"For he who is not able to abide the law of a celestial kingdom cannot abide a celestial glory.
And he who cannot abide the law of a terrestrial kingdom cannot abide a terrestrial glory.
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."
Doctrine and Covenants 88:22-24
The idea here is that if we can't handle obeying the law of heaven, we won't be able to handle going there. It's an interesting idea, and one that I don't think we often consider. We usually think of Heaven as a reward for good behavior, when maybe it is more like moving to another planet.
Imagine if you will that the United States is setting up a colony on Mars, and they are recruiting colonists. Anyone can sign up, but there are obviously going to be some rigorous training programs and safety instructions to go through in order to learn to survive in that environment. They set up a sample colony and get the applicants all living together, to see if they can hack it. The weeding out is all done by whether or not the applicants can follow the rules, get along, and sustain their environment.
I think our mortal lives are similar. This is kind of like a training program for heaven. We weed ourselves out if we can't get along with the other applicants, if we break rules and do things that harm people or put ourselves and others in danger. If we can't manage to do those things here, we're never going to be able to live there.... whether we are talking about Mars or Heaven. :)
Since there are different levels, it seems like we are going to end up with people who behave, and likely believe, similar things. That is an interesting thought experiment as well. I think about myself and whether I want to live with a bunch of people like me. And in some ways, I like the idea of having someone to play board games with, but on the other hand, I think I have some flaws that I would not like to see in others. I might be too manipulative, too prideful, too unwilling to admit when I am wrong... and so many other things. I doubt that I could qualify for that Mars colony either. So that means I need to get back to work and improve--try to live the way that I want the other people around me to live. :)
Today, let's try being the type of people that we want to live around for eternity... or even just a trip to Mars. :) If we want to be around better people, then let's *be* better people, and then God can introduce us. :)
And he who cannot abide the law of a terrestrial kingdom cannot abide a terrestrial glory.
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."
Doctrine and Covenants 88:22-24
The idea here is that if we can't handle obeying the law of heaven, we won't be able to handle going there. It's an interesting idea, and one that I don't think we often consider. We usually think of Heaven as a reward for good behavior, when maybe it is more like moving to another planet.
Imagine if you will that the United States is setting up a colony on Mars, and they are recruiting colonists. Anyone can sign up, but there are obviously going to be some rigorous training programs and safety instructions to go through in order to learn to survive in that environment. They set up a sample colony and get the applicants all living together, to see if they can hack it. The weeding out is all done by whether or not the applicants can follow the rules, get along, and sustain their environment.
I think our mortal lives are similar. This is kind of like a training program for heaven. We weed ourselves out if we can't get along with the other applicants, if we break rules and do things that harm people or put ourselves and others in danger. If we can't manage to do those things here, we're never going to be able to live there.... whether we are talking about Mars or Heaven. :)
Since there are different levels, it seems like we are going to end up with people who behave, and likely believe, similar things. That is an interesting thought experiment as well. I think about myself and whether I want to live with a bunch of people like me. And in some ways, I like the idea of having someone to play board games with, but on the other hand, I think I have some flaws that I would not like to see in others. I might be too manipulative, too prideful, too unwilling to admit when I am wrong... and so many other things. I doubt that I could qualify for that Mars colony either. So that means I need to get back to work and improve--try to live the way that I want the other people around me to live. :)
Today, let's try being the type of people that we want to live around for eternity... or even just a trip to Mars. :) If we want to be around better people, then let's *be* better people, and then God can introduce us. :)
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