Heaven on Earth

My seven-year-old son has mentioned to me before that he doesn’t want to go to heaven because he likes being on the earth so much.  He loves being outdoors and exploring everything there is to see in nature from mountains to beaches to his own backyard.  I explained to him that he would not have to leave the earth permanently, for the earth will be heaven.  The Savior alluded to this in the Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth” (Matt. 5:5).  In the book of Psalms the same thing was taught: “Those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth…. The meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace…. For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth” (Psalm 37:9,11,22).  In the Doctrine and Covenants the Lord clarified that this is indeed referring to the state of things after His coming: “For behold, the Lord shall come, and his recompense shall be with him, and he shall reward every man, and the poor shall rejoice; And their generations shall inherit the earth from generation to generation, forever and ever” (Doctrine and Covenants 56:19-20).  Those who are meek, who wait upon the Lord—presumably all those who are righteous—will inherit the earth.  Indeed, as another scripture declares, in some future day “the earth [will be] given unto the saints, possess it forever and ever” (Doctrine and Covenants 103:7).  It will be, quite literally, heaven on earth.  

            This principle is perhaps made clearest in section 88 of the Doctrine and Covenants.  We read, “And the redemption of the soul is through him that quickeneth all things, in whose bosom it is decreed that the poor and the meek of the earth shall inherit it. Therefore, it must needs be sanctified from all unrighteousness, that it may be prepared for the celestial glory; For after it hath filled the measure of its creation, it shall be crowned with glory, even with the presence of God the Father; That bodies who are of the celestial kingdom may possess it forever and ever; for, for this intent was it made and created, and for this intent are they sanctified” (v17-20).  Those who are righteous, those who will receive the glory of the celestial kingdom, will possess the earth “forever and ever.”  Exactly how it will be divided among the presumably billions who do inherit the celestial kingdom, and many of whom will have their own promise of internal increase, I’m not certain (perhaps the earth’s size will grow exponentially).  But this does signify to me that the incredible beauties of the earth that I have enjoyed in my life, from the snow-capped mountains of the Wasatch Front to the stunning sunflower fields of southern France to the breathtaking scenes of Niagara Falls, are not simply mortal decorations that will be thrown away so we can go live in crystal buildings with golden thrones.  Rather, they are indeed a small taste of the beauty of the life in the hereafter.  All these creations now testify of Him who created them—as Alma taught so powerfully, “all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator” (Alma 30:44).  And so our time spent contemplating the natural creations on the earth are not necessarily distractions from our eternal end but can be for us a taste of what the hereafter can be if we will obey the voice of Him who created all things.                                                            
                As we consider the beauties of nature, though, we should also remember that the earth and all creations of God (except for man) obey the voice of the Lord.  In this same section of the Doctrine and Covenants the Lord gave this surprising description of the earth, as if it had its own agency: “And again, verily I say unto you, the earth abideth the law of a celestial kingdom, for it filleth the measure of its creation, and transgresseth not the law” (v25).  Also, in Abraham’s version of the creation it states five different times that the various creations on the earth “obeyed” the Lord’s command; for example, we read that “the Gods saw that they would be obeyed, and that their plan was good” (Abraham 4:21).  Even the dust of the earth is obedient to God, for it “moveth hither and thither, to the dividing asunder, at the command of our great and everlasting God” (Helaman 12:8).  If we desire indeed to possess the earth and enjoy the beauties of creation forever and ever, we must learn to obey the voice of the Creator as nature already does.