Compiled by Dennis B. Horne
Elder Melvin J. Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve (Pres. M. Russell
Ballard’s grandfather):
Excerpts from his famous address, “The
Three Degrees of Glory”:
The greatest revelation the Lord, Jesus Christ, has ever given to man, so far as a record is made, was given to the Prophet Joseph Smith on the 16th of April, 1832, known as the 76th section of the book of Doctrine & Covenants, commonly called for years and still known as "The Vision." This to my mind is the climax of all wonderful revelations that have come from the Lord from the days of Father Adam until the present moment. . . .
Your minds and hearts are set upon knowing what you
must do to obtain the greatest thing the Lord has offered. I want to talk about
that more than anything else because I do not discover many of you who would be
satisfied with second-hand things, and you are not contented or happy by having
second best or third best. So we will begin by reading a description of the
terms and conditions that we must comply with to obtain the celestial glory. I
think it will be worth every sacrifice required and a hundred times more if
need be. Personally, I would give it to attain that which God has offered to
men and women who enter into the celestial glory.
We read in the Doctrine & Covenants: "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." (D.
& C. 76:51.)
I now say to all the world that no man, no woman, ever
shall see the celestial kingdom of God who is not baptized of the water and of
the spirit. The Lord has specified it. He made it so binding and complete when
after announcing the law he complied with every term himself, though perfect,
so that no man who imagines himself to be perfect here can excuse himself or
herself from obedience to the law of baptism. It is the door, the gate to
Celestial Glory.
"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."(Ibid.: 52-53.)
I would like to pause and emphasize that passage, because, while we
receive eternal blessings at the hands of the priesthood which has the right to
seal on earth and it shall be sealed in heaven, this revelation clearly states
it must be sealed by the holy spirit of promise also.
A man and woman may by fraud and deception obtain admittance to the
house of the Lord and may receive the pronouncement of the Holy Priesthood,
giving to them, so far as lies in their power, these blessings. We may deceive
men, but we cannot deceive the Holy Ghost, and our blessings will not be
eternal unless they are also sealed by the holy spirit of promise, the Holy
Ghost, one who reads the thoughts and hearts of men and gives his sealing
approval to the blessings pronounced upon their heads. Then it is binding,
efficacious, and of full force.
I thank the Lord that there is this provision, so that even though men
are able to deceive their brethren, they are not able to deceive the Holy Ghost
and thus come into possession of their blessings unless they prove in word, in
thought, and in deed their worthiness and righteousness.
Reading again from the 53rd verse:
"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" (Ibid. 53-55.)
Is there anything that you have ever dreamed of that you wanted, that
you longed for? Into the hands of those who attain this glory shall all things
be given.
What a world of meaning! You can ponder over that all the rest of your
lives and every thought and aspiration of the human heart in righteousness that
it is possible for men to conceive will be but a fraction of that which is
comprehended in this statement, that "Unto them shall be given all
things," because it is not possible for mortals to think of a thousandth
part of what this means.
Reading again:
"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—" (Ibid. 57-58.)
WE HAVE frequently said that perhaps the grandest thought that has ever
been brought forth to the children of men is the Mormon truism, namely:
"As man is, God once was, and as God is, man may become." The
foundation of that truism is in this revelation and these words we have just
read. Let me read them again:
"Wherefore, as it is written, they are gods, even the sons of God."
Now, I would like to say a word or two about that Mormon truism,
namely: "As man is, God once was, and as God is, man may become."
Note that it is not to the effect that man will become, but man may
become, and I wish to say that few men will become what God is. And yet, all
men may become what he is if they will pay the price.
Now, I wish to say to you that the only possible candidates to become
what God is are those who attain celestial glory, and those who fail in that
will never, worlds without end, be possible candidates to become what God is.
Then I wish to say to you that there are three degrees of glory in the
celestial kingdom and only those who attain the highest degree of celestial
glory will be candidates to become what God is, and graduate.
So you see, it is within the reach of every man and woman who lives,
but only attainable by those who pay the price, who stand the test, who prove
themselves, who comply with the terms and conditions that make their calling
and election sure.
I wish now just a moment to diverge and turn to the 131st section of
the book of Doctrine & Covenants. It is very brief and is upon the point I
am just discussing. It is a revelation which was given May 16th and May 17th,
1843.
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." (Ibid. 131:1-4.)
Those who are denied endless increase cannot be what God is because
that, in connection with other things, makes him God. The eternity of the
marriage covenant ought to be understood by Latter-day Saints clearly to be the
sealing of at least one woman to one man for time and for all eternity. Then do
not get confused on that point and imagine that it necessarily means more than
one woman. It may be, certainly, but it does mean at least that one man and one
woman are sealed together by the power of the Holy Priesthood and by the
sealing approval of the Holy Ghost for time and for all eternity, and then that
they keep their covenants, before they will be candidates for the highest
degree of celestial glory, and unto them only of all these groups of our
Father's children is the promise made of endless or eternal increase.
What do we mean by endless or eternal increase? We mean that through
the righteousness and faithfulness of men and women who keep the commandments
of God they will come forth with celestial bodies, fitted and prepared to enter
into their great, high and eternal glory in the celestial kingdom of God; and
unto them, through their preparation, there will come children, who will be
spirit children. I don't think that is very difficult to comprehend and
understand. The nature of the offspring is determined by the nature of the
substance that flows in the veins of the being. When blood flows in the veins
of the being, the offspring will be what blood produces, which is tangible flesh
and bone, but when that which flows in the veins is spirit matter, a substance
which is more refined and pure and glorious than blood, the offspring of such
beings will be spirit children. By that I mean they will be in the image of the
parents. They will have a spirit body and have a spark of the eternal or divine
that always did exist in them.
Unto such parentage will this glorious privilege come, for it is
written in our scriptures that "the glory of God is to bring to pass the
immortality and eternal life of man." So, it will be the glory of men and
women that will make their glory like unto his. When the power of endless
increase shall come to them, and their offspring, growing and multiplying
through ages that shall come, they will be in due time, as we have been,
provided with an earth like this, wherein they too may obtain earthly bodies
and pass through all the experiences through which we have passed, and then we
shall hold our relationship to them, the fulness and completeness of which has
not been revealed to us, but we shall stand in our relationship to them as God,
our Eternal Father, does to us, and thereby is this the most glorious and
wonderful privilege that ever will come to any of the sons and daughters of
God.
Now I wish to return to the 76th section: "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." (Ibid. 59-60.)
Here is a significant statement. I have said that in addition to one's
baptism of the water and of the spirit, which is essential for admission to the
kingdom of God, we are to add to our faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to
knowledge temperance, patience, brotherly kindness, godliness, humility, and
diligence. If these things be not in us, we are blind and cannot see afar, but
if they are in us, they will make us so that we will be able to make our
calling and election sure.
A man may receive the priesthood and all its privileges and blessings,
but until he learns to overcome the flesh, his temper, his tongue, his
disposition to indulge in the things God has forbidden, he cannot come into the
celestial kingdom of God—he must overcome either in this life or in the life to
come. But this life is the time in which men are to repent. Do not let any of
us imagine that we can go down to the grave not having overcome the corruptions
of the flesh and then lose in the grave all our sins and evil tendencies. They
will be with us. They will be with the spirit when separated from the body.
It is my judgment that any man or woman can do more to conform to the
laws of God in one year in this life than they could in ten years when they are
dead. The spirit only can repent and change, and then the battle has to go
forward with the flesh afterwards. It is much easier to overcome and serve the
Lord when both flesh and spirit are combined as one. This is the time when men
are more pliable and susceptible. When clay is pliable, it is much easier to
change than when it gets hard and sets.
This life is the time to repent. That is why I presume it will take a
thousand years after the first resurrection until the last group will be
prepared to come forth. It will take them a thousand years to do what it would
have taken, but three score years and ten to accomplish in this life.
You remember the vision of the redemption of the dead as given to the
Church through the late President Joseph F. Smith. President Smith saw the
spirits of the righteous dead after their resurrection, and the language is the
same as the one of the Prophet Joseph's revelations—that they, the righteous
dead, looked upon the absence of their spirits from their bodies as a bondage.
I grant you that the righteous dead will be at peace, but I tell you
that when we go out of this life, leave this body, we will desire to do many
things that we cannot do at all without the body. We will be seriously
handicapped, and we will long for the body; we will pray for that early reunion
with our bodies. We will know then what advantage it is to have a body.
Then every man and woman who is putting off until the next life the
task of correcting and overcoming the weakness of the flesh are sentencing
themselves to years of bondage, for no man or woman will come forth in the
resurrection until he has completed his work, until he has overcome, until he
has done as much as he can do. That is why Jesus said in the resurrection there
is neither marriage or giving in marriage, for all such
contracts—agreements—will be provided for those who are worthy of it before men
and women come forth in the resurrection, and those who are complying in this
life with these conditions are shortening their sentences, for every one of us
will have a matter of years in that spirit state to complete and finish our
salvation. And some may attain, by reason of their righteousness in this life,
the right to do postgraduate work, to be admitted into the celestial kingdom,
but others will lose absolutely the right to that glory, all they can do will
not avail after death to bring them into the celestial kingdom.
The point I have in mind is that we are sentencing ourselves to long
periods of bondage, separating our spirits from our bodies, or we are
shortening that period, according to the way in which we overcome and master
ourselves.
"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." (Ibid. 61-62.)
Do you comprehend it, you who gain celestial glory, the privilege of
dwelling in the presence of God and his Christ forever and ever? What did it
mean to have in the world, during his ministry, for three brief years the Lord
Jesus Christ—not the Father, just the Son? It was the most wonderful privilege
the world has ever had. What would you give tonight for the privilege of
standing in the presence of the Son for five minutes? You would give all your
earthly possessions for that privilege. Then can you comprehend the full
meaning and significance of the statement that those who gain celestial glory
will have the privilege of dwelling in the presence of the Father and the Son
forever and ever? That, in itself, will be reward enough for the struggle to
obtain the prize. Yea, it is beyond price and earthly possessions. Even the
giving of life itself would be a trifle for the privilege to dwell forever and
ever in the presence of the Father and the Son.
Now I want to make an explanation that you may comprehend and understand
God's plan, which allows us to dwell in his presence. The Lord has created by
and through his Son, Jesus Christ, according to the book of Moses, worlds
without number, and numerous are they as the sands upon the seashore. In each
one, undoubtedly, dwells a group of his children. Then how can he dwell in the
presence of all these several groups at one and the same time? If you will read
the 88th section of Doctrine & Covenants, toward the latter part of that
section the Lord undertakes to explain it.
The Lord told Joseph Smith how he looks upon these, his kingdoms,
worlds without number, and he said, "I know them. I count them." And
Moses wondered and wanted to know about them. But the Lord said unto Moses,
"Only an account of this earth give I unto you."
There is something else to learn after we leave this earth, and I
rejoice in the anticipation of further and greater knowledge concerning the
things I do not now understand and comprehend. The Lord touched Joseph's
understanding when he said, Behold, these are known to me. They are like a man
having a field, and he sent a group of workers to this part of the field and
gave them instructions what to do and told them he would visit them in their
hour and in their time. He sent out the second group into another part of the
field, and another group, and unto each of them he made the promise that he
would visit them in their hour and in their time and season until they all
would be made glad by the joy of his countenance. He would visit them from the
first to the last and from the last to the first in one eternal round, each in
his time, in his hour and in his season.
I presume that is the reason that the promise is made that Christ will
dwell with men on this earth for a thousand years and that will be our day, our
time, and then I presume he will do as suggested in this 88th section; he will
visit other places and kingdoms; but while absent from this group we will,
nevertheless, be in his presence, in communication with him.
Every man and woman who enters the celestial kingdom will find
themselves living on this earth, which shall be a celestial world, and we will
identify it as the earth upon which we have lived. Each man and woman who
enters that kingdom will find the earth a Urim and Thummim, looking into which
one may learn about all conditions and kingdoms that are beneath and the
kingdom in which we live, so that all depths are revealed to us.
The revelations referred to inform us that whosoever enters the
celestial kingdom shall receive a white stone, a Urim and Thummim of greatest
purity. Through the gift and power of God it will enable the possessor to read
the universe and obtain knowledge from all kingdoms, not only the one in which
we dwell, so that we will comprehend all heights and all depths. Those who gain
celestial glory, to them only comes this privilege, and though absent it is
possible for the Father and the Son to commune and converse with all who are
entitled to enjoy that companionship, the other Comforter, just as the Holy
Ghost now has the right and power to operate and converse at once with ten
thousand or ten million souls who have complied with baptism and have been
brought within the circle in tune that they may receive the communication.
Every man and woman will hear at once and dwell in his presence to be
constantly instructed.
I ought not to spend any time trying to persuade you that this is
possible when you know that in this day the human voice has been magnified a
hundred thousand times by the skill of man, so that it is said the human voice
may be increased one hundred thousand times and encircle the globe. If we can
do that, and we do it every day, what does God know about it? So much more than
we know and comprehend that our advances are just a feeble opening of the great
eternal truths of science and knowledge which God has.
I understand now something about that wonderful appearance of the
Redeemer to the Nephites. They heard a voice, and though it was not a loud
voice and came from the clouds, yet it was a keen and penetrating voice so that
it entered every heart and made their very frames quake. Now I understand that
God knows how. Though absent, he may speak, and all the groups of his children
who are entitled to hear him, shall hear, and in their hour and in their time
and season enjoy his personal presence and forever and always his
companionship, the companionship of his spirit and his personal ministry
through his means of communication with such souls.
I cannot begin this night to tell you what that means—to enjoy the
blessings and privileges of dwelling in Christ's presence forever and ever. I
know how the soul is thrilled; I know the feeling that comes by being in his
presence for but a moment. I would give all that I am, all that I hope to be,
to have the joy of his presence, to dwell in his love and his affection and to
be in favor with the Master of all things forever and ever.
I wish now to call your attention to other revelations which the Lord
has given in this dispensation relative to those who have died without law.
You will recall how the Prophet Joseph was greatly concerned over his
own Brother Alvin. Alvin Smith was a devout believer in Joseph's vision, but
prior to the restoration of the priesthood and the restoration of the doctrine
of baptism, he died. Joseph was deeply concerned over his death, and the Lord
gave Joseph Smith a revelation, wherein he said he saw Alvin in the celestial
kingdom. Alvin was not really there; it was Alvin's right and privilege to be
there; but he could not go there without baptism. The Lord said all who would
have received the gospel had they heard it, they too will be candidates for the
celestial glory. Who are they? How can they be determined?
Some folk get the notion that the problems of life will at once clear
up, and they will know that this is the gospel of Christ when they die. I have
heard people say they believe when they die, they will see Peter and that he
will clear it all up. I said, "You never will see Peter until you accept
the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, at the hands of the elders of the Church,
living or dead. They will meet these men to whom this right and authority has
been given, for this generation shall receive it at the hands of those who have
been honored with the priesthood of this dispensation. Living or dead, they
shall not hear it from anyone else."
So, men won't know any more when they are dead than when they are
living, only they will have passed through the change called death. They will
not understand the truths of the gospel only by the same process as they
understand and comprehend them here. So when they hear the gospel preached in
the spirit world, they will respond just as our fathers and mothers have, with
a glad heart. They will love it and embrace it. It will then be easy to know
who they are. They who have died without the knowledge of the truth, they who
will receive it with glad hearts, they also will be candidates for celestial
glory. When you die and go to the spirit world, you will labor for years,
trying to convert individuals who will be taking their own course. Some of them
will repent; some of them will listen. Another group will be rebellious,
following their own will and notion, and that group will get smaller and
smaller until every knee shall humbly bow and every tongue confess.
It may take us thousands of years to do that. But those who are of the
blood of Israel, who had they been living, would have received the gospel and
are not participators in the blessings, will in a similar manner receive it in
the spirit world.
Now I want to go a little further and identify us and our posterity and
our ancestors, to be able to tell you why it is that there is a great
proportion of our Father's children who die without law and why you and I came
into possession of the knowledge of the law. The Prophet Joseph Smith said—you
will find these words in the fourth volume of Church History, page 231.
This was at the time of the completion of the baptismal font in the Nauvoo
Temple. The Prophet said:
"The Saints have the privilege of being baptized for those of
their own relatives who are dead whom they believe would have embraced the
gospel if they had lived, if they had had the privilege of hearing it, and who
have received the gospel in the spirit world through the instrumentality of
those who have been commissioned to preach to them while in prison."
The limitation given to Latter-day Saints at that time was, baptism for
their dead whom they believe would have received the gospel. That is all. Now
since we are not prepared to pass judgment on our dead ancestors whom we did
not know, the Church has gone further and has permitted members of the Church
to do the work for all their immediate ancestors unless they are murderers.
There can be no work done for those who have committed murder. . . .
That is why the Lord in giving Daniel the interpretation of that
wonderful dream of Nebuchadnezzar was able to tell very clearly, long before
they were born, when the various people should rise and bear rule upon the
earth. There was a group of tested, tried, and proven souls before they were
born into the world, and the Lord provided a lineage for them. That lineage is
the house of Israel, the lineage of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and their
posterity. Through this lineage were to come the true and tried souls that had
demonstrated their righteousness in the spirit world before they came here. We
came through that lineage. Our particular branch is the house of Joseph through
his son Ephraim. That is the group whence shall come the majority of the
candidates for celestial glory. That is why we are doing the work for our
ancestors and not for others.[1]
Let us not imagine that in this dispensation we shall do the work for
the dead Chinese or Hindus. I expect it will take one thousand years to
complete in our temples the ordinances looking to the salvation of the house of
Israel. It will take all Latter-day Saints and all that we can do to take care
of our own branch—of our own house. While we do the work for our dead
ancestors, we will reach a limit after a while. That limit will be after we
have gone as far as records are kept. I have said that when any man or woman
goes into this work earnestly, the Lord will provide ways and means for him to
obtain the information he seeks. Our understanding will be opened and sources
of knowledge will be made manifest. Why? Because the dead know a great deal
more than we do about existing records.
Why is it that sometimes only one of a city or household receives the
gospel? It was made known to me that it is because of the righteous dead who
had received the gospel in the spirit world exercising themselves, and in
answer to their prayers elders of the Church were sent to the homes of their
posterity that the gospel might be taught to them, and through their
righteousness they might be privileged to have a descendant in the flesh do the
work for their dead kindred.[2] I want to say to you that
it is with greater intensity that the hearts of the fathers and mothers in the
spirit world are turned to their children than that our hearts are turned to
them.
And so it is that the Lord will open the way for those who seek
information and knowledge. . . .
Any man or woman, not only those in the days of Noah, who heard the
gospel and rejected it, but in this day any man or woman who has had a good
chance to have heard the gospel, to receive it and embrace it and enjoy its
blessings and privileges, who lived during their life in absolute indifference
to these things, ignoring it, and neglected it, need not hope or anticipate
that when he is dead the work can be done for him and he gain celestial glory.
Don't you Latter-day Saints get the notion that a man or woman can live in
defiance or total indifference, having had a good chance—not a casual chance or
opportunity—and when they die, you can go and do the work for that individual
and have them receive every blessing that the faithful ones are entitled to. If
that becomes the doctrine of the Church we will be worse than the Catholics,
who believe that you can pray a man out of purgatory. But they charge for it,
and we don't, so we would be more foolish than they.
I say this to stimulate you to try and make your lives conform to the
commandments of the Master, that you may work while the day lasts, for the
night cometh when it will not profit a man to work. That applies to those who
had a chance to receive the gospel but rejected it. I want to say this: It
applies also to men and women who neglect going to the house of God, who think,
"Oh, well, if I don't do the work, my wife will fix it up." I tell
you they are treading on dangerous ground. They may wake up and find that their
day and opportunity have gone. They had the chance; they died without accepting
it. They neglected it and may lose it.
I am not judging their case: the Lord will judge every case on its merits.
"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." (Ibid.
75-79.)
There are Latter-day Saints, many of them, who are not valiant in the
testimony of Jesus, though they have entered into these covenants have not kept
them. They have broken their pledges and may come forth in the resurrection and
find themselves wholly unworthy to be candidates for the celestial glory. They
will come up in the terrestrial world. It is for us to make our calling and
election sure. We can do it in this life.
Now let me pass to the third and last of these groups, the telestial.
"And again, we saw the glory of the telestial, which glory is that
of the lesser, even as the glory of the stars differ 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 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.
"And thus we saw the glory of the terrestrial, which excels in all
things the glory of the telestial, even in glory, and in power, and might, and
in dominion.
"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;
"Before whose throne all things bow in humble reverence and give
him glory forever and ever.
"They who dwell in his presence are the church of the Firstborn,
and they see as they are seen, and know as they are known, having received of
his fulness and of his grace;
"And he makes them equal in power, and in might, and in dominion.
"And the glory of the celestial is one, even as the glory of the
sun is one.
"And the glory of the terrestrial is one, even as the glory of the
moon is one.
"And the glory of the telestial is one, even as the glory of the
stars is one; for as one star differs from another star in glory, even so
differs one from another in glory in the telestial world;
"For these are they who are of Paul, and of Apollos, and of
Cephas.
"These are they who say they are some of one and some of
another—some of Christ and some of John, and some of Moses, and some of Elias,
and some of Esaias, and some of Isaiah, and some of Enoch;
"But received not the gospel, neither the testimony of Jesus,
neither the prophets, neither the everlasting covenant.
"Last of all, these are they who will not be gathered with the
saints, to be caught up unto the church of the Firstborn, and received into the
cloud.
"These are they who are liars, and sorcerers, and adulterers, and
whoremongers, and whosoever loves and makes a lie.
"These are they who suffer the wrath of God on the earth.
"These are they who suffer the vengeance of eternal fire.
"These are they who are cast down to hell and suffer the wrath of
Almighty God, until the fulness of times when Christ shall have subdued all
enemies under his feet, and shall have perfected his work;
"When he shall deliver up the kingdom, and present it unto the
father, spotless, saying: I have overcome and have trodden the wine-press
alone, even the wine-press of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God.
"Then shall he be crowned with the crown of his glory, to sit on
the throne of his power to reign forever and ever.
"But behold, and lo, we saw the glory and the inhabitants of the
telestial world, that they were as innumerable as the stars in the firmament of
heaven, or as the sand upon the seashore,
"And heard the voice of the Lord, saying: These all shall bow the
knee, and every tongue shall confess to him who sits upon the throne forever
and ever;
"For they shall be judged according to their works, and every man
shall receive according to his own works, his own dominion, in the mansions
which are prepared;
"And they shall be servants of the Most High; but where God and
Christ dwell they cannot come, worlds without end." (Ibid. 81-112.)
Now I wish to answer one or two queries that undoubtedly have arisen in
your minds, and in doing so I wish to read some more scripture. The question is
often asked, "Is it possible for one who attains telestial glory in time
in the eternal world to live so well that he may graduate from the telestial
and pass into the terrestrial, and then after a season that he may progress
from that and be ultimately worthy of the celestial glory?" That is the
query that has been asked. I have just read the answer, so far as the telestial
group is concerned. "Where God and Christ dwell they cannot come, worlds
without end." I take it upon the same basis, the same argument likewise
applies to the terrestrial world. Those whose lives have entitled them to
terrestrial glory can never gain celestial glory. One who gains possession of
the lowest degree of the telestial glory may ultimately arise to the highest
degree of that glory, but no provision has been made for promotion from one
glory to another. Let us be reasonable about it.
I wish to say in illustrating the subject that if three men were
starting out on an endless race, one having an advantage of one mile, the other
of two miles, and each one could run as fast as the other, when would the last
ever catch up to the first? If you can tell me that, I can tell you when
candidates for the telestial glory will get into the celestial glory. Each will
grow, but his development will be prescribed by his environment, and there is a
reason for it.
Applying this illustration to those who are entitled to the different
degrees of glory: He who enters the celestial glory has the advantage over all
others. He dwells in the presence of the Father and the Son. His teachers are
the highest. The others will receive all they learn from the celestial to the
terrestrial, from the terrestrial to the telestial. They get it second hand and
third hand, and how can they ever hope to grow as fast as those who drink from
the fountainhead? Again those who come forth in the celestial glory with
celestial bodies have a body that is more refined. It is different. The very
fiber and texture of the celestial body is more pure and holy than a telestial
or terrestrial body, and a celestial body alone can endure celestial glory. I
am impressed with this because I recall when a child at school I learned that
if an icicle a mile square were dropped into the sun it would melt in an
instant, and when I learned how intense the heat of that orb is and that our
sun is a celestial world, I did not know whether I wanted to live in a
celestial world or not if it was that hot. But when I come to understand, if I
have a body suitable to dwell in eternal burnings, then I think I would like
it. Fish can live in the water and have bodies suited to that element but
entirely unsuitable to a life outside of the water. When we have a celestial
body, it will be suited to the celestial conditions, and a telestial body could
not endure celestial glory. It would be torment and affliction to them. I have
not read in the scripture where there will be another resurrection where we can
obtain a celestial body for a terrestrial body. What we receive in the
resurrection will be ours forever and forever.
I have several times been asked, how is it possible for those who
attain celestial glory ever to feel fully happy and satisfied to know that
their children are in the telestial world, and never would have the privilege
of coming up with their parents in the celestial kingdom.
We must not overlook the fact that those who attain to the higher
glories may minister unto and visit and associate with those of the lesser
kingdoms. While the lesser may not come up, they may still enjoy the
companionship of their loved ones who are in higher stations. Also we must not
forget that even the least degree of glory, as the Lord has expressed it, is
beyond all our present understanding. So that they are in the presence of
glorious conditions, even though they attain unto the least place, and we must
not forget either that these, our sons, are our Father's sons and daughters;
and he has other sons and daughters who do not even attain unto the telestial
kingdom. They are sons of perdition out with the devil and his angels, and
though the Father has grieved over them, he still has not the power to rescue
and save them because he gave them free agency, and they used that in such a
manner that they have shut themselves out from his presence. But he is
justified. He has performed his full duty by them and that is the condition
which we ought to be in to feel justified, though we may be so unfortunate as
to have some of our own children in the lesser kingdoms, if we have done our full
duty by them. We may be sad at the thought of their not being with us, but we
will not have the sting or remorse of conscience. If we have failed, however,
to do our duty, then naturally we will feel to regret their situation and
censure ourselves in part for the same.
Let me read to you from the 88th section, commencing with the 17th
verse:
"And the redemption of the soul is through him who quickeneth all
things, in whose bosom it is decreed that the poor and the meek of the earth
shall inherit it.
"Therefore, it must needs be sanctified from all unrighteousness,
that it may be prepared for the celestial glory." (Ibid. 88:17.)
This earth, every part of it, will be celestial; not one-third
telestial, and one-third terrestrial. It will be celestial—and only celestial
beings shall dwell upon it. I always thought the Lord would require a larger
would than ours for the telestial bodies to dwell on when I consider the
millions of dead who will inherit the telestial glory. They may need some
planet bigger than this earth.
Let me read again:
"Wherefore, it shall be sanctified; yea, notwithstanding it shall
die, it shall be quickened and the righteous shall inherit it.
"For notwithstanding they die, they also shall rise again, a
spiritual body.
"They who are of a celestial spirit shall receive the same body
which was a natural body; even ye shall receive your bodies, and your glory
shall be that glory by which your bodies are quickened.
"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." (Ibid.
26-31.)
Therefore, I say, my brothers and sisters, the Lord has distinctly
settled the question of our status, as established in our resurrection from the
dead. If we have earned a celestial body, we may have celestial glory. Yet many
of the Saints will wake up and find they sold their birthright for a mess of
pottage. If I should come forth and find myself in the telestial world, or in
the terrestrial world, and look up to this earth, when it shall attain its
place as a celestial orb, shining like a sun, when this earth will no longer
need the sun to shine upon it by day nor the moon by night, when it shall
become a sun, if I should be so unfortunate as to lose my chance of obtaining
an inheritance in that place, and be compelled to dwell upon a telestial orb, I
surely will feel the full force of the poet's statement, "Of all sad words
of tongue and pen, the saddest are these, it might have been." I might
have been there. I was born there. It was my right and privilege to be there, but
I lost it through my own blindness, through my own wickedness; I have lost it
forever. While I might have joy here, and experience and growth here, yet I
have lost eternal companionship with my Heavenly Father.
Let me not only appeal to you to be greatly interested in working out
the salvation of your dead, but be also intensely interested, be deeply
concerned in the salvation of the living. What mortification, what humiliation
would it be for me to stand before my redeemed dead, for whom I have labored in
the temples, and have them say to me, "What of your sons or your
daughters, your grandsons or granddaughters, those born under the covenant,
born in the most glorious Dispensation of the Fulness of Times, yet were so
foolish as to lose their right to the enjoyment of celestial glory?" How
great would be my mortification and humiliation! And yet, there are great
numbers of our children and our acquaintances, with whom we are now associated,
who are in danger of losing their eternal salvation in the celestial kingdom of
our God. While there is life, let us earnestly labor with all our might, mind,
and strength, that we may bring them to Christ in full possession of all these
blessings. And we can do it. Even if we labor all our lives, we shall have
great joy if we save but one, for we will be shedding an influence for good
over countless thousands who shall be their posterity. But if we have not done
our full duty, we shall sorrow intensely because of our neglect, and we shall
stand accused by them for having failed in the performance of our duty. On the
other hand, if we have labored with all our might, mind, and strength, we shall
stand with a clear conscience, blameless. Our status and condition will be like
our Heavenly Father's. He sent his Only Begotten Son to save and redeem
mankind, but unless we accept the atonement and act in conformity to the laws
and requirements laid down for us, even God cannot save us.
Let us not be discouraged in our temple work. Let us renew our
diligence and determination to do this work, and what we do not understand
concerning our sealings, it will be later revealed to us. You mothers don’t worry
about your little children. We do not perform sealings for them. I lost a son
six years of age, and I saw him a man in the spirit world after his death, and
I saw how he had exercised his own freedom of choice and would obtain of his
own will and volition a companionship, and in due time to him, and all those
who are worthy of it, shall come all of the blessings and sealing privileges of
the house of the Lord. Do not worry over it. They are safe; they are all right.
Now, then, what of your daughters who have died and have not been
sealed to some man? Unless it is made known to you, let their case rest. They
will make known to you the agreements and contracts they have mutually entered
into. The sealing power shall be forever and ever with this Church, and
provisions will be made for them. We cannot run faster than the Lord has
provided the way. Their blessings and privileges will come to them in due time.
In the meantime, they are safe.
Let us be earnest in this work. It will cast an influence over your
whole families. It will strengthen your faith. It will add testimony to your
faith. Surely there is peace and joy in it. May you find it, and may everyone
under the sound of my voice, go hence with a firm resolve, such as we have
never had before, that we will make our calling and election sure, that at the
last day our records may be clear, that there may be no clouds upon our titles,
that we may receive our inheritance in the celestial glory of our God. If that
shall be our reward, our joy will be full, beyond all my power to tell you. May
the Lord help us to have a clear conscience and to do every day that which we
ought to do. I am more concerned for the living than for the dead, when I
realize that when the bridegroom cometh, five, or one-half, of the virgins
shall be asleep, without oil in their lamps. That will not be the world; that
will be the Latter-day Saints. Will you be asleep, or will there be oil in your
lamps? Let us stand in our places and not flatter ourselves by thinking,
"I will take care of John and Mary when they are dead." Let us not
procrastinate but labor unceasingly for the salvation of our kindred, and if we
succeed, if we win that prize, we shall be compensated beyond all expectations.
We shall receive more than we have ever dreamed of joy and happiness and
eternal satisfaction, but if we miss it, if we lose it, we, whose right it is
to obtain it, I cannot tell you the sting of conscience and remorse, the hell
of torment we shall endure endlessly, if we miss it, through our own ignorance
and foolishness. May God save us from that affliction.
One of Elder Ballard’s many impressive testimonies:
Therefore, we rejoice in the witness we have that Jesus told the truth,
that the testimony of his disciples concerning his resurrection is the truth,
and we also know that the testimony of Joseph Smith and his brethren, who
looked upon the face of the Redeemer, is true. I bear witness that I know what
they have said is the truth. I know, as well as I know that I live, and look
into your faces, that Jesus Christ lives, and he is the Redeemer of the world,
that he arose from the dead with a tangible body, and still has that real body
which Thomas touched when he thrust his hands into his side and felt the wound
of the spear, and also the prints of the nails in his hands. I know by the
witness and the revelations of God to me that Thomas told the truth. I know
that Joseph Smith told the truth, for mine eyes have seen. For in the visions
of the Lord to my soul, I have seen Christ's face, I have heard his voice. I
know that he lives, that he is the Redeemer of the world, and that as he arose
from the dead, a tangible and real individual, so shall all men arise in the
resurrection from the dead.
https://archive.org/details/conferencereport1920a/page/40/mode/2up
Pres. Dallin H. Oaks on the Three Degrees of Glory:
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2023/10/17oaks?lang=eng
“Kingdoms of glory,” Gospel Topic entry:
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/kingdoms-of-glory?lang=eng
[1]
Readers should follow current temple work policy.
In another talk, Elder Ballard shared this item:
I heard one good sister bear a testimony that she was a
little curious. She had been going through the routine of being baptized for
her dead, and receiving endowments and she said, “Once there came a little
doubt in my mind that there was not anything to it, and the dead didn’t know
anything about it.” So that was the situation. Well, you do sometimes get into
that frame of mind and you wonder if the dead know anything about it; if they
are concerned; if they receive the work. But she said, “One day when I went to
work I felt the presence of somebody by me all day long while I was receiving
endowments. Several times I turned and was about to speak when I could see no
one there. I felt the personality there. However, when the work was finished
and I was alone in my room, she appeared before me, and as she advanced toward
me she said, “You do not understand or comprehend what this means to me, or
what you have done for me this day. I have waited 500 years for this glorious
day.”
https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org/assets/e3fe5794-1443-4e82-8a3e-2338618cba03/0/0?lang=eng
[2]
In another talk, Elder Ballard expanded on this experience:
I remember in the city of
Victoria. While I was there, we had a cottage meeting in the home of a family
who had joined the church—the only family in that region. The father of that
house said to me, “I cannot understand why I am the only man in this section of
the city who has joined the Church. I cannot understand why it should be so.”
When I went to bed that night
I was thinking about it, and there came to me just like a flash of light the
answer. This man has hundreds of ancestors in the spirit world, who long ago
received the gospel, and yet there wasn’t a soul that could open the door for
them. They had long been praying for the Lord to send missionaries to someone, and
the elders were sent to his door in answer to the prayers of the righteous in
the spirit world whose hearts were turned to their children upon the earth. I
want to say to you that many of those of high standing in the spirit world,
whose influence led the enders of the church to your fathers and grandfathers
doors and brought them to church for the blessings and benefits not only for
your posterity, but for the blessings of the righteous dead who can be relieved
only through the administration of their righteous posterity whose hearts were
turned to their fathers. I am sure that we see every evidence of the activity
of the children of the great interest that is aroused in the church and
churches of the world.
If I could part the veil and
let you see the interest and activity on the part of our righteous dead—there
is greater interest there then there is here because they are more concerned
than we are. Their situation is that they are utterly helpless without us and
they are anxiously looking to us for the fullness of the gospel to be brought
to them, vicariously, according to the Lord’s divine plan.
https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org/assets/e3fe5794-1443-4e82-8a3e-2338618cba03/0/0?lang=eng
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