The Logic of the Plan of Salvation

It's interesting to me the utter importance of the priesthood, particularly how it relates to the Plan of Salvation. Before I came on my mission, I was talking to a born-again Christian who lead a Bible study group on Utah State University's campus, and it struck me as really odd that they don't believe in any sort of a pre-mortal life.

With the idea that "man is as God once was; God is as man might become" (Lorenzo Snow), we have an answer to the question: What is the meaning of life?

(For a fantastic article about this quote by Lorenzo Snow, click here.)

Posing that question to my born-again friend, all he said is that we are here to glorify God. While I won't deny that's important, how is this for a "plan of salvation": God created us to glorify Him; We don't need to keep His commandments, but instead we just have to have faith; Most of us won't have faith, though, so most will just go to Hell forever; Those that make it to Heaven... just kind of stay there. And that glorifies God?

The purpose just doesn't make sense. Why make it possible to fail - or rather, likely to fail - if there's nothing but misery following? Would God create us simply so that we could suffer for eternity, with no real mission assigned to those who do succeed?  It does bring light to the idea of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ being the same person, though. Why would God actually create someone just to be sacrificed? And why would he not create more people who could be perfect?

Our Plan of Salvation makes sense. God created us because the laws of the priesthood must continue onward. We came to Earth to obtain a body to be like Him. We prove we can be like Him through "obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel" (Articles of Faith 1:3). We have a Savior, our brother, who offered himself as a sacrifice for where we fall short, "after all that we can do" (2 Nephi 25:23). If we "endure it well" (Doctrine and Covenants 121:8), we can return to our Heavenly Father, and learn to be like Him, sealed with an eternal companion with an eternal family. This family then fulfils the role that I am currently fulfilling. All the while, the Melchezidek priesthood holds it all together.

The reasoning, the doctrine, and the brilliance is sound. We have purpose and design. We have answers and guides. All because of the eternally holy priesthood.