I teach the Gospel Principles class in this little branch
where we serve. The lesson this past week was on eternal marriage. Our Branch Mission Leader made the statement that if two members of a family ended up in
the Terrestrial kingdom, he thought, they would still be able to associate with
one another. That is something that I
had never given any thought to. We know
there is a huge difference in glory between the three kingdoms. Those in the
Celestial kingdom administer to the Terrestial and those in the Terrestial
administer to the Telestial it seems. It
is one thing to associate, but I believe being sealed together as a family has
to be something much more meaningful. I have come to believe that the family
unit, not just the immediate family, but the extended family has more
importance that we may realize. If it were not extremely important, Heavenly
Father would not have the members of his Church spend so much time gathering
the names of all those who have lived before and sealing them together as families.
The family is the organizational unit of the Gods. We know that only those who
attain the highest level of the Celestial Kingdom will enjoy all that God has
in its fullness. While Section 76 of the Doctrine and Covenants provides more
information on the degrees of glory than any other source I am aware of, it
seems that Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon saw more in the vision than they
were allowed to write down, and we can only learn what they saw through the power
of the Holy Spirit.
114 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;
115 Which
he commanded us we should not write
while we were yet in the Spirit, and are not lawful for man to utter;
116 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;
118 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.
The tender mercy I received was that it caused me to spend
additional time reading and pondering Section 76 and I did gain a little better
understanding and appreciation for the differences in the Kingdoms of Glory.
