Our Eternal Journey
The Plan of Salvation and Exaltation
In the very Beginning we were what is called: Intelligence, or the Light of Truth, or Spirit Element.
"Man was also in the beginning with God. Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made neither indeed can be." (Doctrine and Covenants 93:29,33-34)
"…the immortal spirit. Where did it come from?…the mind or the intelligence which man possesses is co-equal [meaning co-eternal] with God himself…. The intelligence of spirits is immortal…. The intelligence of the spirits had no beginning; neither will it have an end. I take my ring from my finger and liken it unto the mind of man--the immortal part, because it has no beginning…. God never had the power to create the spirit of man at all. God could not create himself. Intelligence is eternal and exists upon a self-existent principle. It is a spirit from age to age, and there is no creation about it. God himself, finding he was in the midst of spirits and glory, because he was more intelligent, saw proper it institute laws whereby the rest could have a privilege to advance like himself." (The King Follett Sermon, by Joseph Smith, Ensign May, 1971)
"Our spirit matter was eternal and co-existent with God, but it was organized into spirit bodies by our Heavenly Father. Our spirit bodies went through a long period of growth and development and training and, having passed the test successfully, were finally admitted to this earth and to mortality." (The Miracle of Forgiveness, p. 5)
What is an Intelligence?
Intelligence
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Spirit Birth
We were given a spirit body from Heavenly Parents.
"Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits and live? (Hebrews 12:9)
"So god created man…" " (Genesis 2:4-7)
"…there was not a man to till the ground…God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." (Genesis 1:27)
"…For I the Lord God, created all things of which I have spoken, spiritually, before they were naturally upon the face of the earth. …I the Lord God, had created all the children of men; and not yet a man to till the ground; for in heaven created I them…." (Moses 3:5)
“For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God,….” (Acts 17:28-29)
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Spirit Life. or our "First Estate"
We lived with our Heavenly Father.
"Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, [and] I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations." (Jeremiah 1:4-5)
"And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day." (Jude 1:6)
"And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood among those that were spirits…Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born." (Abraham 3:22-28)
"When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" (Job 38:4-7)
“When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth: When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep: When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth: Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him; Rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth; and my delights were with the sons of men.” (Proverbs 8:27-31)
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There was a War in Heaven
“And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” (Revelation 12:7-9)
“…angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell….” (2 Peter 2:4)
“And the Angles which kept not their first estate….” (Jude 1:6)
“…possessed with devils….” (Matthew 8:28-32)
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Mortal Birth
We were given a mortal body from our earthly Parents.
"… There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body." (1 Corinthians 15:44)
"But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding." (Job 32:8)
“Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?” (Hebrews 12:9)
"And the spirit and the body are the soul of man." (Doctrine and Covenants 88:15)
“… Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” (Genesis 2:7)
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Mortal life. or our "Second Estate"
"And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell; And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them; And they who keep their first estate shall be added upon; and they who keep not their first estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate; and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their heads for ever and ever." (Abraham 3:24-26)
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Death
The Separation of the our Spirit Body from the Mortal Body.
"Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost." (Luke 23:46)
"Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying [her] forth, buried [her] by her husband." (Acts 5:10)
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Spirit World
Comprising of the Spirit Prison & Paradise.
Spirit Prison.
“…by the Spirit… he, [Jesus], went and preached unto the spirits in prison;” (1 Peter 3:18-19)
Paradise.
“Today shall thou be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43)
[Jesus did not go to back to heaven or to our “Farther in heaven” but he went into that part of the spirit world called “Paradise”.
Note: Even after his resurrection he said; “… I am not yet ascended to my Father….” (John 20:17)
"For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;" (1 Peter 3:18-19)
"For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit." (1 Peter 4:6)
"Now, concerning the state of the soul between death and the resurrection-Behold…." (Alma 40:11-14)
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Judgment.
“…Judged…according to their works.” (Revelation 20:12&13)
“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” (Galatians 6:7)
“For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.” (Ephesians 5:5)
“…the Lord shall reward the doer of evil according to his wickeness.” (2 Samuel 3:39)
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Resurrection
All will be Resurrected
"For as in Adam all die even so in Christ shall all be made alive." (1 Corinthians 15:22)
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We will be Resurrected with Different Resurrected Bodies
Three Heavens or Degrees of Glory
After the final judgment we shall live in one of the three kingdoms of glory.
“In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you.” (John 14:2)
"I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago,…such an one caught up to the third heaven." (2 Corinthians 12:2)
"But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?
Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:
And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain:
But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body.
All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.
There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.
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.
So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:" (1 Corinthians 15:35-42)
“Also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial, and bodies telestial; but the glory of the celestial, one; and the terrestrial, another; and the telestial, another. (Joseph Smith Translation 1 Corinthians 15:40)
"They who are of a celestial spirit shall receive the same body which was a natural body; even ye shall receive your bodies, and your glory shall be that glory by which your bodies are quickened." (Doctrine and Covenants 88:28)
"And the resurrection from the dead is the redemption of the soul." (Doctrine and Covenants 88:15-16)
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There is a place of no glory
Doctrine and Covenants 76:30–38, 43–45
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Additional Information:
Doctrine and Covenants 76:50–113;
Doctrine and Covenants 88:20–32.
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Immortality - Eternal Life
All will have immortality.
Some will qualify for Eternal Life or Exaltation.
"And thus did I, the Lord God, appoint unto man the days of his probation--that by his natural death he might be raised in immortality unto eternal life, even as many as would believe;" (D&C 29:43)
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In Revelations it again refers to not only the 3 kingdoms of glory but also hell or outer darkness.
“He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.” (Revelation 22:11)
Unjust = Satan and those “who keep not their first estate….” will be “…cast down to hell” (2 Peter 2:4, Abraham 3:26, Jude 1:6)
Filthy = Telestial
Righteous = Terrestrial
Holy = Celestial
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Additional Information
The Three Kingdoms of Heaven (4:06 min)
Kingdoms of Glory (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, www.lds.org)