Revision as of 19:04, 19 March 2014

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The Three Degrees of Glory

Topics

Three degrees of glory

• • Concept of Hell—
    Brief Summary: Some manage to mangle the Christian view of Hell as badly as they do with the correct, authentic and original Christian view of Heaven. They don't start off well, confusing both the New Testament concepts of Hell in the sense of "hades" or "sheol" (spirit prison) and "gehenna" (everlasting burning)-terms with completely different meanings-and using the terms interchangeably, blissfully ignorant of the distinctions LDS (and the Bible, and most other Christians) make between the two. While it is probably true that, as they say, "...many [Latter-day Saints] find the [Biblicist] view of hell (eternal punishment with no second chances) to be both unfair and offensive," what offends us even more is that such an oversimplification is not Christian doctrine. Oddly enough, they are not even representing normative Protestant doctrine when they fail to make a difference between hades/sheol and gehenna. (Click here for full article)
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  • History of the belief in a three-part heaven—
    Brief Summary: A look at what Jews and early Christians really believed. (Click here for full article)
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  • Meaning of "telestial"—
    Brief Summary: What does the word "telestial" mean, as used in Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon's vision (see DC 76:) of the post-mortal worlds? (Click here for full article)
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  • Not biblical—
    Brief Summary: It is claimed that the doctrine of three heavens has no basis in the Bible. However, the Bible makes clear that all mankind will be "judged. . . according to their works." (Rev. 20:12) And if so, won't everyone's rewards be different one from another? Jesus insisted that in His "Father's house are many mansions" (John 14:2), and Paul wrote that in the judgment a person's works might be added to his reward or burned up, but either way he might still be saved. (Click here for full article)
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  • Progression between kingdoms—
    Brief Summary: Is there progression between the three degrees of glory? There is no official pronouncement on this question. Some leaders of the Church have, however, expressed deep skepticism about this idea. (Click here for full article)
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  • Emanuel Swedenborg—
    Brief Summary: It is claimed that Joseph Smith derived the idea of "three degrees of glory" in the afterlife from Emanuel Swedenborg's book, Heaven and its Wonders and Hell From Things Heard and Seen (1758). Critics also claim that Joseph Smith's practice of plural marriage was similar to Swedenborg's philosophy of "spiritual wifery." (Click here for full article)
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