Meditations on the Creation of the Sun and the Moon

16 And I, God, made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night, and the greater light was the sun, and the lesser light was the moon; and the stars also were made even according to my word.

17 And I, God, set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,

18 And the sun to rule over the day, and the moon to rule over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness; and I, God, saw that all things which I had made were good; (Moses 2:16-18)

I read this recently and I found myself asking what it meant for a light to rule over a particular portion of the 24-hours—day or night. On the surface it means that one of those lights will be the dominant light over that particular 12-hour period.

And yet the astronomical reality is a lot more complex than this. Happily, we can say that the sun always rules over the day. Where the sun shines, there is light, there is day.

But the moon is different. In some parts of the month the moon does shine at night, but there are other parts of the month—during new moons—when there is no light from the moon. Does the moon really rule then? Not really. It is as if the moon temporarily abdicates its authority and takes a vacation. And only on full moons is its light all the way there. At other times it’s waxing or waning.

It may be this gives us a little insight as to the differences between celestial and terrestial obedience. (I’ve probably talked about this before, but I’m going to talk about it again.) Celestial obedience is like the sun—always there doing its duty, shining at full strength, radiating the light within. But terrestial obedience is rarely at its brightest, shines only reflected light from others more bright, and periodically abdicates its duty.

Something else caught my attention here too. It was this idea of dividing the light from the darkness. What is it that really divides the light from the dark astronomically?  Because if you have light, there is no dark. Light chases the dark away. 

Astronomically, darkness comes from distance from the light, if you’re Pluto out on the margins of the solar system.  And we have darkness on earth because of the earth itself. The earth gets in the way and creates shadow.  If we’re on the part of the earth turned away from the sun, we’re in the darkness.  Applying that to spiritual things, that teaches that in a certain sense we create spiritual darkness in our lives either by our distance from the light, or by turning away from it.

The idea of a lesser or greater light also makes me think of the quality of leader we choose to follow and the type of example we choose for ourselves. If we didn’t have the sun, we might be happy with the moon’s light. But having the sun, we see the moon is not so great after all. Do we choose the best examples to follow? Do we seek for greater light? If we don’t we may be one of those people the Lord describes as “walking in darkness at noonday,” which would be tragic.

What do you think? Are there any additional principles you draw from these verses about the creation of the sun and the moon?

The Earth’s Future Celestialization

17 And the redemption of the soul is through him that quickeneth all things, in whose bosom it is decreed that the poor and the meek of the earth shall inherit it.

18 Therefore, it must needs be sanctified from all unrighteousness, that it may be prepared for the celestial glory;

19 For after it hath filled the measure of its creation, it shall be crowned with glory, even with the presence of God the Father;

20 That bodies who are of the celestial kingdom may possess it forever and ever; for, for this intent was it made and created, and for this intent are they sanctified. (D&C 88:17-20)

To me, the neat thing these verses do is explode the notion that exalted man’s final place in the eternities will be out in space somewhere in an undefinable heaven after they have been raptured away.  Instead, the earth itself will be exalted and sanctified and celestialized.  Then, all those who are celestialized themselves will inherit it as their eternal place of abode. It is those who can’t live up to the celestial law who will have to be placed elsewhere. (No doubt a place is prepared, and we have to remember that even a telestial place will be more glorious than this earth is now.)

When I look out my window at the brightness of the day and see how beautiful the earth is, I have a hard time imagining how a celestial earth could be better than this. But that is only the fault of my imagination. Likely everything will be lots brighter and luminous. I so look forward to that day.

Further, these verses give an even broader view of redemption than just the redemption of man. It is also the redemption and sanctification of the whole of creation! That’s huge. And the earth will be redeemed for sure because it fills its measure of creation and faithfully obeys the celestial law. It is we mortal humans whose exaltation remains in question. The implied question in these verses to me is, “Will you obey like the earth and be sanctified with it, or will you remain in your sins and have to be sent elsewhere?”

Umm, I’d like to stay here, thanks. I’m working on that.

To be Quickened by a Portion of Glory

28 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.

29 Ye who are quickened by a portion of the celestial glory shall then receive of the same, even a fulness.

30 And they who are quickened by a portion of the terrestrial glory shall then receive of the same, even a fulness.

31 And also they who are quickened by a portion of the telestial glory shall then receive of the same, even a fulness.

32 And they who remain shall also be quickened; nevertheless, they shall return again to their own place, to enjoy that which they are willing to receive, because they were not willing to enjoy that which they might have received. (D&C 88:28-32)

This has been hard for me to wrap my mind around, but some things I have learned about the fiction-writing process have helped me gain a better understanding of how this happens.

I’ve learned that there are certain kinds of stories that excite me. When I read their back blurbs, I recognize them as something I would want to read. When I write my fiction, I try to put in my current work-in-progress the kinds of things that give me that zing of excitement. What gives me a zing is not going to automatically give a zing to everyone else.

D&C 88 talks elsewhere about how everything is given a law and that which keeps the law is sanctified by it.  There are celestial, terrestrial, and telestial laws.  And I think that the level of laws we choose to follow are like the laws that we want to give us the zing of excitement.  We are striving to live the celestial law so that it gives us the zing, so that becomes the thing that most resonates with us and who we are.  Then it will be the glory that quickens us in the resurrection. 

Once upon a time, the idea of service did not get me excited.  Now it does, though certain kinds of service zing me more than others.  A decade ago, family history used to leave me cold, but since then I’ve definitely warmed up to it.  I can see I’ve made some progress, but I have more to do.

What if we’re not zinged by all the celestial principles?  Obviously that means we still have changing and repenting to do, sanctification to undergo.  And that’s what the Atonement is for. None of us are stuck where we are unless we give up. 

God is the reward

After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying,

Fear not, Abram:

I am thy shield,

and thy exceeding great reward.

(Genesis 15:1)

 I was looking at “reward” in the Topical Guide and I saw the above verse cited.  I saw it differently than I had before.  Previously, I thought “I am thy…exceeding great reward” just meant that it was Abram’s reward and privilege to have God in his life.

Today I realized Abram already had God in his life. He was promised more--the prospect of becoming like God.  The Lord meant, “I [or what I am] is thy exceeding great reward, what you can expect to become.” 

I love that the promise of becoming like God is recorded this early in the Bible.

Whosoever shall break one of these least commandments: KJV versus JST

KJV:

Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments,

and shall teach men so,

he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven:

but whosoever shall do and teach them,

the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:19)

JST:

Whosoever, therefore, shall break one of these least commandments,

and shall teach men so to do,

he shall in no wise be saved in the kingdom of heaven;

but whosoever shall do and teach these commandments of the law until it be fulfilled,

the same shall be called great, and shall be saved in the kingdom of heaven. (JST Matt 5:21)

The KJV makes it seem like breaking the commandments and teaching others to break the commandments is attended with no more penalty than losing status in the kingdom of heaven, making it seem as if breaking the commandments is not a big deal.  The thoughtful person might well ask why have commandments at all if breaking commandments won’t get you kicked out of the kingdom of heaven.  And if that were the case, then who doesn’t make it to heaven?  This doesn’t confirm that God is holy as we know He is.

The JST makes clear that breaking commandments and teaching others to break them too is the way to lose your salvation in heaven.

I notice that the KJV only deals with status in the kingdom of heaven, while the JST speaks mostly in terms of salvation in the kingdom of heaven, though it promises greatness to those who do and teach the commandments. 

One good thing about the KJV verse is that it teaches there are least and greatest in the kingdom of heaven, a testimony of degrees of glory in the celestial kingdom, even if it gets wrong who is the least. 

One final note is that the KJV seems to speak of the “least” commandments as if they are timeless things, but the JST suggests that there were commandments that Jesus referred to that would eventually be fulfilled and superseded.  Naturally there would be a lot of questions about which of all the commandments in the Torah would be done away.

Just for grins, I looked in 3 Nephi 12 to see if there was a verse that corresponded to the above verses.  (Should be fairly easy to find, since the Beatitudes are delivered in very similar order in both places, right?)  What I found was quite different:

And behold, I have given you the law and the commandments of my Father,

that ye shall believe in me,

and that ye shall repent of your sins,

and come unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit.

Behold, ye have the commandments before you, and the law is fulfilled. ( 3 Nephi 12:19) 

Clearly the basic principles of the gospel are given as the new law and commandments here.  Also, earlier in 3 Nephi, the voice of Christ to all the Nephites during the three days of darkness commands the end of animal sacrifices and teaches about offering a broken heart and contrite spirit:

19 And ye shall offer up unto me no more the shedding of blood; yea, your sacrifices and your burnt offerings shall be done away, for I will accept none of your sacrifices and your burnt offerings.

 20 And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit. And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost, even as the Lamanites, because of their faith in me at the time of their conversion, were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and they knew it not. (3 Nephi 9:19-20)

What do we learn from all this?  We learn that Jesus taught the Law of Moses faithfully during His ministry but also worked to prepare the people for the changes that would come when He fulfilled it.  We also learn that He taught the Nephites what they needed to do instead of offering animal sacrifices. 

I’m so grateful for the Bible, the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible, and the Book of Mormon.  The Bible gives good starting points, and the JST and Book of Mormon clarify so much.  I would not appreciate the JST and the Book of Mormon as much without the Bible, since they really shine by close comparison, and I wouldn’t understand the Bible as much without the JST and the Book of Mormon.

Quality company in celestial glory

These are they who have come to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of Enoch, and of the Firstborn. (D&C 76:67)

There are some neat things in this verse that I learned as I was pondering it.

who have come to an innumerable company of angels – How neat is it that qualifying for celestial glory will bring us among angels!  Sometimes, when I have eyes to see, I can look around our congregation and see that my fellow ward members are already becoming angels to each other, bringing messages of hope, comfort, and inspiration.  They also help each other in times of need, in small but nonetheless extraordinary ways.   There have been times when I have been helped by my ward, and when I look back at those times, I think that if an angel from heaven had come down, they would have done exactly the same thing as those ward members did.  

And just think of someday joining an innumerable company of angels!  I grew up in Illinois, where members of the church were few and far between.  I remember what excitement I always felt when I got to go to Especially For Youth and meet so many Mormon youth who held similar standards to me.  Those were watershed days for me, and I was always sad when it had to end after a week.  When I went to college at Brigham Young University and I got to be with a whole university of students and teachers that shared my beliefs, it is hard to describe how wonderful that was to me.  I figure that when I come to the innumerable company of angels in the celestial kingdom, I will have that same sense of excitement.

who have come…to the general assembly and church of Enoch – Did you ever think that we will mingle with Enoch and his people?  When I first read this, I kind of took it for granted—duh, we’re Zion, right?—but as I thought about it, I realized how neat it will be to fraternize with them, even though several thousand years separated our respective generations during mortality.  It brought home to me that there are no generation gaps in the celestial kingdom.  Living the same principles of the gospel and partaking of the Spirit of God brings all the generations of Saints together.

and of the Firstborn – If we remember the Biblical practice, the firstborn inherited a double portion from their father.  In the Abrahamic covenant, the firstborn inherited the birthright blessing with authority in the patriarchal order.  In the Mosiac covenant, the firstborn were to be given to the Lord’s service, or else redeemed with a sacrifice.   The Bible dictionary enumerates the ways Christ was the Firstborn:

• Firstborn of the spirit children of Heavenly Father
• The Only Begotten of the Father in the flesh (first and last)
• The first to rise from the dead in the resurrection

Faithful Saints will inherit all things the Father hath, through Jesus Christ, just as if they were also “firstborn,” so they become the church of the Firstborn.  In Genesis, Joseph received the inheritance from Jacob, even though Joseph wasn’t the firstborn.  So did Ephraim, even though he wasn't the firstborn.  In these stories I see a type and shadow of the promise given to us that we will inherit all the Father has, if we are faithful.  We can become firstborn.

Here’s something else I was pondering: 

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; (D&C 76:94)

That bit about how they “see as they are seen, and know as they are known” takes some probing to understand and appreciate, at least for me.  One way to rephrase it might be, “they see and are seen, and they know and are known,” which to me implies full participation and honor in the celestial society, that every individual knows, recognizes, and appreciates every other individual and receives the same themselves.    How many of us feel like we are not fully known by others?  How many of us feel like we are not fully appreciated and recognized for all the talents we have built, for all the things we can do, for who we are, and for the good we have done?  Someday all of that will be made known, everything will be rewarded, and we will truly KNOW each other and see each other for who we really are.

I really look forward to that day.  I really want to know my fellow Saints better.  There is so little time to talk it seems, and I’ve gotten to the point in life where I realize there is so much more to every person than what meets the eye, so much that each person has learned by experience and study, so much wonderful variety in talent. 

So now I ask you, dear reader, what is something about you that you wish people could know and appreciate?

Principles from Joseph Smith’s description of the celestial kingdom in D&C 137

In D&C 137 Joseph Smith has a vision of the celestial kingdom in the Kirtland temple. He sees his parents and his brother Alvin and is given the doctrine of salvation for the dead. Something that struck me as interesting recently was the features of the kingdom that he noticed before he observed his family there.

2 I saw the transcendent beauty of the gate through which the heirs of that kingdom will enter, which was like unto circling flames of fire;
3 Also the blazing throne of God, whereon was seated the Father and the Son.
4 I saw the beautiful streets of that kingdom, which had the appearance of being paved with gold. (D&C 137:2-4)

I wondered why Joseph Smith chose to focus his description of the physical parts of the celestial kingdom on the gates, the throne of God, and the streets. Was there anything this could teach us?

After some thought, it seemed like they could be of symbolic importance. The gates are the entrance. Our entrance is baptism and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. The throne of God teaches of our goal, which is to be reunited with Him and sit with Him on His throne as exalted beings. The streets are the way and give us a new perspective of the commandments. Do we consider the commandments as valuable as gold and as the way to the throne of God? Also, Christ is the way.

Another thing I noticed was the difference in the light level between the gates and the throne of God. The gates are like circling flames, but the throne is “blazing.” The throne seems much brighter than the gates. I think this teaches how we are to progress in light even after baptism.

Another thing I notice is that the gate is circling flames, but the throne… well, you SIT IN brightness and heat. This seems to show us that we don’t just want to be surrounded by glory, we want to BE glorious.

Have you ever seen heaven?

I happened to run across Spencer W. Kimball’s book Faith Precedes the Miracle and as I scanned though it looking for something that could help me, I ran across an incident he recorded. He was sitting for his portrait to be painted and the artist unexpectedly asked him, “Have you ever seen heaven?”

Spencer W. Kimball told the artist of when he officiated at a marriage in the temple and how he felt the Spirit of the Lord there and how he felt that was a vision of heaven. He then told the artist of visiting at a home in which the children were obedient and respectful and helpful and the parents were kind and loving and there was order and how he thought that was a vision of heaven as well. He told several other experiences, pointing to each one as a place where he had seen heaven.

As I was reading the first of Spencer W. Kimball’s heaven experiences, I at first thought that it was a total cop-out. I knew the artist wanted to know whether President Kimball had seen a vision of the celestial kingdom like Joseph Smith saw as recorded in D&C 76, and I thought President Kimball was trying to avoid the issue that he hadn’t really seen. However, I kept reading, and when I got to the story of the family that seemed like heaven, I started to remember some things. I thought of the hymn lyrics “Home can be a heaven on earth when we are filled with love”. I thought of how my own mother had tried so hard to keep peace in my family while I grew up. I thought of how my parents would sometimes point out little moments when we were so happy to be together that it seemed like heaven. That’s when I realized something startling.

I realized that we tend to think in terms of what can be taken to heaven and what will be eternal and what heaven will be like, when really, it is should be the other way around. Family isn’t something of the earth that we take to heaven with us, but it is something heavenly that we can have on the earth. The commandments aren’t something of the earth that get us to heaven, the commandments are celestial and we can have them on the earth! Principles we will live by in heaven have already been given to us to live on the earth. We make a heaven here so that we’ll be worthy of it there, along with celestial glory.

When I realized this, I suddenly saw that I had seen heaven over and over and over without recognizing it. I saw heaven when I got to welcome a woman into the celestial room of the temple after she got her endowments for the first time. I saw heaven at family reunions. I saw heaven when I was sealed to my husband for time and eternity. I saw heaven when I saw people donating their surplus to Deseret Industries. I saw heaven when I saw people serving each other at ward activities. I saw heaven in countless family home evenings and countless family prayers and sessions of scripture study, when the Spirit was there. I saw heaven in obedience, sacrifice, service, missionary work, temple work, and so on. I saw heaven in growing families, in continued courtship after marriage, in my husband’s love, in friendship, in forgiveness, in choirs singing triumphant, ringing praises. In every good holy thing I was seeing a piece of heaven.

Now we see that we must not only avoid procrastinating our repentance, but we must also not put off preparing for heaven. We have to put heaven’s principles to work here, we need to practice obedience here, we need to acquire integrity and generosity here, and make a heaven that the very angels can visit here.

I haven’t seen heaven like Joseph Smith saw it, but I expect someday I will, if I continue to sanctify myself. You will too, if you do the same. At the tail end of D&C 76, there is this:

“But great and marvelous are the works of the Lord, and the mysteries of his kingdom which he showed unto us, which surpass all understanding in glory, and in might, and in dominion; Which he commanded us we should not write while we were yet in the Spirit, and are not lawful for man to utter; Neither is man capable to make them known, for they are only to be seen and understood by the power of the Holy Spirit, which God bestows on those who love him, and purify themselves before him; To whom he grants this privilege of seeing and knowing for themselves; That through the power and manifestation of the spirit, while in the flesh, they may be able to bear his presence in the world of glory” (D&C 76:114-118, emphasis added).

This is a promise of seeing and knowing about heaven both through the Spirit, and with our very eyes. The spiritual part must come first, though, so that we will know what it is we see with our eyes, and recognize it for what it is.

Will you tell me about a time when you recognized a bit of heaven in your life?

Isaiah on Praising the Lord in the Celestial Kingdom

10 Sing unto the LORD a new song,
and his praise from the end of the earth,
ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein;
the isles, and the inhabitants thereof.
11 Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice,
the villages that Kedardoth inhabit:
let the inhabitants of the rock sing,
let them shout from the tops of the mountains.
12 Let them give glory unto the LORD,
and declare his praise in the islands.
(Isaiah 42:10-12)

I always wondered why the prophets in the scriptures were always so quick to praise the Lord. Then I started thinking about why any person deserves praise. It is because the praised person did something great, and from gratitude for that great work.

This caused me to think, “Well, if Isaiah tells me to sing praises to the Lord, what has the Lord done for me?” And I started thinking through my life and examining how the Lord helped me. My journals were a huge help for me to remember, and there were many incidents I could see in which the hand of the Lord was a big part. Taken all together as a mass, it is simply overwhelming.

Consider that in the celestial kingdom we will have a perfect remembrance of all that the Lord has done for us, and see it clearly. It will overpower us. It will awe us how kind He was to us, how carefully He led us through our trials, how watchful He was over us in danger, how ready He was to enlighten us when we asked for knowledge, how merciful He was when we repented of our sins, how He put people in our lives to bless us, in short, how He did all things for our good. It will absolutely overwhelm us with gratitude and wonder and we will be so happy about it that we will want to sing all the time and tell everyone who will listen what the Lord did for us.

But we won’t be content with just doing that.

And it shall come to pass,
that from one new moon to another,
and from one sabbath to another,
shall all flesh come to worship before me,
saith the LORD.
(Isaiah 66:23)

Everyone will want to come and thank Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ for everything he did and all of us will get a turn to do it. Crowds, thousands, millions and more will come, week after week, month after month, each in their turn, to worship and personally express their gratitude to the Lord.

House of Jewels: Four possible interpretations of Isaiah 54:11-12

Isaiah has some very beautiful language in this chapter. He speaks of Zion as a barren woman and bids her to enlarge her house for the children who will come. I will concentrate on two particular verses and describe some of the possible ways of interpreting them while still retaining their doctrinal power and correctness.

11 O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires.
12 And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones. (Isaiah 54:11-12)

First, I think we can interpret this as a promise of literal heavenly mansions. This isn’t hard when we remember that Christ spoke of many mansions in His Father’s house and that He would go and prepare a place for us. These verses are like a window into heaven to watch the building process. As the righteous mourn over wickedness and repent, every godly tear shed adds a jewel to their celestial mansion. “Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:4).

Second, I think that we can interpret this as a promise of a glorious resurrection. In verse two, Isaiah speaks of a tent (a temporary home), but in verses 11-12 he speaks of a glorious building, something much more permanent. This corresponds with our knowledge that the mortal body is a temporary home to our spirit, but the resurrected body will be the permanent home of our spirit.

Further, the architectural features that are described by Isaiah—stones, foundations, windows, gates, and borders—can roughly correspond to parts of the body. The foundation on which the body stands is the feet. You could think of the “stones” as the toes. The windows to our soul are definitely our eyes. The gates could be our mouth. Our borders, as the outside of our body, could be our arms, our profile or shape, or our skin. You may think I’m stretching a little as I come up with these connections, but the overall interpretation of these verses as a testimony of the resurrection is still valid.

A third interpretation of these verses is as a promise of the restoration of the gospel and the organization of the church. Previous dispensations were begun and faded away like a tent raised in the wilderness which later collapsed in sandstorms. Verses 11-12 give the Lord’s promise that he would lay the foundations of this gospel dispensation with jewels and treasures (representing priceless truths) and continue to add more and more jewels in every feature. This is certainly true; in every feature of our faith we find value.
Stones and foundations = knowledge of God’s nature (through direct revelatory experience and through additional scriptures revealed), priesthood authority and keys
Windows = prophets, seers, and revelators through which light and guidance from God is transmitted
Gates = priesthood ordinances such as baptism whereby people enter the kingdom of God
Borders = sphere of stewardship and responsibility (callings), ward and stake boundaries, and most literally, the smallest branches of the church at the very outskirts

Really the jewels can represent three different things:

• The truths restored
• The good works from the people gathered as God works through them
• The people themselves who are gathered

A fourth interpretation pertains to our families. God lays the precious foundation through temple marriage between a man and a woman. “I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir” (Isaiah 13:12). “Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies” (Proverbs 31:10). In this family, the woman becomes the jeweled gates through which treasured children are added. “And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children” (Isaiah 54:13). Truly, who can find a peaceful, obedient child? For they are more prized than pearls. And all the borders of the righteous family grow and grow as it adds more generations.

Conclusion

We have seen that there are multiple interpretations of these two verses of Isaiah and they can be discerned through our testimony of the gospel, of the restoration, of the sanctity of the family, of the resurrection, and of the promise of a place in the celestial kingdom.

Christ’s Parable of the Wedding Feast Reveals the 3 Degrees of Glory

This parable turned out to be more challenging than I thought it would be, but it was also incredibly rewarding to study it. I will share with you some important insights that came to me as I worked on it.

The whole thing

1 And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said,
2 The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son,
3 And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come.
4 Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage.
5 But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise:
6 And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them.
7 But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.
8 Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy.
9 Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage.
10 So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.
11 And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment:
12 And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.
13 Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
14 For many are called, but few are chosen [wherefore all do not have on the wedding garment]. (Matthew 22:1-14, JST bracketed, compare to Luke 14:15-24)

Okay, from the beginning..

2 The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son,
3 And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come.

If a king were going to have a wedding for his son, it would make sense that he would make sure that everyone knew about it beforehand. The invitations would have been sent out long before the actual event. This makes it seem very surprising that the people who were invited would not come. Why did they not come?

Perhaps the invites were sent out so far ahead that people began to think that the wedding feast wasn’t really going to happen, so they started filling up their life with other stuff instead. Maybe the delay made them think that the king wasn’t really serious about these invitations. Or maybe they weren’t excited about it, so they strategically positioned things they were more interested in over the top of the invited time so that they could say they had something else to do.

I can imagine this being the case. When there is a major delay between news of an event and the event itself, I have a hard time motivating myself to prepare for it. Just recently one of my friends sent me an invitation to her son’s wedding, and I set it aside, assuming that there was lots of time, and I didn’t even stick it on the calendar. The next time I thought about it was two weeks later, and then when I went to look at the date of the wedding, I realized the date had just passed. Whoops. (cringe)

This causes me to think about where I want to be. Am I merely content with the day-to-day business or am I thinking about, yearning for, preparing for the wedding feast, distant though it may seem?

What is the wedding feast?

Perhaps the wedding feast could refer to the church in the former days. This parable was given during the week before his crucifixion. The Jews would reject Jesus, and they were destroyed by the Romans around 70 A.D. However, this interpretation is problematic.

The first problem we encounter with this interpretation is this—the mind recoils at the idea of these Roman armies corresponding to the armies of the king, if we interpret the king to be Heavenly Father. Angel armies we can accept. Roman armies, not so much. But let us pass over this for the moment and see if we can find any other helpful similarities.

The conversion of gentiles to the gospel seems to correspond at least loosely with the parable details about people brought in from the highways to the feast. And certainly correct doctrine could be considered a joyful feast, yes? However, the problem with this is that the great apostasy does not correspond with the parable’s detail about the king tossing out the man without the wedding garment. Rather, if the events of the apostasy were translated into the parable, it would seem that the man without the wedding garment threw out all the other guests and the king! So it seems that this parable doesn’t perfectly correspond to the events in the former day church. We must look for another interpretation.

It appears that the wedding feast has to come at the end of the world, at the final judgment. One overlooked detail that seems to suggest this is the parable’s ending with all the properly clothed guests at the feast with no word about what comes afterward. It is as if the feast will continue forever and the guests no longer need to worry about every-day concerns. All the king has will be given to those who come. Another detail that indicates this is that the wedding feast is given on the occasion of the marriage of the king’s son. This could be the presentation of the purified church to God, since Christ has referred to Himself elsewhere as the bridegroom. This can only occur at the end of the world and the final judgment. Further, we haven’t yet seen the destruction of all the wicked who reject and persecute the saints and the prophets. That has yet to be fulfilled.

The wedding feast could also be considered to be taking the sacrament. We have to be prepared for that, yes? But while this possibility is intriguing in its surface similarities of eating, the events surrounding weekly administration of the sacrament don’t correspond in the essential details about the groups of people invited then destroyed for their rejection, so this can’t be what was intended by the parable.

So the wedding feast comes at or after the final judgment. Grasping this detail helps us understand the reactions that follow announcement of the feast. Plainly this necessitates preparation and no wonder people put off the invitation.

4 Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage.
5 But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise:
6 And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them.
7 But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.

We can’t underline enough the folly of refusing an invitation from the king. It smells of rebellion. The king wants people to come to a CELEBRATION, for heaven’s sake! Yet knowing as we do the world’s reaction to any invitation to repent and prepare for the final judgment, the invitation seems to suggest waiting the length of a lifetime, and God seems so far away and so far removed from life that the urgency is lost on them.

Now, what of those servants who are so diligent in delivering the message?

The invitation goes out through the servants. There are multiples rounds of invitation. These servants undoubtedly represent the prophets. They can also represent missionaries sharing the gospel, church leaders extending callings/invitations to get ready to go to the temple, and all the calls to repentance that we hear throughout our lives.

8 Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy.
9 Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage.
10 So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.

What are the highways? Who are the people on the highways? What is significant about being on the highways that leads these people to accept the invitation?

If they were on the highways, they were travelers, going from one place to another. Perhaps this indicates they were leaving a place they didn’t want to be, going somewhere they wanted to go. When an exciting alternative was offered them, they took it. They were willing to divert their journey (or interrupt it) in favor of going to the king’s wedding. Perhaps they were searching. Maybe they felt they didn’t have anything to lose by coming to the wedding feast. (So Perhaps the people who didn’t listen to the invitation were too content with where they were and what they were doing.) Here are some scriptures that seem to throw light on the significance of highways in this parable:

The highway of the upright is to depart from evil: he that keepeth his way preserveth his soul. (Proverbs 16:17)

And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. (Isaiah 35:8)

Who are the good and bad on the highways, and why do both end up at the wedding feast? I suspect that one way we could interpret this is that there were people who had backgrounds of goodness and people who had backgrounds of badness. Both types came, and that was important. They both respond to the call, and they come, as opposed to those who don’t listen to the servants. Elsewhere, Christ elaborates on this point in His parable of the fishing net.

47 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:
48 Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. (Matt. 13:47-48)

This leads to the next question. What do we make of the man who was not clothed in a wedding garment?

What’s wrong with not wearing a wedding garment to the wedding feast?

It’s hard for us to understand why someone would be thrown out for wearing the wrong thing. We have to remember that wearing the wedding garment would be how the guests would show respect for the king. Remember, wearing our Sunday best to church and to the temple shows our reverence to God. If we remember that the wedding feast is part of the final judgment, we understand better the necessity of being prepared. Further, that it was a WEDDING FEAST suggests that the occasion itself calls for the very best.

The next difficulty we face is this—it seems unfair that the man is thrown out of the wedding feast for not having a wedding garment; after all, the servants grabbed people from the highways. It seems paradoxical to gather these people from highways and then require a wedding garment be worn. People don’t carry formal wear when on the road. The king was rich; he should have provided wedding garments for his guests, right?

In terms of the gospel, yes, Heavenly Father has provided every one of us with the wedding garment of righteousness when we repent and come unto Christ. All of us have sinned (except Christ), so none of us are righteous of ourselves. The Atonement washes our sins from us, making us pure, and the grace of Christ covers us, works in us, giving us power and inclination to do righteous things that we couldn’t do on our own.

So, the king did provide wedding garments for his guests so that they wouldn’t be embarrassed to come.

So now we ask again, why didn’t the man wear the wedding garment? Maybe we should first probe further about what the wedding garment is.

And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. (Revelation 19:8, emphasis added)

This is the “dress code” for heaven.

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels. (Isaiah 61:10, emphasis added)

9 Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness; and let thy saints shout for joy. . . .
16 I will also clothe her priests with salvation: and her saints shall shout aloud for joy. (Psalms 132:9,16, emphasis added)

12 And again, verily, verily, I say unto you, and it hath gone forth in a firm decree, by the will of the Father, that mine apostles, the Twelve which were with me in my ministry at Jerusalem, shall stand at my right hand at the day of my coming in a pillar of fire, being clothed with robes of righteousness, with crowns upon their heads, in glory even as I am, to judge the whole house of Israel, even as many as have loved me and kept my commandments, and none else.
13 For a trump shall sound both long and loud, even as upon Mount Sinai, and all the earth shall quake, and they shall come forth—yea, even the dead which died in me, to receive a crown of righteousness, and to be clothed upon, even as I am, to be with me, that we may be one. (D&C 29:12-13, emphasis added)

Wherefore, we shall have a perfect knowledge of all our guilt, and our uncleanness, and our nakedness; and the righteous shall have a perfect knowledge of their enjoyment, and their righteousness, being clothed with purity, yea, even with the robe of righteousness. (2 Nephi 9:14, emphasis added)

Language about being clothed can also refer to the glorious resurrection:

2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:
3 If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. (2 Cor. 5:2-3, emphasis added)

There are other righteous qualities suggested:

4 Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.
5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. (Revelation 3:4-5, emphasis added)

But behold, from among the righteous, he organized his forces and appointed messengers, clothed with power and authority, and commissioned them to go forth and carry the light of the gospel to them that were in darkness, even to fall the spirits of men; and thus was the gospel preached to the dead. (D&C 138:30, emphasis added)

Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. (1 Peter 5:5, emphasis added)

And above all things, clothe yourselves with the bond of charity, as with a mantle, which is the bond of perfectness and peace. (D&C 88:125, emphasis added)

As a side question: could going to the temple correspond to going to the wedding feast? Both going to the temple and participating in the wedding feast seem to call for special clothing. Again, while this possibility is intriguing, the events surrounding a trip to the temple don’t correspond in the essential details to the parable’s groups of people invited and then destroyed for their rejection, so this can’t be what was intended by the parable. It seems then that faithful temple attendance in the general sense must be viewed as part of the process of putting on the wedding garment. (Of course, this doesn’t prevent us from pretending as we go to the temple and worship there that we are going to the wedding feast. It may help us remember that we are practicing for the real thing.)

So what does it mean that the man didn’t have the wedding garment on?

The man who rejected the wedding garment must have thought that he was fine how he was and he didn’t need to change for anyone. He seems to have been determined to corrupt the king’s wedding, determined to different from all others. He took his rebellion into the king’s very house, determined to defy the saying that “No unclean thing can enter into the kingdom of God”. The command to bind the man hand and foot and throw him into outer darkness suggests that this is a son of perdition. He’s taken his rebellion to the very limit, while pretending to be obedient. He is a hypocrite. The man can have nothing to say.

***

Okay, so we’ve gotten to this point. I have to point out here that I haven’t presented this in the same order that I realized it in. The real order was here, there, over there, back here again, and extremely disjointed. If I had done it in the same order, you would have thought me a very bad writer. If I’ve done my job right, you should be right along with me. Well, now I have to go back to sharing with you some other things that I found in the middle of this process that enabled me to come to the conclusions I’ve shared with you up to this point.

I really thought a lot about this parable. I would analyze parts and think that I got it and then I would think about other parts and get completely confused again. In the end, I asked myself what the main point of it seemed to be. The main point of this parable is to show the slow whittling down of the number of guests that actually make it to the wedding feast and to show the various reasons why they fail to make the cut. The words at the end of the parable underlined this—“Many are called, but few are chosen.” I thought about this for quite a long time. It haunted me with its simplicity; it seemed to ring like a gong through my head. I couldn’t figure out why that was, but I knew there was something there, something of great significance. Thinking so long and hard about this gradually led me to realize that this parable was actually setting forth the three degrees of glory, according to the various groups of people invited to the wedding feast.

Telestial - Some take the invitation seriously and feel threatened by it and the messengers. This indicates that they feel it is an encroachment upon their freedom to order their own lives as they want. They oppose the servants and murder them, and by doing so, implicitly oppose the king. (These people are destroyed by the king’s armies.)

Terrestrial - Some don’t take the invitation seriously and treat it as a joke. They are too busy “minding their own business” making a living on the farm or with their store. (It is not quite clear whether they are destroyed or not.) They are honorable, but deceived by the craftiness of men.

Celestial - The people gathered from the highways are those who actually listened to the king’s servants and came to the wedding feast. (a remnant?) They prepare themselves in spite of the shortness of the time they have to prepare. They put on the wedding garment.

Outer Darkness - Some accept the invitation to the wedding feast, yet come without a wedding garment. They seem to have made the conscious decision to NOT prepare themselves. These are detected and cast out. They weep and wail and gnash their teeth. (There is nothing they can do to change the outcome; they can’t turn back the clock and make different choices.)

This interpretation adds greater depth to our understanding of the gospel. It shows us how accepting the gospel is not enough; that’s like accepting the invitation. We also have to prepare ourselves with the wedding garment or we will be cast out at the last day.
Christ’s parable of the net seems to underline this idea. Even if we have been gathered in the gospel net, unless we are “good fishes”, we will be cast out.

47 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:
48 Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away.
49 So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just,
50 And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. (Matt. 13:47-50, emphasis added)

I don’t think this refers to the first destruction of the people who wouldn’t even come to the wedding feast. I think reiterates the judgment that will occur among those who have come to the wedding feast, i.e. those who have joined the church. It is very easy to interpret the severing of the wicked from among the just as the destruction at the second coming of Christ, but what this points to is another judgment of removing the hypocrites from among the righteous.

Okay, back to the parable of the wedding feast..

I’ve told you I really spent a lot of time thinking about that haunting sentence—“Many are called, but few are chosen.” Something else I realized was that this very parable of the wedding garment had to be what Joseph Smith was pondering when he wrote those powerful words in D&C 121:34-36. “Behold, there are many called, but few are chosen. And why are they not chosen?...” The statement “Many are called, but few are chosen” must have haunted him even more than it haunted me. So I read the following with new understanding for the context:

34 Behold, there are many called, but few are chosen. And why are they not chosen?
35 Because their hearts are set so much upon the things of this world, and aspire to the honors of men, that they do not learn this one lesson—
36 That the rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and that the powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principles of righteousness.
37 That they may be conferred upon us, it is true; but when we undertake to cover our sins, or to gratify our pride, our vain ambition, or to exercise control or dominion or compulsion upon the souls of the children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness, behold, the heavens withdraw themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the priesthood or the authority of that man.
38 Behold, ere he is aware, he is left unto himself, to kick against the pricks, to persecute the saints, and to fight against God.
39 We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion.
40 Hence many are called, but few are chosen. (Doctrine & Covenants 121:34-40)

The parable describes people that have been called to the king's wedding feast and make light of it, preferring to go to their farms and merchandise. Joseph Smith observed, "Their hearts are set so much upon the things of this world and aspire to the honors of men". It was exciting to realize that was exactly what Joseph Smith was thinking about. I probably wouldn't have realized it if I hadn't been studying that same parable in order to do a blog post on it.

Yet Joseph Smith’s words bring up another difficulty. When Joseph Smith comments on the people who kick against the pricks, persecute the saints, and fight against God, he seems to refer to those who refused to accept the wedding invitation and who were eventually destroyed. This also seems to be substantiated by the idea that they set their hearts on things of the world. However, then he connects these ideas with those who have had the priesthood conferred upon them and who cover their sins, gratify their pride, or exercise unrighteous dominion, which seems to begin to refer to those who have come to the wedding feast without a wedding garment. Which is he referring to?

I suspect that he has to be referring to those coming to the wedding feast without a wedding garment because afterward he discourses on how the priesthood should be exercised, listing qualities that would fit really well into a description of charity. This would certainly allow the priesthood to put on the wedding garment and prepare them for the wedding feast. Joseph Smith’s statements about the priesthood setting their hearts on the things of men seems to indicate that even those who have accepted the king’s invitation may in the end fail to come to the wedding feast when the time comes. I think this expands on the characteristics of those who do not put on the wedding garment.

So what have we learned from this parable?

• The wedding feast is the end of the world, the final judgment.
• The wedding garment is the righteousness of the saints, which encompasses all the virtues.
  
• The parable sets forth the three degrees of glory and warns of the penalty for refusing the invitation to come to the wedding feast and for not preparing one’s self.
• We’ve learned that Joseph Smith was pondering this parable when he discoursed on the proper use of the priesthood in D&C 121.

Lesser Lights, Greater Lights

14 And the Gods organized the lights in the expanse of the heaven, and caused them to divide the day from the night; and organized them to be for signs and for seasons, and for days and for years;
15 And organized them to be for lights in the expanse of the heaven to give light upon the earth; and it was so.
16 And the Gods organized the two great lights, the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; with the lesser light they set the stars also;
17 And the Gods set them in the expanse of the heavens, to give light upon the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to cause to divide the light from the darkness. (Abraham 4:14-17)

Recently in our family scripture study, my husband and I read through these verses. A few days later, we were out on a late night walk next to a canal that runs near our subdivision and the full moon was beginning to rise in the sky to our right. There were no streetlights along the canal, so we were thankful for that moon-gleam.

My husband must have been ruminating on the moon because he turned to me and said, “I think it is interesting how the light of the moon is bright enough that we can see each other and where we are going. I can see you, I can see the road we are walking on, and if I didn’t know the sun existed, I might think this was all I needed.”

Then he said, “I think it is also interesting that in life some people are like the sun. They always seem to be at their best, even when it’s hard. You can always count on them. Then there are other people who are like the moon. They seem to go through waxing and waning cycles in which part of the time they set a pretty good example and then another part of the time they don’t, or they even seem to disappear. You can’t always count on them.”

I thought that was an interesting perspective on degrees of glory. I hadn’t thought of it quite like that before. It was also unexpected to have an observation like that come through consideration of the creation story.

But what he said definitely made me want to be like the sun. Sometimes I feel too much like a body that waxes and wanes. I go through stages in which I gladly project what I stand for, but then I go through stages in which I find myself searching for more, and I feel like I become like some sort of sun-sponge, trying to soak in as much good as I can from the everything around me in preparation for the next solar flare or solar prominence. During my really rough times I feel like I’m a black hole of neediness, sucking the strength out of everyone. (Deep down I know I’m really not, but sometimes I feel that way.)

When I was taking an astronomy in class, I learned that our sun goes through an internal cycle by which it tries to maintain something called “hydrostatic equilibrium”. (The “hydro” part is in there because the sun is made out of hydrogen). The cycle goes like this: The hydrogen in the core fuses together to produce helium, and in the process, creates energy (heat and light). The explosiveness of the process causes the sun to expand. But the gravity of the star causes the mass of the star to contract into the center. When these expansive and contractive forces are balanced, there is equilibrium. But there is constant rebalancing.

I figure our lives are kind of like this when we have different demands and priorities pulling at us. We achieve a kind of equilibrium by balancing and rebalancing, correcting and re-correcting.

Something I also learned was about sunspots. I learned that sunspots happen as the sun’s magnetic field is twisted by its rotation, kind of like a rubber band wrapped multiple times around a ball. The tension causes little magnetic storms called sunspots and eventually the tension breaks and then the twisting starts again. Yes. Suns feel tension too. Suns have storms too. And they are visible to others, but it doesn’t affect the amount of light we are getting to a dangerous degree.

I think that says to me that it is natural to have tension in our lives and have those storms from time to time. Just because we have that doesn't mean we aren't doing our best and doesn't mean we aren't on track towards eternal life in the celestial kingdom. It says to me that the good effect we have and the light that we share is far greater than the tension we deal with.

Image: Third Grade Discoveries, http://classblogmeister.com/blog.php?blog_id=826749.

Inage: Windows to the Universe, http://www.windows.ucar.edu/sun/images/sunspots_big_jpg_image.html

What Do We Look Forward To?

…kingdoms, thrones, principalities, powers, dominions, [and exaltations] all heights and depths… (D&C 132:19, bracketed text added by me)

Why so many different words? Let’s examine the definitions to see if we can get an idea of what they mean and how they are similar or different from each other. (All definitions are pieced together from dictionary.com, synonyms from Merriam-Webster’s Thesaurus.)

Kingdom – state or government having a king or queen at their head. A realm or sphere in which one thing is dominant. Anything conceived as constituting a realm or sphere of independent action or control. A monarchy is primarily a form of government in which a single person is sovereign.

Throne - the chair or seat occupied by a sovereign, bishop, or other exalted personage on ceremonial occasions, usually raised on a dais and covered with a canopy. The office or dignity of a sovereign. The occupant of a throne. Sovereign power or authority.

Principality - a state ruled by a prince, usually a relatively small state or a state that falls within a larger state such as an empire. The position or authority of a prince or chief ruler; sovereignty; supreme power. The rule of a prince of a small or subordinate state.

Power - ability to do or act; capability of doing or accomplishing something. Political or national strength. Great or marked ability to do or act; strength; might; force. The possession of control or command over others; authority; ascendancy. Political ascendancy or control in the government of a country, state, ect. Legal ability, capacity, or authority. Delegated authority; authority granted to a person or persons in a particular office or capacity. A document or written statement conferring legal authority. A person or thing that possesses or exercises authority or influence. A state or nation having international authority or influence. A military or naval force. Often, powers. a deity; divinity. Energy, force, or momentum.

Dominion - the power or right of governing and controlling; sovereign authority. Rule; control; domination. A territory, usually of considerable size, in which a single rulership holds sway. Lands or domains subject to sovereignty or control. Government. A territory constituting a self-governing commonwealth and being one of a number of such territories united in a community of nations, or empire: formerly applied to self-governing divisions of the British Empire, as Canada and New Zealand.

Exaltation - the act of exalting. The state of being exalted. Elation of mind or feeling, sometimes abnormal or morbid in character; rapture: mystical exaltation; euphoric exaltation.

Examination of “exalt” yields: raised or elevated, as in rank or character; of high station. Noble or elevated; lofty: Rapturously excited.

Okay. At this point I got a little impatient with these secular definitions, so I went to the Topical Guide to look up “exaltation” and here are some of the phrases that are associated with the word:

Fullness of joy
Joint heirs with Christ
Crown of righteousness
Crown of life
Crown of immortality
Crowned with joy
Crown of glory
In glory
they are gods, even the sons of God

What about “heights”? “Height” in the thesaurus gives altitude, elevation, and is related to highness, loftiness, rising, tallness, and stature. This seems to be confirming what we’ve already learned with those previous words.

But what about “depths”? When I looked at the thesaurus for this one and it mentioned dropping vertically, and even mentioned “abyss”, which I thought was interesting. Does that mean that the lower kingdoms will belong to us? (Forgive the speculation) The other thing that the thesaurus associated with “depths” was profoundness, wisdom, intellect, intelligence, insight, being full of knowledge. (Contrast this with “shallowness”.) Another idea that comes to my mind is that it could be related to more than just the faculties of thought, but also those of emotion. Surely we don’t take up our exaltation without expanding our capability to feel and emote in godly ways. We get a hint of that as we read in the Pearl of Great Price about Enoch’s heart swelling wide as eternity.

So how do these words compare to each other?

Kingdoms seems to express that we will have our own spheres of sovereignty, while principalities, as something that belongs to princes, seems to point to our place as having rule over a part of our Father’s kingdom, which shows us where we will fit in. It’s hard to see what “dominions” seems to bring to all of this unless we remember that the Lord gave Adam dominion over the earth, so it seems to me that when we are given dominions, it will be over more earths than one. Or it could be that there are more dominions for the Lord to give us on this earth besides what He has already give us. (For instance, could we say that He has given us dominion over the weather or the waves or the elements or the other planets in the solar system, or is this dominion we have yet to receive?)

Thrones seems to point out that we will have seats of authority to sit on (and capitals?) and power where we rule, and powers seems to suggest that we won’t be just figurehead or puppet kings and queens, but that we will have real ability and authority and be obeyed.

Exaltations seems to suggest a variety of different things, such as the prospect of being raised up to nobility, but not just nobility, but the state of deity. It also suggests the fullness of joy, with glory, righteousness, and so on, and the ability to have eternal posterity. The fact that “exaltations” is plural seems to suggest that bringing exaltation to those children brings greater exaltation to us, with each succeeding level of exalted posterity bringing us greater exaltation. Heights seems to confirm this idea. Depths seems to point to the immersion into the greatest of thoughts and emotions and total comprehension of all things.

All I can say is , “Amazing.” It’s hard to take it all in.

An amazing promise

To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. (Revelation 3:21)

I find this verse to be marvelous and astounding. It seems almost inconceivable that Christ would allow me to sit with Him on His throne even if I overcame the world. Considering my measly state right now, I might be inclined to think that this is just an honorary reward, kind of like an honorary doctorate degree (you know, where some university thinks you’re a pretty neat person so they give you a paper saying you have an honorary doctorate degree in… whatever). So there’s a tendency to think that Christ would let me sit on His throne with Him, give me a crown and a scepter to wave around for a little while so I can pretend I’m special and then that’s it, I have to give it all back at the end of the day and no real authority or power was shared.

Or there might be a tendency to think that it is a extended throne-sitting session with Christ where I sit back in awe and watch Christ do His Thing but still I can have no part in it.

But no, to make sure that we don’t misunderstand, Christ adds that our sharing the throne with Him will be just like how He shares the throne with the Father. We don’t think of Christ as being just a figurehead ruler. We think of Him as being very involved, with great power and authority. He’s part of the Godhead, after all! If we read this scripture plainly it says to those of us “that overcometh” that Christ will make us equal with Him. This idea is so much beyond the narrow-mindedness of men that those who are honest in heart must say that it came from God.

Joseph Smith wrote:

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.

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. …

… [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. (Chapter 18: Beyond the Veil: Life in the Eternities,” Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, (2007), 221-222.)

That's what we're aiming for.

Image from the book “Spain – John L. Stoddard’s Lectures” by John L. Stoddard, as retrieved January 13, 2009 from http://chestofbooks.com/travel/spain/John-Stoddard-Lectures/Spain-Part-4.html.

What Isaiah has to say about the Celestial Kingdom - part 3

This section is on the condition of the earth, sun, and moon.

For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make,
shall remain before me, saith the LORD,
so shall your seed and your name remain.
(Isaiah 66:22)

New heavens and the new earth, ones that will remain afterwards. Quite an amazing prospect. In what way must they be renewed? It must die and be resurrected just like us to a celestial glory. “And the end shall come, and the heaven and the earth shall be consumed and pass away, and there shall be a new heaven and a new earth. For all old things shall pass away, and all things shall become new, even the heaven and the earth, and all the fullness thereof, both men and beasts, the fowls of the air, and the fishes of the sea” (Doctrine & Covenants 19:23-24).

And one cried unto another, and said,
Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts:
the whole earth is full of his glory.
(Isaiah 6:3)

"the whole earth is full of his glory" – This shows us that the whole earth will be glorified with the same glory and brightness the Lord has, which Joseph Smith described as being “above the brightness of the sun” (Joseph Smith History 1:16). We’re going to live in devouring fire in the celestial kingdom. “And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God” (Revelation 15:2).

Something that always puzzled me was that the celestial kingdom is described as a sea of glass and fire and that to dwell with God is to dwell with everlasting burnings, while hell is described as a sea of fire and brimstone. It seems that our destination is fire no matter which way we go. What is the difference between these two fires? I think one is the fire of guilt and humiliation and buffetings of Satan, while the other is the enlivening and joyful fire of the Holy Spirit. To the souls in hell, the light of truth testifying that their deeds were evil is torture, and to the souls in heaven, the light of truth testifying that their deeds were righteous brings joy.

Isaiah has some fascinating things to say about the sun and the moon and their light levels.

Then the moon shall be confounded,
and the sun ashamed,
when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion,
and in Jerusalem,
and before his ancients gloriously.
(Isaiah 24:23)

19 The sun shall be no more thy light by day;
neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee:
but the LORD shall be unto thee an everlasting light,
and thy God thy glory.
20 Thy sun shall no more go down;
neither shall thy moon withdraw itself:
for the LORD shall be thine everlasting light,
and the days of thy mourning shall be ended.
(Isaiah 60:19-20)

Both these scriptures use the lights of the sun and moon to teach the principle that the Lord will be our everlasting light and guide and never be hidden from us again. It will be as if the sun never went down and as if the moon never waned in the sky, yet even though the sun and the moon will be always there, we won’t need it, because the Lord’s blazing presence will be here, the earth will have celestial glory of its own, and resurrected beings will be shining about as well. You and I hope to be part of that group!

Since Isaiah tends to prophesy both spiritual things and temporal things, we must also consider this scripture literally in terms of astronomy. It seems to me that if the sun never goes down, then a day will be much, much longer than 24 hours. What about the night side of the earth? Perhaps that side will be lit just as brightly as daytime by a glorified full moon. (The nightside is where the moon has to stay for it to never wax or wane but remain full all the time.)

I thought that last bit was speculation, but then I found this scripture:

Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun,
and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold,
as the light of seven days,
in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people,
and healeth the stroke of their wound.
(Isaiah 30:26)

This seems to say to me that on the “night side” of the earth the moon is going to be just as bright as the sun is now, and that on the “day side” of the earth the sun will be many times brighter than it is now.

"in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound" – This tells us when this is going to happen, but we have to do some serious thinking about it, because there can be multiple fulfillments of Isaiah’s prophecies and they can be fulfilled both temporally and spiritually. The first, most plain reading seems to say that it will be when Christ heals the wounds of His people. This could be the day of Resurrection, when all our bodies are healed from death. It could also be when Christ comes again and heals the spiritual wounds of His people—doubt, feeling rejected, feeling alone and persecuted, etc.— that have been inflicted upon them by the unbelievers. Finally, it can refer to healing the largest wound of all—spiritual death—by bringing us back into the presence of our Father in Heaven into the celestial kingdom, never again to be separated.

What Isaiah has to say about the Celestial Kingdom - part 2

He will swallow up death in victory;
and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces;
and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth:
for the LORD hath spoken it.
(Isaiah 25:8)

"He will swallow up death in victory" – How do you conquer death? How do you swallow up death in victory? Some people think that the way to conquer death is to never die, but they are wrong. For Christ to conquer death, He couldn’t run away from it, otherwise that would just have been avoidance, and there would always be the suspicion that death would still win in the end. For Christ to conquer death, He had to face it, choose to submit to it, and then come back with a glorified body un-killable. And not only that, He had to have power to bring other people un-killably back too. And that’s what He did. This is the biggest part of the healing that will take place, and it is the Resurrection not just of Christ, but of everyone.

11 He shall see the travail of his soul,
and shall be satisfied:
by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many;
for he shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great,
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong;
because he hath poured out his soul unto death:
and he was numbered with the transgressors;
and he bare the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.
(Isaiah 53: 11-12)

I suspect that these verses have the cause and effect being mixed out of order, so I colored the text to highlight the ideas that were similar, with red being the cause and blue being the effect.

"because he hath poured out his soul unto death" – First, this testifies of Christ and how He became worthy of celestial glory. He poured out his soul in service and teaching and in suffering for our sins. He poured out His soul to the very end of His life and never held back.

This is what makes us worthy of celestial glory too after repenting of all our sins. It tells us that we have to “pour out our souls unto death”, meaning we have to be faithful to the very end. Some of us will have to pour out our souls to death by dying as martyrs for our testimony, as the world becomes more wicked and intolerant of righteousness. Others of us will have to pour out our souls in a long life dedicated to the service of God. Others of us will suffer disease and accident and pour out our souls in the effort to remain cheerful and hopeful to the end. Some of us will be poor and pour out our souls in the daily effort to provide for our families. Others of us will be well off and pour out our souls to the end by being generous to those less fortunate. There are many ways it is possible to do it, but all of us must faithfully pour out our souls unto death.

"He shall see the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied" - These verses testify of Christ looking back at the good things He did during His life—ministry, atonement, crucifixion—and being satisfied with how He did, but it will also be true of us, if we have faithfully poured out our souls unto death. We will also be able to look back at all the good things we did during life and feel satisfied about it.

It is hard for us to realize just how good our memory will be of everything we did during life. My brother Stuart told me something that really made it clear how well we will remember: The only part of time that we see and know perfectly while in mortality is “now”. The past we only see selectively, based upon a few things that stuck out to us. So I figure our mortal brains can only recall very little, but our spirit remembers everything. When we die, our spirit will have access to every little memory, and it will all be as clear as “now” is for us today. We will be able to see our struggles with perfect clarity and relive them with satisfaction. (If we have not repented of our sins, we will see those just as clearly too, and those memories will be terribly painful.)

"Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong" - We will all then divide the celestial reward—all the Father hath—as joint heirs with Christ, if we have been one of the “great” and “strong” who have been valiant all during our lives.