A Focus on Exaltation

President Oaks recently spoke in general conference about the three degrees of glory. He taught this encouraging truth: “The revealed doctrine of the restored Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that all the children of God—with exceptions too limited to consider here—will ultimately inherit one of three kingdoms of glory, even the least of which ‘surpasses all understanding.’ After a period in which the disobedient suffer for their sins, which suffering prepares them for what is to follow, all will be resurrected and proceed to the Final Judgment of the Lord Jesus Christ. There, our loving Savior, who, we are taught, ‘glorifies the Father, and saves all the works of his hands,’ will send all the children of God to one of these kingdoms of glory according to the desires manifested through their choices.” Besides the sons of perdition—those “exceptions” that President Oaks alluded to—all will ultimately receive a kingdom of glory in the next life. Hell is the suffering of sins that the disobedient will endure before receiving the telestial kingdom of glory as described here: “These are they who are cast down to hell and suffer the wrath of Almighty God, until the fulness of times, when Christ shall have subdued all enemies under his feet” (Doctrine and Covenants 76:106). Despite the fact that this suffering will be “sore” and “exquisite” and “hard to bear,” it will eventually end even for the wicked, and they will receive a kingdom of glory that “surpasses all understanding” because it is so good (Doctrine and Covenants 19:15).

That knowledge of the goodness of God in seeking to save and glorify and bless all of His children with as much as He can give them might cause us to want to settle for mediocrity in this life. One might, with this knowledge, believe that it will be good enough to obtain unto a terrestrial or telestial glory and not be “valiant” in the testimony of Jesus here on earth. But President Oaks was clear that the focus of the Church—and what ours should be as well—is to help God’s children receive the highest blessings that the Father has available to us in the celestial kingdom. He said, “Another unique doctrine and practice of the restored Church is the revealed commandments and covenants that offer all the children of God the sacred privilege of qualifying for the highest degree of glory in the celestial kingdom. That highest destination—exaltation in the celestial kingdom—is the focus of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” He repeated again, “We begin with the highest, which is the focus of the divine commandments and ordinances God has revealed through The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints…. Through revelation, God has revealed the eternal laws, ordinances, and covenants that must be observed to develop the godly attributes necessary to realize this divine potential. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints focuses on these because the purpose of this restored Church is to prepare God’s children for salvation in the celestial glory and, more particularly, for exaltation in its highest degree.” Thus, three times he emphasized that our focus is on obtaining our exaltation in the celestial kingdom, a destination only obtained through faithfulness to ordinances and covenants with the Savior Jesus Christ including sealing to a spouse in a temple of God. While it is true that any kingdom of glory obtained in the next life will surely include some level of happiness, what is critical for us to understand is that the marriage relationship can only be perpetuated as we obtain our exaltation in the celestial kingdom. Why would we settle for anything less than that? That is why the Lord warned us, “Therefore, if a man marry him a wife in the world, and he marry her not by me nor by my word, and he covenant with her so long as he is in the world and she with him, their covenant and marriage are not of force when they are dead, and when they are out of the world; therefore, they are not bound by any law when they are out of the world. Therefore, when they are out of the world they neither marry nor are given in marriage; but are appointed angels in heaven, which angels are ministering servants, to minister for those who are worthy of a far more, and an exceeding, and an eternal weight of glory. For these angels did not abide my law; therefore, they cannot be enlarged, but remain separately and singly, without exaltation, in their saved condition, to all eternity; and from henceforth are not gods, but are angels of God forever and ever” (Doctrine and Covenants 132:15-17). We don’t want to be separate and single in the next life, even if that is in a kingdom of glory! To me the message from President Oaks’ talk was to stay focused on the highest blessings that the Lord has in store for us, even that of an eternal family in the world to come. In short, we must in this life “think celestial”—as President Nelson encouraged us—and always stay true to the covenants we have made with Jesus Christ.