A New Witness for God (Volume 1 of 3)Roberts, B. H. (Brigham Henry)
Religion
A New Witness for God (Volume 1 of 3)
Roberts, B. H. (Brigham Henry)
Latter Day Saint churches
These are the great divisions of glory in the world to come, but there
are subdivisions or degrees. Of the telestial glory it is written:
"And the glory of the telestial is one, even as the glory of the stars
is one, for as one star differs from another star in glory, even so
differs one from another in glory in the telestial world." [23] From
this it is evident that there are different degrees of glory within
the celestial and the telestial glories; and though we have no direct
authority for the statement, it seems but reasonable to conclude
that there are different degrees of glory in the terrestrial world
also. It appears but rational that it should be so, since the degrees
of worthiness in men are almost infinite in their variety; and as
every man is to be judged according to his works, it will require a
corresponding infinity of degrees in glory to mete out to every man
that reward of which he is worthy, and that also which his intelligence
will enable him to enjoy.
The question of advancement within the great divisions of glory
celestial, terrestrial, and telestial; as also the question of
advancement from one sphere of glory to another remains to be
considered. In the revelation from which we have summarized what has
been written here, in respect to the different degrees of glory, it is
said that those of the terrestrial glory will be ministered unto by
those of the celestial; and those of the telestial will be ministered
unto by those of the terrestrial--that is, those of the higher glory
minister to those of a lesser glory. I can conceive of no reason for
all this administration of the higher to the lower, unless it be for
the purpose of advancing our Father's children along the lines of
eternal progression. Whether or not in the great future, full of so
many possibilities now hidden from us, they of the lesser glories after
education and advancement within those spheres may at last emerge
from them and make their way to the higher degrees of glory until at
last they attain to the highest, is not revealed in the revelations
of God, and any statement made on the subject must partake more or
less of the nature of conjecture. But if it be granted that such a
thing is possible, they who at the first entered into the celestial
glory--having before them the privilege also of eternal progress--have
been moving onward, so that the relative distance between them and
those who have fought their way up from the lesser glories may be as
great when the latter have come into the degrees of celestial glory
in which the righteous at first stood, as it was at the commencement.
Thus: Those whose faith and works are such only as to enable them to
inherit a telestial glory, may arrive at last where those whose works
in this life were such as to enable them to entrance into the celestial
kingdom--they may arrive where these _were,_ but never where they _are_.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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