Our Journey to Glory

“This is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39). God said this to Moses to explain the purpose of His children’s existence. Immortality and eternal life is a glorious concept and everything the Father has set up leads us to being a being of glory. Christ reaffirmed this when he said, “In my Father’s house are many mansions” (John 14:2).

In “Kingdoms of Glory“, President Dallin H. Oaks discusses the various degrees of glory and how one qualifies to abide in one of the kingdoms. This leads us to ask, “What is this journey that leads us to a kingdom of glory?” I will attempt to answer that in this post. Note that this is not a comprehensive examination of the journey; in fact, even President Oaks admits, “There is much we do not know about the three major periods in the plan of salvation and their relationship to one another: (1) the premortal spirit world, (2) mortality, and (3) the next life.”

The Pre-mortal World

The first part of our journey started before our birth on this earth. We refer to this period as the pre-mortal or preexistence. We don’t know exactly what happened during this time period as a veil of forgetfulness was placed over us upon our arrival on Earth. We do know the following (see Abraham 3:22-28):

1. Our spirits were formed
2. Understand that spirits without a body cannot live in a kingdom of glory
3. God created a plan for us to return to His presence
4. Satan presented an execution of the plan that would force obedience and give Satan the glory
5. Jesus backed up God’s plan to allow each soul to choose obedience and give God the glory
6. God and Jesus’ plan was accepted
7. Satan rebelled and was cast out along with 1/3 of our brothers and sisters
8. The Earth was created

Our pre-mortal existence was the first opportunity to express our agency and make choices. Satan and those who followed him chose not to accept God’s plan and were therefore cast out. Those who chose to follow God’s plan have been allowed to continue their journey to the next phase – mortality.

Mortality

The second phase of our journey is this mortal life. Following up on the accepted plan, we are given the agency to choose what we want to do. President Russell M. Nelson has stated, “During this mortal life you get to choose which laws you are willing to obey-those of the celestial kingdom, or the terrestrial, or the telestial-and, therefore, in which kingdom of glory you will live forever” (Russell M. Nelson, Heart of the Matter(2023), 45).

In the pre-mortal existence, the Earth was created to give each of us the opportunity to prove ourselves and see if we would choose to obey God’s commandments. Therefore, this life is a “time for [us] to prepare to meet God” (Alma 34:32).

Recently, the term Covenant Path has been used to describe this part of our journey. The Covenant Path contains all the covenants and ordinances we need in this life. Those covenants and ordinances will then allow us to take advantage of Christ’s Atonement and be clean from sin. Being clean from sin will lead us to the highest degree of glory, the Celestial Kingdom.

You may be wondering what happens to those who do not get the opportunity to walk the Covenant Path in this life. The beauty of God’s plan is that even if someone does not have the opportunity to follow the Covenant Path in mortality, they will get a chance to accept it after their time on Earth expires.

Mortality then gives us the opportunity to:

1. Receive a body
2. Choose to follow God’s plan
3. Walk the Covenant Path that leads to celestial glory

Eventually, we all die and the next phase of our journey begins.

Resurrection, Judgment, and Kingdom Assignment

The final, as far as we know, phase of our journey involves three events:

1. Resurrection – this is where our body and spirit are reunited and our bodies become immortal
2. Judgment – where our intentions and actions show who we have become
3. Kingdom Assignment – the result of our judgment will be an assignment to one of the kingdoms of glory

There is a time between our death and the resurrection where we are temporarily placed where we can, as President Oaks says, “comfortably abide”. This place allows us to either help others receive the good news of the gospel or be the recipient of said good news. Those who were not able to make covenants and receive ordinances in mortality will be allowed to receive this knowledge and accept them when those covenants and ordinances are completed by someone on Earth in one of the temples.

When the time comes, we are resurrected. Our imperfect bodies will be perfected, and our spirits and bodies will reunite to form an immortal being. We will have all the memories of the pre-mortal and mortal existences.

Once we have been resurrected, we will be ready for judgment. Since Christ is the one who paid for our sins through His Atonement, He will be the one to judge us. President Oaks stated, “We conclude that the Final Judgment is not just an evaluation of a sum total of good and evil acts-what we have done. It is based on the final effect of our acts and thoughts-what we have become.” In other words, the progress we have made during our mortal lifetime will be part of the judgment we receive.

Finally, we are assigned to a kingdom of glory. I love how President Oaks describes this assignment as a place where we can “comfortably abide.” “That word abide, so common in the scriptures, means a secure placement.” From this, I gather that we will feel secure and safe in that placement. We will be where we belong and experience that kingdom’s glory.

What Happens Next?

I have asked myself on numerous occasions, “What happens after we are assigned to a kingdom of glory?” Does it mean our eternal journey of progression has ended? The answer is that we don’t know. It has not been revealed to us. My personal opinion is that there is progression after this assignment. However, we will have the choice to progress or not, just as we have had at every stage along the journey.

Conclusion

We are eternal beings destined to receive glory and become glorious. Heavenly Father created a plan for our eternal progression that includes allowing us to choose where we end up. We are the deciders of what glory we receive. By following the Covenant Path and continually progressing in this life, we can receive celestial glory and live with God again.