D&C 76
INTRODUCTION: VALUE OF THE VISION
President Wilford Woodruff: “I will refer to the ‘Vision’ alone, as a revelation
which gives more light, more truth, and more principle than any revelation
contained in any other book we ever read. It makes plain to our understanding
our present condition, where we came from, why we are here, and where we are
going. Any man may know through that revelation what his part and condition
will be” (G. Homer Durham, ed., Discourses of Wilford
Woodruff, p. 47-48).
President Joseph Fielding Smith: “Section 76 of the Doctrine and Covenants, in its
sublimity and clearness in relation to the eternal destiny of the human family,
has not been surpassed. It should be treasured by all members of the church as
a priceless heritage. It should strengthen their faith and be to them an
incentive to seek the exaltation promised to all who are just and true” (Joseph Fielding Smith, Church History and Modern Revelation, 2:50).
BACKGROUND FOR THE VISION
When Joseph Smith was translating the Bible in 1832, with
Sidney Rigdon as his scribe, they came upon a remarkable passage of scripture,
John 5:29. “ And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the
resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of
damnation” (John 5:29). (See heading to D&C 76.)
When they translated this verse, the Lord changed it
slightly. The change is noted in D&C 76:17 “And shall come forth; they who have done
good, in the resurrection of the just; and they who have done evil, in the
resurrection of the unjust.” “The
resurrection of life” was clarified to “the resurrection of the just,” and “the
resurrection of damnation” to “the resurrection of the unjust.” Joseph and
Sidney had learned about being justified because that came up in the
translation work on Genesis a year and a half previous, which we now call the
Book of Moses in the Pearl of Great Price.
“That by
reason of transgression cometh the fall, which fall bringeth death, and
inasmuch as ye were born into the world by water, and blood, and the spirit,
which I have made, and so became of dust a living soul, even so ye must be born
again into the kingdom of heaven, of water, and of the Spirit, and be cleansed
by blood, even the blood of mine Only Begotten; that ye might be sanctified
from all sin, and enjoy the words of eternal life in this world, and eternal
life in the world to come, even immortal glory” (Moses 6:59).
This was in last week’s lesson: the just are those who
have had their sins forgiven, those who have “opened” the gift of Christ’s
grace through exercising the first principles and ordinances of the gospel. So,
the summation of this scripture is that those who are justified and sanctified
are resurrected to eternal life.
Yet here it says in the writings of John that the
“unjust” are also resurrected. Huh?
“Now this caused us to marvel, for it was
given unto us of the Spirit” (D&C
76:18). They were sure the change was correct, because it had been “given
[to them] of the spirit.” They pondered about it and decided that, obviously,
there was something more about the afterlife that they had not yet
learned.
”And while we meditated upon
these things, the Lord touched the eyes of our understandings and they were
opened, and the glory of the Lord shone round about” (D&C 76:19).
They found out the answer to their question by way of a
grand and glorious vision which they were commanded to write down for us “while
still in the spirit,” before they could make any human error in recall. That is
the glorious chapter of scripture we now call Section 76.
But before they wrote down the glorious vision, they felt
to testify to us of another great truth that was reaffirmed to them because of
the experience.
“For thus saith the Lord—I, the
Lord, am merciful and gracious unto those who fear me, and delight to honor
those who serve me in righteousness and in truth unto the end. Great shall be their reward and eternal shall
be their glory. And to them will I
reveal all mysteries, yea, all the hidden mysteries of my kingdom from days of
old, and for ages to come, will I make known unto them the good pleasure of my
will concerning all things pertaining to my kingdom. Yea, even the wonders of eternity shall they
know, and things to come will I show them, even the things of many generations. And their wisdom shall be great, and their
understanding reach to heaven; and before them the wisdom of the wise shall
perish, and the understanding of the prudent shall come to naught. For by my Spirit will I enlighten them, and
by my power will I make known unto them the secrets of my will—yea, even those
things which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor yet entered into the heart of
man” (D&C 76:5-10).
CHRONOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE OF THE VISION
The Kirtland Temple was dedicated in 1836.
This vision of the three degrees of glory was given February 16, 1832.
There was no temple of any kind on the earth for the Lord to visit, so he
visited the two brethren in Joseph Smith’s temporary residence, the John
Johnson home, in Hiram, Ohio.
Photograph from Mormon Historic Sites Foundation
By the way, do you know what other significant event
occurred here, six weeks later? The first physical mob violence, completely unforeseen
and unprovoked, led by two apostates, Simonds Rider and Ezra Booth, the tarring
and feathering of the Prophet in the middle of the night. This action also led
to the first martyrdom of the Church, the death of Joseph’s eleven-month-old baby, Joseph Murdock Smith, 4 days later, as a result of the exposure he
endured. Heaven and hell in the same house. (Another interesting note is that
little Joseph’s biological father, John Murdock, was on a mission at the time
and didn’t hear about his baby’s death until he returned in June.) After that,
as you know, mob action continued to escalate everywhere the saints moved to
escape it. But at the same time, for those faithful in the church, visions and
revelations and the bestowal of light and knowledge also escalated, giving the
saints the eternal perspective that they needed to endure the difficulties that
arose.
ELEMENTS OF THE VISION
We think of this as one vision, but as recorded, it was
actually seven visions stuck together. Seven very important truths, six of
which they were commanded to bear record of in writing. What were they, and in
what order?
1.
The Vision of Jesus Christ. D&C 76:20-24.
2.
The Vision of Satan. D&C 76:25-29.
3. The Vision of Sons of Perdition. D&C 76:30-49.
4.
The Vision of the Resurrection of the Just
(Celestial Kingdom). D&C 76:50-70.
5.
The Vision of the Terrestrial World. D&C
76:71-80.
6.
The Vision of the Telestial World. D&C
76:81-113.
7.
The Unutterable Vision. D&C 76:114-118.
The Unutterable Vision. Joseph Smith said of this
vision, “I could explain a
hundredfold more than I ever have of the glories of the kingdoms manifested to
me in the vision, were I permitted, and were the people prepared to receive
them.” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph
Smith, p. 304)
The Vision of Jesus Christ—This great testimony
has been an anchor to many Saints ever since that day.
The Vision of Satan—Why was it important for us to
have a vision of Satan? When it comes to having an eternal perspective, understanding
the reality of Satan is important, just as is knowing Christ. We cannot resist something we know nothing about.
The Vision of Sons of Perdition
Joseph Smith: “What must a man do to commit the unpardonable sin [and become a son of perdition]? He must receive
the Holy Ghost, have the heavens opened unto him, and know God, and then sin
against Him. After a man has sinned against the Holy Ghost, there is no
repentance for him. He has got to say
that the sun does not shine while he sees it” (Teachings, p. 358).
Are we in daily jeopardy of committing the unpardonable
sin? President Spencer W. Kimball
answers the question: “The
sin against the Holy Ghost requires such knowledge that it is manifestly
impossible for the rank and file to commit such a sin” (Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, p. 23).
The Vision of the Telestial World
“These are they who received not the gospel of
Christ, neither the testimony of Jesus” (D&C 76:82). And yet, “These are they who deny not the Holy Spirit. These are they who are thrust down to hell.” And yet, they will not stay there. “These are they who
shall not be redeemed from the devil until the last resurrection, until the
Lord, even Christ the Lamb, shall have finished his work” (D&C 76:83-85).
“These are they who say they are
some of one and some of another—some of Christ and some of John, and some of
Moses, and some of Elias, and some of Esaias, and some of Isaiah, and some of
Enoch; But received not the gospel, neither the testimony of Jesus, neither the
prophets, neither the everlasting covenant” (D&C 76:100-101).
"When Jesus came into the coasts of Cæsarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven" (Matt. 16:13-18).
Knowing that Jesus is the CHRIST, the SON OF GOD and not just another great teacher is of utmost importance to our salvation. If we deny this, we are lumped together with ”liars, and sorcerers, and
adulterers, and whoremongers, and whosoever loves and makes a lie. These are they who suffer the wrath of God on
earth. These are they who suffer the
vengeance of eternal fire. These are they who are cast down to hell and suffer
the wrath of Almighty God, until the fulness of times, when Christ shall have
subdued all enemies under his feet, and shall have perfected his work." (D&C 76:103-106).
They still will be resurrected to a kingdom of glory,
because, unlike the devil and the sons of perdition, they did not deny the Holy
Spirit, but they will have to sit in hell for quite some time, because that is
the fruit of their actions on earth. Unfortunately, they are “as unnumerable as
the stars in the [sky] or the sand upon the seashore. (See verse 109.)
And yet, “thus we saw, in the
heavenly, vision, the glory of the telestial, which surpasses all
understanding” (D&C 76: 89). It will still be a glorious heaven, because
eventually “These all shall bow the knee, and every
tongue shall confess to him who sits upon the throne forever and ever”
(D&C 76: 110). We can gain a testimony that Jesus is the Savior now, or we can gain it later, but when we gain it makes all the difference in eternity.
The Vision of the Terrestrial World
“Behold, these are they who died
without law; and also they who are the spirits of men kept in prison, whom the
Son visited, and preached the gospel unto them, that they might be judged
according to men in the flesh” (D&C
76:72-73).
Is it fair that these never had “the law,” or in other
words, never had the chance to learn the gospel in this life? Elder Melvin J. Ballard gives a reason why
this might be so:
“Now,
those who died without law, meaning the pagan nations, for lack of
faithfulness, for lack of devotion in the previous life, are obtaining what they
are entitled to. I don’t mean to say that all of them will be barred from
entrance into the highest glory. Any one of them who repents and complies to
the conditions might also obtain celestial glory, but the great bulk of them
will only attain terrestrial glory” (Sermons of Melvin J. Ballard, p. 251).
These are they “Who received not
the testimony of Jesus in the flesh, but afterwards received it. These are they who are honorable men of the
earth, who were blinded by the craftiness of men” (D&C 76:74-75).
It seems unfair that the eternal reward of these people
is messed up because others deceived them, but the reason this happened could
only be that they listened to men, rather than listening to the promptings of
the Spirit, which would have guided them to the truth. In the next life, they
are given a second chance to gain a testimony of Jesus, and, as the scripture
says, “every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ.” They will realize that he is the Christ while they are being taught in Spirit
Prison.
Saddest of all in this group are those who knew the truth and let it go: “These
are they who are not valiant in the testimony of Jesus; wherefore, they obtain
not the crown over the kingdom of our God” (D&C 76:79).
President Ezra Taft Benson: “Not to be valiant in one’s testimony is a tragedy of
eternal consequence. These are members who know this latter-day work is true
but who fail to endure to the end. Some may even hold temple recommends, but do
not magnify their callings in the Church. Without valor, they do not take an
affirmative stand in the kingdom of God. Some seek the praise, adulation, and
honors of men; others attempt to conceal their sins; and a few criticize those
who preside over them” (Teachings
of Ezra Taft Benson, p. 292-293).
Who thinks you fit here? If you have sins, such as
President Benson mentioned, you need to give them up and follow Christ, and you
have that opportunity every Sacrament Meeting. Membership in the Church alone
does not get you into the Celestial Kingdom, it is true. You cannot join the
Church and then sit still. You must use
the gift of the atonement, by exercising the first principles and ordinances of
the gospel continually.
But too many times we think that because we didn’t ever
make the cut as bishop or apostle or we didn’t have cute enough wood cut-out
projects when we were den leaders, or we never learned to garden or can, we
will be limited to the Terrestial Kingdom, because that is the place for
mediocre people. The Celestial Kingdom, we think, is only for the few gospel
valedictorians, or the doctrinal overachievers. However, that is not true:
To make mistakes, to have character flaws, to
get tired, to try and not succeed, to find that your best was not quite good
enough—that is
not to not be valiant.
That is to be human and to need a Savior.
The Celestial Kingdom will be full of people like this.
The Vision of the Resurrection of the Just (D&C
76: 50-70)
As we learned in Moses 6:60 last week, and as Joseph
Smith had learned a year or two earlier, those who exercise faith in Christ and
are baptized for the remission of their sins and receive the Gift of the Holy
Ghost by one in authority, and who endure to the end (or, as verse 53 says,
“overcome by faith,”) will be perfected in Christ so that they will belong
here. They will be Celestial people. Christ will “subdue all enemies under [their]
feet,” even those within themselves. (See verse 61.) Just as we learned last
week, they open the “gift” of grace by exercising the first principles and
ordinances of the gospel, and they continue to use that gift throughout their
lives by constantly trying to adhere to those principles and ordinances, and
eventually, through Christ, all the difficulties will be overcome.
“ Wherefore, as it is written,
they are gods, even the sons of God— Wherefore, all things are theirs, whether
life or death, or things present, or things to come, all are theirs and they
are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s. And they shall overcome all things.
Wherefore, let no man glory in man, but rather let him glory in God, who shall
subdue all enemies under his feet” (D&C
76:58-61).
There is another term for the members of this kingdom
introduced to us here in this vision. D&C 76:54 –
They are they who are the church of the Firstborn. The Church of the Firstborn. Where else
can we find this in the scriptures? You really have to hunt. The Topical Guide
and the Bible Dictionary will not help you much. It is found in the Joseph Smith
Translation appendix in the beautiful passage which I call the “Covenant of the
Rainbow,” given to Noah after the flood. JST Genesis
9:21-23 –
And the bow shall be in the
cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant,
which I made unto thy father Enoch; that, when men should keep all my
commandments, Zion should again come on the earth, the city of Enoch which I
have caught up unto myself.
And this is mine everlasting
covenant, that when thy posterity shall embrace the truth, and look upward,
then shall Zion look downward, and all the heavens shall shake with gladness,
and the earth shall tremble with joy;
And the general assembly of the
church of the firstborn shall come down out of heaven, and possess the earth,
and shall have place until the end come. And this is mine everlasting covenant,
which I made with thy father Enoch.
The Church of the Firstborn is the City of Enoch, or
Zion. When we “embrace the truth, and look upward,” (as we have said, we get on
the path and keep heading in the right direction), Zion will “look downward”
upon us and “come down out of heaven and possess the earth.” That would be the
Celestial Kingdom, This is the covenant of Enoch.
“They are they into whose hands the
Father has given all things— They are they who are priests and kings, who have
received of his fulness, and of his glory; And are priests of the Most High,
after the order of Melchizedek, which was after the order of Enoch, which was
after the order of the Only Begotten Son” (D&C 76:55-57).
Where else can we find the order of Melchizedek and the order
of Enoch in the scriptures? Speaking of Melchizedek , “And thus, having been approved of God, he was ordained an
high priest after the order of the covenant which God made with Enoch, It being
after the order of the Son of God; which order came, not by man, nor the will
of man; neither by father nor mother; neither by beginning of days nor end of
years; but of God; And it was delivered unto men by the calling of his own
voice, according to his own will, unto as many as believed on his name.” (JST Genesis 14:27-29)
This wonderful covenant of the order of Melchizedek and
the order of Enoch, is offered simple to “as many as [believe] on his name.”
(See verse 29.) The people of Melchizedek kept the covenant of their father
Enoch. “And his
people wrought righteousness, and obtained heaven, and sought for the city of
Enoch which God had before taken, separating it from the earth, having reserved
it unto the latter days, or the end of the world...And this Melchizedek, having
thus established righteousness, was called the king of heaven by his people,
or, in other words, the King of peace” (JST Genesis 14:34, 36).
They embraced the truth and looked upward, and joined
Zion in Heaven, just as we will be able to do someday, through the grace of
Christ, if we keep those same covenants.
Being of the Church of the Firstborn, of the Order of
Melchizedek and the Order of Enoch, and the Order of the Son of God, are
marvelous and beautiful titles, but when it comes down to it, they are all
summed up easily in D&C 76:69 – “These are they who
are just men made perfect through Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, who
wrought out this perfect atonement through the shedding of his own blood. They are “just men” (justified by Christ’s
atonement, or made holy and worthy of the Celestial Kingdom—but it is also
appropriate to say, they are “just men” or simply men or ordinary men, made
perfect by Christ).
If you are a member of the Church, but do not fit in the
pattern of one who is “valiant in the testimony of Christ,” you just need one
sacrament meeting to start becoming so. And then by the next week, you will
need the next sacrament meeting to keep “looking to Heaven.” And so on until
you get there.
As my favorite Bruce R. McConkie quote goes:
“As members of the Church, if
we chart a course leading to eternal life; if we begin the processes of
spiritual rebirth, and are going in the right direction; if we chart a course
of sanctifying our souls, and degree by degree are going in that direction; and
if we chart a course of becoming perfect, and step by step and phase by phase,
are perfecting our souls by overcoming the world, then it is absolutely guaranteed—there is no question whatever about
it—we shall gain eternal life.
Even though we have spiritual rebirth ahead of us, perfection ahead of
us, the full degree of sanctification ahead of us, if we chart a course and
follow it to the best of our ability in this life, then when we go out of this
life we’ll continue in exactly that same course. We’ll no longer be subject to the passions
and the appetites of the flesh. We will
have passed successfully the tests of this mortal probation and in due course
we’ll get the fullness of our Father’s kingdom—and that means eternal life in
his everlasting presence.” (Bruce
R. McConkie, "Jesus Christ and Him Crucified,"
Brigham Young University
1976 Devotional Speeches of the Year, p. 400-401, quoted in Robert Millet,
Within Reach, p. 14—emphasis added.
The entire speech is available online at this
link.)
“And thus we saw the glory of the
celestial, which excels in all things—where God, even the Father, reigns upon
his throne forever and ever; Before
whose throne all things bow in humble reverence, and give him glory forever and
ever. They who dwell in his presence are the church of the Firstborn; and they
see as they are seen, and know as they are known, having received of his
fulness and of his grace;
And he makes them equal in power,
and in might, and in dominion” (D&C
76:92-95).
CONCLUSION
As Joseph Smith said: “Nothing could be more pleasing to the Saints…than the
light which burst upon the world through [that] vision. Every law, every
commandment, every promise, every truth, and every point touching the destiny
of man, from Genesis to Revelation, where the purity of the scriptures remains
unsullied by the folly of men, go to show the perfection of the theory, and
witnesses the fact that the document is a transcript from the records of the
eternal world, the sublimity of the ideas; the purity of the language, the
scope for action; the continued duration for completion, in order that the
heirs of salvation may confess the Lord and bow the knee; the rewards for
faithfulness, and the punishments for sin, are so much beyond the
narrow-mindedness of men, that every honest man is constrained to explain: “It
came from God” (Histoy of the Church
1:252-253).