The Degrees of Glory

Today I read Doctrine and Covenants 76. If someone is reading this and you have not read it yet, I suggest you stop reading what I say and read it for yourself. It is one of the most inspiring, beautiful revelations in all the scriptures. I am not going to be able to do it justice in just one post of my blog so if you have never read it, please do so.

In this section Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon receive a revelation of "heaven and hell" and what awaits us after this life. For those who may not be familiar, Latter-day Saints do not believe in the typical heaven and hell concept. Rather we believe that there are many possibilities after this life and each is based upon what type of person you are, and how many ordinances and covenants you made and how well you adhered to them.

The revelation starts out talking about how Joseph and Sidney saw the Savior in all his glory standing at the right hand of the Father and they saw the pre-mortal life where Satan fell. As I read this section, I could not help but feel sorrow for both Satan and for Heavenly Father. I feel sorry for Satan because he destroyed his birthright and despite the pain and suffering he causes all of us who have bodies, he was once beautiful and is our brother. It is no different than if you were to have a falling out with your earthly brother and he strove from that point on to make your life miserable. No matter how angry you got at him, you would always remember he was your brother. I can only imagine the pain Heavenly Father is STILL going through when He thinks about Satan and the pain and suffering he is causing. I cannot even contemplate having your son not only hate you, but actively striving to destroy everything you are working to create and kill his brothers and sisters. It is really sad if you dwell on it.

The places we are told we can go after this life are divided into 4 categories. There is the celestial kingdom, where God lives, the terrestrial kingdom, the telestial kingdom and finally outer darkness. Perhaps nothing, besides maybe polygamy, inflames people about our church quite like the 3 degrees of glory does. It upsets people because it teaches the doctrine of ordinances, covenants and proper authority. I have always wondered why people get so bent out of shape about it, we are no the only church that teaches you have to have certain ordinances, such as baptism, in order to go to heaven, yet we seem to catch the most heat. Go figure.

The telestial kingdom, is the least in glory and as the revelation teaches us, is likened to the glory of the stars in the heavens. This kingdom is populated, it says, by liars, thieves, murderers, sorcerers, adulterers and whoremongers. These are the people that are not good people and do not accept Jesus Christ and His atonement. These are the people that you hear about in the news, gangs, murders, people who you would not wish to associate with no matter what. These are they who reject the gospel in this life and in the life to come. They will have a place of glory for the revelation states that the telestial kingdom's glory surpasses all understanding. These are they that want nothing to do with God and it is only God's tender mercies that keep them from Him. Despite their problems, He loves them and wants to be with them, but that is the worst kind of hell such people can imagine. Just as we do not want to associate with such people, such people hate and do not want to associate with good people either, normally. The reason is because they feel uncomfortable around the Spirit of the Lord and cannot abide it's presence. And so by NOT having those people in His presence, Heavenly Father is giving them the greatest gift He can give them.

The middle kingdom, or the terrestrial kingdom, are populated by the good people of the earth. These are they who love to do good and who love God. There will be a lot of Latter-day Saints in this kingdom I think. For the scriptures tell us that those who are not valiant in the testimony of Jesus Christ will inherit this kingdom. These are they who lived a good life and perhaps even partook of some of the ordinances needed for salvation, but not all of them. These are they who when confronted by God and Jesus Christ, might be ashamed and embarrassed that they came so close but ultimately did not make it. The modern day apostles teach us that these are those who had an opportunity to accept and live the gospel in this life but chose not to yet accept it after this life. Now, I have no idea what constitutes and opportunity to live the gospel in this life thankfully that is not up to me. As I said, these are they who want no part of those who go to the telestial kingdom but did not live up to their covenants with God or did not make the covenants necessary to obtain the highest kingdom.

The highest kingdom is called the celestial kingdom and it is likened to the glory of the sun. These are the people who accepted the gospel of Jesus Christ, made and kept sacred covenants and participated in sacred ordinances, including being married for time and eternity. These are those who love God more than themselves and do what He asks of them. These are those who are just men and women made perfect through Jesus Christ. These are those who will dwell with Heavenly Father forever and have a chance to become like He is. These are those who ENJOY living the commandments in this life. There's not much else to say about these people, they are everything those in the telestial are not and what those in the terrestrial could have been.

Finally, there is a place with no glory at all, commonly referred to as Outer Darkness. This is where Satan and his followers will be sent when it is all over. These people are those who deny the Holy Spirit after having received it. We are not told explicitly what that means but we have been told by those apostles and prophets that it is those who know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Christ is real and that He died for our sins and for some reason they turn their back on it and from that time forth actively fight against Him. Again, I have no idea what it would take to qualify for this place, but it is best not to dwell on it I think since the Savior says it would have been better for them had they never been born. I remember once a teacher I had in college, a religion professor, made the statement that people sometimes criticize Latter-day Saints stating that we believe we are the only ones who can go to heaven, but he smiled and said Latter-day Saints are also the only ones who can go to hell. Food for thought.

So that is the revelation on the kingdoms of glory and outer darkness. I invite you all to study it yourself and do so with a prayer in your heart since it pertains to us all. As I have stated in the past, it should be no secret where you will be headed after this life. If you examine the type of person you are, really examine, unashamedly and completely look at your life, you know the kind of person you are and where you will be headed. I would suggest that no one reading this blog is destined for the telestial kingdom since generally those who will end up there are not those who care for the things of the spirit and God. However, only you know who you truly are and only you know which commandments, if any, you live grudgingly. Remember, God loves us all and wants us to return to live with Him, pray and He will help you. Until tomorrow.