This doctrine of the pre-existence of spirits makes another scripture clear: "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee," said the Lord to Jeremiah; "and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee to be a prophet unto the nations."[G] It was the spirit of Jeremiah which the Lord knew; which, in common with the spirit of Jesus, of Job, of Adam, and, in short, of all men,[H] dwelt in the presence of God; and as the spirit of Jeremiah possessed those peculiar characteristics which are favorable to the exercise of prophetic powers, the Lord foreordained him to be a prophet unto the nations. [Footnote G: Jeremiah i, 5.] [Footnote H: At the first organization in heaven we were all present, and saw the Savior chosen and appointed and the plan of salvation made, and we sanctioned it.--Joseph Smith.] In the revelations which the Lord gave to Abraham it is said: "Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among these were many of the noble and great ones; and God saw that these were good; and he said, these I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me, Abraham, thou art one of them, thou wast chosen before thou wast born."[I] [Footnote I: Pearl of Great Price, p. 32.] This scripture not only proves the pre-existence of the spirits of men, but gives us to understand that some were more highly developed than others, were more noble, and hence set apart for special labors, some to be rulers; others, as in the case of Jeremiah, to be prophets, each one in the mighty multitude being assigned to the particular sphere, and given to the particular privileges that his state of development and degree of faithfulness entitled him to receive. From the scriptures we learn that at one time there was war in heaven: "And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought, and the dragon fought and his angels. * * * And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent called the Devil and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world; he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him."[J] [Footnote J: Rev. xii.] To this also agrees the testimony of Jude: "And the angels who kept not their first estate but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day."[K] [Footnote K: Jude 6.]