaining followers, a third of your brethren and sisters. It goes from simple words to full battles. Michael, another brother, the archangel, leads
the fight against Satan. In the end, Satan is cast out of Heaven, with all of his followers. There were many tears shed. You are so heartbroken. You know you have chosen wisely though, and you are excited to follow God's plan.


You are there as the plan is set into motion, and the creation of your new home, Earth, is begun.

The End of First Nephi

The First Book of Nephi

Chapter 19

"Nephi makes plates of ore and records the history of his people—The God of Israel will come six hundred years from the time Lehi left Jerusalem—Nephi tells of His sufferings and crucifixion—The Jews will be despised and scattered until the latter days, when they will return unto the Lord. About 588–570 B.C."-Introduction to 1 Nephi Chapter 19

No action here.
Nephi just tells about why he's making the record, how it is to be passed down a few prophecies about Christ from the words of prophets that have been lost, and he likens the scriptures to himself and his brothers.

Chapters 20-21

"The Lord reveals His purposes to Israel—Israel has been chosen in the furnace of affliction and is to go forth from Babylon—Compare Isaiah 48. About 588–570 B.C."-Introduction to 1 Nephi Chapter 20
"The Messiah will be a light to the Gentiles and will free the prisoners—Israel will be gathered with power in the last days—Kings will be their nursing fathers—Compare Isaiah 49. About 588–570 B.C."-Introduction to 1 Nephi Chapter 21

He quotes Isaiah. Good luck with that. Isaiah is not the easiest book to read or understand.

Chapter 22

"Israel will be scattered upon all the face of the earth—The Gentiles will nurse and nourish Israel with the gospel in the last days—Israel will be gathered and saved, and the wicked will burn as stubble—The kingdom of the devil will be destroyed, and Satan will be bound. About 588–570 B.C."-Introduction to 1 Nephi Chapter 22

Nephi explains some of what he quoted in Isaiah, concerning the scattering and gathering of Israel. If you read the previous quoting Isaiah chapters, Nephi will explain some of it.
Nephi then commands his offspring and future prophets to keep the records and continue to write on them.

So What?

So, we've just gone through the entire first book of the Book of Mormon. We've heard the story of how Nephi and his family left Jerusalem and traveled through the wilderness to a promised land and
all of the family drama and trials and challenges that they faced. Children have been born. People have died. They've seen angels and miracles. Some people's faith has been strengthened, others have forgotten and turned away. 

And this is all important why?  Why did anyone even bother writing all of these things down?  Why would anybody care?  Why is this so important that a man made sheets of metal and took the time to engrave these things on them?  Why were they so important that this man commanded his children and others to pass them down and continue to write on them? 

Well, God commanded him to, but there's a reason that God did. 

These stories, these experiences, these thoughts, impressions, theories, doctrines are all so important, that they were preserved for our day and age.  They were brought forth so that we could learn and grow and gain a stronger faith in our Savior, Jesus Christ.

We can and are supposed to relate these things to our lives. 

I've seen people in my life that are just like Laman and Lemuel. They have seen miracles.  They know that there is a God.  Then, they turn away, and they forget, and they are faced with humbling experiences, and they just won't listen.  Sometimes, I act like Laman and Lemuel.
Then, I know people like Nephi who will go and do anything for God. Sometimes I act like Nephi.
I've had experiences like these.  I've seen God in my life, and I know that He is there waiting to help us and guide us, but we have to be willing to listen and to do the things He commands.

There are so many things you can learn from the scriptures, and there's more as we reach the promised land with Nephi and his family.

To read the actual scriptures, go to1 Nephi 22, and then you can navigate to other scriptures.

Pirates!

The First Book of Nephi

Chapter 18

"The ship is finished—The births of Jacob and Joseph are mentioned—The company embarks for the promised land—The sons of Ishmael and their wives join in revelry and rebellion—Nephi is bound, and the ship is driven back by a terrible tempest—Nephi is freed, and by his prayer the storm ceases—The people arrive in the promised land. About 591–589 B.C."
-Introduction to 1 Nephi Chapter 18




For those who have just joined us:
So, there's this guy named Lehi, and he's a prophet, and God tells him that Jerusalem is going to get destroyed, so he better get his family OUT!  So he takes his family into the wilderness, and then there's all sorts of drama.  His sons are constantly rebelling.  One of his other sons becomes a prophet, too.  His sons are commanded to go back to Jerusalem and almost die trying to obtain a set of scriptures.  They pick up a few other people from Jerusalem, all the sons get married, Lehi starts to have grandchildren, they reach a body of water, and now, his prophet son Nephi is commanded to build a ship, but guess what? His other sons rebel again!  And that's what you missed last time in the Book of Mormon!


Now where were we?
Nephi, Lehi's righteous prophet son, finished building the ship, finally, with no thanks to his wicked brothers, Laman and Lemuel.  The caravan of the family made the preparations to leave, collecting food and supplies and seeds and other such things.

During all of the commotion that had been going on, Lehi's company had grown.  There were of course Lehi, the prophet, and his wife, Sariah, then his four sons that our story has centered around so far: Laman and Lemuel--the rebellious older sons, Sam--the good kid who stayed under the radar, and Nephi--the 'I will go and do' prophet.  Lehi also had daughters, though nothing much is ever said about them.  When they went back to Jerusalem, Nephi had become friends with a servant named Zoram, and he had joined the group, and then on a second trip back to Jerusalem, they picked up the entire family of a man named Ishmael, who's sons and daughters married Zoram and Lehi's sons and daughters.  Then, with all of the time spent wandering in the wilderness and building a ship, Lehi and Sariah were blessed with two more sons, Jacob and Joseph.  So it must have been a fairly large ship for all of these people.

As they sailed through the sea, Nephi's brethren and Ishmael's children found ways to entertain themselves, dancing, drinking, rudeness. Nephi was quickly alarmed, and he was worried that God's judgment would come upon them, and he rushed to speak with his brethren to tell them to stop, but as always, they would not listen. They mocked their younger brother for telling them what to do, and in their anger, they bound him so he couldn't move and they tied him to the mast of the ship.

They commandeered the ship, mutiny against their captain Nephi, their father Lehi, and against their Lord. God will not bless us for disobedience. Their compass, that ball of curious workmanship, ceased to direct them. It would no longer show them the way they needed to go. On top of that, a storm came and waves crashed and their ship was driven back in the wind. There was the constant fear of drowning. And Nephi was stuck to the mast of the ship.

For 3 days, the ship was shoved around by the storm as it continually got worse, and Laman and Lemuel and their disobedient families' fear grew and grew. Lehi, who was getting rather old by now, begged his children to loose their brother and tried to tell Ishmael's children too, but nothing. On the fourth day of the storm, it grew worse, or as Nephi said exceedingly sore, and they realized that the storm and lack of direction was because of their rebellion against God, and once they knew that, they loosed Nephi and begged for mercy from God. Nephi fell to the deck of the ship, his ankles and his wrists swollen and sore, but he got to his knees and prayed, praising God.

The storm calmed, the compass began to work and direct them again, and they were quickly brought to their promised land.

To read the actual scriptural account, go to 1 Nephi 18.

So What?

So this family is thrown into a dangerous storm and lose divine guidance because a couple of the angry sons tie up the other one?  What are supposed to learn from that?

Well, don't go commandeering ships unless you've got God on your side.

No, don't do that.

We can learn how God's guidance, or the Holy Ghost, works in our lives.  When we pay attention to God and the tools He gives us, like prophets and the Holy Spirit, we are guided to where we need to be.  We are able to do amazing things! We can build huge ships!  We can traverse dangerous terrain and surf the oceans!  But when we are disobedient, when we don't pay any head to God or to His prophets or to the scriptures, we get lost.  We wander into those dangerous life threatening storms.

You have to remember that God is our loving Heavenly Father, and He's not doing this to torture us.  It's like a parent with their children.  The children are tired of listening to what their parents say, and they ignore their cell phone, and they go to a dangerous party where there's things that sound like so much more fun.  And then what happens?  Storms!  What happens when they get home much much later than their curfew?  Their parents of course are going to be frustrated and angry and worried, but are they still going to love their child?  Yes.  Yes they are. They might take away their cell phone until they're ready to behave and listen, but the parents still love the child. 

And God is our Heavenly Father, and He loves you!