“Mormons believe they get to make their own planet.” When I heard those words come out of my co-worker’s mouth today, I had to interject. I said, no. That isn’t exactly what we believe. I don’t think anyone’s sitting around saying they get to build their very own planet. To which he replied that he was pretty sure that was what he had heard someone say.
I paused and said that the topic was difficult to explain, but I will try to explain it briefly. So, we proceeded to talk about several points of the plan of salvation. Here is what I explained: I expect some people will not agree with the way I explained it, but it is what it is at this point.
DEGREES OF GLORY
As I started to explain this, I realized I was ill-prepared and some concepts needed a lot more supportive information.
I explained that after we die on earth, we will go to a place where we will await final judgment. Spirit Prison (often referred to as hell) is where many will pay the price of their sins before they receive a degree of glory. There is also paradise where the good people of the earth will go.
After final judgment, we will each receive a kingdom. Outer darkness is where Satan and the Sons of Perdition will go. That is really the only eternal hell. Everyone else will end up with a degree of glory. The place you go will be the place you are most comfortable. With the people, you feel the most comfortable around.
- The Telestial Kingdom is where those who rejected God will go
- The Terrestrial Kingdom is where those who accepted Jesus Christ will go.
- The Celestial Kingdom is where those who did all they could to become like God will go.
- The Celestial Kingdom is broken up into three levels
- Those who achieve the highest level will be like God and receive eternal increase
THE FAMILY OF GOD
We talked about the idea that God is our Father and he desires us to become like him. There are signs all around us that mirror that truth. I asked one of my co-workers about his son. “What do you desire for your son?” He said, “To be better than me.” Heavenly Father wants the same for you. You are his son, and he wants you to grow up to become like him. He wants to give you all that he has.
None of us are perfect, but we can be made perfect through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ. One of the things we all need is baptism. God will give everyone who has lived on this earth the chance to receive baptism along with the choice to accept that baptism.
BAPTISM
We must all be baptized. The LDS church believes that all of God’s children need baptism. Not only baptism but baptism by the priesthood. Because of this, we will baptize every person that has lived on this earth. Not some, but all of them. And they will each have the choice to accept that baptism or not. I get it, that is a pretty bold statement but it is true. It will also take 1000 years, the entire millennium, to do it.
I explained that baptism is one of the keys and it will be made available to all of God’s children.
We also believe that after baptism, if we follow the commandments and receive the temple ordinances, we can progress further. Through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ, we can be made perfect and we can become like God and have an eternal increase. What exactly that looks like, I don’t know.
ETERNAL INCREASE
I did explain, that there are a lot of Christian churches that believe after we die, we will live in paradise with Jesus praising him forever. We basically believe the same thing. The good people of the Earth who accepted Jesus Christ will receive a glory in which they can forever praise Jesus Christ. But this is the end of their increase. There is no more growth or increase. The inability to further grow is what we considered to be damned. You can go no further.
Through the priesthood and temple ordinances, if you live your life following the commandments of God and you are able to achieve the highest degree of the celestial kingdom, you continue to increase. You remain married as husband and wife. Your growth is not limited. You will become like the Father. This is where the idea of “building your own planet” comes from.
“Build your own planet” may just be the way it is phrased. Saying I’m going to build my very own planet to live on, seems pretty prideful and worldly to me. God is a God of order and all his creations have a purpose. I don’t think anyone could just go off and build their own planet. Besides that, it is important to remember there is nothing in the scriptures backing this up. Nor anything that explains how this is done. We honestly have no idea what “eternal increase” looks like. We only have minor glimpses. Therefore, we can only make assumptions based on our limited knowledge.
SUMMARY
It was a very interesting discussion. My co-workers were very respectful and receptive. I’m pretty sure no one was offended.
I admit, I don’t understand all things. I’m not even good at explaining things. But the Plan of Salvation is something that makes complete sense to me in my heart and mind. It explains our origin, our existence, and our future potential. I am grateful for a loving Father who has given us the opportunity to learn and grow.
Maybe someday I will be like him. That is the path I am on.