Gospel Principles
Unit 10: Life after Death
Chapter 47: Exaltation
Concept 1: Introduction
"When we lived with our Heavenly Father, he explained a plan for our progression. We could become like him, an exalted being. The plan required that we be separated from him and come to earth. This separation was necessary to prove whether we would obey our Father's commandments even though we were no longer in his presence. The plan provided that when earth life ended, we would be judged and rewarded according to the degree of our faith and obedience. We would then be assigned to the place for which we had prepared.
Jesus taught, "In my Father's house are many mansions:" (John 14:2). From the Scriptures we learn that there are three kingdoms of glory in heaven. The Apostle Paul mentioned that he knew a man who was "caught up to the third heaven " (2 Corinthians 12:2). Paul named two of the kingdoms in heaven: the celestial and the terrestrial (1 Corinthians 15:40-42 "40 There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.
41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the >stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.
42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:").
The celestial is the highest, and the terrestrial is second. Through Latter-day revelation we learn that the third kingdom is the telestial kingdom (D&C 76:81 "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."). We also learn that there are three heavens or degrees within the celestial kingdom (D&C 131:1 "In the celestial glory there are three heavens or degrees;").
Discussion
What is our Heavenly Father's plan for us?"