Comer: Putting the focus on our eternal standing
Commentary
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- President Russell M. Nelson speaks during a prerecorded message shown during the afternoon session of the 193rd Semiannual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Sunday, Oct. 1, 2023.
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- Ryan Comer
The first job I ever had was as a courtesy clerk at a grocery store. My responsibilities were to bag groceries, load shopping carts, assist customers to their car if desired, fetch shopping carts from the parking lot and basically do whatever I was asked. Every now and then, there would be what was called a “secret shopper” who would come through the store, make assessments and then report back to store leadership. We would never know who these mystery shoppers were or when they would show up, so we had to always be sure to follow all the required policies and guidelines so we wouldn’t receive a poor score.
What was the purpose of these “secret shoppers”? Was it to harass us and make us feel incompetent? Of course not. It was to make sure we were being the best employees possible so that the store could remain successful, so that people would want to continue to shop there.
I was thinking about this previous job throughout this week, partly because of an unpleasant experience at a place I was shopping at, and partly because last weekend was general conference, the biannual gathering of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that includes “edification, and exhortation, and comfort.” (1 Corinthians 14:3)
Unlike the mystery shoppers, the church leaders aren’t grading us. They aren’t telling us we’ve received a poor score for certain things that we have done or not done. But the messages can still be hard to hear if someone knows that they aren’t exactly living the standards set forth by the church, or if they know some of their family members or friends aren’t living the standards. Whatever the situation, every general conference there seems to be one or two talks, at least, that put some people into a frenzy.
Like the mystery shoppers, however, the goal of these church leaders isn’t to harass and make us feel unloved. It is to help us to become the best people possible so that we can be as eternally successful as possible.
What does it mean to be eternally successful? President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency of the church and next in line to be prophet, spoke of the church doctrine of the three kingdoms of glory that everyone — “with exceptions too limited to consider here” – will ultimately inherit.
“We know from modern revelation that ‘all kingdoms have a law given’ and that the kingdom of glory we receive in the Final Judgment is determined by the laws we choose to follow in our mortal journey. Under that loving plan, there are multiple kingdoms — many mansions — so that all of God’s children will inherit a kingdom of glory whose laws they can comfortably ‘abide,'” he said.
“As we describe the nature and requirements of each of the three kingdoms in the Father’s plan, we begin with the highest, which is the focus of the divine commandments and ordinances God has revealed through The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In the ‘celestial’ glory there are three levels, of which the highest is exaltation in the celestial kingdom. This is the dwelling of those ‘who have received of his fulness, and of his glory,’ wherefore, ‘they are gods, even the sons (and daughters) of God’ and ‘dwell in the presence of God and his Christ forever and ever.'” Through revelation, God has revealed the eternal laws, ordinances, and covenants that must be observed to develop the godly attributes necessary to realize this divine potential. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints focuses on these because the purpose of this restored Church is to prepare God’s children for salvation in the celestial glory and, more particularly, for exaltation in its highest degree.”
He goes on to discuss the other kingdoms, called the terrestrial and the telestial, but for the purposes of this column, the important part is the final line quoted above. There are eternal laws, ordinances and covenants associated with the church, and people sometimes wonder why such emphasis must be put on them. But President Oaks puts it perfectly when he says they “must be observed to develop the godly attributes necessary” to achieve exaltation in the celestial kingdom and that “the purpose of this restored church is to prepare God’s children for salvation in the celestial glory and, more particularly, for exaltation in its highest degree.”
He later quoted President Russell M. Nelson, the current prophet, who recently wrote, “Mortal lifetime is barely a nanosecond compared with eternity. But what a crucial nanosecond it is! Consider carefully how it works: 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. What a plan! It is a plan that completely honors your agency.”
In the final address of the two-day conference, President Nelson also spoke with an emphasis on our eternal standing.
“In my first message as president of the church, I encouraged you to begin with the end in mind. This means making the celestial kingdom your eternal goal and then carefully considering where each of your decisions while here on earth will place you in the next world. …
“Thus, if we unwisely choose to live telestial laws now, we are choosing to be resurrected with a telestial body. We are choosing not to live with our families forever.
“So, my dear brothers and sisters, how and where and with whom do you want to live forever? You get to choose.
“When you make choices, I invite you to take the long view — an eternal view. Put Jesus Christ first, because your eternal life is dependent upon your faith in Him and in His atonement. It is also dependent upon your obedience to His laws. Obedience paves the way for a joyful life for you today and a grand, eternal reward tomorrow.”
President Nelson spoke directly, but lest anyone think it was coming from a spirit of condemnation or cruelty, consider the opening part of his address where he said, “I pray that the Spirit will carry my message into your hearts today.” He wanted us to feel the Spirit. Also consider his admission toward the end:
“When I was a young intern, my income was $15 a month. One night, my wife, Dantzel, asked if I was paying tithing on that meager stipend. I was not. I quickly repented and began paying the additional $1.50 in monthly tithing.
“Was the church any different because we increased our tithing? Of course not. However, becoming a full-tithe payer changed me. That is when I learned that paying tithing is all about faith, not money. As I became a full-tithe payer, the windows of heaven began to open for me. I attribute several subsequent professional opportunities to our faithful payment of tithes.
“Paying tithing requires faith, and it also builds faith in God and His Beloved Son.”
President Nelson knows from personal experience about not following a commandment, so I’m sure he is able to have compassion for others who don’t. But he knows that when he started to pay his tithing, he was blessed, and he wants everyone else to be blessed as well — not just in this life, but for eternity. He wants all of us to make the choice he made, to follow God’s commandments or, as he put it, to “think celestial.”
Ultimately, this is the purpose of these talks. Not to condemn, but to help. Perhaps you don’t believe in the doctrine that they share. Perhaps you don’t believe in three kingdoms of glory or that your choices in this life will affect your eternal standing. Perhaps you believe in what they teach but you just don’t want it to be emphasized. Regardless, I hope we can all at least agree on one thing: it’s counsel given in the spirit of love, for the purpose of trying to help us. I know that is true because that’s what I feel as I listen to it.
Contact Ryan Comer at rcomer@standard.net. Follow him on Twitter at @rbcomer8388 and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/