How does heaven work? (D&C 76)

76:5

In this verse, the Lord talks about how he treats two groups of people:

1. “Those who fear me.” For this group, the Lord is “merciful and gracious.” Why is the Lord merciful and gracious to those who fear him? I think the question is how do people behave who fear the Lord? Those who fear the Lord are obedient and humble. They more readily submit to God’s will. These people aren’t perfect so the Lord gives mercy and grace.

2. ”Those who serve me in righteousness and in truth.” This is the group that the Lord “delights to honor.” I think the question is ‘how do you serve God in righteousness and in truth?’ I think it has to do with considering righteousness as our way of serving him. We serve him in truth by living the principles of the gospel.

This verse ends with the phrase “unto the end.” So, we must fear and serve the Lord until the very end. There isn’t a retirement age. Now that I’m finally 50, this is important for me to remember.

76:9-10, 12

”And their wisdom shall be great, and their understanding reach to heaven; and before them the wisdom of the wise shall perish, and the understanding of the prudent shall come to naught.” I love the phrase about wisdom reaching heaven. I don’t think it’s a matter of reaching heaven as in being able to cover the distance - like the phrase ‘our prayers reach heaven.’ I think it has more to do with encompassing heaven. When given, our understanding will include heavenly principles.

This understanding eclipses the understanding of the world. The wise and prudent people of the world are constrained by worldly limits. The wisdom of this world leads to worldly, TEMPORARY success. There are temporal principles of this world that, when understood, will lead to worldly success. However, heavenly principles may only be understood with the gift of the Spirit. The gift of the Spirit must be given.

The Lord explains this more clearly: “For by my Spirit will I enlighten them, and by my power will I make known unto them the secrets of my will—yea, even those things which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor yet entered into the heart of man.” The secrets of God’s will cannot be discovered by searching or listening to earthly sources. This level of enlightenment may only come from above through the Spirit.

He further explains: “By the power of the Spirit our eyes were opened and our understandings were enlightened, so as to see and understand the things of God.” We surely can see and study heavenly principles contained in the scriptures. However, there is enlightenment along the edges of the pages that are only understood by the power of the Spirit.

We’ve all had those moments when reading the scriptures. We’ve read words and our minds have taken over and taught us something. The Spirit helps us make connections between verses and principles. Think about it, how many times have you been reading the scriptures and something has led you on a little spiritual journey of understanding.

If our goal is to advance beyond this world, we must learn about heavenly things.

76:17

”And shall come forth; they who have done good, in the resurrection of the just; and they who have done evil, in the resurrection of the unjust.” This is a principle that we’re all familiar with. I am curious about the word ’just.’ Here are some other words for just:

• Equitable.

• Honorable.

• Upright.

• Upstanding.

• Decent.

• Honest.

• Righteous.

• Ethical.

• Moral.

• Virtuous.

• Principled.

• Full of integrity.

• Good.

• Right-minded.

• Straight.

• Reasonable.

• Trustworthy.

• Incorruptible.

• Truthful.

• Sincere.

I hadn’t realized that ‘just’ was such a powerful word. It is a character trait that I would like to strive for. I’d love to be associated with the word just.

76:22

“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!” Why are those three words such a powerful testimony? Because, if he lives than:

• He wasn’t a crazy person or simply a prophet because he was able to be resurrected.

• He truly was truly the Son of God.

• All of the prophecies about him were true. This means that the Old Testament prophets actually were receiving revelation.

• What he said and taught was true. For example, he said that he was the way, the truth and the life and no man would return to Heavenly Father but through him.

• There is life after death for all of us.

A lot of dominoes fall if this one principle is true. The foundation of our testimony should always be that he lives!

76:25-26

The heart of Satan’s fall is pride. ”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.” Let’s consider what this verse is saying:

• Satan was “an angel of God who was in authority.” Satan had progressed. He had responsibilities. He was trusted by God. He led others. He was respected. He had influence over others.

• He was in “the presence of God and the Son.” There was a strong familiarity between these three. They knew each other and interacted. They experienced events together.

• He “rebelled against the Only Begotten Son.” I would expect this to read that Satan rebelled against God. It’s interesting that this scripture is describing how Satan’s rebellion was against Christ. I can picture this happening. If there were two people of almost equal stature and one is chosen to preside over the other - the one would rebel against that person.

• Satan was “thrust down” from their presence. Thrust connotes force. He wasn’t simply asked to leave. He had to be forced.

• He was called “Perdition.” Because the word is capitalized, I’m assuming this is a proper noun. In other words, this became his name. Perdition is a synonym of damnation. Those who do what he did are literally the sons of Perdition - rather than the sons of God.

• The “heavens wept over him.” The sadness that the Father felt was shared by the population of heaven. Satan must have been loved by others. His leaving caused sadness - to the point of tears. It wasn’t just ‘good riddance.’ There was sorrow as a result of his choices.

• ”He was Lucifer, a son of the morning.” He was one of God’s first children. He was valiant and wise. He had preeminence among us.

Satan’s story is important for us to understand. It should serve as a warning for us. Our talents and gifts can not lead to pride. It’s hard. If we follow the example of the Savior, we become more influential. This gives us, in a way, more power. To become more humble as you become more powerful is a very hard thing to do for most of us. Power and humility aren’t usually connected. They are usually opposites. It takes a special person to be supremely powerful and supremely submissive.

Christ demonstrated that he could be God’s Only Begotten Son and submissive at the same time. He could be Savior of the world and still dependent on the support of his Father.

This story reminds me of Oliver Cowdery. He was the second elder of the church. He was there for the revelations and heavenly appearances of resurrected beings. His closeness and familiarity with Joseph Smith likely led, at least in part, to him becoming critical of Joseph and becoming the leader. Power and pride usually go hand-in-hand.

Perhaps someone reading this may someday be a influential church leader. If that happens, remind yourself of the dangers of pride. Practice building your humility along with your spirituality. No one is immune to this. Satan teaches this lesson clearly. You can be truly one of the noble and chosen ones and still allow pride to seep in and take you completely off course.

76:29-34

Satan’s influence led to the apostasy of many spirits in the preexistence. Joseph and Oliver saw this. “Wherefore, he maketh war with the saints of God, and encompasseth them round about. And we saw a vision of the sufferings of those with whom he made war and overcame.” Was this a physical war? I suppose there was a physical element but I think it was a battle for the minds and hearts of God’s children.

How did Satan overcome so many? Verse 29 says that he “encompasseth them round about.” What does this mean? Does it literally mean that he had people surrounded and that is how they were overcome? I don’t think so. I think it was about influence. Some saints allowed themselves to be surrounded by bad influences. The constant whisperings and complaints had an effect. We see this happening to people in this world. If you allow yourself to be surrounded by bad influences, chances are, you’ll be overcome.

Even strong, trusted spirits gave into this temptation. “Thus saith the Lord concerning all those who know my power, and have been made partakers thereof, and suffered themselves through the power of the devil to be overcome, and to deny the truth and defy my power.” These are those who had a testimony of Christ. They didn’t just have faith - they had firsthand knowledge. They not only knew Christ’s power but had been “partakers thereof.”

No one was forced. Everyone who succumbed allowed it to happen. They “suffered themselves through the power of the devil to be overcome.” They turned their backs on what they had already knew and experienced. They were led to “deny the truth and defy my power.” It is truly tragic that this happened. It’s sad to know that every follower of Satan was a volunteer.

The consequences of this are grave. They are sons of perdition. It would be “better for them never to have been born.” They are worse off. They are “vessels of wrath, doomed to suffer the wrath of God, with the devil and his angels in eternity.” In mortality, we usually suffer God’s wrath in a temporary way. Sometimes, God’s wrath leads to our repentance and that wrath passes. It doesn’t stay with us permanently. It isn’t a part of us, it is something that happens to us.

For sons of perdition, it’s different. They are vessels of wrath. God’s wrath is a permanent part of their existence. “Concerning whom I have said there is no forgiveness in this world nor in the world to come.” There is no forgiveness because there is no repentance. They choose to never repent.

76:40-42

The plan of salvation has a good ending for us. No matter what horrible event happens to us, we can look forward with hope. The gospel is about GOOD NEWS. “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.”

Christ‘s purpose was to:

• Bear our sins.

• Sanctify the world.

• Cleanse the world from all unrighteousness.

God’s work is to save all of us. The good news is that he is good at it. His plan is perfect. This plan will allow the greatest number of us to become like him. I’m grateful to know about this plan.

76:50-53

The Lord further explains who ‘the just‘ are in these verses:

• “Received the testimony of Jesus.”

• “Believed on his name.”

• “Were baptized after the manner of his burial.”

• “Kept the commandments.”

• ”Washed and cleansed from all their sins.

• ”Received the Holy Ghost.”

• ”Who overcome by faith.”

It’s interesting that the saints are also those who were overcome. Instead of being overcome by Satan, they “overcome by faith.” It’s an interesting contrast. Being overcome by Satan is about giving into his will and allowing him to have control over us.

Overcoming by faith is allowing ourselves to progress. Faith is the source of our power. It is our faith that allows us to press forward. It is the opposite of being overcome by doubt. Being overcome by doubt has a paralyzing effect.

I like the sound of overcoming by faith. We all have things in our lives that we want to overcome. We want to overcome trials and temptations. Faith allows us to do that.

76:53-64

There are a lot of blessings and gifts given to those who overcome by faith:

• ”Sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise.”

• ”They are they who are the church of the Firstborn.”

• ”They are they who the Father has given all things.”

• ”They are they who are priests and kings, who have received of his fulness, and of his glory.”

• ”And are priests of the Most High.”

• ”They are gods, even the sons of God.”

• ”All things are theirs, whether life or death, or things present, or things to come, all are theirs and they are Christ’s.”

• ”They shall overcome all things.”

• ”These shall dwell in the presence of God and his Christ forever and ever.”

• ”These are they whom he shall bring with him, when he shall come in the clouds of heaven to reign on the earth over his people.”

• ”These are they who shall have part in the first resurrection.”

Wow. That’s a lot! It illustrates how important it is to overcome by faith. These are they who inherit the celestial kingdom.

76:61

Verse 61 is a good reminder. “Wherefore, let no man glory in man, but rather let him glory in God, who shall subdue all enemies under his feet.” This is an important reminder placed in the middle of the list of things we will receive through faith. We will receive a lot but it doesn’t mean that we should glorify ourselves.

Here’s an interesting thought. If we were to have a conversation with God, would he first give glory to his Father? I think he would. He would share his love and appreciation for what his Father did for him to allow him to progress to where he’s currently at. Of course, he now has glory in and of himself. But, his progress was connected to submitting to the will of who came before.

Giving glory to He who made this possible is part of avoiding pride and allowing ourselves to continually progress.

76:69

”These are 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.” It is our duty to be just. But, our ‘justness’ won’t make us perfect. It is only through Christ and his atonement that we are made perfect. It’s not something we can do on our own with our own ‘justness.’

76:71-80

In these verses, we learn about the terrestrial degree of glory. It introduces this degree of glory as: “And again, we saw the terrestrial world, and behold and lo, these are they who are of the terrestrial, whose glory differs from that of the church of the Firstborn who have received the fulness of the Father, even as that of the moon differs from the sun in the firmament.” So there is a difference in degree of glory that is similar to the difference between the moon and the sun. Who inherits this degree of glory? It is those who:

• “Died without the law.”

• ”Are the spirits of men kept in prison.”

• ”The Son visited, and preached the gospel unto them, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh.”

• ”Received not the testimony of Jesus in the flesh, but afterwards received it.”

• ”Are honorable men of the earth, who were blinded by the craftiness of men.”

• ”Receive of his glory, but not of his fullness.”

• ”Receive of the presence of the Son, but not of the fullness of the Father.”

• ”Are not valiant in the testimony of Jesus.”

• ”Obtain not the crown over the kingdom of our God.”

This is a lot of information about who inherits the terrestrial kingdom. Those who didn’t have the law or didn’t receive a testimony of the flesh or who had a testimony but weren’t valiant in it.

As members of the church, we have a birthright. With that birthright comes more responsibility. We have a responsibility to be valiant. Those of us with a testimony must do something with that testimony to inherit a celestial degree of glory.

The good news is that this is a degree of glory. This place will feel like heaven to those who inherit this kingdom.

76:81-89

In these verses, we learn about the telestial kingdom. ”And again, we saw the glory of the telestial, which glory is that of the lesser, even as the glory of the stars differs from that of the glory of the moon in the firmament.” This is a big jump in glory. These are for those spirits who:

• ”Received not the gospel of Christ, neither the testimony of Jesus.”

• ”Deny not the Holy Spirit.”

• ”Are thrust down to hell.”

• ”Shall not be redeemed from the devil until the last resurrection.“

• ”Receive not of his fulness in the eternal world, but of the Holy Spirit through the ministration of the terrestial.”

• ”Receive it of the administering of angels who are appointed to minister for them.”

• ”Shall be heirs of salvation.”

They do not receive the gospel or a testimony of Jesus. This is going to be hard to do. They will choose not to follow Him. These are those who want to follow their own will. They want to eat, drink and be merry. They want to simply relax. They will “bow the knee, and every tongue confess who sits upon the throne forever and ever.” They will acknowledge that Jesus is the Christ. It sounds like they just won’t be that interested.

They will enjoy ministering from angels that belong to the terrestrial world.

Having said that, this is a degree of glory. “And thus we saw, in the heavenly vision, the glory of the telestial, which surpasses all understanding.” We cannot even understand the glory of the telestial kingdom. They are saved to some degree. They are redeemed from the devil. They are heirs of this degree of salvation.

76:94-95

”They who dwell in his presence are the church of the Firstborn; and they see as they are seen, and know as they are known, having received of his fulness and of his grace; And he makes them equal in power, and in might, and in dominion.” I’m not totally sure what this phrase means: that “they are see as they are seen, and know as they are known.”

I have a thought about it though. God sees our potential. He knows us as sons and daughters. A large part of our purpose here is to see and know ourselves the way he does. If we have that perspective, our lives change. We all are able to do this to some degree.

If we belong to the celestial kingdom, we will finally, fully see ourselves clearly.

76:98, 103, 109

This is a verse I have somehow missed all of the times that I have read this! “And the glory of the telestial is one, even as the glory of the stars is one; for as one star differs from another star in glory, even so differs one from another in glory in the telestial world.” There are varying degrees of glory in the telestial kingdom! I hadn’t realized that.

It makes sense to me. This kingdom will be filled with a wide variety of souls. There will be “liars, and sorcerers, and adulterers, and whoremongers, and whosoever loves and makes a lie.”

There will also be those who simply reject Christ. They aren’t interested in sinful acts, they just aren’t interested in righteous ones. It may be that they just don’t care about others and aren’t interested in ministering. They will be allowed varying degrees of unrighteousness - thus there will be varying degrees of glory.

How many will be in the telestial kingdom? “They were as innumerable as the stars in the firmament of heaven, or as the sand upon the seashore.” A lot of Heavenly Father’s children will belong there.

“And they shall be servants of the Most High; but where God and Christ dwell they cannot come, worlds without end.” They will serve the Most High. It is truly sad that they will not be able to live where God and Christ are!

76:111

“For they shall be judged according to their works, and every man shall receive according to his own works, his own dominion, in the mansions which are prepared.” We shall all be judged based on our works.

Why are our works so important? Our character is fully shaped by our works. We may intend to serve and bless others. But intentions don’t form character. It is what we DO that fully forms us.

76:116

”Neither is man capable to make them known, for they are only to be seen and understood by the power of the Holy Spirit, which God bestows on those who love him, and purify themselves before him.” There are things that can’t be adequately described with words. It requires the Holy Ghost to allow us to see and understand. It takes a degree of purity and the presence of the Holy Ghost to see certain visions. It makes sense that the higher level information is “not lawful for man to utter.”

I look forward to the day that this will be revealed to me.