Sunday, August 14, 2016

"Their Heaven"

A few days ago, I had an interesting conversation with someone on Facebook. She said that "everyone goes to heaven." I misunderstood her at first, but thankfully, she explained:
Heaven is all three kingdoms. Just because you are not the [most] righteous of the righteous, doesn't mean [Heavenly Father] didn't make a place to live happy for eternity. Where you are happy is where you will live. Even the lowest, [Heavenly Father] made a place for them. That is their heaven.
Knowing that there are higher kingdoms, it's hard to imagine the Telestial Kingdom being considered "heaven" to some people, but there's at least one scripture that supports that idea. As one prophet told the wicked:
Behold, I say unto you that ye would be more miserable to dwell with a holy and just God, under a consciousness of your filthiness before him, than ye would to dwell with the damned souls in hell.
Mormon 9:4 
 To say that one would be more miserable to dwell with God than to live in hell is to say that they would be less miserable, one might even say happier, in hell than in heaven.

Of course, it's better to be righteous so we can live in the Celestial Kingdom with our Heavenly Father and be happy there, but it's nice to know that God cares enough about the happiness of His children that He prepared places for everyone, even those who don't believe in Him.

That goes to show how thoughtful and caring God is. Of course, He would rather that we all come home and feel at home there, but He knew that many people wouldn't, so He made places where would feel comfortable and happy for eternity, and though those places aren't quite as desirable as the Celestial Kingdom, those places are still kingdoms of glory, and they will feel like heaven to those who come to live there.

God loves all His children, and He wants them all to live happily for eternity, even if they're happier not spending eternity with Him. God has prepared a heavenly place for everyone. If a person decides that they wouldn't be comfortable living in God's heaven, they needn't worry; there is another heaven prepared for them.

1 comment:

Miriam said...

Yes, she's right. Almost everyone will go to heaven. If we haven't repented, we will have to suffer for our sins first, so some would call that going to--or through--hell, but then we will receive a degree of glory--or in other words: go to heaven.

"It is apparent that if God rewards everyone according to the deeds done in the body, the term heaven as intended for man’s eternal home must include more kingdoms than one. In speaking of man in his resurrected state, Paul tells of glories like the sun, the moon, and the stars (1 Cor. 15:39–41). He also speaks of the “third heaven” (2 Cor. 12:2). Jesus spoke of “many mansions” or kingdoms (John 14:2). Latter-day revelation confirms the teaching of the Bible on these matters and verifies that there are three general categories or glories to which the members of the human family will be assigned in the judgment following their resurrection from the grave. These are known as the celestial, terrestrial, and telestial kingdoms, of which the sun, moon, and stars are spoken of as being typical (D&C 76; 88:20–32; 131:1–4). In addition to the degrees of glory, there is a place of no glory, called perdition, reserved for those who commit the unpardonable sin." (emphasis added)
- Bible Dictionary https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bd/degrees-of-glory?lang=eng

"The unpardonable sin is to willfully deny and defy the Holy Ghost after having received His witness.
No man can sin against light until he has it; nor against the Holy Ghost, until after he has received it by the gift of God through the appointed channel or way. To sin against the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of Truth, the Comforter, the Witness of the Father and the Son, wilfully denying him and defying him, after having received him, constitutes [the unpardonable sin].
No man can possibly commit the unpardonable sin in ignorance. A man must be brought to a knowledge of Christ; he must receive a testimony of Christ in his heart, and possess light and power, knowledge and understanding, before he is capable of committing that sin. But when a man turns away from the truth, violates the knowledge that he has received, tramples it under his feet, puts Christ again to open shame, denies His atonement, denies the power of the resurrection, denies the miracles that He has wrought for the salvation of the human family, and says in his heart, “It is not true”, and abides in that denial of the truth, after having received the testimony of the Spirit, he commits the unpardonable sin." (emphasis added)
- Joseph F. Smith https://www.lds.org/manual/teachings-joseph-f-smith/chapter-8?lang=eng

So basically, you really have to be trying to end up in hell forever.