As I read through this lesson, I thought of a story a girl who used to
be in this ward told once. While she was on her mission, she and her companion
were teaching a man about the degrees of glory, and they taught him about the
celestial kingdom first, and after that, when they would have next taught about
the terrestrial and telestial kingdoms, he said, “That’s enough. I don’t need
to know about the other ones.” He wanted the celestial kingdom, and anything
less wasn’t enough and he didn’t even want to know about them.
It’s good for us to know about them; the revelations of God obviously
are important, and we should study them in their entirety, but at the same
time, I couldn’t help but want to focus on the celestial kingdom today.
Celestial Kingdom
We’re going to read about those who inherit the celestial kingdom, and
as we do so, I’d like us to look for phrases that stand out to us about the
characteristics of those who inherit the celestial kingdom.
The manual says: “The
Prophet Joseph Smith saw the following in vision, later recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 76:50–59, 62, 68–70:
“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.
“They are they who are the church of the Firstborn. 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, 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. …
“These shall dwell in the presence of God and his Christ
forever and ever. … 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.”6 (page 220-221)
“Here, then, is eternal life—to know the
only wise and true God; and you have got to learn how to be gods yourselves,
and to be kings and priests to God, … by going from one small degree to
another, and from a small capacity to a great one; from grace to grace, from
exaltation to exaltation, until you attain to the resurrection of the dead, and
are able to dwell in everlasting burnings, and to sit in glory, as do those who
sit enthroned in everlasting power. …” (page 221)
Were there any phrases that stood out to anyone in these paragraphs?
There were a couple that stood out to me; once was “overcome by faith.”
The manual asks, “What are some things we might need to overcome? How does faith
in Jesus Christ help us to overcome our problems in this life?
I think there are lots of thing we need to overcome—trials and problems
and frustrations. Faith helps us overcome them because we know that Jesus
Christ atoned for us, that He knows what we’re feeling and what we’re dealing
with, and He knows how to overcome.
As it says in John 16:33, “These things I
have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall
have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
We can have peace and be of good cheer because we know that we can overcome
because He overcame the world.
This makes me think of Elder Holland’s fireside
a few weeks ago, when he directed us to D&C123:17:
“Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us
cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still,
with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be
revealed.”
We can be sure that God will reveal His arm, that He will help us to overcome
all things. He knows how to do it, and as we do all we can, He will help us.
When thinking about overcoming, I liked the footnote for D&C 76:53,
which refers us to the Topical Guide to look up “Self-Mastery.” Those who
inherit the celestial kingdom overcome themselves. We learn to do what we are
told to do in Mosiah
3:19, which is put off the natural man and become a Saint through the
Atonement of Jesus Christ. We overcome our weaknesses, our stubbornness, etc.
We let go of any part of us that isn’t like God.
Another phrase that stood out to me is, “They are they into whose hands
the Father has given all things.” That made me think of Alma 12:9-10, which
says:
“9 And now Alma
began to expound these things unto him, saying: It is given unto many to know
the mysteries of God; nevertheless they are laid under a strict command that
they shall not impart only according to the portion of his word which he doth
grant unto the children of men, according to the heed and diligence which they
give unto him.
10 And therefore, he
that will harden his heart, the same receiveth the lesser portion of the word;
and he that will not harden his heart, to him is given the greater portion of
the word, until it is given unto him to know the mysteries of God until he know
them in full.”
Who gets to receive all things?
Those who are willing to receive, who harden not their hearts.
Another phrase I liked was “just
men made perfect”. I wasn’t entirely sure what that meant, though, but thankfully
there were more footnotes to take us to Ezekiel 18:5-9, which reads:
“5 But
if a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right,
6 And hath not eaten
upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house
of Israel, neither hath defiled his neighbour’s wife, neither hath come near to
a menstruous woman,
7 And hath not
oppressed any, but hath restored to the debtor
his pledge, hath spoiled none by violence, hath given his bread to the hungry,
and hath covered the naked with a garment;
8 He that hath not given forth upon usury, neither hath
taken any increase, that hath withdrawn his hand
from iniquity, hath executed true judgment between man and man,
9 Hath walked in my
statutes, and hath kept my judgments, to deal truly; he is just, he shall surely live, saith the Lord God.”
So, some of those things don’t
apply to us because they were part of the law of Moses, but the basic principle
is the same—a just man is one who lives the entire law.
D&C 138:12 also
gives some insights into what being a just man means: “And there were gathered
together in one place an innumerable company of the spirits of the just, who
had been faithful in the testimony of Jesus while they lived in mortality;”
So, a just person is one who has
been faithful to the testimony of Jesus Christ.
The manual says, “In the
description of those who will inherit celestial, terrestrial, and telestial
glory, the phrase “the testimony of Jesus” is used five times (pages 220–24).
What are the characteristics of a person who is “valiant in the testimony of
Jesus”? What promises are given to those who are valiant in the testimony of
Jesus?”
We’ve talked about some of them,
but I also have a quotation
from Elder Bruce R. McConkie that addresses this:
“Now what does it mean to be valiant in the
testimony of Jesus?
“It is to be courageous and bold; to use all
our strength, energy, and ability in the warfare with the world; to fight the
good fight of faith. “Be strong and of a good courage,” the Lord commanded
Joshua, and then specified that this strength and courage consisted of meditating
upon and observing to do all that is written in the law of the Lord. (See Josh. 1:6–9.) The great cornerstone of
valiance in the cause of righteousness is obedience to the whole law of the
whole gospel.
“To be valiant in the testimony of Jesus is
to “come unto Christ, and be perfected in him”; it is to deny ourselves “of all
ungodliness,” and “love God” with all our “might, mind and strength.” (Moro. 10:32.)
“To be valiant in the testimony of Jesus is
to believe in Christ and his gospel with unshakable conviction. It is to know
of the verity and divinity of the Lord’s work on earth.
“But this is not all. It is more than
believing and knowing. We must be doers of the word and not hearers only. It is
more than lip service; it is not simply confessing with the mouth the divine
Sonship of the Savior. It is obedience and conformity and personal
righteousness. “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into
the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in
heaven.” (Matt. 7:21.)
“To be valiant in the testimony of Jesus is
to “press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness
of hope, and a love of God and of all men.” It is to “endure to the end.” (2 Ne. 31:20.) It is to live our religion, to
practice what we preach, to keep the commandments. It is the manifestation of
“pure religion” in the lives of men; it is visiting “the fatherless and widows
in their affliction” and keeping ourselves “unspotted from the world.” (James 1:27.)
“To be valiant in the testimony of Jesus is
to bridle our passions, control our appetites, and rise above carnal and evil
things. It is to overcome the world as did he who is our prototype and who
himself was the most valiant of all our Father’s children. It is to be morally
clean, to pay our tithes and offerings, to honor the Sabbath day, to pray with
full purpose of heart, to lay our all upon the altar if called upon to do so.
“To be valiant in the testimony of Jesus is
to take the Lord’s side on every issue. It is to vote as he would vote. It is
to think what he thinks, to believe what he believes, to say what he would say
and do what he would do in the same situation. It is to have the mind of Christ
and be one with him as he is one with his Father.”
That
kind of seems like a lot. But we are all capable of doing each of those things.
Two more phrases that I really liked from the lesson was “one small degree to
another” and “from grace to grace”. It’s a process, and it’s okay that it takes
us awhile. But if we keep moving forward in the process, we really can be
valiant in the testimony of Jesus.
It’s
also worth the fight!
As Joseph Smith explained, “… [The righteous who
have died] shall rise again to dwell in everlasting burnings in immortal glory,
not to sorrow, suffer, or die any more, but they shall be heirs of God and
joint heirs with Jesus Christ. What is it? To inherit the same
power, the same glory and the same exaltation, until you arrive at the station
of a god, and ascend the throne of eternal power, the same as those who have
gone before.”8
“They who obtain a glorious resurrection from the dead,
are exalted far above principalities, powers, thrones, dominions and angels,
and are expressly declared to be heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus
Christ, all having eternal power [see Romans 8:17].”9 (page 221-222)
We
get to be gods, with power and glory and a fullness of joy. I’m not sure what
he meant by “everlasting burnings,” but it made me think of how I feel at the
temple or during General Conference or when I’m learning by the Spirit—and I
love those feelings of being on fire with the Gospel and with joy.
I want to close with my testimony. I want to
testify that these things are true. I want to testify that Jesus is the Christ
and that His work and His glory are our immortality and eternal life. I want to
testify that He wants those things for each of us, that He wants us to have a
celestial inheritance, and that He has done and will do all that He can to help
us to receive that inheritance. I want to testify that it’s possible for us
each to inherit the celestial kingdom, to move toward it line upon line. The
Lord is constantly at work in our lives; He doesn’t ever take a break from us and
say, “Oh, I’ll worry about Adrienne later.” He’s always working toward our
exaltation, and if we’ll do our part, we will make it; there’s no way we’ll
miss out. And we can do our part, because part of what Jesus does it help us be
able to. He knows our weaknesses and our struggles and He knows how to overcome
every single one of them. And mostly, I want to testify that Jesus lives and He
loves us each individually and perfectly. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
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