Exaltation

In class we've recently talked about the idea of Exaltation a lot, using the 76th section of the Doctrine and Covenants. It's a beautiful principle. Simply put, it's what happens after Salvation.

In the pre-earth life (before the world was created) we were born as spirits. We lived in the presence of God and were His children. There He presented the Plan of Salvation to us and gave us the possibility to come to the earth, to get a physical body to clothe are spirits and to have a mortal experience. Those of us who are on the earth, chose then to follow God. Those who chose not to come to this earth followed Satan and were thrown out of the God's presence. Before coming here we all followed God and we could see Him. While on the earth we must learn to follow Him without being able to see Him, we must "walk by faith," as the Apostle Paul said.

During this mortal life we all must try to keep God's commandments. But, sometimes we fail and sin. Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ we can be made pure again, washed clean from our sins and mistakes. When we make a promise with Christ to take His name for our own (become Christians) at baptism and promise to obey Him we become His children. If we remain faithful to Him and to that promise for all our lives we will receive Salvation as His children.

Exaltation comes after this. As great of a gift as exaltation is, it isn't all that God wants to give us. In Matthew, chapter 19 Christ is talking to a man that wants to know what he has to do to have eternal life. In verse 21 of that chapter Jesus says to him, "If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me." Christ doesn’t say that the “treasure” will be heaven, but says that the "treasure will be in heaven, signifying that there is something more than heaven, something after Salvation. If we are faithful to God and do all that He asks us to do we can and will be exalted and become, "heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ" (Romans 8:17).

"And he that receiveth my Father receiveth my Father's kingdom; therefore all that my Father hath shall be given unto him." -Doctrine and Covenants 84:38

Classes

In my writing class I've recently been working a lot on a paper that talks about some of my experiences being taught about the Gospel and other things by my parents and how those experiences have shaped my life. My dad became a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when he was 20. Learning about the Gospel of Christ changed his life entirely, for the good. Neither of his parents practiced a religion as he grew up, and they still don't, so he didn't know hardly anything about Christ before his conversion, but now he knows so much.

Thinking about this as I wrote the paper and thinking about my parents and who they are and what they stand for, made me think more about the Doctrine and Covenants and more specifically about the people who lived in the early days of the LDS Church, at the time when the Doctrine and Covenants was written. I'm really grateful for those people who stuck to their beliefs despite the hard times they had. People hated them and physically persecuted them and even tried to kill them because of the things they believed, but they wouldn't deny God or any of the knowledge that He had given them, no matter what the earthly cost was. I'm glad they were true to God, because they set a great example for me.

I'm also grateful to my own parents and for the choices they've made. If my dad hadn't become a member of the LDS Church he probably wouldn't have met my mom (they met in Church) and I probably wouldn't exist. I'm also very grateful that they taught me about Jesus Christ and that through His Atonement I can be free from sin and death and have the chance to live with Him and Heavenly Father forever, after this mortal life.

Family

The past couple of class periods we've been talking about section seventy-six of the Doctrine and Covenants. It's one of the greatest revelations ever. Our professor explained that in Joseph Smith's time many people were searching for Salvation. The authority to perform the ordinances of Salvation (such as baptism) had long since been lost from mankind and no one on the earth knew where to go to receive these ordinances and be saved. God gave us the solution to this problem through Mormonism. Through the Restoration of the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ the authority of God to perform these ordinances, or the Priesthood, was restored to the earth. Now people knew where to go to be saved. But, then what?

As time progressed and the Lord revealed more knowledge to His followers through the prophet Joseph Smith, we eventually learned the answer to the question, what comes after Salvation? What happens after we're saved as individual persons in Heaven? Section seventy-six explains the degrees of glory that exist within Heaven, namely the Celestial, the Terrestrial and the Telestial Kingdoms. We learn how we can reach the highest of those three, the Celestial Kingdom, where we can dwell with God and Christ forever. We can only reach it with a family, it's impossible to get there alone. After Salvation, comes Exaltation, or a life in which we will live forever with God, Christ AND our families. The familial bonds that we create in this life can and will be perpetuated beyond the grave if we but follow God and do as He asks us. That's amazing! It's incredible that God is so merciful and loving that He would even allow us to keep those relationships we attain in this mortal life that are most precious to us. I'm so grateful for the opportunity He has given to all people to do this.

This is why the family is so important to Mormon people, because we believe it will last forever, but only if we want it to and show that desire by continually living faithful to God and Jesus Christ.

Thanksgiving

This past week we had the Thanksgiving holidays. The celebration caused me to reflect some on purpose of our holiday. From the name of the holiday it's clear that we should be focused on giving thanks. Everything we have comes from the Lord and so the thanks rightly should go to Him. On Thanksgiving day I was at my roommate's family's house (because home is little far for me to go to just for a few days) and as we ate and had fun I thought of the things that I'm thankful for. I'm thankful for my Savior Jesus Christ and for His Atoning sacrifice. I'm thankful for my knowledge of Him and how it has shaped my life. I'm thankful for the words of God in the Book of Mormon, Bible and Doctrine and Covenants and that I live in a land that has laws protecting my right to worship God in the way I wish. I'm thankful for my family, even though they're far from me now, and for the love and support they give me. I'm thankful for amazing friends. I'm thankful for a lot.

Even though this holiday was great for me, in other parts of the country people didn't fair as well. I read in the newspaper about the recent deaths, fights and all the craziness of "Black Friday". Right after giving thanks for everything, many left their gratitude at home, put on their greedy hats and went out into the world of "stuff" ready to shop and get their hands on all of the possessions they wanted regardless of the cost. I read one story of a Jamaican man trampled to death at a Wal-Mart in New York. How do you just step on another human being? The other customers were so uncaring about this person that they not only walked all over him until he had died, but they had to be forcibly removed from the Wal-Mart so that police and employees could get to and move his body. Is getting "stuff" for cheap really so important? More important than human life? Just a day before others may have been giving thanks for the presence of this son, brother, husband, friend in their lives, and now they lament the loss. We shouldn't let gratitude overcome our greed. and rule our lives. We should be thankful for what we have and let thanks rule our lives.