A Vision of Jesus Christ

When we teach of the plan of salvation, we sometimes use images like this one which highlight our premortal life, coming to earth, the spirit world, and the three degrees of glory. While such a picture can be useful in explaining the different parts of our eternal progression, it is missing the most important element of the plan of salvation. Actually, we might say that it is missing the whole plan of salvation. The plan that saves us that was presented by the Father in the premortal realm is summarized in two words: Jesus Christ. The different circles and steps in the above diagram are meaningless without the atonement and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Details about the three degrees of glory, a key part of what we typically explain when we talk of the plan of salvation, are found in Doctrine and Covenants 76. But to say that this revelation is about three degrees of glory also misses the most important part. The Come, Follow Me manual explains, “Section 76 reveals important truths about our eternal destiny, but it would be incomplete to say that this revelation is about the three kingdoms of glory or even just about the plan of salvation. More accurately, section 76 is about Jesus Christ, who makes God’s plan for our salvation and eternal glory possible.” The plan of salvation, and this section in particular, are focused on Jesus Christ; and when we speak of both we should likewise center our discussion on Him.    

            Every part of the plan described in Doctrine and Covenants 76 is described in relation to Jesus Christ. The revelation begins with these words, “Hear, O ye heavens, and give ear, O earth, and rejoice ye inhabitants thereof, for the Lord is God, and beside him there is no Savior” (v1). That is the context in which we should understand the revelation—that Jesus is the Lord and Savior. The premortal realm was mentioned with a focus on the Only Begotten Son: “Even those things which were from the beginning before the world was, which were ordained of the Father, through his Only Begotten Son, who was in the bosom of the Father, even from the beginning; Of whom we bear record; and the record which we bear is the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, who is the Son, whom we saw and with whom we conversed in the heavenly vision” (v13-14). Satan’s fall was described in relationship to the Savior: “And this we saw also, and bear record, that an angel of God who was in authority in the presence of God, who rebelled against the Only Begotten Son whom the Father loved and who was in the bosom of the Father, was thrust down from the presence of God and the Son, And was called Perdition, for the heavens wept over him—he was Lucifer, a son of the morning” (v25-26). Satan was thrust down because He rebelled against the Only Begotten Son. Those who become sons of perdition do so because they have “denied the Holy Spirit after having received it, and having denied the Only Begotten Son of the Father, having crucified him unto themselves and put him to an open shame” (v35). They are sons of perdition because of their total rejection of the Savior. Everyone else will “be brought forth by the resurrection of the dead, through the triumph and the glory of the Lamb, who was slain, who was in the bosom of the Father before the worlds were made” (v39). The resurrection comes because of the triumph of the Lamb. The revelation then sums of the gospel in these words: “And this is the gospel, the glad tidings, which the voice out of the heavens bore record unto us—That he came into the world, even Jesus, to be crucified for the world, and to bear the sins of the world, and to sanctify the world, and to cleanse it from all unrighteousness; That through him all might be saved whom the Father had put into his power and made by him” (v40-42). The gospel—really another name for the plan of salvation—is that Christ was crucified, bore the sins of the world, and can cleanse and save us.

            The three degrees of glory that are then described in section 76 each focus on people’s relationship and acceptance of the Savior. Those who will go to the celestial kingdom “are they who received the testimony of Jesus, and believed on his name and were baptized after the manner of his burial, being buried in the water in his name, and this according to the commandment which he has given…. They who are just men made perfect through Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, who wrought out this perfect atonement through the shedding of his own blood” (v51, 69). They are saved because Jesus has made them perfect through His perfect atonement. Those who inherit a terrestrial glory are described with these words: “These are they who are not valiant in the testimony of Jesus; wherefore, they obtain not the crown over the kingdom of our God” (v79). Their salvation is defined by how valiant they are towards the testimony of Jesus. Finally, those who will go to the telestial kingdom “are they who received not the gospel of Christ, neither the testimony of Jesus” (v82). Because they have rejected Jesus and His gospel, they must suffer the price of their own sins and will not be “redeemed from the devil until the last resurrection, until the Lord, even Christ the Lamb, shall have finished his work” (v85). So, all three of these kingdoms are described based on a level of acceptance of Jesus Christ. Everything in this magnificent revelation is centered on Jesus Christ.

            Doctrine and Covenants 76 was simply called “the Vision” after it was received by Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon. There are many things that these two saw as a part of that vision, but the most important was a vision of Jesus Christ as they described in these famous words: “And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives! For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father—That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God” (v22-24). Their witness was of Jesus Christ, and ours should be too as we share and teach the plan of salvation.