Will Terrestrial and Celestial beings coexist in Millennium?


jdf135
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I just finished teaching a lesson in Gospel Priniciples class (formerly Gospel Essentials). We use the Gospel Principles manual as our text and in chapters 44 and 45 there are unreferenced paragraphs that seem to suggest that terrestrial and celestial beings will exist on the earth together.

Quote 1 (p. 260) "After the resurrection of those who will inherit celestial glory, another group will be resurrected: those who will receive a terrestrial glory. When all these people have been resurrected, the First Resurrection will be completed."

Quote 2 (p. 263) "Because of the destruction of the wicked at the Savior’s Second Coming, only righteous people will live on the earth at the beginning of the Millennium. They will be those who have lived virtuous and honest lives. These people will inherit either the terrestrial or celestial kingdom." (bold added)

I always thought the first resurrection was only for those eligible for celestial glory (those who are eligible if they continue faithful through the millennium).

As a result of trying to teach this class, I have a bunch of questions for the erudite among you.

Question 1 : Will both celestial and terrestrial human beings coexist during the millennium?

Question 2: If so, where does this doctrine come from (references)?

Question 3: Does this imply that some assignment of kingdom will occur BEFORE the final judgment?

Question 4: Am I the only one that thinks that, if both celestial and terrestrial beings coexist, the terrestrial beings would feel pretty lousy (underclass) hanging with the celestials (I'm truly not trying to be too flippant here)?

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People will still have their agency, and for a time many will be free to continue with their religions and ideas. Eventually everyone will confess that Jesus Christ is the Savior.

Gospel Principles Chapter 45: The Millennium

So, yes, terrestrial beings will exist (those who have the light of Christ but have not yet found the true Gospel of Jesus Christ)

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Talking of the rule of Christ in the Millennium Joseph Smith said:

While in conversation at Judge Adams' during the evening, I said, Christ and the resurrected Saints will reign over the earth during the thousand years. They will not probably dwell upon the earth, but will visit it when they please, or when it is necessary to govern it. There will be wicked men on the earth during the thousand years. The heathen nations who will not come up to worship will be visited with the judgments of God, and must eventually be destroyed from the earth. (TPJS 268)

Not all people will be resurrected at the same time, and from what Joseph Smith is teaching in this quote the resurrected saints may not even use this earth as their primary dwelling place. I would think then that the Celestials and Terrestrials would have much the same relationship as they do now. The three Nephites have been in a terrestrial state like Enoch for some 2,000 years, they interact with Both Telesteals and Celestials, but we know they don’t live with Telesteals however I don’t believe there is any scripture or authoritative teaching on if they can or even do currently live with Celestials.

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During the Millennium, the earth will be in a paradisaical or Terrestrial state. Brigham Young taught that good, honorable people of many religions will dwell on earth during the Millennium. The first resurrection is for both the celestial and terrestrial. The second resurrection will be primarily for the telestial and sons of perdition.

The Telestial will be destroyed from off the earth prior to the earth being changed. Then, at the end of the Millennium, there will be the final cleansing of the earth. Satan will be loosed, many will join him in a final battle against God and the saints. The wicked will be destroyed, and the earth will change from a Terrestrial world to a Celestial world, where only Celestial beings may reside.

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I just finished teaching a lesson in Gospel Priniciples class (formerly Gospel Essentials). We use the Gospel Principles manual as our text and in chapters 44 and 45 there are unreferenced paragraphs that seem to suggest that terrestrial and celestial beings will exist on the earth together.

Quote 1 (p. 260) "After the resurrection of those who will inherit celestial glory, another group will be resurrected: those who will receive a terrestrial glory. When all these people have been resurrected, the First Resurrection will be completed."

Quote 2 (p. 263) "Because of the destruction of the wicked at the Savior’s Second Coming, only righteous people will live on the earth at the beginning of the Millennium. They will be those who have lived virtuous and honest lives. These people will inherit either the terrestrial or celestial kingdom." (bold added)

I always thought the first resurrection was only for those eligible for celestial glory (those who are eligible if they continue faithful through the millennium).

As a result of trying to teach this class, I have a bunch of questions for the erudite among you.

Question 1 : Will both celestial and terrestrial human beings coexist during the millennium?

Question 2: If so, where does this doctrine come from (references)?

Question 3: Does this imply that some assignment of kingdom will occur BEFORE the final judgment?

Question 4: Am I the only one that thinks that, if both celestial and terrestrial beings coexist, the terrestrial beings would feel pretty lousy (underclass) hanging with the celestials (I'm truly not trying to be too flippant here)?

as celestial beings can visit lower kingdoms, I'd say yes they could if they needed or wanted to. The final judgement is just what it says - the last judgement/deadline... If a person becomes such as to inherit celestial glory before then i cant think of any reference that says that god has to make them wait, if they have been resurrected and etc.... (considering that the resurrection began with Christs) Edited by Blackmarch
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Question 1 : Will both celestial and terrestrial human beings coexist during the millennium?

1. Yes

Question 2: If so, where does this doctrine come from (references)?

2. I'm not sure who revealed the doctrine originally but here is a quote from Joseph Fielding Smith on the subject, "Some members of the Church have an erroneous idea that when the millennium comes all of the people are going to be swept off the earth except righteous members of the Church. That is not so. There will be millions of people, Catholics, Protestants, agnostics, Mohammedans, people of all classes, and of all beliefs, still permitted to remain upon the face of the earth, but they will be those who have lived clean lives, those who have been free from wickedness and corruption. All who belong, by virtue of their good lives, to the terrestrial order, as well as those who have kept the celestial law, will remain upon the face of the earth during the millennium. Eventually, however, the knowledge of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters do the sea." (Doctrines of Salvation, 1:86)

Question 3: Does this imply that some assignment of kingdom will occur BEFORE the final judgment?

I'm not sure what "BEFORE the final judgment" in your question means. To me the issue revolves around when the final judgement occurs. Bruce R. McConkie said, "The true doctrine is that all men will be resurrected, but they will come forth in the resurrection with different kinds of bodies-some celestial, others terrestrial, others telestial, and some with bodies incapable of standing any degree of glory. The body we receive in the resurrection determines the glory we receive in the kingdoms that are prepared." (The Seven Deadly Heresies, italics added) The final judgment occurs before the resurrection so I don't see any contradiction.

Question 4: Am I the only one that thinks that, if both celestial and terrestrial beings coexist, the terrestrial beings would feel pretty lousy (underclass) hanging with the celestials (I'm truly not trying to be too flippant here)?

I don't think questions #1 and #2 imply that resurrected beings will continually remain on the earth. However, a similar thing happens every day. And, it is even more difficult to live with and interact with people living a telestial law!

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  • 2 months later...

D&C 88:99. What Is the “Redemption of Those Who Are Christ’s at His Coming; Who Have Received Their Part in . . . Prison”?

This passage is a reference to the resurrection of terrestrial beings. After the celestial resurrection, “after the Lord and the righteous who are caught up to meet him have descended upon the earth, there will come to pass another resurrection. This may be considered as a part of the first, although it comes later. In this resurrection will come forth those of the terrestrial order, who were not worthy to be caught up to meet him, but who are worthy to come forth to enjoy the millennial reign. . . .

“This other class, which will also have right to the first resurrection, are those who are not members of the Church of the Firstborn, but who have led honorable lives, although they refused to accept the fulness of the gospel.

“Also in this class will be numbered those who died without law and hence are not under condemnation for a violation of the commandments of the Lord.” (Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 2:296–97.)

Found under D&C 88:99 in the D&C Institute Manual which is published directly by the church in the same way the Ensign and Book of Mormon are.
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Will Terrestrial and Celestial beings coexist in Millennium?

Yes. :D

For specifics, you can see D&C 76. It outlines quite a bit of information about placements in kingdoms and identifies the line between who will come forth in the first resurrection, the resurrection of the unjust, and who will be burned. What you are specifically looking for is identified as he outlines information about those who will inheret a telestial glory:

verse 85 "These are they who shall not be redeemed from the devil until the last resurrection, until the Lord, even Christ the Lamb, shall have finished his work."

and verse 106 "These are they who are cast down to hell and suffer the wrath of Almighty God, until the fulness of times, when Christ shall have subdued all enemies under his feet, and shall have perfected his work;"

The members of the telestial kingdom are the only ones identified that have to wait until after the millenium to be resurrected. They are suffering in hell during the millenium, while those who are celestial and those who are terrestrial work together through the millenium. There will be the resurrection of the just (celestial), the ressurection of the unjust (terrestrial), the millenium, and then the resurrection of the telestial spirits.

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