Levels of heaven in LDS theology?


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I just want to clear up my own confusion about this, and also to understand it so I might use it in the book I'm writing that has a Mormon character in it. :)

So, I know that the highest level of heaven, the one you really want to get into, is the Celestial Kingdom. Do you have to be married to go there? (I think I heard that somewhere...)

And, what are the other levels? I'm not that clear on it, and the one site I read that "explained" it, I don't have much confidence in -- there's a lot of misinformation around. :P

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<quote>Do you have to be married to go there?<quote>

Thats a really good question I have wanted to know also... I have heard that no u dont need to be married to recieve Celestial Glory. But I have also heard some others say its somewhere in the scriptures (dont know the exact one off the top of my head)... I'll be curious to find out myself..:confused:

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i'm confused.... why are you writing a book with a mormon character that requires that much detailed understanding of the religion if you don't know that much about it?

I am gathering information and researching, and reading the scriptures and such. I explained a little more in this post from my intro thread :)

Also, I am one of those writers who likes to know WAY more than I need to about everything about my characters -- I love to research and I'm way too curious :) So, I might not need this information, but I'll be all bugged if I don't know :)

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I think you need to read Jeff Lindsey again.....:)

Well, actually, I searched on his site and didn't find any page that thoroughly explained it -- but, this has been an edition of "BluePlastic needs to go to Wikipedia before she asks dumb questions, part 1.6," so I'm sorry :) Next time I ask a question it will not be so silly. :)

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Nobody actually answered the question.

So LDS church believes:

There are three Kingdoms of Glory.

Celestial Kingdom, Terriestal Kingdom, and Telestial Kingdom

(Paul compared these to the Sun, Moon, and Stars)

I'm not going to go into detail of who goes where. Really the LDS version of Heaven is the Celestial Kingdom.

Now to add on to that, in the Celestial Kingdom there are three sub degrees. They don't have a name, but I like to call them A, B, and C. (‘A’ being the highest).

What has been revealed is that you DO need to be married, but in the LDS church its call Eternal Marriage, or Celestial Marriage. In the LDS church we believe we are married for eternity. (that Marriage goes into the next life, and that we are sealed together as a family unit).

This is the goal of LDS members, to not only make it to the celestial Kingdom (being baptize) but being Married in the Temple.

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Thanks, tubaloth :)

I did know about the temple marriage and sealing -- and for the character in my book, as long as she keeps her covenants and endures to the end, etc., she will get the benefit of the Celestial Kingdom, since she was sealed in the temple to her husband before he died at the beginning of the book. (They only got to be married for about four months, though. Sad. :()

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Have to correct Tubaloths, info -- to reach the Highest Degree -- What (s)he calls "A" and what scripture calls the "Highest Degree" you have to be married eternally

Doctrine and Covenants 131:1 In the celestial glory there are three heavens or degrees;

2 And in order to obtain the highest, a man must enter into this order of the priesthood [meaning the new and everlasting covenant of marriage]

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Have to correct Tubaloths, info -- to reach the Highest Degree -- What (s)he calls "A" and what scripture calls the "Highest Degree" you have to be married eternally

I thought that was implied in the way I explained it, but I guess not.

That was the point of me explaing about Eternal marrage.

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I thought that was implied in the way I explained it, but I guess not.

That was the point of me explaing about Eternal marrage.

I think they way you said it made it sound like you had to be married for eternity for all three levels of the celestial kingdom when in fact it's just the first degree.

Which brings up an interesting question in my mind. Do we have any other information regarding these three different degrees of "celestial glory"? When I first read that, my immediate impression was that it was referring to the telestial, terrestrial and celestial; clearly most people don't interprete it that way. It's not clear as to what it means at all - can we be sure there are definately three different degrees in the celestial kingdom?

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[...]can we be sure there are definately three different degrees in the celestial kingdom?

Yes, we can be sure.

I teach Valiants 9-12 in Primary. This was our lesson a couple of weeks ago:

“Lesson 23: The Prophet Receives a Vision of the Three Degrees of Glory,” Primary 5: Doctrine and Covenants: Church History, (1997),121

In 1843 Joseph taught some friends that the celestial kingdom is divided into three levels, or degrees. The highest degree is the only part of heaven where people will live with their families. The Prophet taught that a person must be married for eternity in the temple to obtain this highest degree of the celestial kingdom. These teachings are recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 131:1–4.

Edited by Tough Grits
Format and styling :o)
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Now to add on to that, in the Celestial Kingdom there are three sub degrees. They don't have a name, but I like to call them A, B, and C. (‘A’ being the highest).

I can't remember whether Emmanuel Swedenborg had a name for these sub-levels either, but in line with King James English (sort of), would it not be wise to call these A-eth, B-eth and C-eth?

;)

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I can't remember whether Emmanuel Swedenborg had a name for these sub-levels either, but in line with King James English (sort of), would it not be wise to call these A-eth, B-eth and C-eth?

Don;t get me started on King James English :mad:

:lol:

Edited by mnn727
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I just want to clear up my own confusion about this, and also to understand it so I might use it in the book I'm writing that has a Mormon character in it. :)

So, I know that the highest level of heaven, the one you really want to get into, is the Celestial Kingdom. Do you have to be married to go there? (I think I heard that somewhere...)

And, what are the other levels? I'm not that clear on it, and the one site I read that "explained" it, I don't have much confidence in -- there's a lot of misinformation around. :P

Yeah, you are supposed to be married to get into Celestial.

If I remember correctly it is:

Celestial

Terrestrial (I was told Terre means middle)

Telestial (Which my dad told me would actually have some pretty crummy people in it)

Then Outer Darkness where the Sons of Perdition go. Before all of that though there is the spirit world and spirit prision where you wait for the second coming. You are in the spirit prision if you aren't mormon.

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Why do you have to be married to make it to A-eth level?

What if you find the love of your life and she's not a member or dies before a sealing, are you just out of luck?

My dad believes that he has tried to find a wife so he is all good, but according to the doctrine, you need to have ALL of the ordinances. Marriage is an ordinance as well.

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Why do you have to be married to make it to A-eth level?

What if you find the love of your life and she's not a member or dies before a sealing, are you just out of luck?

Because the "A-eth" level (and this is not a Mormon theological term--it's just an ad hoc word coined by Tubaloth and Moksha) involves creating new worlds and creating new people to live on them. The standard LDS view is that it takes two (a male and a female) to create a new person--even in the eternities.

Sealing can be done by proxy after death, and (generally speaking) would be retroactively effective provided that the during the deceased person's life he/she was, to the best of his/her ability, true to the degree of light and knowledge he/she had been given.

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As I understand it, there are two estates. The first estate was given in the pre-mortal life, and those who rejected it are sons of perdition. Those who accepted their first estate, entered the second estate, which is mortality. They were given bodies. We are in our second estate. Because of that, we are promised a level of glory. If we deny the Holy Ghost with a sure knowledge (a very difficult position to be in) we cannot lose our second estate. But, what level of glory we have depends on our commitment to Christ.

If we have no commitment to Christ, we receive telestial glory.

If we believe and accept Christ, we receive terrestrial glory.

If we covenant with Christ through baptism we receive celestial glory.

If we further covenant with Christ (temple ordinances) we raise our glory within the celestial kingdom.

If we still further our covenant, and enter covenant with a spouse, we receive the highest level of celestial glory.

Of course, celestial glory depends on our fulfilling the covenant.

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The standard LDS view is that it takes two (a male and a female) to create a new person--even in the eternities.

Wouldn't it be a hoot if somehow the requirements for creation involved a multiple configuration for this creation instead? For example, What if it required a Man and a bunch of Sister-Wives? Wait before you say, "there goes Moksha on one of his Sci-Fi benders again", hear me out. This is not beyond possibility. After all, stranger things have happened. Think of the lion laying down with the lamb, an Octomom and my favorite from some years back, the Jackson-Presley wedding.

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Well, what happens if you die when you're twenty, unable to marry anyone for eternity (you're LDS.) I believe that you can still go to the highest degree of the celestial kingdom. God will give you a partner (a friend be it), and the two of you can be sealed. Then you can go and create worlds together :D

What my question is: is why is it that if a man gets the degree of celestial, and a woman terrestrial, she'll go with him in his kingdom. But, if a woman gets celestial, and a man terrestrial, he'll be left behind? :confused: Meh, it might not even be true. I just sometimes feel very feminist about certain things.

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What is doctrinal....is what Paul taught to the Church at Corinth.

To add further, not only you have to receive the fullness of the priesthood [eternal marriage], you also need to be invited through the Holy Ghost and be presented before the Godhead in order to obtain the highest kingdom [calling of election]. This is why both Peter and Joseph Smith taught this as a priority when seeking or desiring to be in the highest order.

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