The lowest of
these kingdoms, whose glory is likened unto the glory of the stars, is the Telestial
Kingdom. Think for a minute about the
comparison being made here. The glory of
the Telestial Kingdom is like the glory of the stars, whose brightness and
glory we can see from the earth despite the fact they are billions of miles
away from the earth. And their
brightness and glory is far greater than the earth. That’s the case with the Telestial Kingdom as
well. The Telestial Kingdom lives in
glory that far exceeds that of the earth.
But as you look
at the stars, you notice they have differing degrees of glory as well. Each gives off a different amount of light
than all the others, shining differently than all the others as well. This is also the case with the Telestial
Kingdom. Those who will dwell in the
Telestial Kingdom will have a different glory than everyone else that dwells in
the Telestial Kingdom.
Why do you
suppose that would be the case? The
explanation rests in a description of those that dwell in the Telestial
Kingdom. Turning to The Doctrine of
Covenants of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we read, “These
are they who say they are some of one and some of another.…but received not the
gospel, neither the testimony of Jesus, neither the prophets, neither the
everlasting covenant….These are they who are liars, and sorcerers, and
adulterers, and whoremongers, and whosoever loves and makes a lie.” (Doctrine and Covenants 76:100-103)
This is teaching
us that those who dwell in the Telestial Kingdom are those who give themselves
over to sin, living a life of indulgence rather that a life worthy of God. Reading this gives you the impression this
kingdom is reserved for the most wicked people in the earth.
What is the
difference between these people and those in Outer Darkness? Those in Outer Darkness are purely evil and
fight against Christ, seeking to destroy that which is good. They completely reject Him. This means they love and dwell in that which
defies all righteousness and glory.
On the other
hand, those in the Telestial Kingdom will confess Jesus Christ is the Son of
God and the Atoning One, recognizing His glory and power, and choose not to
fight against Him. They won’t completely
reject Him. However, they seek after
power, money, lust, and the other idols of men rather than the glory of
God. They don’t completely reject all
that is righteous and of God. They just
view other things as more important than God and the paths of
righteousness. So they choose not to
partake of the covenants of God in this world or the world to come because it
would mean giving up the idols they dearly love.
This is why there
are so many differing degrees of glory in the Telestial Kingdom. The scriptures teach us those in the Telestial
Kingdom are “as innumerable as the stars in the firmament of heaven, or as the
sand upon the seashore…” (Doctrine and Covenants 76:109) And each of these individuals has a different
personality with a different set of idols and sins, giving that person a
different glory from all the others.
Now you may
wonder if it wouldn’t be great just to reach this lowest kingdom if the glory
of the Telestial Kingdom is so much greater than the glory of this earth. But there are several reasons to seek for
higher glories. The most important of
these is that the Telestial Kingdom does not contain the full majesty of God,
as evidenced by the fact the glory of this kingdom is so much less than the
glory of the Celestial kingdom, just as the glory of the sun exceeds that of
the stars.
In addition to
having the full majesty of God, the Celestial Kingdom holds many blessings for
those that obtain it that will not be received by those in the Telestial or
Terrestial Kingdoms. These will be
discussed in more detail in a later post, when I write about the Celestial
Kingdom. But there are conditions
specific to the Telestial Kingdom that make it less than desirable in spite of
how much the glory of this kingdom exceeds that of our world.
The Doctrine and
Covenants teaches us these people “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…. These are they who suffer the wrath of God on
earth. These are they who suffer the
vengeance of eternal fire. These are
they who are cast down to hell to suffer the wrath of Almighty God, until the fullness
of times, when Christ shall have subdued all enemies under his feet, and shall
have perfected his work…” (Doctrine and
Covenants 76:85, 104-106) We further
learn that “…if they would not repent they must suffer even as I; which
suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of
pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit…” (Doctrine and Covenants 19:17-18)
Those in the
Telestial Kingdom fall into the category of those who would not repent. Thus they will suffer the wrath of God in
order to atone for their own sins. The
point here is that those who choose their wicked desires over the righteousness
of God have rejected the atoning sacrifice of the Lamb of God, Jesus
Christ. They have chosen not to take
part in it because they refuse to do that which is required, repentance and
faith in the Son of God, in order to have a part in His sacrifice. So they will have to pay the price of their
sins themselves, even though He already paid it. The justice of God demands it.
Keep in mind the
suffering these people will face because of their choices was so great that even
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the greatest of all, trembled and quaked,
bleeding at every pore. It is too much
for our mortal minds to grasp. And those
in the Telestial Kingdom will pay this price for their own sins.
So they may
obtain great glory, greater than that of the earth. But they do not obtain the greatest glory,
and they pay a terrible price for that which they do gain. There are better ways to live in this life
that bring to us better glory and a much better cost, for the cost is merely
faith in Jehovah, repentance, and a path of righteousness.
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