What are the Laws of the Terrestrial Kingdom?

[Durzan]

Okay, so as members of the Church, we have (Relatively) a lot of information regarding the laws of the Celestial Kingdom, and we have some understanding of the Telestial Kingdom (Its laws are of an "eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" mentality...). 

 

However, as far as I could tell, we have little to no information regarding the middle of the three degrees of glory, the Terrestrial Kingdom. We know the kinds of people who would qualify for that kingdom, but we do not know the laws by which they would have to abide by in order to qualify. Logic would indicate that it falls somewhere in-between the Telestial Laws and the Celestial Laws, but we really don't have anything specific.

 

I am curious to know, what do you think the laws of the Terrestrial Kingdom could possibly be?

 

Edit: What do you think it would be like to live in the Terrestrial Kingdom?

[Still_Small_Voice]

My understanding of terrestrial law is the very basic commandments of God.

 

Honour your father and mother.

Thou shalt not covet.

Thou shalt not bear false witness.

Thou shalt not steal.

Do not lust after others in your heart.

Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Flee fornication.

Thou shalt not murder.

Love your neighbor as yourself.

 

Celestial law deals with the LORD's laws and covenants between men and God.  Terrestrial law does not seem to deal with covenants between God and men.  But there is no authority to deal in sacred ordinances which include covenants such as baptism and sealing outside the LORD's kingdom.  This is my understanding of celestial versus terrestrial law.

 

All who live a terrestrial law will not be burned at the Messiah's Second Coming,

[skalenfehl]

D&C 76: 71 And again, we saw the terrestrial world, and behold and lo, these are they who are of the terrestrial, whose glory differs from that of the church of theFirstborn who have received the fulness of the Father, even as that of themoon differs from the sun in the firmament.

 72 Behold, these are they who died without law;

 73 And also they who are the spirits of men kept in prison, whom the Son visited, and preached the gospel unto them, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh;

 74 Who received not the testimony of Jesus in the flesh, but afterwards received it.

 75 These are they who are honorable men of the earth, who were blinded by the craftiness of men.

 76 These are they who receive of his glory, but not of his fulness.

 77 These are they who receive of the presence of the Son, but not of the fulness of the Father.

 78 Wherefore, they are bodies terrestrial, and not bodies celestial, and differ in glory as the moon differs from the sun.

 79 These are they who are not valiant in the testimony of Jesus; wherefore, they obtain not the crown over the kingdom of our God.

 80 And now this is the end of the vision which we saw of the terrestrial, that the Lord commanded us to write while we were yet in the Spirit.

[Durzan]

For those of you who have responded so far, Thanks.

 

My understanding of terrestrial law is the very basic commandments of God.

 

Honour your father and mother.

Thou shalt not covet.

Thou shalt not bear false witness.

Thou shalt not steal.

Do not lust after others in your heart.

Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Flee fornication.

Thou shalt not murder.

Love your neighbor as yourself.

 

Celestial law deals with the LORD's laws and covenants between men and God.  Terrestrial law does not seem to deal with covenants between God and men.  But there is no authority to deal in sacred ordinances which include covenants such as baptism and sealing outside the LORD's kingdom.  This is my understanding of celestial versus terrestrial law.

 

All who live a terrestrial law will not be burned at the Messiah's Second Coming,

 

 

Thanks for sharing, that certainly does fit in with the logic. Being somewhere between the Telestial vigilantism of an "eye for an eye" and the Celsestial Law of "bless them that curse you."

 

D&C 76: 71 And again, we saw the terrestrial world, and behold and lo, these are they who are of the terrestrial, whose glory differs from that of the church of theFirstborn who have received the fulness of the Father, even as that of themoon differs from the sun in the firmament.

 72 Behold, these are they who died without law;

 73 And also they who are the spirits of men kept in prison, whom the Son visited, and preached the gospel unto them, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh;

 74 Who received not the testimony of Jesus in the flesh, but afterwards received it.

 75 These are they who are honorable men of the earth, who were blinded by the craftiness of men.

 76 These are they who receive of his glory, but not of his fulness.

 77 These are they who receive of the presence of the Son, but not of the fulness of the Father.

 78 Wherefore, they are bodies terrestrial, and not bodies celestial, and differ in glory as the moon differs from the sun.

 79 These are they who are not valiant in the testimony of Jesus; wherefore, they obtain not the crown over the kingdom of our God.

 80 And now this is the end of the vision which we saw of the terrestrial, that the Lord commanded us to write while we were yet in the Spirit.

 

 

 

That gives us insight into the kind of people that would qualify, but not into the laws they are willing to abide by. I guess we could extrapolate the law that they are choosing to live by the kind of people who are assigned there, though. Please, continue with your line of reasoning.

 

Another viewpoint I heard was from a fellow co-worker at Walmart: Basically, she thought that "An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth", because it was a part of the law of Moses, and thus given directly by God, IS the Terrestrial Law, and that the Telestial Law is something close to anarchy.

 

A view that does make sense to me, but that I currently don't agree with.

 

Please, lets continue this discussion, I want to hear more opinions and understandings.

 

 

[The Folk Prophet]

In the Terrestrial kingdom people will live in large dwellings with triangular shaped doors. Each community will have 3 mayors, known as "The Elect", though they will not be elected, but rather will be chosen by pillars of fire that appear in front of their domiciles. Terrestrial dwellers will have to garden for food, but as there will be no weeds it's a cushy job, and the things they grow for food are only for pleasure, as no one actually needs to eat. There will be some who determine that eating is evil and it will create a faction. To set themselves apart they alter their triangular doors into squares. Most will view these as outcasts. There will also be a series of buildings filled with retro-style reel-to-reel computers that are used to...

 

*...record scratch....*

 

What? I'm making this up you say? How dare you!! You mean to imply that we have no idea about what the Telestial, Terrestrial, or Celestial worlds are actually like?

 

But...but....

 

...triangular doors...

 

...someone said it once.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Apparently I'm feeling facetious today.

[Durzan]

lol...

 

 

In the Terrestrial kingdom people will live in large dwellings with triangular shaped doors. Each community will have 3 mayors, known as "The Elect", though they will not be elected, but rather will be chosen by pillars of fire that appear in front of their domiciles. Terrestrial dwellers will have to garden for food, but as there will be no weeds it's a cushy job, and the things they grow for food are only for pleasure, as no one actually needs to eat. There will be some who determine that eating is evil and it will create a faction. To set themselves apart they alter their triangular doors into squares. Most will view these as outcasts. There will also be a series of buildings filled with retro-style reel-to-reel computers that are used to...

 

*...record scratch....*

 

What? I'm making this up you say? How dare you!! You mean to imply that we have no idea about what the Telestial, Terrestrial, or Celestial worlds are actually like?

 

But...but....

 

...triangular doors...

 

...someone said it once.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Apparently I'm feeling facetious today.

 

ROFL. Nice. 

 

You are describing what you think its like to live there. My original question was what do you think the law of the Terrestrial kingdom is. While the two are related, there is a specific difference.

 

Sigh... might as well add that to the question in the OP...

[The Folk Prophet]

lol...

 

 

 

ROFL. Nice. 

 

You are describing what you think its like to live there. My original question was what do you think the law of the Terrestrial kingdom is. While the two are related, there is a specific difference.

 

Sigh... might as well add that to the question in the OP...

 

You're right...

 

In the terrestrial kingdom the primary law is that anyone caught stealing from another has their head shaved...which never grows back. There's also a law against raising chickens, which is primarily non-enforced because no one actually owns chickens, whereas all chicken fulfilled the measure of their creation and are therefore Celestialized...but somehow a law got put on the books anyway, a leftover from someone's mortal chicken bias that they never quite got over (which, incidentally was the primary reason for the said lawmaker not being Celestialized).

 

 

[Seminarysnoozer]

Okay, so as members of the Church, we have (Relatively) a lot of information regarding the laws of the Celestial Kingdom, and we have some understanding of the Telestial Kingdom (Its laws are of an "eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" mentality...). 

 

However, as far as I could tell, we have little to no information regarding the middle of the three degrees of glory, the Terrestrial Kingdom. We know the kinds of people who would qualify for that kingdom, but we do not know the laws by which they would have to abide by in order to qualify. Logic would indicate that it falls somewhere in-between the Telestial Laws and the Celestial Laws, but we really don't have anything specific.

 

I am curious to know, what do you think the laws of the Terrestrial Kingdom could possibly be?

 

Edit: What do you think it would be like to live in the Terrestrial Kingdom?

Are you talking about two different things?  Mortal laws vs level of glory.

 

There are laws that if lived while in mortality might qualify one for the Celestial kingdom and I think you are making reference to the lesser law associated with the lesser priesthood when refering to the Law of Moses.  Both of which are a set of laws that were given while here in mortality but that does not suggest they are laws of any given kingdom.  I am not sure how you arrive at that conclusion.  Maybe you could reference where you get the understanding that mortal laws are continued in the kingdoms.

 

Consider this, a person who finds their self in the Telestial Kingdom is one who has a level of glory and is not capable of breaking any law. In other words, a person in the Telestial Kingdom cannot sin.  What "eye for an eye" law could exist for a person who cannot sin? 

 

I don't think any of the "laws" (meaning principles of truth) found in either the Telestial or Terrestrial Kingdoms are different than the ones found in the Celestial Kingdom, only the Celestial Kingdom would have the full set of the laws whereas the lower kingdoms will not have all available to them.

[Durzan]

Actually, the reference is quite simple. I am not referring to mortal laws; rather, you are put into the kingdom of which laws you are willing to abide by.

 

 

 17 And the redemption of the soul is through him that quickenethall things, in whose bosom it is decreed that the poor and themeek of the earth shall inherit it.

 18 Therefore, it must needs be sanctified from allunrighteousness, that it may be prepared for the celestial glory;

 19 For after it hath filled the measure of its creation, it shall be crowned with glory, even with the presence of God the Father;

 20 That bodies who are of the celestial kingdom may possess it forever and ever; for, for this intent was it made and created, and for this intent are they sanctified.

 21 And they who are not sanctified through the law which I have given unto you, even the law of Christ, must inherit anotherkingdom, even that of a terrestrial kingdom, or that of a telestial kingdom.

 22 For he who is not able to abide the law of a celestial kingdom cannot abide a celestial glory.

 23 And he who cannot abide the law of a terrestrial kingdom cannot abide a terrestrial glory.

 24 And he who cannot abide the law of a telestial kingdom cannot abide a telestial glory; therefore he is not meet for a kingdom of glory. Therefore he must abide a kingdom which is not a kingdom of glory.

 25 And again, verily I say unto you, the earth abideth the law of a celestial kingdom, for it filleth the measure of its creation, and transgresseth not the law—

 26 Wherefore, it shall be sanctified; yea, notwithstanding it shalldie, it shall be quickened again, and shall abide the power by which it is quickened, and the righteous shall inherit it.

 27 For notwithstanding they die, they also shall rise again, aspiritual body.

 28 They who are of a celestial spirit shall receive the same bodywhich was a natural body; even ye shall receive your bodies, and your glory shall be that glory by which your bodies are quickened.

 29 Ye who are quickened by a portion of the celestial glory shall then receive of the same, even a fulness.

 30 And they who are quickened by a portion of the terrestrialglory shall then receive of the same, even a fulness.

 31 And also they who are quickened by a portion of the telestialglory shall then receive of the same, even a fulness.

 

 

D&C 88:17-31, emphasis added. Pay special attention to verses 22-24.

 

I know that the Celsestial Laws are about serving others, and sanctifying yourself... and I suspect that the worldly laws are after the manner of Telestial Laws, albeit in a mortal form. (Because I heard somewhere that the Earth is currently in a Telestial state...), and the laws of the land are after the manner of an "eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth", so therefore I concluded that the Telestial Laws would be of a similar, if glorified, nature.

 

Does that clarify the question at all?

[Seminarysnoozer]

Actually, the reference is quite simple. I am not referring to mortal laws; rather, you are put into the kingdom of which laws you are willing to abide by.

 

 

 

D&C 88:17-31, emphasis added. Pay special attention to verses 22-24.

 

I know that the Celsestial Laws are about serving others, and sanctifying yourself... and I suspect that the worldly laws are after the manner of Telestial Laws, albeit in a mortal form. (Because I heard somewhere that the Earth is currently in a Telestial state...), and the laws of the land are after the manner of an "eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth", so therefore I concluded that the Telestial Laws would be of a similar, if glorified, nature.

 

Does that clarify the question at all?

Like I suggested then, you are talking about the laws that qualify a person to live in a particular glory not necesarily the laws that exist for that person after they enter that state of glory, right?  If there are any laws for that matter.

 

Christ satisfies the demand of the laws; D&C 76; "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;

 107 When he shall deliver up the kingdom, and present it unto the Father, spotless, saying: I have overcome and have trodden the wine-press alone, even the wine-press of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God."  ...talking about the telestial folks.

 

The law that they abided as well as the laws they fail to abide are during this life, then they suffer an eternal torment in spirit prison until the fulness of times, at which time Christ overcomes all and the price of their sins has been paid in full by their suffering in hell (spirit prison).  LDS.org, Doctrines of the Gospel student manual chapter 33; "2.The inhabitants of the telestial kingdom will include those who were murderers, liars, sorcerers, adulterers, and whoremongers—in general, the wicked people of the earth (see D&C 76:103; Revelation 22:15). These inhabitants of the telestial kingdom will have become clean through their suffering so that they can abide telestial glory."  ... and ... "The inhabitants of the telestial kingdom will suffer the wrath of God and be cast into hell until the end of the Millennium (see D&C 76:84, 104–6; 2 Nephi 28:15)."

 

Talmage; "In the telestial world there are innumerable degrees comparable to the varying light of the stars. Yet all who receive of any one of these orders of glory are at last saved, and upon them Satan will finally have no claim” (James E. Talmage, The Articles of Faith, 91–92)."

 

Satan has no claim on those that make it to the Telestial Kingdom, so I not sure what "laws" would need to be there in that Kingdom, if you are using the word "laws" in the sense of a law that is associated with justice and punishment.  There are laws of truth there as it is a degree of glory but nothing suggests there is going to be any failure to follow the instructions they are given such that there needs to be a "law" attached with a punishment.