Overview:

The Holy Ghost is a member of the Godhead. The Holy Ghost is a spirit, and shows us how to live in a premortal state. Those who prove worthy there eventually come to an earth to live. Jesus Christ is another member of the Godhead. Jesus Christ came to this earth 2000 years ago and showed us how to live in our mortal lives. Heavenly Father is another member of the Godhead. Heavenly Father’s status shows us what it is like after mortal life if we prove faithful.

In premortality, we were like the Holy Ghost, without a body. In this life, we are like Jesus Christ, with a body. In the next life, we can, if we prove faithful here, be like Heavenly Father, with an eternal body and spirit combined.

The premortal stage was for preparation. Mortal stage is for performance. Post-mortal stage is where we reach completion, and continue our labors in a state of exaltation.

The Godhead is set up to show us how to live. We are to patturn our eternal lives after their eternal lives if we wish to enjoy, with them, the fullest blessings of eternal life & exaltation.

The Doctrine and Covenants reveals the government of the kingdoms of God. In the kingdoms of God, the Holy Ghost ministers to the telestial. In the terrestrial, Jesus Christ ministers. In the celestial, Heavenly Father ministers. Each member of the Godhead is a worthy resident of the celestial kingdom. The Godhead work together to rule the various kingdoms of glory.

We will consider an analogy of how the premortal mortal and post-portal stages are typified by these the 3 members of the Godhead. We will also consider, for the purposes of this analogy, that the telestial, terrestrial, and celestial kingdoms are like unto 3 stages of progression. I do not believe that a permanent assignment to one of these 3 kingdoms post-mortally can ever be changed, we are just using them as analogies of stages of growth and development. Examples of this are presented in the sections of this presentation as follows.

 

We will consider 11 analogies where this parable:

 

Analogy 1: Ministers / Prototypes

Analogy 2: Family Elements

Analogy 3: Family Stage

Analogy 4: Perfect Faith Required for Salvation (2 Ne. 9:23): Joseph Smith’s 3 elements of faith

Analogy 5: Role of Scripture

Analogy 6: Success Rate

Analogy 7: Prevailing Expectation

Analogy 8: Vision / Perspective

Analogy 9: Temple Connections

Analogy 10: Prevailing Sentiment

Analogy 11: Selection Process for God’s Several Kingdoms of Glory

Bonus Analogy: The Batman Trilogy

 

Within each analogy, we will consider 3 categories:

a. Telestial likeness, Premortal era, Preparatory stage

b. Terrestrial likeness, Mortality era, Performing stage

c. Celestial likeness, Post-Mortality era, Complete stage

 

 

Analogy 1: Ministers / Prototypes

 a. Ministers / Prototypes of Telestial/Premortal/Preparatory:

 

Holy Ghost (unembodied)

b. Ministers / Prototypes of Terrestrial/Mortality/Performing:

 

Jesus Christ (embodied)

c. Ministers / Prototypes of Celestial/Post-Mortality/Completion:

Heavenly Father (perfectly / indestructibly / perpetually embodied)

 

Analogy 2: Family Elements

a. Family Elements of Telestial/Premortal/Preparatory:

Testify of God our Father and his family-based plan

b. Family Elements of Terrestrial/Mortality/Performing:

Selfless sacrifice in adhering to God’s laws in relationships; Family based priorities

c. Family Elements of Celestial/Post-Mortality/Completion:

Use of family unit to achieve theosis (theosis= human becoming God); Perpetuate family structure

Analogy 3: Family Stage

a. Family Stage of Telestial/Premortal/Preparatory:

Family orientation

b. Family Stage of Terrestrial/Mortality/Performing:

Family creation

c. Family Stage of Celestial/Post-Mortality/Completion:

Perpetual Families; Create and orient your creation

Analogy 4: Perfect Faith Required for Salvation (2 Ne. 9:23):

(Joseph Smith’s 3 elements of faith as found in ‘Lectures On Faith’)

a. Faith stage of Telestial/Premortal/Preparatory:

Know the characteristics of God. Believe in God and chose his plan.

b. Faith stage of Terrestrial/Mortality/Performing:

Know that you are living in accordance to God’s expectations. Emulate Jesus Christ the Son of God. We are also sons & daughters of God.

c.Faith stage of Celestial/Post-Mortality/Completion:

Receive all promised blessings.

Analogy 5: Role of Scripture

a. Role of Scripture of Telestial/Premortal/Preparatory:

Motivate creations to adopt creator’s philosophy.

b. Role of Scripture of Terrestrial/Mortality/Performing:

Execute scripture (law) from our creator.

c. Role of Scripture of Celestial/Post-Mortality/Completion:

Create scripture for your creations.

Analogy 6: Success Rate

a. Success Rate of Telestial/Premortal/Preparatory:

2/3 success; 1/3 defect to perdition. Everyone has equal opportunity succeed, but not everyone choses to do so.

b. Success Rate of Terrestrial/Mortality/Performing:

Narrow path, but only a few defect all the way down to perdition. Everyone has equal opportunity succeed, but not everyone choses to do so.

c. Success Rate of Celestial/Post-Mortality/Completion:

Many called, few chosen for theosis. However, God’s mercy and justice provide alternate kingdoms for inferior levels of performance. Everyone has equal opportunity succeed, but not everyone choses to do so.

Section 7: Prevailing Expectation

a. Prevailing Expectation of Telestial/Premortal/Preparatory:

Receive

b. Prevailing Expectation of Terrestrial/Mortality/Performing:

Give

c. Prevailing Expectation of Celestial/Post-Mortality/Completion:

Receive and Give in eternal balance.

Section 8: Vision & Perspective

a. Vision & Perspective of Telestial/Premortal/Preparatory:

See the plan

b. Vision & Perspective of Terrestrial/Mortality/Performing:

Operate the plan (without “seeing” it; walk by faith); Probation / Test / Exam

c. Vision & Perspective of Celestial/Post-Mortality/Completion:

See & show “one eternal round”

Section 9: Temple Connections

a. Temple Connections of Telestial/Premortal/Preparatory:

Faith in & covenant with deity required to succeed and pass into next phase

b. Temple Connections of Terrestrial/Mortality/Performing:

Covering the spirit with a body as a temple symbol; sacred vs profane space; Discriminatory relationships.

c. Temple Connections of Celestial/Post-Mortality/Completion:

Marriage as a type/symbol of reunion with presence of God. Procreative marriage a foretaste of theosis.

Section 10: Prevailing Sentiment

a. Prevailing Sentiment of Telestial/Premortal/Preparatory:

Rejoice (Job 37:8)

b. Prevailing Sentiment of Terrestrial/Mortality/Performing:

Weep (Isa. 53:3)

c. Prevailing Sentiment of Celestial/Post-Mortality/Completion:

Eternal balance of rejoicing and weeping (Isa. 25:8; Moses 7:29-37)

Section 11: Selection Process for God’s Several Kingdoms of Glory

a. Selection Process of Telestial/Premortal/Preparatory:

The sons of perdition (1/3 of God’s children) didn’t make it on to the next stage of mortality despite the opportunities they were given before being cast down to perdition. They refused to live up the telestial standard required for mortal life within the ample and merciful time given them. The rest (2/3) came to the next level of progress: Mortality.

b. Selection Process of Terrestrial/Mortality/Performing:

Mortals who remain telestial in their attitudes/behaviors don’t make it on to the next stage of progression, the great Millennium. These wicked are consumed in the millennial day at the Second Coming of Christ, despite the opportunities they were given before his return. They refused to live up the terrestrial standard required for millennial life within the ample and merciful time given them. The rest are permitted to advance into the Millennial stage to further progress toward exaltation.

c. Selection Process of Celestial/Post-Mortality/Completion:

Millennials who remain merely terrestrial in their attitudes/behaviors do not qualify for exaltation; they fail to qualify for exaltation despite opportunities during the Millennium. They refused to live up the celestial standard required for eternal life and exaltation within the ample and merciful time given them. The rest who do qualify for exaltation go onward to complete perfection, and become Gods themselves. They enter into ‘the rest of the Lord’ (Alma 13:16).

Bonus Analogy: The Batman Trilogy

a. Telestial likeness, Premortal era, Preparatory stage

Creation. Self-discovery, orientation, anticipation, faith to go forward despite not comprehending all the details of the future.

b. Terrestrial likeness, Mortality era, Performing stage

Fall. Things not going as smoothly as you anticipated. The Fall of Adam. Coping with the fallen nature. Not giving up when beaten down.

c. Celestial likeness, Post-Mortality era, Complete stage

Atonement. Conquering all things, rising above all things, completing the painful process of divine sacrifice for others. The Atonement of Christ. The atonement of giving all you are to others. Becoming like Christ in all things, eliminating the fallen nature.

3 Purposes, 7 Processes, 3 Principles from this Analogy:

Purpose 1: The purpose of the family is to go on to exaltation, and participate in the eternal creation of more family units on a larger scale. Without the perpetuation of the family unit in eternity, the family is vain and will come to an end. There is no beginning of souls, they existed in the beginning with God, and they must go on forever. Even the damned will continue to exist forever, for they have no beginning, so they can have no end. The ultimate expression of the divine is that a family emulates the creative aspects of God.

Purpose 2: The purpose of studying the word of God in family settings is to express the message that the entire plan of salvation is based on the family unit. The religions of this world lack an understanding of the perpetuation of the family. The family must be together in heaven, and without this view, the family will lose motivation for virtuous livelihoods. The entire system of life is based on creation and edification of family units, and if those are to fall away in heaven, both the lack of will to do good for heaven and the will to do good for mortality vanish.

Purpose 3: The purpose of modest dress is to protect the chastity of women. Modest dress is additionally to represent the divine nature of the body, which should not be accessible to the general public, just like a temple and God’s kingdom. The temple is not open enrollment, and God’s university is thus scorned by the secular masses, but we have seen in social science that immodest dress is a type of how when the sacred is offered at large to the profane, then the relationship system fails. The relationships without the backbone of covenants fall apart as quickly as sand in one’s hand. If women become unchaste, they lose the appreciation for themselves, and forget divine ideals and possibilities.

Process 1: A family must use the standard words as the key focus of their study, so they cannot reasonably deny the requirements of God’s law to inherit salvation. The laws for salvation are contained in the standard works, and without their application, the preaching of the word of God does not occur, and the faith needed for salvation cannot be obtained. The individual matter of salvation becomes unavailable, and the higher family matter of exaltation becomes void.

Process 2: The family must teach each other the non-biological aspects of the plan of salvation by instructing in the value of relationships rather than mere animalistic approach to courtship. If a couple will court each other just for sexual attraction, they are forgetting about needed components of marital stability and overall happiness (including sexual intercourse frequency). The plan of God is designed to enable spirits in bodies to have eternal joy, but the spirit aspect of the body cannot be overlooked if this is to be successful.

Process 3: The family must emphasize the importance of selfless love in the mortality phase of Gods plan. If the family will do this, the candidates for salvation will learn obedience by the things they suffer. The call to follow Christ is a call to suffer, and the world of false churches often go wrong on this point alone: that the path of Christ is not an easy path (though it is more easy than suffering in hell, as Christ said). Only by following Christ can any person, along with their hopes and dreams, attain divine goals, including marriage and continuing parenthood.

Process 4 : The family must understand their role as testators, similar to the Holy Ghost. If the family will testify of the divinity of God to each other in their times of need, they will gain the strength they need to overcome their trials. Faith comes by hearing the word of God, and without this, the candidates cannot gain faith. Salvation is impossible to obtain without perfect faith as the Book of Mormon says, and thus hearing the word of God is essential to spiritual growth. The Holy Ghost is a person, this makes it easy for us to emulate him in our relationships. We can know truth just like he can.

Process 5: The family must worship God at the temple in order to understand the “why” of modest dress. Not only is there a strict code of modesty inside the temple, but there is also a symbol of modesty there which communicates essential lessons for why we cover our bodies. The scriptures say that Christ covered Adam and Eve in coats of skins. Skins are the result of slain beasts, like the Lamb of God being slain. The sacrifice of Christ is essential to our protection. We profane ourselves via sin, and Christ puts his life on the line and ultimately on the altar for our sakes to cover our sins and bring us back to the ways of God, away from our fallen ways. When we learn that there is sacred space and profane space, we will understand the need to cover our bodies as a symbol that we are willing to obey the laws of God even when it seems non-sensical to ourselves.

Process 6: The family must study the role of Father in Heaven. Without this understanding, they will not have hope of a glorious future. The perfections of Heavenly Father and the splendid roles he operates (including the divine weeping for souls in trial) give us hope that heaven will be more than strumming harps, and that there is a meaning to suffering which enables faith in God and in relationships even in hard times. The relationship will survive longer and even forever if we maintain faith in God, heaven, and a benevolent future. This will empower selfless love needed to maintain relationships with fellow imperfect beings.

Process 7: The family must repent of all their sins in order to stay together in eternity. All candidates of the family must be clean before being permitted into the presence of God. If the family does well but one individual does not, then the family will exist in the kingdom of God without the unclean member, for nothing can undo the laws of God. The mercy of Christ is operational only for repentant souls. Repentance is the benevolent key to unlock the otherwise forbidden doors of heaven, where only the just dwell. Christ was required to obey the law of God, and so are we. For us, one of the laws of God includes repentance, and we cannot be saved without it.

Principle 1: If God is worshiped by each member of the family individually and together in the home on a daily basis, the family will grow closer to each other. This means that the contrary is also true, namely that without God, relationships cannot thrive. If the individuals are left to themselves to find their way through the wilderness of life, they will be eaten by the wolves of secularism after becoming spiritually blind via their close-mindedness toward God. I use the word worship because it suggests the comparative might of God juxtaposed to the weakness of man. The family togetherness component is essential as the family and home are the laboratory to the human breed.

Principle 2:  If marriage candidates value God’s standards including particularly the modesty regulations, then they will have a marriage void of the strife aspect of eros love. This means that eros love while being a good thing ( a love of physical beauty), if not contained within the parameters the Lord has set, will be fundamentally destructive toward any relationship. To think that a couple can consider the bodies things to be taken lightly and still expect the favor and grace of God in their relationship, then their hopes are founded upon something totally in contradiction to the very plan of salvation, which focuses on the incorporation of spirits on an earth as a primary element of moral examination. To put it simply, to misuse the body is to fail the key question in the test of the human being. The immodest person either knowingly or unknowingly denies God by denying faith in his plan of happiness. His plan of happiness entails virtue in marriage covenants, and the body being a temple, the candidate is denying the sacredness of the human nature as being an embryonic deity. This negation of truth leads to the impossibility of exaltation.

Principle 3: If humans emulate the Godhead in their aspirations for family success and efforts to activate the plan of redemption, they will progress together toward exaltation. This means that each member of the Godhead plays a distinct role, and family members can emulate that person in each stage. In pre-mortality we emulated the Holy Ghost in testifying of the reality of God and his plans supernal & unique effectiveness. In mortality we walk the earth like Jesus Christ and take up our crosses doing our best like he did his best. In post-mortality we emulate Heavenly Father in the creation of spirit children and touring them through pre, post, and mortalities of their own. This aspect of sacrificial love in mortality is the glue which will hold family relationships together, and the post mortality aspect allows the perpetuation of the family system through eternity.