That being said, upon my two weeks notice getting out and word going around that I'm going to Belgium and the Netherlands to "spread the word," it has sparked some questions and conversations surrounding religion and why we proselyte and all that sorta thang (sweet. missionary opportunity before the mission). It has given me the sweet opportunity to ponder some things that, embarrassingly enough, I have never even pondered. Being questioned from the outside has been the best preparation yet--reaffirming what I know to be true and encouraging me to find out answers to questions I hadn't yet thought of.
It started yesterday when my coworker, we'll call her Kelly (because that's her name), came and asked me "So I have a serious that might require a much deeper answer than I'm looking for, but I heard once that Mormon's don't believe in Hell."
Woo! This was my turn to rock what I know--the Plan of Salvation/Plan of Happiness. This is what my testimony had been built upon ever since I knew that I had a testimony. I started "Well, yeah, that's kind of right. We believe that there are three degrees of glory, or three heavens, called Celestial, Terrestrial, and Telestial, in that order, and we are awarded to any of them based on our faithfulness in this life. Celestial is, like, the best, and Telestial is like this world, there can be happiness in it but it's ultimately scary and evil. Then Terrestrial is in between. I mean, we believe in outer darkness, but that's only for people who have gained positions of authority in the church and have then fallen away and denied it's truthfulness." (I am not an eloquent speaker. Truth.)
Then came the question that I am embarrassed to admit that I don't think I've ever truly studied.
"Where did that come from? Did a man just say that's how it is, or where does that belief come from?"
I panicked. I have no idea where exactly came from! Obviously it came from God, but through whom? Abraham in the Pearl of Great Price? I remember reading about the "noble and great ones" and how Abraham was "chosen before thou wast born" but I don't remember reading anything about after death! Did it come to Joseph Smith in the Doctrine and Covenants? Modern day revelation?
Well, I was stumped, so instead of looking stupid, I had to go back and explain about all of our standard works. Everyone knew about the Bible and the Book of Mormon that the LDS faith used, but I'm pretty certain most of them don't know about the D&C and Pearl of Great Price. I explained about Joseph Smith and how he didn't write the Book of Mormon, but he translated it from the ancient Egyptian language that it was written in. I explained that the Book of Mormon was a record of the ancient Americas, much like the Bible is a record of the ancient Middle Eastern Area
(Jerusalem, Egypt, etc.) The Book of Mormon is ANOTHER Testament of Jesus Christ. "We claim the bible to be the word of God (as far as it is translated correctly.) We also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God." (Article of Faith 8). I explained that the Doctrine and Covenants was modern revelation--that Joseph Smith was the first in a line of Latter Day Prophets that we have today to speak face to face with God and then relay the word of God to the inhabitants of this earth.
Unfortunately, after all my broken explanations (so much in my head, trying to come out my mouth all at once and failing) she had to go straighten some aisles and put stuff away leaving me to contemplate her question. I mean, I should know where my beliefs come from before I believe them, right? I'm not a blind believer. I know WHY I believe it. I know WHAT I believe. But I don't know WHERE that belief comes from. Well, I continued to explain the other two books to myself in my head. The Doctrine and Covenants is a book of modern day revelations given to Joseph Smith from God the Father and Jesus Christ. The Pearl of Great Price is kindof a weird miscellaneous book, it has Moses, Abraham, Joseph Smith-Matthew, Joseph Smith History and the Articles of Faith. The Bible was translated by Joseph Smith to the interpretation (we believe) that God meant it to have. The Pearl of Great Price is also revelation, but it's add-ons of revelation that came to Joseph Smith while he was translating the Bible. Moses is excerpts from the book of Moses that Joseph Smith received during the translation of the Bible and the book of Abraham, well...
"The early nineteenth century saw a meteoric rise of interest in ancient Egypt, due in large part to the discovery of the Rosetta Stone in 1799. Scads of explorers and excavators flocked to the historic desert ruins in search of ancient Egyptian artifacts. One of these was an Italian-born excavator named Antonio Lebolo.
Lebolo led a team of archaeologists in a dig near Thebes, which would yield several mummies. Some time before Lebolo's death in 1830, the mummies would be sold, and eventually find their way to New York and into the hands of a man named Michael Chandler. Found within the wrappings were several papyri, inscribed with Egyptian hieroglyphics, which Chandler was told, no one could translate. Chandler displayed the sarcophagi and the mummies within in many venues throughout the area. Many people would tell Chandler, often jokingly, that he ought to take the papyri to the Mormon Prophet Joseph Smith, as Smith had a reputation for being able to translate ancient writings.
In 1835, Chandler decided to make contact with Joseph Smith, who was then with a large body of the Saints in Kirtland, Ohio. Traveling to Kirtland that summer, Chandler showed Smith the mummies and supposedly undecipherable writings. As Smith began to translate, he felt prompted by the Lord that he should purchase the mummies, sarcophagi, and papyri from Michael Chandler, although the Prophet was not yet entirely sure what these inscriptions said. Chandler agreed to Smith's terms, and the Church raised money and purchased the lot, gaining ownership of the finds. As the Prophet continued translating, he was ecstatic to learn that the inscriptions came from the hand of the Old Testament Prophet Abraham. The resultant manuscript was published as a serial in the Church's magazine at the time, Times and Seasons, in 1842, and officially canonized by the Church and included in the Pearl of Great Price in 1880"
http://thoughtsfromamissionary.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-history-of-mormonism-where-did.html <-- that guy's a smart one. check him out, fer real.
Turning these thoughts over and over in my mind made me feel a lot better that at least I knew that part of my stuff, but I still wasn't too much closer to finding out where on earth the Plan of Salvation was recorded in the standard works. I see mention everywhere of pre-mortal life and earth life, but what about the three degrees of glory? I remember what seemed like every year at least twice a year, we'd draw the diagram that looked like
THAT. I could draw each circle blindly and label it. It was driving me crazy that I couldn't remember what block of scripture we were studying while discussing this diagram.
Well, I found it. It was modern day revelation given to Joseph Smith while translating the bible. It is found now in Section 76 of the Doctrine and Covenants. Prophets are what's up.
There are still some questions though--we make references to Heaven and Hell in the Book of Mormon. The first thing that comes to mind is 2 Nephi 9. Especially verse 34 "Wo unto the liar, for he shall be thrust down to hell." Well, if you check out that spirit world, it doesn't show it in this diagram but there are two parts of it, paradise and spirit prison. It's where we wait until resurrection and Judgment day (that's the short explanation.) The waiting place for those good and faithful--paradise. The waiting place for those unreceptive and unknowing--spirit prison. Prison is a harsh word, it is more a place of learning, for those who didn't accept the knowledge, weren't obedient, or who weren't even able to hear about it while on earth. Being thrust down to hell would obviously send you to spirit prison, and then the real hell would most likely be the Telestial kingdom, which is most comparable to the world we live in. Beautiful, still, but not in the direct presence of our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Left to live forever without that light and happiness. Let hell mean what you will, but if I had to live on this earth forever, out of the presence of my Father in Heaven and my Savior Jesus Christ, I would call that Hell. The Celestial Kingdom (probably the closest to the idea of complete heaven) is also the only degree where we can live forever with those we love most--our families. It is not 'til death do you part' in this glory, it is "sealed for time and all eternity." That's a big deal. There are so many details to explain about this plan that I haven't even gotten into, and the great (yet overwhelming) part about the gospel is that it's all intertwined together and every principle can be related to the Atonement, the Plan of Salvation, the creation of worlds, and all other extremely complex principles, along with all the beautifully simple ones.
I believe that before I came to earth, I lived with my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and with my family and all other people who hadn't yet received a body. I believe that after death, if I have lived up to the covenants I have made in this life and have been obedient to God's laws, that I can live in his presence with my family and with my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ--for-ev-er. I believe that because Christ died for my sins, iniquities, pains and sorrows, and overcame death by rising again after being crucified, that I, too, will be resurrected and be able to overcome death and live forever with Him and my family. I believe in God's power on earth that we have to seal families for time and all eternity. I am thankful for that, and I have so much hope because of it. Amen.
These links came to be extremely helpful in my quest for knowledge. If you wanna check em out, feel free. They seem to explain a lot more helpfully than I can. :)
http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?locale=0&sourceId=45af9daac5d98010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=bbd508f54922d010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD
http://reallywanttoknow.wordpress.com/2012/05/18/do-mormons-believe-in-hell-and-do-they-think-baptists-are-going-there/
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080722140013AAi5yFz
http://brackenallen-thinkonthesethings.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-logic-of-plan-of-salvation.html
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