© 2023 The Interpreter Foundation. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
All content by The Interpreter Foundation, unless otherwise specified, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available here.
Interpreter Foundation is not owned, controlled by or affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. All research and opinions provided on this site are the sole responsibility of their respective authors, and should not be interpreted as the opinions of the Board, nor as official statements of LDS doctrine, belief or practice.
Jim, thanks for the article. A useful addition for the end of your article could include a letter issued in 1952 by Joseph L. Anderson, Secretary to the First Presidency. In response to a member’s question with reference to progression between kingdoms. brother Anderson wrote:
“Dear Brother,
The brethren direct me to say that the Church has never announced a definite doctrine upon this point. Some of the brethren have held that it was possible in the course of progression to advance from one glory to another, invoking the principle of eternal progression; others of the brethren have taken the opposite view. But as stated, the Church has never announced a definite doctrine on this point.
Sincerely your brother,
Joseph L. Anderson, Secretary to the First Presidency.”
Excellent, Loren. Thanks so much for this. Will definitely use it in the future.
I would suggest that President Nelson’s wording in his latest Conference address bears on this discussion:
“However, your choices today will determine three things: where you will live throughout all eternity, the kind of body with which you will be resurrected, and those with whom you will live forever. . . .
“This means making the celestial kingdom your eternal goal and then carefully considering where each of your decisions while here on earth will place you in the next world. . . .
“The Lord has clearly taught that only men and women who are sealed as husband and wife in the temple, and who keep their covenants, will be together throughout the eternities. . . . [part of D&C 132 quoted]
“Thus, if we unwisely choose to live telestial laws now, we are choosing to be resurrected with a telestial body. We are choosing not to live with our families forever.
“So, my dear brothers and sisters, how and where and with whom do you want to live forever?”
These statements, formally interpreting the included scriptural passages for the church, surely indicate the position of our current prophet.
“The kind of body with which you will be resurrected” and “forever” and “where you will live throughout all eternity” are plain wording to my mind.
Do we accept and believe this doctrine as the restored church or do we place it in a scholarly bin of statements to simply take note of or compare and contrast?
Was Pres. Nelson inspired to teach it?
Can resurrected Telestial bodies be swapped for Terrestrial bodies or Terrestrial bodies for exalted glorified Celestial bodies?
Or, are resurrected bodies never separated from the spirit again?
Just some thoughts 🙂
Thanks, Bryan. I’m always reviewing new literature of interest, and will look in to the Burnett article for sure!
Jim,
I really enjoyed your article. There were some great insights. Wondered if you had come across David A. Burnett’s work. You might find his “A Neglected Deuteronomic Scriptural Matrix for the Nature of the Resurrection Body in 1 Cor 15:39-42?” and “‘So Shall Your Seed Be’: Paul’s Use of Genesis 15:5 in romans 4:18 in Light of Early Jewish Deification Traditions” extremely insightful and further expanding your article’s focus.
I enjoyed the article. I love D & C 76. What a shame that these glorious truths were lost to apostate Christianity! I have wondered why the Book of Mormon does not discuss the 3 degrees of glory in the detail that D & C 76 does. I have a theory about that – a theory which, I acknowledge, is pure speculation. That speculative theory is as follows:
Perhaps, the lack of detail in the Book of Mormon about the 3 degrees of glory may be partially due to that most of the Book of Mormon teachings – while universally applicable – are given to members of the church and former members of the church. Thus, for members of the church and former members of the church, there possibly is a kind of heaven or hell, implying that members of the church and former members of the church are judged by a higher standard than are non-members because non-members are NOT violating gospel covenants as disobedient members of the church and former members of the church are. The Book of Mormon often seems to have 2 main groups: covenant keepers and covenant breakers — whereas Joseph Smith lived in a world of mostly non-members. As I said, this theory is pure speculation.
Interesting observations, George. A prevailing idea about the BoM emphasis on a binary afterlife may also simply reflect young Joseph’s own Protestant background and understanding while he translated. His revelatory work still required him to frame concepts according to his own language, style, and understanding at the time.
Appreciate the ideas you have.