The Pillars of Eternity

Another phrase Elder Weatherford T. Clayton said that caught my attention was "the pillars of eternity." Specifically, Elder Clayton said "That plan [the plan of salvation] is built upon three grand pillars: the pillars of eternity." The footnote from that quote leads a 1991 talk by Elder Russel M. Nelson, titled Standards of the Lord's Standard-Bearers, but he only used the word "pillar" once in that talk, and a web search revealed that the more likely origin of the phrase may be a speech given in 1981 by Bruce R. McConkie, who was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve at the time. Fittingly, his speech was titled The Three Pillars of Eternity. So, what are these pillars, and why are they so important?

To answer those questions, I'm tempted to simply copy large sections of Elder McConkie's speech, but I'll try to restrain myself to sharing only the most important few.

According to Elder McConkie:

The three pillars of eternity, the three events, preeminent and transcendent above all others, are the creation, the fall, and the atonement. These three are the foundations upon which all things rest. Without any one of them all things would lose their purpose and meaning, and the plans and designs of Deity would come to naught.

If there had been no creation, we would not be, neither the earth, nor any form of life upon its face. All things, all the primal elements, would be without form and void. God would have no spirit children; there would be no mortal probation; and none of us would be on the way to immortality and eternal life.

If there had been no fall of man, there would not be a mortal probation. Mortal man would not be, nor would there be animals or fowls or fishes or life of any sort upon the earth. And, we repeat, none of us would be on the way to immortality and eternal life.

If there had been no atonement of Christ, all things would be lost. The purposes of creation would vanish away. Lucifer would triumph over men and become the captain of their souls. And, we say it again, none of us would be on the way to immortality and eternal life.

It all sounds pretty epic. In fact, even just the term "the pillars of eternity" sounded epic, which is why I bothered looking any of this up, and now I'm glad I did. I feel like I found some important truths (and some nice quotes) half-buried in the past, hidden away in a talk that's older than I am.

I'd like to blog more about these pillars later. For now, I think I'll just leave you with these quotes and enjoy the tangential learning I just experienced. I wouldn't have found these quotes if I hadn't looked them up, and, as I think about it, the General Authorities often mention, in their General Conference talks, references to previous talks. So, if a phrase in a talk stands out to you, if there's a term you'd like to understand better, look it up. It may appear elsewhere in the words of the prophets, and they may shed more light on whatever it was that piqued your interest. I looked up "the pillars of eternity" because it sounded cool, and in doing so, I learned that they are actually the most important events that ever occurred. I wonder what other "cool" insights I could find if I looked more closely at these Conference talks more often.