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Question: Do Mormons believe that there is there progression between the three degrees of glory?
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Contents
Question
Is there progression between the three degrees of glory?
Answer
There is no official pronouncement on this question. Some leaders of the Church have, however, expressed deep skepticism about this idea.
Elder Bruce. R. McConkie made it one of his "Seven Deadly Heresies," concluding:
- They neither progress from one kingdom to another, nor does a lower kingdom ever get where a higher kingdom once was. Whatever eternal progression there is, it is within a sphere. (Full text here).
A major scriptural argument against this idea comes from the Doctrine and Covenants, speaking of the telestial kingdom:
- 109 But behold, and lo, we saw the glory and the inhabitants of the telestial world, that they were as innumerable as the stars in the firmament of heaven, or as the sand upon the seashore;...112 And they shall be servants of the Most High; but where God and Christ dwell they cannot come, worlds without end. (D&C 76:109–112).
This seems to suggest that for telestial residents, at least, there can be no advancement to terrestrial or celestial.
Further reading
FAIR wiki articles
- Bruce R. McConkie, " Seven Deadly Heresies," 1 June 1980, BYU Marriot Center.
FAIR web site
- FAIR Topical Guide: