To conclude the exploration of the plan of salvation, I would like to discuss the state of man after the resurrection and judgment. This is something not wholly understood by the Christian world in general, but they cannot really be blamed for it. There are a few scriptures in the New Testament that mention the kingdom of heaven, but not in great detail. "In my Father’s house are many mansions" (John 14:2) taught Jesus to his disciples. And it was in studying John 5:29 that Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery received great insight in regard to this:
"And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation."
After reading this, the Prophet wrote,
"It appeared self-evident from what truths were left, that if God rewarded every one according to the deeds done in the body the term ‘Heaven,’ as intended for the Saints’ eternal home, must include more kingdoms than one."
What followed was perhaps the most complete revelation about the realms of glory, or at least the most complete that we have written down in our day. I would like to highlight some parts of this section, as well as draw from a few other sections in the Doctrine and Covenants. But first, a brief overview:
After we die and are resurrected and judged, we will be placed in a kingdom of glory, "one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars" (1 Cor. 15:41), referred to as the celestial, terrestrial, and telestial kingdoms, respectively. Those in each of these kingdoms are characterized by certain attributes, and receive blessings proportional to the faith and diligence they gave in keeping the commandments of God.
"They are they who received the testimony of Jesus, and believed on his name and were baptized ...
That by keeping the commandments they might be washed and cleansed from all their sins, and receive the Holy Spirit by the laying on of the hands of him who is ordained....
Wherefore, as it is written, they are gods, even the sons of God--
Wherefore, all things are theirs, whether life or death, or things present, or things to come, all are theirs and they are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.
And they shall overcome all things....
These are they whose bodies are celestial, whose glory is that of the sun, even the glory of God, the highest of all, whose glory the sun of the firmament is written of as being typical."
(D&C 76:51-52,58-60,70)
"For after it [the earth] hath filled the measure of its creation, it shall be crowned with glory, even with the presence of God the Father;
That bodies who are of the celestial kingdom may possess it forever and ever; for, for this intent was it made and created, and for this intent are they sanctified."
(D&C 88:19-20)
"Who received not the testimony of Jesus in the flesh, but afterwards received it.
These are they who are honorable men of the earth, who were blinded by the craftiness of men.
These are they who are not valiant in the testimony of Jesus"
(D&C 76:74-75,79)
"And they who are not sanctified through the law which I have given unto you, even the law of Christ, must inherit another kingdom, even that of a terrestrial kingdom, or that of a telestial kingdom."
(D&C 88:21)
"These are they who received not the gospel of Christ, neither the testimony of Jesus.
These are they who are thrust down to hell.
These are they who shall not be redeemed from the devil until the last resurrection, until the Lord, even Christ the Lamb, shall have finished his work."
(D&C 76:82,84-85)
From the foregoing quotations, it may occur to you that God has set the terms, and it is up to us to meet whatever expectations we desire. As Alma said, "and thus they stand or fall; for behold, they are their own judges, whether to do good or do evil" (Alma 41:7).
Clearly, there is much more to this section that I omitted for brevity's sake. I would encourage you to read through all of it yourself. There are a few more things I would like to note about glory in general, and then conclude with some amazing blessings of the celestial kingdom.
"the glory of the telestial, which surpasses all understanding;
And no man knows it except him to whom God has revealed it.
(D&C 76:89-90)
Even the telestial kingdom exceeds this life in glory! If that is the case, why even shoot for something greater?
"And thus we saw the glory of the celestial, which excels in all things--where God, even the Father, reigns upon his throne forever and ever"
(D&C 76:92)
Because you will be able to live with God the Father. That is why.
When we are resurrected, our inheriting of glory will not happen immediately, but over time, "grace for grace". As Joseph Smith said,
"When you climb up a ladder, you must begin at the bottom, and ascend step by step, until you arrive at the top; and so it is with the principles of the gospel—you must begin with the first, and go on until you learn all the principles of exaltation. But it will be a great while after you have passed through the veil before you will have learned them. It is not all to be comprehended in this world; it will be a great work to learn our salvation and exaltation even beyond the grave."
(Teachings of Joseph Smith, p. 261–270)
However, we will be able to tell to which glory we are resurrected immediately:
"Ye who are quickened by a portion of the celestial glory shall then receive of the same, even a fulness.
And they who are quickened by a portion of the terrestrial glory shall then receive of the same, even a fulness.
And also they who are quickened by a portion of the telestial glory shall then receive of the same, even a fulness.
And they who remain shall also be quickened; nevertheless, they shall return again to their own place, to enjoy that which they are willing to receive, because they were not willing to enjoy that which they might have received."
(D&C 88:29-32)
To be "quickened" means to be resurrected, or brought to life again. So we will know to what great heights of glory we are destined because of the initial glory of our quickening.
"All sins shall be forgiven, except the sin against the Holy Ghost; for Jesus will save all except the sons of perdition. What must a man do to commit the unpardonable sin? He must receive the Holy Ghost, have the heavens opened unto him, and know God, and then sin against him. After a man has sinned against the Holy Ghost, there is no repentance for him. He has got to say that the sun does not shine while he sees it; he has got to deny Jesus Christ when the heavens have been opened unto him, and to deny the plan of salvation with his eyes open to the truth of it; and from that time he begins to be an enemy. This is the case with many apostates of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
When a man begins to be an enemy to this work, he hunts me, he seeks to kill me, and never ceases to thirst for my blood. He gets the spirit of the devil—the same spirit that sins against the Holy Ghost. You cannot save such persons; you cannot bring them to repentance; they make open war, like the devil, and awful is the consequence."
(King Follet Sermon, Ensign May 1971)
As I understand it, these are people who do not want to be saved. Their demeanor is that of the Devil, and rather than mere apathy towards the church, which some people worry may fall into the category of perdition, these openly seek the destruction of the church. But even that alone is not enough of a benchmark, because Alma the younger, who tried to destroy the church, later became the high priest. Thus we should avoid any harsh judgment of ourselves or others.
"In the celestial glory there are three heavens or degrees;
And in order to obtain the highest, a man must enter into this order of the priesthood [meaning the new and everlasting covenant of marriage];
And if he does not, he cannot obtain it.
He may enter into the other, but that is the end of his kingdom; he cannot have an increase."
(D&C 131:1-4)
"And again, verily I say unto you, if a man marry a wife by my word, which is my law, and by the new and everlasting covenant, and it is sealed unto them by the Holy Spirit of promise,... [they] shall inherit thrones, kingdoms, principalities, and powers, dominions, all heights and depths—then shall it be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life,... it shall be done unto them in all things whatsoever my servant hath put upon them, in time, and through all eternity; and shall be of full force when they are out of the world; and they shall pass by the angels, and the gods, which are set there, to their exaltation and glory in all things, as hath been sealed upon their heads, which glory shall be a fulness and a continuation of the seeds forever and ever.
Then shall they be gods, because they have no end; therefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue; then shall they be above all, because all things are subject unto them. Then shall they be gods, because they have all power, and the angels are subject unto them.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, except ye abide my law ye cannot attain to this glory"
(D&C 132:19–21).
That we may we all attain unto this glory is my sincere desire.
"And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation."
After reading this, the Prophet wrote,
"It appeared self-evident from what truths were left, that if God rewarded every one according to the deeds done in the body the term ‘Heaven,’ as intended for the Saints’ eternal home, must include more kingdoms than one."
What followed was perhaps the most complete revelation about the realms of glory, or at least the most complete that we have written down in our day. I would like to highlight some parts of this section, as well as draw from a few other sections in the Doctrine and Covenants. But first, a brief overview:
After we die and are resurrected and judged, we will be placed in a kingdom of glory, "one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars" (1 Cor. 15:41), referred to as the celestial, terrestrial, and telestial kingdoms, respectively. Those in each of these kingdoms are characterized by certain attributes, and receive blessings proportional to the faith and diligence they gave in keeping the commandments of God.
Celestial
That by keeping the commandments they might be washed and cleansed from all their sins, and receive the Holy Spirit by the laying on of the hands of him who is ordained....
Wherefore, as it is written, they are gods, even the sons of God--
Wherefore, all things are theirs, whether life or death, or things present, or things to come, all are theirs and they are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.
And they shall overcome all things....
These are they whose bodies are celestial, whose glory is that of the sun, even the glory of God, the highest of all, whose glory the sun of the firmament is written of as being typical."
(D&C 76:51-52,58-60,70)
"For after it [the earth] hath filled the measure of its creation, it shall be crowned with glory, even with the presence of God the Father;
That bodies who are of the celestial kingdom may possess it forever and ever; for, for this intent was it made and created, and for this intent are they sanctified."
(D&C 88:19-20)
Terrestrial
These are they who are honorable men of the earth, who were blinded by the craftiness of men.
These are they who are not valiant in the testimony of Jesus"
(D&C 76:74-75,79)
"And they who are not sanctified through the law which I have given unto you, even the law of Christ, must inherit another kingdom, even that of a terrestrial kingdom, or that of a telestial kingdom."
(D&C 88:21)
Telestial
These are they who are thrust down to hell.
These are they who shall not be redeemed from the devil until the last resurrection, until the Lord, even Christ the Lamb, shall have finished his work."
(D&C 76:82,84-85)
From the foregoing quotations, it may occur to you that God has set the terms, and it is up to us to meet whatever expectations we desire. As Alma said, "and thus they stand or fall; for behold, they are their own judges, whether to do good or do evil" (Alma 41:7).
Clearly, there is much more to this section that I omitted for brevity's sake. I would encourage you to read through all of it yourself. There are a few more things I would like to note about glory in general, and then conclude with some amazing blessings of the celestial kingdom.
Glory
In Joseph Smith's vision, he saw"the glory of the telestial, which surpasses all understanding;
And no man knows it except him to whom God has revealed it.
(D&C 76:89-90)
Even the telestial kingdom exceeds this life in glory! If that is the case, why even shoot for something greater?
"And thus we saw the glory of the celestial, which excels in all things--where God, even the Father, reigns upon his throne forever and ever"
(D&C 76:92)
Because you will be able to live with God the Father. That is why.
When we are resurrected, our inheriting of glory will not happen immediately, but over time, "grace for grace". As Joseph Smith said,
"When you climb up a ladder, you must begin at the bottom, and ascend step by step, until you arrive at the top; and so it is with the principles of the gospel—you must begin with the first, and go on until you learn all the principles of exaltation. But it will be a great while after you have passed through the veil before you will have learned them. It is not all to be comprehended in this world; it will be a great work to learn our salvation and exaltation even beyond the grave."
(Teachings of Joseph Smith, p. 261–270)
However, we will be able to tell to which glory we are resurrected immediately:
"Ye who are quickened by a portion of the celestial glory shall then receive of the same, even a fulness.
And they who are quickened by a portion of the terrestrial glory shall then receive of the same, even a fulness.
And also they who are quickened by a portion of the telestial glory shall then receive of the same, even a fulness.
And they who remain shall also be quickened; nevertheless, they shall return again to their own place, to enjoy that which they are willing to receive, because they were not willing to enjoy that which they might have received."
(D&C 88:29-32)
To be "quickened" means to be resurrected, or brought to life again. So we will know to what great heights of glory we are destined because of the initial glory of our quickening.
Outer Darkness
That last quote mentions "they who remain," or those who do not receive any glory, so I feel obligated to mention what is commonly referred to as "outer darkness." It is a place for those who are referred to as "sons of perdition." These are they who "crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame" (Hebrews 6:6). I have had people ask me what one must do to "qualify" as it were as a son of perdition. I will leave this to the Prophet to explain:"All sins shall be forgiven, except the sin against the Holy Ghost; for Jesus will save all except the sons of perdition. What must a man do to commit the unpardonable sin? He must receive the Holy Ghost, have the heavens opened unto him, and know God, and then sin against him. After a man has sinned against the Holy Ghost, there is no repentance for him. He has got to say that the sun does not shine while he sees it; he has got to deny Jesus Christ when the heavens have been opened unto him, and to deny the plan of salvation with his eyes open to the truth of it; and from that time he begins to be an enemy. This is the case with many apostates of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
When a man begins to be an enemy to this work, he hunts me, he seeks to kill me, and never ceases to thirst for my blood. He gets the spirit of the devil—the same spirit that sins against the Holy Ghost. You cannot save such persons; you cannot bring them to repentance; they make open war, like the devil, and awful is the consequence."
(King Follet Sermon, Ensign May 1971)
As I understand it, these are people who do not want to be saved. Their demeanor is that of the Devil, and rather than mere apathy towards the church, which some people worry may fall into the category of perdition, these openly seek the destruction of the church. But even that alone is not enough of a benchmark, because Alma the younger, who tried to destroy the church, later became the high priest. Thus we should avoid any harsh judgment of ourselves or others.
The Goal of Celestial Glory
I would hope that after all of this, the celestial kingdom becomes the obvious goal. Who does not wish to dwell in "the everlasting burnings of God; for God dwells in everlasting burnings"? (King Follet Sermon, Ensign May 1971) But just to reinforce the point more,"In the celestial glory there are three heavens or degrees;
And in order to obtain the highest, a man must enter into this order of the priesthood [meaning the new and everlasting covenant of marriage];
And if he does not, he cannot obtain it.
He may enter into the other, but that is the end of his kingdom; he cannot have an increase."
(D&C 131:1-4)
"And again, verily I say unto you, if a man marry a wife by my word, which is my law, and by the new and everlasting covenant, and it is sealed unto them by the Holy Spirit of promise,... [they] shall inherit thrones, kingdoms, principalities, and powers, dominions, all heights and depths—then shall it be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life,... it shall be done unto them in all things whatsoever my servant hath put upon them, in time, and through all eternity; and shall be of full force when they are out of the world; and they shall pass by the angels, and the gods, which are set there, to their exaltation and glory in all things, as hath been sealed upon their heads, which glory shall be a fulness and a continuation of the seeds forever and ever.
Then shall they be gods, because they have no end; therefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue; then shall they be above all, because all things are subject unto them. Then shall they be gods, because they have all power, and the angels are subject unto them.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, except ye abide my law ye cannot attain to this glory"
(D&C 132:19–21).
That we may we all attain unto this glory is my sincere desire.
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