Kingdoms

Christ said, "In my Father's house are many mansions" (John 14:2), meaning that there are different places that we may go once we are judged. These are called Kingdoms of Glory and they are the telestial kingdom, the terrestrial kingdom and the celestial kingdom.




The telestial kindgom is the lowest kingdom  and is compared to the glory of the stars. Those who do not live good lives and repent of their sins will go here








The terrestrial kingdom is the middle kingdom and is compared to the glory of the moon. Those who lived good lives but did not accept the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ will go here.









The celestial kingdom is the highest kingdom and is compared to the glory of the sun. This is where Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ reside. It is also where we can be with our families for eternity. Those who repented of their sins, accepted and lived the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ will go here.


My goal is to make it to the celestial kingdom so that I can be with my Heavenly Father, my Savior, and my family forever. Where do you want to go?

Resurrection & Judgement

After our time in the Spirit World, we all will be resurrected. It is a gift given freely from our Savior to all mankind. I love these scriptures in The Book of Mormon:

"The spirit and the body shall be reunited again in its perfect form; both limb and joint shall be restored to its proper frame, even as we now are at this time; and we shall be brought to stand before God, knowing even as we know now, and have a bright recollection of all our guilt. Now, this restoration shall come to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, both the wicked and the righteous; and even there shall not so much as a hair of their heads be lost; but every thing shall be restored to its perfect frame, as it is now, or in the body, and shall be brought and be arraigned before the bar of Christ the Son, and God the Father, and the Holy Spirit, which is one Eternal God, to be judged according to their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil."

(Alma 11:43-44)

We will be judged based on what we desire to do and our actual actions. Sometimes the term "judgement day" has a scary sound to it. It only needs to be feared if we do not follow Christ and His example. I know that if I strive to follow my Savior and daily repent, then I can be say like the prophet, Enos, "And I rejoice in the day when my mortal shall put on immortality, and shall stand before him; then shall I see his face with pleasure, and he will say unto me: Come unto me, ye blessed, there is a place prepared for you in the mansions of my Father." (Enos 1:27)

It is Over, Now What?

Okay back to the Plan of Salvation. This is the part we avoid or don't want to talk about it: Death. Well I really don't have a problem with it. There is no getting around it and it is all a part of the plan. At some point we will leave this life. Our bodies will go to the grave and our spirits will go a place called the Spirit World. It is a where our souls will be until they are resurrected. Those who live a righteous life will be "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." And those who lived a wicked life will be "in darkness, and a state of awful, fearful looking for the fiery indignation of the wrath of God upon them." (Alma 40: 12,14) So here we will wait our resurrection and judgement. But you want to know what I think is the coolest part of the Spirit World? Those who were never provided with an opportunity to learn about Christ's gospel will given the chance. The apostle Peter taught, "For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit." (1 Peter 4:6) Our Heavenly Father is merciful and will give all of His children the opportunity to learn and choose for themselves. Isn't that awesome?

 

Life

So Adam and Eve fell thus enabling all of us to come to this earth. Our little spirits enter our bodies and we start the journey of life. We come with no remembrance of what happened before, but that is so that we can prove we are willing to follow our Savior and keep God's commandments. Sadly sometime we don't always do what is right. God has made it possible to repent through our Savior. Each day it is important to seek forgiveness and try again. As we use our agency wisely we find joy. "And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it." (Mosiah 2:41) We will gain eternal life if we are willing to follow God.

Creation and The Fall

Through Jesus Christ, God created the world along with Adam and Eve. Oh our first parents, such an interesting story. Placed in a garden where everything is perfect and there is no opposition. Sounds like bliss. But that is the problem, there was no trials or sin or wickedness. I love how it is described in The Book of Mormon, "And now, behold, if Adam had not transgressed he would not have fallen, but he would have remained in the garden of Eden. And all things which were created must have remained in the same state in which they were after they were created; and they must have remained forever, and had no end. And they would have had no children; wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin.But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things.Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy." (2 Nephi 2:22-24) The fall of Adam and Eve was a part of God's plan. It enables us to learn and grow. 

If you want to learn more about the fall of Adam and Eve the whole chapter of 2 Nephi 2 is awesome for that.

Premortal Life

Sorry it has taken so long to get the next one out. Too much to do and too little time.

Alright, this is where it all started. We lived with God as His spirit children before we came to this world. I love this scripture: "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:" (Roman 8:16). And because we are God's children we wanted to become like Him. Yet we couldn't due to the fact we didn't have bodies like He does. So our Heavenly Father created a plan so that we could come to this earth, gain a body, and progress. There are two very important parts of this plan: agency (the ability to choose) and Jesus Christ. Christ enables the plan to work and agency is how we show that we are willing to follow God. "Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself." (2 Nephi 2:27)

Plans

Plans.
I love them.
A lot.

So knowing God has a plan for us makes me very happy. It makes so much sense and I want to share it with you. That means a series of posts about it. With awesome visuals. And the first one is just going to be the name of it: The Plan of Salvation. Kind of self explanatory but hey still important. God's whole purpose is "to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." (Moses 1:39) So of course He made a plan and its whole purpose is to bring us back to Him. I love it!