I'm going to take this without reading any other posts, so sorry if I repeat what anybody else was saying.
kimfuge said:
Hi everyone, I'm relatively new to this site, and I'd like to start off with a question I have had for a very long time. In regards to predestination, Why did God (if He really exists) create us in the first place?
He created us for one simple reason - so we could become like him. That is the essentially the only reason God created us. How do I know we can become like him? Such verses such as Psamls 82:6 which states "ye are gods, and all of you are children of the most High," Matt 5:48, "be ye therefore perfect, even as you Father," and John 10:30 "it is written in your law ... Ye are gods," among others. We have potential to become like him. It would be silly for him to have created us if we were eternally destined to be inferior, or to not progress. Our purpose here is progression.
kimfuge said:
For sure, He had the ability to see our destinations - and the flaw Adam and Even would eventually make.
He certainly did, and he factored that into his plan. God wanted Adam and Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit and to "become as one of us." (gen 3:22) It was necessary for Adam and Even to eat of the forbidden fruit for them to begin their progression to become like God, which is his final plan for us. however, another thing that was necessary for our progression was free-will; that it, the ability to choose. God had to allow them to choose to partake of the fruit, because it woudn't work if he made them. This opened us up to temptation by the devil, weaknesses, and hardships, all of which are also necessary for progression. Eating of the forbidden fruit also opened us to a whole 'nother world of emotions and a new depth. Without knowing sorrow, how can we truely know joy? Without knowing pain, how can truely appreciate the good things in our lives? This depth of understanding is also necessary for our progression.
kinfuge said:
Even further, He would have seen that more people ending up at hell than receiving everlasting life.
To a degree, you are right. He knew there would be people who chose not to follow God, and that they would be lost. But, this way is the best way, in fact, the only way, that we could become like him. With free will, there is also the chance that it will be abused. That's just the way it goes. But remember this. There won't be more people ending up in hell. The only people who end up in hell for all of eternity are those with the mark of the devil on their forhead; that is, those who knowingly choose to reject God's will, and instead knowing do the will of the devil. (matt 12:31 "blasphemy against the holy ghost shall not be forgiven." Those are the only ones who will suffer eternal damnation, and rightfully so! If someone is going to willfully and knowingly disobey god, they need to suffer the consequences. Others, however, won't suffer for eternity, and the vast majority of people will end up in heaven exalted to a degree fitting of their faithfulness to the word of God (either in this life, or, if unlucky enough to have been born in an area whre they could not hear the gospel, in the next life.) Doctrine and Covenants 76:81-88 shows that the ones who are bad people, though just because they don't know any better, not because they know better but they choose not to obey, are thrust into hell for the length of Jesus' millenial reign, and then are resurected in to the tellestial glory. The vast majority of people will be resurected into some glory in heaven.
kimfuge said:
If this was the state God wanted us to be in, why couldn't He create us in this form in the first place?
Because, simply put, he can't. In the begining, when we were still spirits residing with god, ther also wasn't sin. But we were just so un progressed, and God, as a loving father, doesn't like to see us like that. It's like if you got stuck with a perpetual two year old. You would want your kid to grow up someday, and perhaps become like you. But in order to that, you have to let him venture out into the world, make his own choices, and stuff like that. Many people think that God has the power to do whatever he wants, and to an extent, that is true. But he definitely has rules, too. He can't create us like him. We have to work our way up there, like he did.
I hope that helps. That's rather cursory, so if there is something you're not understanding, or something that you would like scripture to support, just say so, and I'll get to it shortly.