There are lots of stories of very young children that still remember what it was like before they came down here to this life. In the book "Life before birth" the authors Peter and Mary Harrison recount that little Desmond first spoke of his other life at the age of three and a half.
He surprised his mother Dorothy one day by telling her, "You know mommy, before I came to be with you, I was with aunty Ruth!" He couldn’t have known that his aunty had had a still born baby about ten years before. She has a hard time talking about it, so the family never mentions it. Desmond told his mum, that it was warm and dark with Aunty Ruth. When asked where he was before, he replied "I went back home of course--the place I lived before I came to be with Aunty Ruth, where all the nice fields are and all the other little boys and girls." He mentioned there were big people there also that took care of them and that the children played games and attended school. Dorothy recounts how Desmond told her how the children used to play in pools. "But when I asked him if he swam, he answered no."

He explained, "We didn’t swim because we didn’t sink and we never got wet. When we went into the water we just floated on top and the water just fell off when we got out and made its way back to the pool. And we were all dry…The water played songs for us , but not with words. When we picked up some water, it went tinkle tinkle."
Another day Desmond told more about Heaven as Dorothy was planting some seeds with her son. Dorothy says: "He took my breath away when he told me he used to make his own singing flowers."
When I asked what he meant, he answered: "You know flowers with the music coming out of them."
He explained that he and one of his friends in Heaven had been taught how to make flowers. All they had to do was to think of the flower stage by stage and the flower would appear in the colours he wanted and started to play music.
As Desmond got older the stories of his other home become fewer.
"Now he's six years old, he seems to have forgotten them." Says his mother, "but I am certain he must have had some strange experiences."

* * *

I returned to the garden and met my earlier escorts again. I had seen people progressing in the worlds I had visited, working toward becoming more like our Father, and I was curious about our development on earth. How do we grow?

My escorts were pleased with my question, and they took me to a place where many spirits prepared for life on earth. They were mature spirits--I saw no children spirits during my entire experience. [Editor: Which doesn't mean that there aren’t any, as we just learned from the article before this one] I saw how desirous these spirits were of coming to earth. They looked upon life here as a school where they could learn many things and develop the attributes they lacked. I was told that we had all desired to come here, that we had actually chosen many of our weaknesses and difficult situations in our lives so that we could grow. I also understood that sometimes we were given weaknesses which would be for our good. The Lord also gives us gifts and talents according to his will. We should never compare our talents or weaknesses to another's. We each have what we need; we are unique. Equality of spiritual weaknesses or gifts is not important.

"…We were also given the spiritual attributes we would need for our missions, many of them specially designed for our needs. Our parents had their own set of spiritual attributes, some of which may have been passed down to us, and we watched how they used these abilities. While maturing, we also acquired other attributes. Now we have our own set of spiritual tools, and we can continue to learn how to use these abilities or we can choose not to use them at all. No matter what our age is, we can continue to acquire new spiritual attributes that can help us in old or new situations. The choice is always there. I saw that we always have the right attribute to help ourselves, though we may not have recognized it or learned how to use it. We need to look within. We need to trust our abilities; the right spiritual tool is always there for us.

"…After watching the spirits trying to corral these two young people together, my attention turned to other spirits making preparations to go to earth. One exceptionally brilliant and dynamic spirit was just entering his mother's womb. He had chosen to enter this world mentally handicapped. He was very excited about this opportunity and was aware of the growth he and his parents would achieve. The three of them had bonded with each other and planned for this arrangement long before. He chose to begin his mortal life at his body's conception, and I watched his spirit move into the womb and enter the newly formed life. He was anxious to feel the great love of his mortal parents.

"I learned that spirits can choose to enter their mothers' body at any stage of her pregnancy. Once there, they immediately begin experiencing mortality. Abortion, I was told, is contrary to that which is natural. The spirit coming into the body feels a sense of rejection and sorrow. It knows that the body was to be his, whether it was conceived out of wedlock or was handicapped or was only strong enough to live a few hours. But the spirit also feels compassion for its mother, knowing that she made a decision based on the knowledge she had.

"I saw many spirits who would only come to the earth for a short time, living only hours, or days after their birth. They were as excited as the others, knowing that they had a purpose to fulfill. I understood that their deaths had been appointed before their births--as were all of ours. These spirits did not need the development that would result from longer lives in mortality, and their deaths would provide challenges that would help their parents grow. The grief that comes here is intense but short. After we are united again, all pain is washed away, and only the joy of our growth and togetherness is felt.

"I was surprised at how many plans and decisions were made for the benefit of others. We were all willing to make sacrifices for others. Everything is done for the growth of the spirit--all experience, all gifts and weaknesses are designed for this growth. The things of this world matter little to us there--almost not at all. Everything is seen through spiritual eyes.

"A time was established for each of us to complete our earthly education. Some spirits would come only to be born, to give experience to others and then pass quickly out of this world. Some would live to an old age to complete their goals and benefit others by allowing them opportunities to serve. Some would come to be our leaders or followers, our soldiers, or our rich or poor, and the purpose for their coming would be to provide situations and relationships that would allow us to learn to love. All who would be led into our paths would lead us to our ultimate achievement. We were to be tested under challenging conditions to see how we would live the most important commandment of all--to love one another. We are all collectively bonded to each other while on earth, united in this one supreme purpose--to learn to love one another.

"Before this scene of the pre-earth life spirits was closed up, my attention was drawn to another spirit. She was one of the most charming and delightful beings I had seen yet. She was buoyant with energy and radiated a contagious cheer to all around her. Watching her with wonder, I recognized that feeling of a close bond between us and the love that I knew she felt for me. My memory of this moment has been mostly blocked, but I knew that I would never forget her, and there was no doubt that wherever she went she was going to be somebody's special angel.

"During this view of the pre-mortal existence, I was impressed by the beauty and glory of each spirit. I knew that I had been there before, that each of us had, and that we had been filled with light and beauty. Then the thought came to me, referring to us all: "If you could see yourself before you were born, you would be amazed at your intelligence and glory. Birth is a sleep and a forgetting."