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WHAT COMES NEXT, PART 2

10/14/2021

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HEAVEN
In 1832, Joseph Smith and another church leader received a revelation, in the form of a vision, that helps us better understand what happens to us after the final judgment. This is what many religions call Heaven and Hell. But, as we will see, it isn’t really that simple. People are very different from each other, and there really isn’t a fixed line between good and evil in this life. I don’t know anyone who is perfectly good or perfectly bad. Since people are so different, there ought to be differing rewards as well, right?

Jesus explained it in a very simple way. Apparently, too simply, because most people totally misunderstood what He was saying!

In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. (John 14:2)

People took that to mean that there is lots of room in Heaven for those who are good. What he actually meant was that there are many degrees of reward depending on the degree of righteousness. People aren’t just black and white, and therefore, their existences after this life cannot logically be black and white either, ie., Heaven or Hell. Saved or Condemned. With God or with Satan. Follow this link for a short explanation of the many mansions that Jesus went to prepare.

https://youtu.be/5-futI4wQ_s

The Apostle Paul taught this concept in his first epistle to the Corinthians.

There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.
There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.
So also is the resurrection of the dead. (1 Corinthians 15:40-42)

In the vision given to Joseph Smith this teaching was further expanded and clarified. If you would like to read his description of the vision, it can be found in the book that contains many of Joseph’s revelations and inspired writings: The Doctrine and Covenants. This book is divided into sections rather than chapters, and the section we will be discussing is Section 76. In the introduction to the section, we learn that Joseph and Sidney Rigdon, in a work of retranslating the Holy Bible, came to John 5:28-29, which reads:

Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
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.

They began to ponder the doctrines of Heaven and Hell. Studying and pondering the scriptures is a great way for revelation to come, not just for the prophet, but for any of us who are seeking knowledge. They were concerned about the idea of just one Heaven and one Hell, considering that people were not equally good or equally bad. Where was the line, which, when one crossed would result in one going to Heaven or to Hell? In the vision opened up to them they saw the afterlife, and the “many mansions” that Jesus talked about.

In this vision, the Lord actually described three different glories, or worlds. The apostle Paul may have had a similar vision, except that he refers to the glories as Heavens. He talks about it in the third person, but additional modern revelation tells us that he was actually speaking of his own experience. He talks about being caught up to the third heaven.

I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. (2 Corinthians 12:2)

In the vision given to Joseph Smith, he saw and later described all three of these “heavens” or “glories”.

The first of the glories to be inherited following this life is referred to as the Celestial glory or kingdom. Here are some of the characteristics described:

And again we bear record—for we saw and heard, and this is the testimony of the gospel of Christ concerning them who shall come forth in the resurrection of the just--
They are they who received the testimony of Jesus, and believed on his name and were baptized after the manner of his burial, being buried in the water in his name, and this according to the commandment which he has given--
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 and sealed unto this power;
And who overcome by faith, and are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, which the Father sheds forth upon all those who are just and true.

So, the requirements to enter into this glory or Heaven are,
  1. one must have faith in Jesus Christ,
  2. be baptized,
  3. receive the Holy Spirit by the laying on of hands, and then,
  4.  keep the commandments.

And then, this is what the Celestial glory will be for them:

They are they into whose hands the Father has given all things--
They are they who are priests and kings, who have received of his fulness, and of his glory;
And are priests of the Most High, after the order of Melchizedek, which was after the order of Enoch, which was after the order of the Only Begotten Son.
                                                . . . . . . .
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.
Wherefore, let no man glory in man, but rather let him glory in God, who shall subdue all enemies under his feet.
These shall dwell in the presence of God and his Christ forever and ever.
These are they whom he shall bring with him, when he shall come in the clouds of heaven to reign on the earth over his people.
These are they who shall have part in the first resurrection.
These are they who shall come forth in the resurrection of the just.
These are they who are come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly place, the holiest of all.
                                                            . . . . . . . .
These are they whose names are written in heaven, where God and Christ are the judge of all.
These are they who are just men made perfect through Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, who wrought out this perfect atonement through the shedding of his own blood.
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.

Wow! It seems like the heirs of the Celestial Kingdom are getting a lot more than they are giving. And they are. It doesn’t mean that fulfilling the requirements to enter in will be easy, but definitely worth it.

Is it possible that there can be a Heaven that is less glorious than this? Yes. It is referred to as the terrestrial kingdom, and the revelation goes on to describe it thus:

And again, we saw the terrestrial world, and behold and lo, these are they who are of the terrestrial, whose glory differs from that of the church of the Firstborn who have received the fulness of the Father, even as that of the moon differs from the sun in the firmament.
Behold, these are they who died without law;
And also they who are the spirits of men kept in prison, whom the Son visited, and preached the gospel unto them, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh;
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 receive of his glory, but not of his fulness.
These are they who receive of the presence of the Son, but not of the fulness of the Father.
Wherefore, they are bodies terrestrial, and not bodies celestial, and differ in glory as the moon differs from the sun.
These are they who are not valiant in the testimony of Jesus; wherefore, they obtain not the crown over the kingdom of our God.
And now this is the end of the vision which we saw of the terrestrial, that the Lord commanded us to write while we were yet in the Spirit.

Although the revelation does not give a lot of detail about what the kingdom is like, it does describe it as being to the celestial kingdom as the moon is to the sun. So, we know that it is a good place, just not as great as the celestial kingdom. Its residents will have communion with Jesus Christ, but not with Heavenly Father. What Joseph was taught in greater detail was how we end up in this particular kingdom. These are people who were good and honorable people but did not accept the gospel of Jesus Christ or receive the ordinances necessary, like baptism. These are people who did accept the gospel, and were baptized, but then failed to be valiant in their testimony of Christ, or in other words, did not keep the commandments that they promised to obey, did not repent.

And finally, the least of the heavens or glories is described:

And again, we saw the glory of the telestial, which glory is that of the lesser, even as the glory of the stars differs from that of the glory of the moon in the firmament.
These are they who received not the gospel of Christ, neither the testimony of Jesus.
These are they who deny not the Holy Spirit.
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.
These are they who receive not of his fulness in the eternal world, but of the Holy Spirit through the ministration of the terrestrial;
And the terrestrial through the ministration of the celestial.
And also the telestial receive it of the administering of angels who are appointed to minister for them, or who are appointed to be ministering spirits for them; for they shall be heirs of salvation.
And thus we saw, in the heavenly vision, the glory of the telestial, which surpasses all understanding;
And no man knows it except him to whom God has revealed it.

So, what is this telestial glory or kingdom like? We see that it is to the terrestrial kingdom as the stars are to the moon. We can see the stars, and they shine, but because of their distance do not appear to us as brightly as the moon, which in turn is not as bright as the sun because its light is merely a reflection of the sun’s light. They receive ministration of angels and the Holy Spirit, but not of Heavenly Father or Jesus Christ. They are also heirs of salvation. So, what does it mean in verse 84, “These are they who are thrust down to hell?” Remember our discussion of the spirit world where spirits go to reside after death? Remember how it is divided up into paradise and
Gehenna. Those who are destined for this lowest of all glories, will spend their unembodied time in that “Gehenna”, a spirit prison, or “Hell”, until their resurrection and judgment? According to verse 85, above, these spirits will be the last to be resurrected, and therefore will spend the longest time disembodied.

They are also in Hell in another sense, because they will be fully aware of what they could have had if they had made better choices in life, and now will never receive.
There is yet another definition of Hell, that Joseph Smith saw in this vision, and described for us, although not in great detail. This is a condition reserved for relatively few.

And we saw a vision of the sufferings of those with whom he made war and overcame, for thus came the voice of the Lord unto us:
Thus saith the Lord concerning all those who know my power, and have been made partakers thereof, and suffered themselves through the power of the devil to be overcome, and to deny the truth and defy my power--
They are they who are the sons of perdition, of whom I say that it had been better for them never to have been born;
For they are vessels of wrath, doomed to suffer the wrath of God, with the devil and his angels in eternity;
Concerning whom I have said there is no forgiveness in this world nor in the world to come--
Having denied the Holy Spirit after having received it, and having denied the Only Begotten Son of the Father, having crucified him unto themselves and put him to an open shame.
These are they who shall go away into the lake of fire and brimstone, with the devil and his angels--
And the only ones on whom the second death shall have any power;
Yea, verily, the only ones who shall not be redeemed in the due time of the Lord, after the sufferings of his wrath.
For all the rest shall be brought forth by the resurrection of the dead, through the triumph and the glory of the Lamb, who was slain, who was in the bosom of the Father before the worlds were made.
 
Wherefore, he saves all except them—they shall go away into everlasting punishment, which is endless punishment, which is eternal punishment, to reign with the devil and his angels in eternity, where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched, which is their torment--
And the end thereof, neither the place thereof, nor their torment, no man knows;
Neither was it revealed, neither is, neither will be revealed unto man, except to them who are made partakers thereof;
Nevertheless, I, the Lord, show it by vision unto many, but straightway shut it up again;
Wherefore, the end, the width, the height, the depth, and the misery thereof, they understand not, neither any man except those who are ordained unto this condemnation.
And we heard the voice, saying: Write the vision, for lo, this is the end of the vision of the sufferings of the ungodly.

Now, that is the Hell that most people are somewhat familiar with, that whole fire and brimstone thing. But as you can see, relatively few people will be consigned to that punishment. Relatively few people are even capable of reaching that depth of misery! You don’t get there by just being lazy, or even committing a little sin. You have really got to work at it! So, if you think that you might go to Hell because you just weren’t as good as you might have been in this life. Yeah, I wouldn’t worry too much about it. It requires a lot greater effort than that! But keep in mind that the greatest rewards are reserved for those who are trying to be righteous, trying to be more like Heavenly Father, and trying to know Him, which is what He really wants! He does not expect you to be perfect now – He just wants you to keep trying and never give up.

And that is our part in fulfilling the plan of God – to keep trying to live the gospel taught by Jesus Christ, and never give up.

What exactly is the gospel? That will be our next topic of discussion. See you Monday, October 18, 2021.
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WHAT COMES NEXT?

10/5/2021

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​In my last post, I said that this week I would comment on the talks given during the General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, which took place over this last weekend. However, the church released a summary of each of the talks which does a much better job of commenting on those talks than I ever could. Here is the link: https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/summary-of-the-saturday-morning-session-of-the-october-2021-general-conference

So, I will now return to the main subject of this blog, which today is that big question: What Comes Next? This is the question to which everyone, sooner or later, wants an answer; the answer! Some people ponder it throughout their lives, others don’t give it a serious thought until faced with their own mortality, maybe in their last few seconds as they lay dying. “What now?”

There are as many different answers as there are religions. Christians believe in resurrection and immortality but have different definitions as to what exactly that entails. Some believe that our spirits sleep in the grave with the body until the day of resurrection; or not. Most Christians and Muslims believe in an entirely spiritual afterlife with no physical body; that resurrection is just the spirit being brought back to life.

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints believe that like any essential philosophical question, this one must be answered by God, through His Holy prophets. So, what exactly do the prophets have to say on this matter?
From the very first Book of Scripture, Genesis, we learn that man has a spirit. What is a spirit?

In Genesis 2:7 we read, “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” In Hebrew, the word translated as “breath” is “neshamah”, which in other places in the Old Testament is translated as spirit. So, we can see that God created man, and then placed his spirit into him. Many Christian sects believe that this is the point at which the Spirit is created. Thanks to other ancient prophets, as well as revelation in our day, we know differently. The Lord said to the prophet Jeremiah, “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” Jeremiah lived before he was born, because God knew him, sanctified him, and ordained him before he was “formed in the belly.”

Men and women are eternal beings. They have always existed and will never cease to exist. Before this earth life we all existed as spirits. When we were born we gained bodies, albeit imperfect ones. When we die we will lose those bodies again, because they are imperfect, and in spite of any medical advances that may extend life, they will eventually fall apart and waste away.

Jesus’ resurrection brought about a future resurrection for all. Everybody. Good or bad. The resurrected bodies will be perfect, and eternal; they will not fall apart and waste away but will continue for eternity. Here is a short You Tube video about resurrection and immortality:

https://youtu.be/5_PAXkkQ6uY

So, what is the point? If everybody will be resurrected in perfect immortal bodies, why do we need to worry about keeping commandments or repenting. Everybody is going to end up equally eternal in the next life, right? Well, yes, and no. We need to be concerned not so much with whether we will live again, but rather how we will live again. Through modern revelation we learn the difference between immortality and eternal life. Here is another You Tube presentation that explains this difference:

https://youtu.be/x7H4YtMtvDI

Immortality means just what you think. No longer mortal. Living forever, never dying, again. This a gift given us by Jesus Christ; everyone will be resurrected to immortality. Eternal Life? Well, that means something a little different. Through a revelation given to Joseph Smith, we learn that “Eternal” is one of Heavenly Father’s names, or titles. In this context, Eternal Life would mean “God’s Life”, or the type of life that Heavenly Father experiences. This is not a gift, in the same way that immortality is a gift. Eternal Life must be purchased, and it has a high price: perfection; a sinless life. Since none of us get out of this life in pristine condition, none of us can qualify for Eternal Life, at least not on our own. But luckily for us, the purchase price has been paid, and we our left with something comparatively easy to pay, easily doable for the weakest of human beings. We need to repent. We will talk more in depth about repentance in another post down the road. For now, a simplified explanation of repentance is to ask forgiveness for your sins, and then do your best not to commit them again. It has to be a real effort. You really have to try your best. Here is a wonderful modern-day parable that explains the atonement of Jesus Christ, and how repentance fits into the plan:
​

https://youtu.be/d7N5QDDboi8

As we continue to repent each day, and improve ourselves little by little, and become just a tiny bit more like Jesus, we are fulfilling His commandment to “be ye therefore perfect.” Don’t worry about whether you can become perfect in this life. You just have to be on the road to perfection, walking in the right direction, and making some progress.

So, you have spent your life repenting and trying your best to improve. So, what’s next? What exactly does eternal life entail? Will you sprout angel wings, and sit on a cloud, playing a harp? Hardly. Do you really think that is what God does? Because Eternal Life, is His life. This silly idea, like so many sectarian notions, is a good example of why so many rational, clear-thinking people, leave religion behind, becoming atheists and agnostics. Atheists are not bad people. They just refuse to believe in silly ideas that are irrational to them. If I had not learned the true gospel of Jesus, I would have become atheist long ago. In my youth I was already starting to be become somewhat agnostic, doubting the religion in which I had been raised. Thank goodness that when we pay attention to what God has revealed through prophets, past and present, the gospel becomes much clearer, makes more sense, and the silly ideas dreamed up by people throughout our history fall by the wayside. And some of those ideas relate to concepts of Heaven and Hell, as described by most denominations. First, let’s talk about Hell, a very misunderstood concept.

HELL
The English word “Hell” is a translation of the Hebrew word “Sheol” and has a similar meaning to the Greek word “Hades”. It refers to the place where the spirits of those who have died go to reside. Traditionally it has come to signify the place where the spirits of the wicked go to be tormented for eternity (see Inferno, by Dante Aligheri).

But the scriptures don’t actually describe it as such. Early understanding of these words was that they referred to a place for all the spirits of the dead, and was divided into two parts: a paradise, and a place referred to as  “Gehenna”. The earthly Gehenna was a place outside of Jerusalem where, during a period of Jewish wickedness and idolatry, children were sacrificed to the god Moloch. It later became a place where the city’s trash was taken to be burned. The constant burning of trash, and likely a bad smell, is probably what people were thinking of when they described Hell as a place of eternal flames and brimstone (which is another name for sulfur. Ever smell sulfur? Smells kind of like rotten eggs.)

These descriptions are illustrated by Jesus’ parable of the rich man and Lazarus found in Luke Chapter 16:

19 ¶ There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,
21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;


(Abraham’s Bosom is a metaphor for Paradise, where Abraham was to have resided after his death).

23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.


The word ”Hell” in the scriptures is actually used to refer to three completely different things. The first one is this hell referred to above in the story of Lazarus and the rich man. In the Book of Mormon, we learn that this particular division is a temporary one for spirits awaiting the resurrection, and the final judgement.         

11 Now, concerning the state of the soul between death and the resurrection—Behold, it has been made known unto me by an angel, that the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body, yea, the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave them life.
12 And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of those who are righteous are received into a state of happiness, which is called paradise, a state of rest, a state of peace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care, and sorrow.
13 And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of the wicked, yea, who are evil—for behold, they have no part nor portion of the Spirit of the Lord; for behold, they chose evil works rather than good; therefore the spirit of the devil did enter into them, and take possession of their house—and these shall be cast out into outer darkness; there shall be weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth, and this because of their own iniquity, being led captive by the will of the devil.
14 Now this is the state of the souls of the wicked, yea, in darkness, and a state of awful, fearful looking for the fiery indignation of the wrath of God upon them; thus they remain in this state, as well as the righteous in paradise, until the time of their resurrection.
 
21 But whether it be at his resurrection or after, I do not say; but this much I say, that there is a space between death and the resurrection of the body, and a state of the soul in happiness or in misery until the time which is appointed of God that the dead shall come forth, and be reunited, both soul and body, and be brought to stand before God, and be judged according to their works (Book of Mormon, Alma 40:11-14, 21).


So, if this paradise and darkness (or hell) is temporary, and only lasts until the physical resurrection, what comes next? What the scriptures refer to as “judgment” or “final judgment” is the next step in the process. It is at this point where it will be decided how each of us will spend his/her immortality. See the following link for a description of that final judgment:

https://youtu.be/xipp_JvBJos

And this will be the topic of our next discussion on Monday, October 11, 2021. See you then.
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    Author

    My name is Cary Martinez, and I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (formerly known as Mormons). Although it can be found in 161 of the 195  countries in the world, as of the end of 2020, members of The Church accounted for only about .2% of the world's population. What is it about this church (formerly known as Mormon) that draws some people to it, and repels so many more? More to the point, why am I a Latter-Day Saint? This blog explores these questions, and many more.

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