Chapter Three · Defining Your Eternal Identity
Write your
Identity Standard
The written expression of your Eternal Identity — the personal commitments that define who you choose to be across every season of life. It answers one question: across every season of my life, who am I committed to being?
This is the one place in the book where you don't wait. Everything that follows — your faith, your career, your money, your marriage — gets filtered through what you write here.
Before you write
Two conversations across time
Imagine two conversations, each with a different version of yourself: the premortal you, and the man you’ll be at 80. Your premortal self tells you who you were meant to become. Your 80-year-old self reminds you of who you can still become. The man you are today is the bridge between the two.
Your premortal self
“You have been who you are for a very, very long time,” taught Elder Neil L. Andersen. You chose mortality, even with the veil, even with the risk. Whatever you said in those final moments before you stepped through wasn't just a pep talk. It points to a commitment that reaches from who you were before this life to the man you are still capable of becoming.
Your 80-year-old self
Gray hair, worn hands, a lifetime behind him. He has lived long enough to know what actually matters. The emotions that feel huge to you now feel small to him, because he has the perspective you don't yet have.
Your patriarchal blessing
Read it again carefully. Look for patterns, gifts, responsibilities — the kind of man the Lord is trying to shape you into. It isn't a script for your life, but it can remind you of your divine identity and the life God is inviting you to build.
When a decision contradicts your Identity Standard, stop and reconsider it.
When a decision aligns with it, it has passed an essential test, but not the only one. At the Identity filter of the Refinement Funnel, your Identity Standard keeps you aligned with who you are becoming. The full Funnel helps you decide whether the choice is actually wise.
Step 1 of 6
Before you begin
The best way to start is to set aside quiet, uninterrupted time.
No phone. No noise. No rushing.
This isn't something you rush through. Take your time. Be honest. Be clear. You will use what you write here to evaluate every major decision you make from this point forward.
Give it about 30 minutes. If you don't have 30 uninterrupted minutes right now, come back when you do — that's not a delay, it's the assignment.
Now keep reading. Finish the book cover to cover, then go to Start Now and choose one area to work on first.