In this Chapter Lorenzo admonishes the Church to come together seeking a oneness in their families. He advises parents to act in such a way that they can truly say to their children, ‘do as I do,’ as well as ‘do as I say.’ He encourages Husbands particularly to be kind to their wives. Within Mormonism the marriage is eternal and therefore is of great importance. He stresses that if you are faithful, your relationships with others will continue in the next life.
“The associations that are formed here, will be possessed by [us] in the eternal worlds. Fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers… The same forms of relationship here will still exist beyond the veil; the ties here formed will grow stronger in the other life which is to come.”
The thing I ask myself here though is how could this possibly be?
Perhaps if all of your family members made it to the highest level of the celestial kingdom would you be together forever then?
I don’t see how, with each couple exalted and living in separate worlds.
What if you are exalted and your children are not?
Then you are eternally separated.
What if none of you make it into the celestial kingdom?
Then you will be eternally separated.
And what about God?
Heaven to me is to be eternally in His presence. But who in Mormonism truly gets to have this? If God (as LDS theology states), has a physical body and those who are exalted, are each busy populating their individual worlds. How could they each be eternally in the presence of the Father. This is totally illogical.
The Bible says that we will be with God the Father and Jesus Christ eternally.
1 Thessalonians 4:17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.
John 14:2-4 (ESV) 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?[a] 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.”[b]
Jesus says that His Fathers House has many rooms, he speaks of one house. Heaven is one house with many rooms. Nowhere in the Bible does it say otherwise.
The LDSChurch misinterpret 1 Corinthians 15:41 to make the claim that there are varying degrees of Heaven…
41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.42 So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. 43 It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. 44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”;[a] the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
As you can see if you read on past verse 41, you are quickly told what the Sun, Moon and stars represent. Paul was speaking of the difference between our mortal and immortal bodies, as is plainly shown in the text.
John 17:24 24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me.
Gods plan is for us to be with Him, to be with Christ where he is. He wants us to see His Glory, not to seek our own.
You could say, ‘Gods way are not our ways, we can’t always understand the things of God.’
Isaiah 55:8 (ESV) For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.
Well I understand this, we have the Trinity, but although the Trinity may be a little confusing, I can just about bring my mind around to understanding it. I cannot however understand the utter contradictions in LDS theology regarding Heaven.
Think about it, are you worthy to be exalted? Are you keeping the whole Law? Are all of your family? Really? Maybe you do consider yourselves worthy of exaltation but are your children also? Or will you be separated for eternity?
“To enter the celestial and obtain exultation it is necessary that the whole law be kept” ( Joseph Fielding Smith, The way to perfection,p206)
I ask these questions as I know one of the big attractions for many to Mormonism is this idea of eternal families. The truth is though, according to Mormon theology you are more likely to be eternally separated from your family.
“There are preferential places and conditions in the hereafter, as there are here. The highest and most desirable is the celestial kingdom of our Father. In that Kingdom and only there do intelligences attain their highest state of perfection. Only there do we have assurance of the reunion of our families and the perpetuation of family relationship and eternal increase. In that kingdom man may ultimately become divine.” (Stephen L Richards, conference reports, April 1938, p.24)
In other words only those worthy of exaltation will be with their families forever.
“President Francis M. Lyman many times has declared. And he had reason to declare, I believe, that if we save one half of the Latter-day Saints, that is, with an exultation in the celestial kingdom of God, we will be doing well…He would have every one of us go in if we would; but there are Laws and ordinances that we must keep;if we do not observe the Law we cannot enter. ( Joseph Fielding Smith Jr., Doctrines of salvation 2:15.)
In Christianity, those who receive Jesus as their saviour will all be together in Heaven. There are no differing levels we will all be eternally in the presence of the Father. If your mother, brother or sister also accept Jesus as Lord, they too will be with you in Heaven. Christianity does not place great emphasis on families, or on marriage, in respect of heaven, the bible tells us…
For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. (Matt 22:30) ESV
Our Marriage and other relationships are important for this life, but in Heaven our focus is to be God.
As always I appreciate any comments or feedback
Thank you for your report, Vicky. I enjoy reading these reviews of The Teachings of Lorenzo Snow since my husband has gone back to the Mormon church and that is, of course, what they are studying this year. As an ex-mormon, I was particularly interested to see my great-grandfather mentioned, Francis M. Lyman! I attended a cousin reunion in Salt Lake last summer where we spent a day driving around to the cemeteries to find our ancestors and their wives — Francis is buried in Tooele, Utah — we saw his very important tombstone and he was surrounded by all of his wives. So grateful that God called me to know Him in the truth of His Word. I am constantly praying for my Mormon relatives and friends to open their eyes and soften their hearts to the true and living God,