As a boy, very few things thrilled me more than the idea of space. I was a child of the “space age,” growing up with TV shows like Star Trek and Lost in Space, and the real world of the Apollo missions to the moon. To this day I am enthralled by President Kennedy’s Rice University speech declaring that we would go to the moon, “not because it is easy, but because it is hard.”
But this was not idle dreaming to me; going to space was a real-world possibility. My dad’s brother, my uncle Jim, was the Executive Director of NASA, presiding over the final four moon landings and the creation of the space shuttle program. My space dream was grounded in the reality that I (sort-of) KNEW someone at NASA!
The moon was a reality. Traveling to the stars was a distant dream, however, the stuff of science fiction to visit a galaxy far, far away. And the Sun? That was just a joke. In fact, there was a popular joke in that era that went something like this
The head of the Soviet Union was asked how they planned to respond to the US’ superiority in space, since they had missed the moon. He responded, “The moon?! The moon is nothing! We are going to the SUN!” After the reporters stopped laughing, one of them said, “You can’t go to the sun, it’s too hot!” The Soviet leader scoffed at that, answering, “Then we will go at NIGHT!”
Traveling to the stars was so far away it seemed like fiction.
Traveling to the moon was the stuff of fact, grounded in reality.
Traveling to the sun seemed so preposterous so as to be a joke.
There is a gospel parallel to my childhood view of the cosmos:
The stars seem “far away”? The root word for “far or distant” is -tele, as in television. If we are far or distant from heaven, we might call ourselves telestial.
The moon is grounded in reality? The root word for “grounded” is -terra, meaning earth. If we are satisfied with or consumed by the things of the earth, we might call ourselves terrestrial.
But what, then, of celestial? Is it really such an impossible standard that we see it almost as a joke?
It well may be, for many of the members of the church. In 2018, reporters from the Salt Lake Tribune studied this phenomenon, calling it “middle-way Mormonism,” and detailing its popularity among the rising generation. They cited statistics that show that among those of that generation that consider themselves active or engaged in the church, between 46 and 58% had consumed alcohol or coffee in the previous six months. As one colleague told me recently, “I don’t believe that God will keep me out of the celestial kingdom for a cup of coffee.”
Nephi foresaw this attitude clearly, and documented it in 2 Nephi 28. For example, verse 8 seems to echo the same sentiment as my colleague when it says:
“And there shall also be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry; nevertheless, fear God—he will justify in committing a little sin; yea, lie a little, take the advantage of one because of his words, dig a pit for thy neighbor; there is no harm in this; and do all these things, for tomorrow we die; and if it so be that we are guilty, God will beat us with a few stripes, and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom of God.”
Others are seemingly grounded in terrestrial thinking, when they say, as in verse 21, “All is well in Zion, yea, Zion prospereth, all is well.” All of 2 Nephi 28 is a treatise on the realities of “thinking terrestrial” and the dangers associated with that type of thinking.
What my coffee-drinking colleague misunderstands, and perhaps many others of us do as well, is the difference between the celestial kingdom and a “kingdom of glory” that is NOT the celestial kingdom. In his conference address titled “Kingdoms of Glory,“ President Dallin H. Oaks states the following:
“The revealed doctrine of the restored Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that all the children of God…will ultimately inherit one of three kingdoms of glory, even the least of which ‘surpasses all understanding.’”
In other words, by virtue of keeping our first estate and choosing to come to this earth to be tried, you will inherit a kingdom of glory. To that extent, my colleague was correct: God will not keep him from a kingdom of glory over a cup of coffee. Oaks clarifies that further, when he says, “all of God’s children will inherit a kingdom of glory whose laws they can comfortably ‘abide.’”
But a “kingdom of glory” is not the same as the celestial kingdom. A loving father in heaven will allow us to live in an eternal kingdom that provides us with laws we can obey, and an atmosphere we can enjoy, whose glory “surpasses all understanding.”
That sounds wonderful! But compare that to this promise given to those who strive for the celestial kingdom:
They are they into whose hands the Father has given all things—
…who have received of his fulness, and of his glory;
Wherefore…they are Gods…
…all things are theirs, whether life or death, or things present, or things to come, all are theirs
(D&C 58: paraphrased verses 55-59, emphasis added)
Do we really think that casually living “most” of the word of God will lead to us receiving all of the fullness of God and all of his glory? The scriptures warn us that if we are not careful we will be left to ourselves, to kick against the pricks, and to eventually even fight against God (D&C 121).
No. One cannot “think terrestrial” and achieve “celestial.”
In that famous speech about going to the moon, President Kennedy said, “we choose to go to the moon not because it is easy, but because it is hard.“ But the next line of that speech is a powerful reminder of what it takes to achieve greatly. The next line reads:
Because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we’re willing to accept. One we are unwilling to postpone.
Can you hear in President Kennedy’s words echoes of eternal truth, even as he’s describing a terrestrial pursuit? “Organize and measure the best of our energies and skills” sounds a little bit like “serve with all my heart, might, mind and strength.” “Unwilling to postpone” could be read as “do not procrastinate the day of your repentance.”
You cannot “think terrestrial” and achieve celestial.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said:
“Sow a thought and you reap an action; sow an act and you reap a habit; sow a habit and you reap a character; sow a character and you reap a destiny.”
In order to reap celestial destiny you must start with celestial thoughts. The Scriptures are replete with admonitions to that end:
- Wickedness never was happiness
- No man can serve two masters
- “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9
One cannot “think terrestrial” and achieve celestial. Our goal therefore must be to elevate our thinking so that we can reap a different destiny.
The idea of elevating my thoughts to celestial levels has long interested me. As a young man I considered myself to be one of the “smart” kids. I pursued an academic career at MIT, trying to compete with smart kids at the highest levels. I am proud to say that I was a solid B student at MIT—not the best of the best, but still able to run in those circles and not get completely overwhelmed. Even now in my career some of the first words used to describe me are often, “he’s a pretty smart guy.”
But these days my thoughts often betray me. As my Parkinson’s disease progresses I find that I have to concentrate significantly harder in study and in conversation. If I let my mind wander during the conversation I might end up completely off topic, speaking repetitively, or even occasionally speaking complete gibberish. Even in non-intellectual pursuits, I find I have to concentrate to the extreme, focusing on walking when I am walking, rather than being to go for a walk in order to think. Rather than multi-tasking I am often forced to be a uni-tasker in the extreme. It is exhausting.
I find a lesson in this too.
Pursuit of worldly knowledge is important, and the Lord has reminded us in D&C 93:36 that the “glory of God is intelligence” and in 130:18 that “Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection.” But it is a terrestrial task. The second half of D&C 93:36 describes intelligence as “light and truth.” Gaining and growing my knowledge on earth may be terrestrial; using that knowledge to gain divine insight is learning to think celestial.
As I strive to elevate my thoughts I am being taught by my Father in heaven what an eye “single to his glory” means. As I learn to uni-task, I have learned that the key for me to elevating my thoughts is prayer. As I try to not “run faster or labor more than I have strength” I also try to “pray always that I may come off conqueror” (D&C 10:4-5). And I do these things, not because they are easy but because hard is the only choice.
I cannot continue to “think terrestrial” and hope to achieve Celestial.
May each of us find our own path to overcome the world by appealing to the power of the atonement of Jesus Christ, in whose name I close these remarks. Amen.
Recent Comments