Continuing from the previous post
regarding the Plan for our Salvation (which
is being saved from physical and spiritual death through the resurrection of
Jesus Christ and comes to all mankind as a free gift from God) and the basis
for exaltation (which is the highest
state of happiness and glory in the celestial realm, and must be earned by our
obedience and performance).
Salvation or eternal life (to live forever) is a free gift of God,
brought about by the Lord’s conquering death and his resurrection
While salvation comes to all
mankind, “Through the atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by
obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel” (3rd Article of
Faith) and all people will be resurrected and saved from physical death. People
may also be saved from individual spiritual death through the Atonement of
Jesus Christ, by their faith in Him, by living in obedience to the laws and
ordinances of His gospel, and by serving Him.
On the other hand, “exaltation”
is a different matter. The dictionary lists “exaltation” as an “acclaim,” “an
expression of approval.” In an early time, it was defined as “The act of
raising high,” “elevation to power, office, rank, dignity or excellent,” and
“elevated state; state of greatness or dignity.” It is interesting that in
astronomy, it is defined as “the dignity of a planet in which its powers are
increased.”
In LDS doctrine, it is the
highest level of description for God, i.e., as an “exalted being.”
We need to keep in mind that not only does Heavenly Father
have a Plan for our Salvation, i.e., eternal life, which is His free gift to
us, resulting from the atonement and Christ’s conquest of death, that all might
live again, but God the Father also has a Plan for our Progression, i.e, the
progression of our being beyond the grave, or in the eternal sphere, the Third
Estate, Eternal Life.
As in the case of Abraham who “received all things, whatsoever he received, by revelation
and commandment, by my word, saith the Lord, and hath entered into his
exaltation and sitteth upon his throne" (D&C
132:29). Accordingly, Isaac and Jacob have also received exaltation (D&C
132:37).
As stated earlier,
when we lived with
our Heavenly Father, He explained a plan for our progression. We could become
like Him, an exalted being. The plan required that we be separated from Him and
come to earth. This separation was necessary to prove whether we would obey our
Father’s commandments even though we were no longer in His presence. The plan
provided that when earth life ended, we would be judged and rewarded according
to the degree of our faith and obedience.
The ancient prophet, Alma, in
speaking to one of his sons, tells us exactly why these Plans were necessary: ”Now behold, it was not expedient that man
should be reclaimed from this temporal death, for that would destroy the great
plan of happiness. Therefore, as the soul could never die, and the fall had
brought upon all mankind a spiritual death as well as a temporal, that is, they
were cut off from the presence of the Lord, it was expedient that mankind
should be reclaimed from this spiritual death. Therefore, as they had become
carnal, sensual, and devilish, by nature, this probationary state became a
state for them to prepare; it became a preparatory state. And now remember, my
son, if it were not for the plan of redemption, (laying it aside) as soon as
they were dead their souls were miserable, being cut off from the presence of
the Lord. And now, there was no means to reclaim men from this fallen state,
which man had brought upon himself because of his own disobedience; Therefore,
according to justice, the plan of redemption could not be brought about, only
on conditions of repentance of men in this probationary state, yea, this
preparatory state; for except it were for these conditions, mercy could not
take effect except it should destroy the work of justice. Now the work of
justice could not be destroyed; if so, God would cease to be God. And thus we
see that all mankind were fallen, and they were in the grasp of justice; yea,
the justice of God, which consigned them forever to be cut off from his
presence” (Alma 42:8-14).
However, thanks to
God’s great plan of happiness, families
can be together forever—as exalted beings. Our Heavenly Father declared, “This
is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of
man” (Moses 1:39). Both of His objectives were enabled by the Atonement of His
Beloved Son, Jesus Christ. His Atonement made resurrection a reality and
eternal life a possibility for all who would ever live.
From the scriptures we learn that there are three kingdoms
of glory in heaven. The Apostle Paul mentioned that he knew a man who was
“caught up to the third heaven” (2 Corinthians 12:2). Paul named two of the
kingdoms in heaven: the celestial and the terrestrial (1 Corinthians 15:40-42).
The celestial is the highest, and the terrestrial is second. Through latter-day
revelation we learn that the third kingdom is the telestial kingdom (D&C
76:81). We also learn that there are three heavens or degrees within the
celestial kingdom (D&C 131:11).
Obviously, since all are not the same, there must be a
difference or manner of separation between these three heavens. While
resurrection, or immortality, comes to every man and every woman as an unconditional
gift, eternal life, or celestial glory or exaltation, is a conditional gift—conditions
that have been established by the Lord, who said, “If you keep my commandments
and endure to the end you shall have eternal life, which gift is the greatest of
all the gifts of God.” The Book of Mormon
further explains the conditional nature of this great gift, which states: “ye must press forward with a steadfastness
in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all
men. Wherefore, if ye shall
press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold,
thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life” (2 Nephi 31:20). Those qualifying conditions
include faith in the Lord, repentance, baptism, receiving the Holy Ghost, and
remaining faithful to the ordinances and covenants of the temple.
For achievement in the highest degree, as an example, Elder
Russell M. Nelson said: “No man in this Church can obtain the
highest degree of celestial glory without a worthy woman who is sealed to him.
This temple ordinance enables eventual exaltation for both of them.”
So what exactly is
“exaltation”?
It is the kind of life God lives. He lives in great glory.
He is perfect. He possesses all knowledge and all wisdom. He is the Father of
spirit children. He is a creator. We can become like our Heavenly Father. This
is exaltation.
If we prove faithful to the Lord, we will live in the
highest degree of the celestial kingdom of heaven. We will become exalted, to
live with our Heavenly Father in eternal families. Exaltation is the greatest
gift that Heavenly Father can give His children (D&C 14:7).
What are some blessings that will be given to those who are
exalted?
Our Heavenly Father is perfect, and He glories in the fact
that it is possible for His children to become like Him. His work and glory is
“to bring to pass the immortality and and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39). Those
who receive exaltation in the celestial kingdom through faith in Jesus Christ
will receive special blessings. The Lord has promised, “All things are theirs”
(D&C 76:59). These are some of the blessings given to exalted people:
1. They will live eternally in the presence of Heavenly
Father and Jesus Christ (D&C 76:62);
2. They will become gods (D&C 132-10-23);
3. They will be united eternally with their righteous family
members and will be able to have eternal increase;
4. They will receive a fulness of joy;
5. They will have everything that our Heavenly Father and
Jesus Christ have—all power, glory, dominion, and knowledge (D&C 132:19-20)
President Joseph Fielding Smith wrote: “The Father has
promised through the Son that all that he has shall be given to those who are
obedient to His commandments. They shall
increase in knowledge, wisdom, and power, going from grace to grace, until the
fulness of the perfect day shall burst upon them” (Doctrines of Salvation, comp.
Bruce R. McConkie, 3 vols. [1954–56], 2:36; italics in original).
(See the next post, “A Plan for
Salvation – Part IV “Requirements for Exaltation,” which add the third part to
this great Plan for our Salvation)
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