Christ still gives glory to the Father

18 Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink—

19 Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men. (D&C 19:18-19)

I think it is notable that Christ gives glory to the Father in the midst of telling how hard it was to bear the sins of the world. Look at that last dash in the text and think about all the things He could have said following it.

He could have forgotten to give that credit for His success and take all the credit for Himself, but He didn’t. This shows how serious He is about doing the will of the Father and giving the Father the glory. He was serious when He said, “Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever.”

It’s a nice reminder that I need to give the Father credit for my successes. After all, He gave me my life, He has supported me from day to day, lending my breath, letting me move and try things. Even allowing me to make mistakes (though I would prefer not to). All the intelligence I gain is from learning principles that He knew first and has shared with humanity. Any good I do is because I learned His commandments and felt inspired by the Spirit to do it. Any sins I’m forgiven of through repentance are because He put the Plan of Salvation in place so I could repent.

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. 

Glory exclusive to God’s way

I am the Lord: that is my name:

and my glory will I not give to another,

neither my praise to graven images.

(Isaiah 42:8)

Isaiah told the Israelites of his day that God had said that those practicing idolatry would not feel the praise and glory enjoyed as blessings given to those who worship Jehovah.

This teaches an important principle for our day of pluralism.  While we allow others to practice their religion as they see fit, not all religions are equally profitable.

Religions and denominations that claim to have the truth and yet are not the true church will not have the blessings the true church has.  The blessing God gives is mentioned in this verse – “glory” and “praise.”  This isn’t external glory of architecture or something that can be bought or built, but a sense of life and salvation and light that is felt by individuals.  The praise is not spoken by man, but given by God alone as a feeling that God has approved of the work.

Elsewhere we are given the reason for this:

For mine own sake,

even for mine own sake, will I do it:

for how should my name be polluted?

and I will not give my glory unto another.

(Isaiah 48:11)

The Lord knows there are counterfeits out there (and there are many) and He refuses to give the glory (or sanction of His Spirit) to them as He gives to the true church.  He does this to prevent His name from being polluted, or to keep His reputation from being tarnished. 

The practical application of this principle for one seeking the truth is to seek for a church and while participating, seek for that glory and praise from God while among them.  If it is not found, go elsewhere and keep searching.  

I testify that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the church where that glory and praise from God can be felt.  Come and see!  Best thing everrrrrr!

Now is the Son of Man Glorified, John 13: 21-32

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21 When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me….

25 He then lying on Jesus’ breast saith unto him, Lord, who is it?

26 Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon….

31 ¶Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him.

32 If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him.(John 13:21,25-27, 31-32)

After Jesus gives the sop to Judas and Judas leaves, Jesus says some interesting things about being glorified.  There are five instances of the word “glorify” or variants.  These verses have always seemed odd to me because Jesus was not yet resurrected.  If He wasn’t resurrected it seems odd that He would say, “now is the Son of man glorified.”  So of course I have to think of explanations for it.  (Doesn’t mean that I’ll be right, but at least I can try, yes?)

Explanation #1: Jesus spoke of his glorified resurrection as if it were already an accomplished fact.  This would certainly testify to His ability to focus on the positive and how great things would come out of His tragic betrayal and the pain and anguish of the atonement.  If we could only have that same faith, think how full of spiritual power we could be!  We could say like Paul in Romans 8:18, “I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”

Explanation #2: Jesus spoke of the glory He felt inside as He took the brave step of revealing who would betray Him.  Perhaps He felt He had set events in motion for His mission to be accomplished and felt a huge satisfaction from that?  After all, His sacrifice had to be completely voluntary, so He would have to move toward it Himself, and those movements would be attended by the approval of Heavenly Father and the Holy Ghost.  Perhaps Jesus felt His spirit growing brighter and stronger because of His choice.  (I know when I have an internal struggle and then make a good choice, I feel braver and stronger for it.)  If this was the case, we can also expect that our righteous and sacrificial choices will glorify God and add glory to our spirits.

Explanation #3: Being glorified means to be lifted up, which could also refer to Jesus’ crucifixion.  This most completely squares with Jesus’ most challenging doctrines.  He would definitely see His most painful and challenging hours as the most glorious of His mortal life.  I know when I look back over my life, I remember the hard times when I choose to be faithful as some of the most satisfying. 

Do you have anything to add?