Gospel Principles
Unit 10: Life after Death
Chapter 47: Exaltation
Comments and Resources

"The Father has promised us that through our faithfulness we hall be blessed with the fulness of his kingdom.  In other words, we will have the privilege of becoming like him."  (Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 2:48.)

During the study of this topic, we will learn what constitutes exaltation and how you may attain it.


Resources
Gospel Principles, chapter 47.

Scriptures :

Topical Guide: <http://Scriptures.lds.org/en/tg/contents> 
                               Exaltation

Principles
Unit 10: Life after Death
Chapter 47: Exaltation
Concept 1: Introduction

'When we lived with our Heavenly Father, he explained a plan for our progression. We could become like him, an exalted being. The plan required that we be separated from him and come to earth. This separation was necessary to prove whether we would obey our Father's commandments even though we were no longer in his presence. The plan provided that when earth life ended, we would be judged and rewarded according to the degree of our faith and obedience. We would then be assigned to the place for which we had prepared.

Jesus taught, "In my Father's house are many mansions" (John 14:2). From the Scriptures  we learn that there are three kingdoms of glory in heaven. The Apostle Paul mentioned that he knew a man who was "caught up to the third heaven" (2 Corinthians 12:2). Paul named two of the kingdoms in heaven: the celestial and the terrestrial (1 Corinthians 15:40-42 "40 [There are] also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial [is] one, and the [glory] of the terrestrial [is] another.  41 [There is] one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for [one] star differeth from [another] star in glory.  42 So also [is] the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:"). The celestial is the highest, and the terrestrial is second. Through Latter-day revelation we learn that the third kingdom is the telestial kingdom (D&C 76:81 "And again, we saw the glory of the telestial, which glory is that of the lesser, even as the glory of the stars differs from that of the glory of the moon in the firmament."). We also learn that there are three heavens or degrees within the celestial kingdom (D&C 131:1"IN the celestial glory there are three heavens or degrees;").

Discussion

What is our Heavenly Father's plan for us.'


Concept 2: What Is Exaltation?

'Exaltation is eternal life, the kind of life God lives. He lives in great glory. He is perfect. He possesses all knowledge and all wisdom. He is the Father of spirit children. He is a creator. We can become like our Heavenly Father. This is exaltation.

If we prove faithful to the Lord, we will live in the highest degree of the celestial kingdom of heaven. We will become exalted, just like our Heavenly Father. Exaltation is the greatest gift that Heavenly Father can give his children (D&C 14:7 "And, if you keep my commandments and endure to the end you shall have eternal life, which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God.").

Discussion

What is exaltation?'


Concept 3: Blessings of Exaltation

'Our Heavenly Father is perfect. However, he is not jealous of his wisdom and perfection. He glories in the fact that it is possible for his children to become like him. He has said, "This is my work and my glory--to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39).

Those who receive exaltation in the celestial kingdom through faith in Jesus Christ will receive special blessings. The Lord has promised, "All things are theirs" (D&C 76:59). These are some of the blessings given to exalted people:

1.They will live eternally in the presence of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ (see D&C 76).
2.They will become gods.
3.They will have their righteous family members with them and will be able to have spirit children also. These spirit children will have the same relationship to them as we do to our Heavenly Father. They will be an eternal family.
4.They will receive a fulness of joy.
5.They will have everything that our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have--all power, glory, dominion, and knowledge. President Joseph Fielding Smith wrote: "The Father has promised through the Son that all that he has shall be given to those who are obedient to his commandments. They shall increase in knowledge, wisdom, and power, going from grace to grace, until the fulness of the perfect day shall burst upon them" (Doctrines of Salvation, 2:36).

Discussion

List some of the blessings that will be given to those who are exalted.'


Concept 4: Requirements for Exaltation

'The time to fulfill the requirements for exaltation is now (Alma 34:32-34 "32 For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors. 33 And now, as I said unto you before, as ye have had so many witnesses, therefore, I beseech of you that ye do not procrastinate the day of your repentance until the end; for after this day of life, which is given us to prepare for eternity, behold, if we do not improve our time while in this life, then cometh the night of darkness wherein there can be no labor performed. 34 Ye cannot say, when ye are brought to that awful crisis, that I will repent, that I will return to my God. Nay, ye cannot say this; for that same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world."). President Joseph Fielding Smith said, "In order to obtain the exaltation we must accept the gospel and all its covenants; and take upon us the obligations which the Lord has offered; and walk in the light and understanding of the truth; and 'live by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God' " (Doctrines of Salvation, 2:43).

To be exalted, we first must place our faith in Jesus Christ and then endure in that faith to the end of our lives. Our faith in him must be such that we repent of our sins and obey his commandments.

He commands us all to receive certain ordinances:

1.We must be baptized and confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ.
2.We must receive the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.
3.We must receive the temple endowment.
4.We must be married for time and eternity.

In addition to receiving the required ordinances, the Lord commands all of us to--

1.Love and worship God.
2.Love our neighbor.
3.Repent of our wrongdoings.
4.Live the law of chastity.
5.Pay honest tithes and offerings.
6.Be honest in our dealings with others and with the Lord.
7.Speak the truth always.
8.Obey the Word of Wisdom.
9.Search out our kindred dead and perform the saving ordinances of the gospel for them.
10.Keep the Sabbath day holy.
11.Attend our Church meetings as regularly as possible so we can renew our baptismal covenants by partaking of the sacrament.
12.Love our family members and strengthen them in the ways of the Lord.
13.Have family and individual prayers every day.
14.Honor our parents.
15.Teach the gospel to others by word and example.
16.Study the Scriptures .
17.Listen to and obey the inspired words of the prophets of the Lord.

Finally, each of us needs to receive the Holy Ghost and learn to follow his direction in our individual lives.

Discussion

Why are faith in and obedience to Jesus Christ necessary to become exalted? What ordinances must we accept in order to become exalted? What laws does the Lord give us that we must obey to become exalted? Why must we learn to follow the direction of the Holy Ghost to become exalted?'


Concept 5: After We Have Endured to the End

What happens when we have endured to the end in faithful discipleship to Christ? The Lord has said, "If you keep my commandments and endure to the end you shall have eternal life, which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God" (D&C 14:7). President Joseph Fielding Smith said, "If we will continue in God; that is, keep his commandments, worship him and live his truth; then the time will come when we shall be bathed in the fulness of truth, which shall grow brighter and brighter until the perfect day" (Doctrines of Salvation, 2:36).

The Prophet Joseph Smith taught: "When you climb up a ladder, you must begin at the bottom, and ascend step by step, until you arrive at the top; and so it is with the principles of the Gospel--you must begin with the first, and go on until you learn all the principles of exaltation. But it will be a great while after you have passed through the veil [died] before you will have learned them. It is not all to be comprehended in this world; it will be a great work to learn our salvation and exaltation even beyond the grave" (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 348).

This is the way our Heavenly Father became God. Joseph Smith taught: "It is the first principle of the Gospel to know for a certainty the character of God. . . . He was once a man like us; . . . God himself, the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth, the same as Jesus Christ himself did" (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pp. 345-46).

Our Heavenly Father knows our trials, our weaknesses, and our sins. He has compassion and mercy on us. He wants us to succeed even as he did.

Imagine what joy each of us will have when we return to our Heavenly Father if we can say: "Father, I did what you wanted me to do. I have been faithful and have kept your commandments. I am happy to be home again." Then we will hear him say, "Well done; . . . thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord" (Matthew 25:23).

Discussion

Describe how you might feel to hear the Savior's words in Matthew 25:23. What must we do to endure to the end?

Additional Scriptures 

D&C 132:3-4, 16-26, 37 (pertaining to exaltation)
D&C 131:1-4 (eternal marriage is key to exaltation)
D&C 76:59-70 (blessings of celestial glory explained)'


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Moroni 10:4-5
"4. And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. 
5. And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things."

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