The 3 Degrees of Glory Synopsis (I will use in this article as an Allegory)
My church very frequently talks about “The Plan of Salvation”. It is usually discussed conceptually and the main components are not often spoken of in terms of the here and now - usually the terms are only spoken of in regards to “what will be” and mostly what we believe will happen to our spirits after this life. Within the Plan of Salvation is included the progression that there was a pre-existence of a life before we were born here, then came the life of mortality as we know it, death, a spirit world where people are either in a spirit prison or not, and after judgement people go to 3 degrees of glory - Celestial, Terrestrial, and Telestial (like the Sun, Moon, and Stars). Also within the Celestial Kingdom itself it is taught that there are 3 categories that exist there as well that also rank in desirability - a place you arrive at with baptism, one with endowment, and one with your spouse or family’s sealing. We’re taught that in the last days, the earth will be renewed and receive it’s paradisiacal glory, and that essentially, the world we are in now will transform into the celestial sphere - we also believe the millennium leading up to that day will include many marvelous things with new revelations and a time period with great peace. We are also taught that in the different degrees of glory, that people in the Celestial Kingdom will be allowed and able to visit people in the other two degrees, but that the people in the other two degrees will NOT be able to move upward at will.
Interestingly enough, and something I will address directly later - homosexual people, adulterers, and murderers are specifically listed in the teachings to be among the individuals who are trapped in the bottom kingdom of heaven, and this has been, of course, a great cause for a lot of pain and suffering for people who are members of my church and gay, but who are also living a wonderful life not as criminals, and yet are still be viewed by some to be as equally heinous and destructive to mankind as an adulterer or a murderer--even while they are living a good life that blesses mankind and even if they never have experienced extramarital sex.
I would now like to intersect this age-old belief in the Plan of Salvation & the 3 Degrees of Glory with different aspects of the world right now as I know and live in it.
Let’s just pretend for a second that these 3 degrees of glory apply to the 1st World, 2nd World, and 3rd World categories of wealth disparities between our countries. People who are in places of privilege and opportunity (the1st World) may live their own lives with a profession of their choice, taking care of their families and might be found attending something awesome like soccer practice with their kids or taking around the world vacationing. People in the 2nd world aren’t talked about too much, but these are places like the Soviet Union or China. People in the 3rd world are often in very poor conditions. Now referring to these things, I do not claim that Capitalism is Celestial. Because of “The Haitian American” on Facebook who explained that in 1804, Haiti was charged to pay back France the equivalent of $21 billion dollars for ‘the theft of slaves’, and seeing as Haiti is still so impoverished today, I can see clearly that government choices of generations past, even the ones with ties to Capitalism HAVE contributed to perpetuating a distinct hierarchy that remains all the world over. It is a valid statement and a harsh reality. So reducing that back to my allegorical comparison, we DO have a system that remains in different states of being, or states with differences in their desirability for living - aka “different glories”, and MAYBE we do need to reform some things with an overhaul - maybe a small change will make a big difference for other parts in society - I personally think we definitely need to be open to allow it to look like whatever it needs to be to repair the problems of generations past and elevate our societies.
Let’s now pretend that America is the highest degree in the “Celestial” / 1st World with its own 3 separate and distinct states of being (insert here, the American Racial & Systemic Caste or Class Systems of hierarchy). Please know that I do NOT assert that America is better than the rest of the world, but use this example as many immigrants from the world over give everything they have and risk it all on the chance that they might be accepted as an economic migrant, asylum seeker, or refugee, by the nation that proposes to believe in inalienable human rights and justice for all. So for this purpose I’m just explaining some comparisons. Essentially in this particular location of all the “degrees” of places one might want to end up forever (or even just for the rest of their lives), it is VERY difficult to even get into the country, let alone the top degree of this “kingdom” and country’s glory, because even within this amazing place to be - with opportunities that shine as bright as the sun - people are destined to stay in their different levels of privileged or unprivileged hierarchy classes for their whole lives and for generations over, being affected by taxes and small business dynamics, and lack of healthcare, or also having natural life circumstances that get in the way of these people (even in the highest kingdom) to be able to fully embrace their agency.
Now let’s talk about the bottom degree of glory where Homosexual people are said to be. I assert that these individuals are NOT to be viewed as heinous members doing damage to society. Regarding their allegorical comparison to residing in the same place as adulterers, I believe that could be compared to the Biblical story where Jesus Christ viewed the adulteress with compassion and understanding - LGBTQ friends and family now and also for as long as I have known to have found within historical studies, have been a group of people who have been ready to be stoned by society at any given moment. What they actually could use is love and understanding as Jesus freely gave to the adulteress, so that they can be allowed to go on their way to live a happy life. And in the allegorical comparison to a homosexual person’s relation to residing within the same degree of glory as murderers do, once someone is labeled and/or convicted as a murderer, the REST of their lives are affected. Comparably, someone who is gay or lesbian has a long time deciding whether or not they should or shouldn’t “come out”, because they know that choice to be open will indefinitely mean that they could be ostracized. Many are sometimes entrapped or enslaved due to their misunderstood state of being--because of it, and just like a “prisoner”, they often have all the enjoyment of life taken away from them by the rest of the society who is actually controlling their state of being. It’s very sad, really. For people in these situations, they may be living in a 1st world country but experiencing suffering like the individuals in the 3rd world countries whose life options are limited in their amount of agency because of outside forces that are affecting them.
Now I would like to talk about Spirit Prisons. So often Spirit prisons are referred to people who do not have the gospel and their spirits are trapped in this place until they can have their ordinances done in proxy for them to free themselves from this particular state. I would like to talk about the Spirit Prisons we have now. Be careful when you refer to a person with mental health issues, or in labeling those things with others - I do not personally believe that depression and anxiety are the forever kind of spirit prisons. Some might view it as a temporary trap of sorts, but I think mostly anxiety and depression are messages for us to find biochemical improvements for our body - to take time for ourselves and recharge. Maybe they are messages to help us feel urgency to do things or to hold back, messages for us that we really need to do some inner thinking and maybe even deconstruction of the way we view things so that we can live more liberally - and by liberally I mean freely and with more enjoyment. Sometimes a counselor or doctor will be able to help people recharge and break out of momentary depression or anxiety cycles - that happens because we are HUMAN. But in regards to a true Spirit Prison, I think something like this is caused most by Personality Disorders - sociopathy, psychopathy, etc. A Spirit Prison might not always be able to be changed, but some die-hards will still try and believe in the ability for ANY of these individuals to be released from such mentally related and spiritually related prisons even in this life, and even if it’s a personality disorder. That’s the kind of die-hard believer I am - two of my kids have Reactive Attachment Disorder - the diagnoses were harrowing, but we work like crazy to see if we can work through these mental prisons and help my kids live freely and we hope that someday they’ll have beautiful lives as adults as well as a happy childhood even while they work through their PTSD. Another type of spirit prison might be something like Autism, severe special needs, or down syndrome - sometimes there just are lifelong experiences that might feel like a trap for the families or the persons who are living in it. We believe in Jesus Christ having the ability to break all the chains to set us free. But He is gone right now and so those who take on His name might be able to have healing hands to help do this very kind of thing - we can live in a mental prison of some type but still experience the beauty of the world around us, and a big part of this is hingent, however, on the compassion, grace, humanity, and understanding of those around us and whether or not they are able to love us or each other conditionally. Finally, another spirit prison might be one that happens by cycles of addiction - we have the best of the best people trapped inside addictive cycles from which they have to work hard to escape.
My argument & assertion is that the JUDGEMENT (of God) has happened NOW, even if just metaphorically. We are the ones acting like Gods and we are the ones doing the judging. The Bible says that we are made in God’s image, and even Latter Day Saints profess to believe that man can become like God eventually. In this state of being, when we each individually speak of God and when we read the scriptures and find conflicting meanings, I assert that those conflictions are reflections of our own inner thinkings and that they project the way we think Him to be (either an angry god, or a god of mercy). Our perception of Him is really the projection of who we are as free agents. As “gods in embryo” it is the projected image of how we are currently thinking. Our judgements in the here and now perpetuate the existence of these different states of being. In our 1st world country or “highest level” state of being, we can choose to, or choose not to find ways to help with 3rd world humanitarian aid (this is a can of worms in itself with MANY complexities regarding pride, exploitation, and white-saviorism criticisms, but in principle I feel it is okay for me to reduce this statement for now - I also believe we have “3rd world” issues in our own backyard which is why we foster/adopt in Az). But as it is, even in our supposed “highest degree” states of being in America, we may or may not choose to go help someone in their “spirit prisons”. We may also feel divided as families and may not be able to enjoy our time together because someone is going through hard things like divorce, or we might have family members with addictions, or we may know someone who is homosexual and the way we view them is pushing us further away, etc..
Comparisons to God and Jesus in this Mortal Reality: Because “God” is an ethereal being who resides somewhere else that we cannot see, and while we might believe in Him or pray to Him, He’s somewhere else than where we are now--so what we have to decide is what type of image of “Him” do we want to be portraying through ourselves and towards others? Do we want to visit people who live in their “different degrees” of glory, or do we want to stay by ourselves? Do we want to promote justice? What about harsh judgement? Or do we want to project our belief in a God of mercy? When you’re in the “highest degree” of all the glories and you have the option to visit the “other kingdoms” like where we might sit currently in the USA, I might need to warn you, though - going to visit the other kingdoms is a lot like “losing your life” before you find it - it’s more than sending $10 to UNICEF like I used to do. It can really be more like “descending below all things” as Jesus has. And when you take the leap and really do that, you might find yourself ALONG WITH the people you love residing in the Hell of a lot of yucky things - things like finding out Western Aid to Africa isn’t actually getting where it needs to go or helping very well & that often Western Aid can make things worse in other countries. Or you may find that the sponsored African girl you send money to didn’t actually get taken care of, but instead she got raped by the facility owner and then sold off as a child bride at the age of 8. Or you might find that the food you worked on sending to Africa got dumped out of a plane and exploded in the fields - that that kind of delivery is normal - that giving from a distance may have felt like a personal expression of love, but that it did not ensure a personal sort of delivery method and expression of love. You might find yucky things like that at some point before you had a better understanding that you hurt people you love even though you were doing the best you could, or that even with a better understanding you hurt people unintentionally. Yucky things like understanding the generational effects of “sin” as spoken of in the Bible, is really a lot like the generational effects of trauma. You might descend below things you never thought you could understand before and you might FEEL EVERYTHING. You might feel the hopelessness. You might feel the pain. You might take on the burdens of those you’re helping in a way that makes you mourn with those that mourn like you never have before. But don’t worry, you don’t have to stay in that space. In fact, when we apply this conceptuality to our life on Earth, what’s cool is that you don’t just have to visit the ones you love in their Terrestrial & Telestial States and then leave again to miss them desperately. You can join a journey that allows yourself to spiritually transcend back up to the happy places of the Celestial states, and you can do it together, but this time when you rise higher together, you’re not alone there--this time you’re with the people you love together even if we are from “different places” - and the experience is a lot more like our ideas of “Heaven on Earth” really should be - the idea of Heaven that Jesus can make possible - and through His grace some people believe He can make it possible for us, even on earth, and even conceptually.
In America, anything is possible, right? It’s almost even a radical belief that was used to found our country - it’s the same kind of belief that matched the allegorical ideas that go with the “highest degree of glory” because THIS is the place where WE can choose to make ANYTHING possible.
Is it possible for us to find a way to stop the needless suffering and bring world relief by changing the way we do things? Can’t we bring relief to those even being affected in injustice systemically - can’t we choose to listen to them and to care about what they’re going through in their different “kingdoms” of existence? If God is not really on this physical earth with us, and if WE are the “angels that are ministering”, but who also have the legal powers to reform and to change.... Doesn’t that mean that we’re the ones who get to decide whether or not we want to keep these 3 different states of being on planet Earth as we know it, or do we want to rise above all of it? Don’t we want to rise above it together?
So many people are afraid of change, but in America, we are allowed to and have the agency to choose the change. Isn’t change referred to spiritually as a “transformation” or a “repentance” process? The transformations can happen individually as well as collectively.
What is it going to take to work together and transform the world as we know it into a place that can be viewed as a planet-wide experience of “paradisiacal” glory for all to enjoy? Where we all live with respect for everyone else, in equality, and agency, having happiness with our families, living together in joy and peace?
I don’t have all the answers, but I wonder if part of the answer is looking at things in a new light, even with the eyes of embracing a “New Normal” as President Nelson from my church spoke of this Fall. Maybe some of the answers to transforming our society and the world at large could potentially involve the type of framework of coexistence that was suggested in “Zion is BIGGER than we are.” I don’t know, though. I really don't know. These thoughts and ideas of rising higher, even when compared with scriptural research, may all be too Utopian in nature for our world’s current reality.
💛 d.jo
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