Friday, May 25, 2012

The Far Away Kingdoms of Glory by Divine Design~


Far far away in another kingdom dwelled a young spirit daughter of our beloved  Heavenly Father. It was her turn to come to earth. She had heard so much about the beautiful world that Heavenly Father had provided for His spirit children. She was excited to join with other spirit brothers and sisters to come to earth. At this time these spirits would dwell on earth through the winding up scenes of the earth's temporal existence.
She was taught in the courts of the kingdom the true Plan of Happiness. She knew the plan well. She would be coming to earth to gain a body and learn from her life experiences. She had prepared herself to be strong through life's storms that she knew would surely come.
She had already lived amongst those whom she would be with on earth. She already knew who her earthly parents and siblings would be. She already loved a wonderful  spirit son of our Heavenly Father.They had promised to find one another on earth.  She knew that somehow she would meet him again and she would know him.  She would also have her own family while on earth. She had mingled with those spirits that would one day be her posterity.
She was fully aware that a way was provided for her to return to live with her Heavenly Parents again someday. She knew her Elder brother, Jesus Christ had already paved the way for all of her Heavenly Parent's spirit children to return again.
 Her day to be born was coming when she would no longer remember this far away kingdom. She was scared but she felt confident that she could find and follow her Heavenly Father's  plan of salvation; the true plan of happiness.
It was finally her turn on earth. She received counsel and a blessing from her Heavenly Father before she left this realm. Down to earth she went.

She was deeply blessed with wonderful parents who loved and nurtured her.  Her siblings were a struggle at times but they protected and loved her as she loved them. As her journey began and through the years she met many other relatives, loved ones, and friends. She didn't recognize them; but sometimes she could feel that she knew them from some place before. She eventually met her knight in shinning armor. He was all she had dreamed of. They started their future together by being married and sealed in the Temple for Eternity. Wonderful children soon blessed their lives. She and her eternal companion continued on with their time on earth. Life was basically good because she had been taught the Plan of Happiness while on earth. She knew the plan was not going to be easy; she needed to learn so much and she had her agency to make choices. There seemed to be so many decisions to make. She appreciated agency as a wondrous gift from God. She learned about her Savior, Jesus Christ and his life and purpose and she believed and followed him.  
There were many moments of despair; but she learned early to kneel before her Heavenly Father in prayer. There she found  the peace she was seeking. Comfort came from the spirit of the Holy Ghost another priceless gift given to her for this life's  journey. She would often receive warnings by the Spirit that she must make a different choice. Sometime, she made poor choices or didn't listen to the spirit and so she had to repent; these were painful times. She tried very hard to walk with the Savior and do as he would have her do.
She learned that after this life she would go into the Spirit World. She started to lose through the gate of death those she loved so dearly. First her parents and then others followed. She knew the plan and that they were in another dimension on earth called the spirit world. At times she could feel them near; especially her parents.
Wickedness upon the earth increased dramatically. Even some of her beloved family were caught up in wrong choices that left her sad. The signs of Savior's coming were ever present. She had learned that the Redeemer of the world would come to rule and reign on the earth for a thousand years of peace.  Life was very hard during those final days. She prayed to endure to the end and remain true to her covenants of the Temple so that  she could receive exaltation; which was the greatest of all the gifts given. Through this gift  she would be blessed to be in the Celestial Kingdom with all of her posterity that had endured their earth life experiences and remained true to their testimonies of faith in Christ.
She understood that there was three different kingdoms that the people's of the earth would be assigned too. She wanted with all of her heart and soul to make it to the highest of these kingdoms to live forever eternally with those she loved. Their motto on earth was to have "No Empty Chairs". No family members missing were her and her dearest companion's goal.
She learned in 1 Corinthians 15: 40-41; "There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one and the glory of the terrestrial is another. 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."
While Jesus was on the earth he had taught us that there are "many mansions" in heaven:
"In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. (John 14:2) 
There are Three Heavenly Kingdoms -
This plan of Salvation as taught in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is as follows. "There are three heavenly kingdoms or three degrees of glory: "the Celestial, the Terrestrial, and the Telestial. "These kingdoms are for all the people of this earth except for the Sons of Perdition who will go to Outer Darkness or Hell..... Entrance to each kingdom depends on a person's worthiness and his adherence to the commandments of God and the ordinances He has prescribed. Since God is the ultimate judge, all people will be judged fairly and aware of the kingdom where they will be most happy and comfortable." (As found in Mormon Wiki under Celestial, Terrestrial, and Telestial Kingdoms) 

She dreamed of going to this highest kingdom. What would it be like? she couldn't even imagine how magnificent this kingdom would be. She wanted to return with her eternal companion to her Father in Heaven clean and pure. She knew that;" the Celestial Kingdom is the highest and most glorious of the degrees of glory and is symbolically represented by the sun. It is this kingdom where God Himself reigns.  Anyone who inherits any degree of glory in the Celestial Kingdom dwells in God's presence." (Mormon Wiki in the article Celestial, Terrestrial, and Telestial Kingdoms)
This is her dream to one day be in the Celestial Kingdom with all of her family.




7 comments:

Barb said...

Hi Leann!

What a beautiful post! We have been teaching my YW that they are Daughter's of God - if many of them would only believe how special they are!! Do you mind if I share this with them? It is so perfect for what we are teaching! I just love your perspective on life and the gospel, I always feel inspired and blessed by your posts, thank you so much for sharing. Have a wonderful and safe holiday week-end!

Hugs and Love to you,
Barb

Susan Anderson said...

Nice story that teaches a beautiful lesson.

=)

Denise said...

Very lovely post.

The Adventurer said...

Great story is this something the Mormons retell, just asking cause I am Lutheran and I haven't heard this before:)

Darlene said...

I loved the way you told this very important part of the plan of salvation. Honestly, it is so easy to understand and so many people have a hard time accepting this. I truly have a testimony of this because I just know that I existed in the spirit world and I feel that I am definitely going home to be with my Father in Heaven and my earthy parents too, and it will likely be in the not too distant future.

I loved this post, LeAnn and I do hope that those people who are not LDS will understand that this is a great principle of our Gospel. You will probably have more people asking questions with this post, and you are certainly qualified to answer all questions.

Galen Pearl said...

Loved the story. So uplifting and full of promise.

The Adventurer said...

Thanks for explaining, now I completely understand it and it is a beautiful story:)