The Final Judgement

After the Millennium, there will be a short season where Satan will be loosed from his bands, so he can gather together his armies. A final battle will ensue between the forces of goodness and the forces of evil. (Rev. 20:3, D&C 88:111)

Michael the archangel and his armies will come out triumphant. Satan and his own will be cast out forever at this point. Another thing that will happen during this time is the final resurrection. Those who were not resurrected during the millennium will be resurrected at this time. This means that after this final resurrection is complete, that every man, woman, and child who ever lived on the earth from the days of Adam to the very end, will have been resurrected through the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ.

It's important here to note, that at this point, our Heavenly Father will have accomplished most of what He set out to do. Namely, provide immortal bodies for all of His children and test them to see if they would exercise faith, repent of their individual sins, be baptized, and receive the Holy Ghost.

Now that this has all been accomplished, it's time for the final judgment. Each of us will stand before the judgment seat of Jesus Christ. We will be judged according to our works (Rev. 20:12-13)

Here is one place where Latter-Day Saints differ from other Christians. Most Christians believe the final judgment will be between only two decisions - Heaven or Hell.

As Bible believing people and having had modern revelation on the subject Latter-Day Saints have a different view.

Paul, when speaking of the resurrection said:

1 Corinthians 15:40-42
40 There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.
41 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.
42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:

Paul is saying that people will be resurrected with different kinds of bodies. Meaning, the body they come forth with will be incorruptable (immortal) and that it will be suited for the kingdom they will inherit. (Celestial, Terrestial, etc)

The Celestial Kingdom, or glory of the Sun, is the highest Kingdom where God Himself dwells. The Terrestrial Kingdom, or glory of the moon is a lesser kingdom, and the glory of the stars (Telestial Kingdom) is the lowest of the three kingdoms of glory.

Each of these places represent a heaven or kingdom.

There is one more place that we call outer darkness. It's simply the place where Satan, his angels, and those who have committed the unpardonable sin (see Matthew 12:31-32) will dwell for ever. This is not a kingdom of glory or a heaven. It is the very opposite.

So how does God determine which kingdom a person will receive?

Jesus Christ opened a marvelous vision to the Prophet Joseph Smith and his counselor Sidney Rigdon. This vision is now recorded in the 76th section of the Doctrine and Covenants. You can read the whole thing here if you would like : D&C 76

If not the short answer to the question is this:

Celestial Kingdom: Those who have faith in Jesus Christ, Repent, are baptized by the proper authority, receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, and endure faithfully to the end. In short those who are "Valiant" in their testimony of Jesus Christ.

Terrestrial Kingdom: The honorable people of the earth who chose not to receive and live the gospel in this life, but received it afterward in the spirit world.
Also those who "were not valiant in the testimony of Jesus" meaning people who received the gospel, but didn't choose to live by it.

Telestial Kingdom: These are the people who won't be resurrected until after the Millennium. These rejected the gospel and testimony of Jesus Christ but did not deny the Holy Ghost. These are the adulterers, murderers, and every other kind of sinner you can think of that didn't repent in this life and receive the grace of Jesus Christ. So during the millennium, they will be in a state of Hell suffering for their sins. But even these will be redeemed and resurrected through the mercy of our Savior. They won't inherit the Celestial Kingdom, or the place where God dwells, but the scripture tells us that even their kingdom of glory is beyond all description.

Outer Darkness: The place where Satan, his angels and the sons of perdition will dwell forever. It is not a kingdom of glory. These will be in an eternal hell.


As you can see, God will have saved most of His children when all is said and done. The only ones that will not receive a kingdom of glory will be those who actively fight against Him.

So if most will receive a kingdom of glory, what is the goal? God tells us in the book of Moses 1:39: "For this is My work and My glory, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man"

We can see from this that God not only wants us to gain bodies and live forever, but he wants us to have "eternal life".

What is eternal life? Simply put, eternal life is living forever with the giver of life, living with God and living the kind of life He lives. This is only possible for someone who has accepted the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Another name of eternal life is exaltation. Meaning the person has been exalted to live and be like our Heavenly Father in the Celestial Kingdom.

Faith, repentance, baptism, Gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end is the way to gaining access to Jesus' Grace which will qualify you for eternal life or exaltation. The Celestial kingdom is the only place where families can be together forever. It is the only place where one can progress to the point of becoming like Heavenly Father, not to replace Him, but to be "joint heirs" with him (Romans 8:17)

This is also the only place a person can receive a fullness of joy.

I testify that Jesus died for our sins. He made it possible for us to go back into the presence of our Heavenly Father, and live with Him again. We must have faith in Jesus, repent of our sins, be baptized, receive the Holy Ghost, and endure faithfully to the end to gain access to Jesus' grace. If we gain Jesus' grace, we gain the Celestial Kingdom. If we gain the celestial kingdom, we can eventually gain a fullness of joy and be with our families forever.

If you would like access to the grace of Jesus Christ please contact missionaries who hold the proper authority today and request baptism, then continue to follow our Heavenly Father's plan faithfully so you can receive a fullness of joy.

In the name of Jesus Christ amen.



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