Tag: Perfection

After finishing my last post, I couldn’t help but feel something was left unfinished. As I pondered on it for a few days, I realized I needed to make an interjection here before diving any further into the actual process of becoming heavenly.

Previously, we defined perfection as full maturity (like a tree bearing fruit). Consequently, to be perfect in Christ means we abide in Christ and bring forth the fruit thereof (John 15:5), which is charity (1 John 2:5; Colossians 3:14; 1 Nephi 11:22).

Being full of charity is not something you do, but something you are; it is a state or condition of being. To have charity is to be perfect. Why? Jesus taught, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:37-40; emphasis added). As every whit of the law points to love of God and man, any sin is a sin against the nature of charity—to be full of love.

As Paul wrote, “Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law” (Romans 13:10)—because charity “suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7).

King Benjamin similarly taught that if you are full of love you will “always retain a remission of your sins” (Mosiah 4:12); you will “not have a mind to injure one another, but to live peaceably,” raise your children in righteousness, “succor those that stand in need of your succor,” and minister to the poor (Mosiah 4:13-16).

The gospel is designed to transform you into a being full of love. Why? Because this is the nature of heaven. When you are made perfect in Christ, the fruit you bear is the love of God, which is sweet above all that is sweet, white above all that is white, and pure above all that is pure (Alma 32:42). As Nephi learned in vision, this is “the most desirable above all things,” and “most joyous to the soul” (1 Nephi 11:22-23). Nothing will bring you greater happiness, meaning, and fulfillment than to be full of the love of God.

Love, law, happiness—these things are all connected. Love fulfills the law, and the law is the manner of happiness (2 Nephi 5:27). Joseph Smith taught, “Happiness is the object and design of our existence; and will be the end thereof, if we pursue the path that leads to it; and this path is virtue, uprightness, faithfulness, holiness, and keeping all the commandments of God” (TPJS p. 255).

Instead of thinking of heaven as the reward for keeping certain rules, giving an adequate performance, or confessing a belief, we ought to think of it as a condition or state of being. It is a lifestyle.

The eternal peace and joy of heaven is the natural consequence of living the law that is kept in heaven. God is no respecter of persons, and all blessings and glory are enjoyed on the same conditions; namely, by keeping the law associated with them. “There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated—And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated” (D&C 130:20-21).

Every kingdom has a law given, and the blessings and glory associated with each kingdom are a consequence of the law that is kept there (D&C 88:38). “For he who is not able to abide the law of a celestial kingdom cannot abide a celestial glory. And he who cannot abide the law of a terrestrial kingdom cannot abide a terrestrial glory. And he who cannot abide the law of a telestial kingdom cannot abide a telestial glory; therefore he is not meet for a kingdom of glory. Therefore he must abide a kingdom which is not a kingdom of glory” (D&C 88:22-24).

The law of the celestial kingdom is the law of Christ (D&C 88:21), and the law of Zion (D&C 105:5). Those who abide that law in the flesh establish Zion—heaven on earth. They enjoy open communion with angels—the general assembly and Church of the Firstborn—Jesus Christ, and God the Father. They are partakers of the joy and peace of heaven (both individually and collectively), and experience an abundance of the gifts and power of heaven in their lives. All of these blessings are as readily available to you or me as they were to Enoch, Moses, Moroni, the brother of Jared, and many more.

The law was made for man, and not man for the law. It is given as a blessing to show us the way to a fuller life. We should want to keep all of the commandments, not because it’s just a high standard we must meet to avoid suffering in the afterlife, but because it is the optimal way of living.

When we are at last resurrected, we will be restored to whatever law and glory we attained here. Those like Enoch’s city, who enjoyed the law, blessings, and glory of Zion in their lifetime, will receive a celestial body (D&C 76:54-69). These are also the same who obtain charity (Moroni 10:21; Ether 12:34).

Those who persist in sin will persist in misery, because they are in a state that is contrary to the nature of happiness. As Alma taught, “Do not suppose, because it has been spoken concerning restoration, that ye shall be restored from sin to happiness. Behold, I say unto you, wickedness never was happiness. And now, my son, all men that are in a state of nature, or I would say, in a carnal state, are in the gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity; they are without God in the world, and they have gone contrary to the nature of God; therefore, they are in a state contrary to the nature of happiness” (Alma 41:10-11).

Aren’t those without love the most miserable and bitter people you know?

Conformed to the Image of Christ

In order to receive a place with Christ in the resurrection, enjoying the same glory and blessing, we must keep the law He kept. If we want to be “joint-heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:17), experiencing the same joy and satisfaction that He does, we must become like Him. There is no other way.

The nature of God is the nature of happiness. He is the law (3 Nephi 15:9), which is the manner of happiness (2 Nephi 5:27); He is love (1 John 4:8), which love is most joyous to the soul (1 Nephi 11:22-23). Therefore, it is in becoming like Him—living, seeing, understanding and loving the way He does—that we find eternal joy and happiness. This is why Paul bids us to be “conformed to the image of [the] Son” (Romans 8:29), and Alma asks, “can ye look up to God at that day with a pure heart and clean hands? I say unto you, can you look up, having the image of God engraven upon your countenances?” (Alma 5:19). This is the same thing as saying, “except ye have charity ye can in nowise be saved in the kingdom of God” (Moroni 10:21). In order to share in Christ’s inheritance, we must be like His is.

On this wise, Joseph Smith taught: “But to be a little more particular, let us ask, where shall we find a prototype into whose likeness we may be assimilated, in order that we may be made partakers of life and salvation? or in other words, where shall we find a saved being? for if we can find a saved being, we may ascertain, without much difficulty, what all others must be, in order to be saved—they must be like that individual or they cannot be saved: we think, that it will not be a matter of dispute, that two beings, who are unlike each other, cannot both be saved; for whatever constitutes the salvation of one, will constitute the salvation of every creature which will be saved: and if we find one saved being in all existence, we may see what all others must be, or else not be saved. We ask, then, where is the prototype? or where is the saved being? We conclude as to the answer of this question there will be no dispute among those who believe the bible, that it is Christ: all will agree in this that he is the prototype or standard of salvation, or in other words, that he is a saved being. And if we should continue our interrogation, and ask how it is that he is saved, the answer would be, because he is a just and holy being; and if he were any thing different from what he is he would not be saved; for his salvation depends on his being precisely what he is and nothing else; for if it were possible for him to change in the least degree, so sure he would fail of salvation and lose all his dominion, power, authority and glory, which constitutes salvation; for salvation consists in the glory, authority, majesty, power and dominion which Jehovah possesses, and in nothing else; and no being can possess it but himself or one like him: Thus says John, in his first epistle, 3:2 and 3: Behold, now we are the sons of God, and it doth not appear what we shall be; but we know, that when he shall appear we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And any man that has this hope in him purifies himself, even as he is pure.—Why purify himself as he is pure? because, if they do not they cannot be like him.

“The Lord said unto Moses, Leviticus 19:2:—Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy. And Peter says, first epistle, 1:15 and 16: But as he who has called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. And the Savior says, Matthew 5:48: Be ye perfect, even as your Father who is in heaven is perfect. If any should ask why all these sayings? the answer is to be found from what is before quoted from John’s epistle, that when he (the Lord) shall appear, the saints will be like him: and if they are not holy, as he is holy, and perfect as he is perfect, they cannot be like him; for no being can enjoy his glory without possessing his perfections and holiness, no more than they could reign in his kingdom without his power.

“… He had said, in another part of his prayer, that he desired of his Father, that those who believed on him should be one in him, as he, and the Father were one in each other: Neither pray I for these (the apostles) alone, but for them also who shall believe on me through their words; that they all may be one: that is, they who believe on him through the apostles’ words, as well as the apostles themselves: that they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me and I in thee: that they also may be one in us.

“What language can be plainer than this? The Savior surely intended to be understood by his disciples: and he so spake that they might understand him; for he declares to his Father, in language not to be easily mistaken, that he wanted his disciples, even all of them, to be as himself and the Father: for as he and the Father were one, so they might be one with them. And what is said in the 22nd verse is calculated to more firmly establish this belief, if it needs any thing to establish it. He says, And the glory which thou gavest me, I have given them, that they may be one, even as we are one. As much as to say, that unless they have the glory which the Father had given him, they could not be one with them: For he says he had given them the glory that the Father had given him, that they might be one; or in other words, to make them one.

“This fills up the measure of information on this subject, and shows most clearly, that the Savior wished his disciples to understand, that they were to be partakers with him in all things: not even his glory excepted.

“It is scarcely necessary here to observe what we have previously noticed: That the glory which the Father and the Son have, is because they are just and holy beings; and that if they were lacking in one attribute or perfection which they have, the glory which they have, never could be enjoyed by them; for it requires them to be precisely what they are in order to enjoy it: and if the Savior gives this glory to any others, he must do it in the very way set forth in his prayer to his Father: by making them one with him, as he and the Father are one.—In so doing he would give them the glory which the Father has given him; and when his disciples are made one with the Father and the Son, as the Father and the Son are one, who cannot see the propriety of the Savior’s saying, The works which I do, shall they do; and greater works than these shall they do, because I go to the Father?

“These teachings of the Savior must clearly show unto us the nature of salvation; and what he proposed unto the human family when he proposed to save them—That he proposed to make them like unto himself; and he was like the Father, the great prototype of all saved beings: And for any portion of the human family to be assimilated into their likeness is to be saved; and to be unlike them is to be destroyed: and on this hinge turns the door of salvation.” (Lectures on Faith 7:9-10, 12-16).

Christ is the Being of greatest joy; therefore, the greatest joy is found in being like Christ. When we are filled with the pure love of Christ, then we are like Him:

“But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure” (Moroni 7:47-48).

Conclusion

We are powerless to do this on our own; for that, we will need a Savior. “When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:25-26).

This is what His grace is sufficient to do—and nothing is sweeter.

Now, we will address how this is done.

When Jesus said, “Be ye therefore perfect” (Matthew 5:48), the word perfect is translated from the Greek τέλειοι meaning mature (like a tree bearing fruit), full grown, having reached its end, complete, etc. This is a much different idea than our Greek/Western conception of perfect, which has more to do with giving a flawless performance (like a musician on stage not making a single mistake).

Perfection, as Jesus is speaking about it here, is a state of being. A fully developed tree will bear fruit as a natural consequence of what it is. Conversely, if a tree has not reached a condition of maturity, it will not be able to do the things a mature tree can do. A young sapling cannot produce fruit, no matter how hard it tries.

Jesus’s injunction was to be perfect, not to do perfect. There is a major difference.

The fruits of a perfect person will naturally follow as a consequence of who they are. On the other hand, if a person has not first developed a perfect heart it does not matter how hard they try to be good; they will fail. They are wrestling with the fallen nature of their own flesh and will inevitably give way to it.

“For behold, a bitter fountain cannot bring forth good water; neither can a good fountain bring forth bitter water; wherefore, a man being a servant of the devil cannot follow Christ; and if he follow Christ he cannot be a servant of the devil” (Moroni 7:11)

The natural man is carnal, sensual, and devilish. It is a bitter fountain, and cannot bring forth good water. Any attempt to do so will be in vain because it goes contrary to its own nature.

If a bitter fountain wants to bring forth good water, no amount of grit and willpower will make it so. It must first become a good fountain, and then good water will flow naturally. Because we are always subject to our nature, it is our nature that must change. When our nature is fallen and corrupt, sin will naturally follow; when our nature is godly, godliness will naturally follow.

Doing Perfect

The way we’ve come to talk about perfection culturally misses the being aspect. Perhaps this a consequence of reading the scriptures with Greek eyes; the philosophies of men mingled with scripture.

Growing up in the south, I encountered Southern Baptist pamphlets and handouts from time to time. The narrative usually went something like this: “Have you ever wondered where you’ll go when you die? Here’s a quick way to figure it out: Have you ever sinned? Even one time? God’s standard is absolute perfection, and if you’ve sinned even once, you’ve already disqualified yourself from heaven when you die. If you’ve sinned, you’re a sinner, and sinners go to hell—it doesn’t matter how many other good things you try to do. As a matter of fact, ‘All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God’ (Romans 3:23). We deserve nothing less than hell. BUT! There’s good news. God sent His Son Jesus as a perfect sacrifice for our sins so we can be forgiven, and live with Him again. And because He was perfect, all we have to do is believe in Him, and His perfect life will cover us. So if you want to be saved, confess your belief in Jesus in this prayer…”

This is what I call, “Straw-man Salvation.”

Do you hear the doing perfect language embedded into this story? “If you make one mistake, if there’s one error on your spiritual report card, you’re through.” “If you don’t walk up on stage and give an absolutely flawless performance, then God will reject you when you come to Him.”

So this is “the problem” as Christianity puts it. The “solution” is that we need to turn in a perfect report card, and Christ will let us turn in His.

The restored gospel tells a fundamentally different story, but because we’re surrounded by a culture that still toils under the darkness of apostasy, we’ve unconsciously inherited many of its traditions and assumptions. Consequently, not seeking to understand the fulness of the gospel on its own terms results in our being pulled back into the current of mainstream Christianity. Very frequently we teach restored doctrine with a protestant twist, or protestant doctrine with a Mormon twist.

For example, many of us still hold onto the notion that “getting into heaven” is a matter of giving a flawless performance, and that if we’ve made a single mistake we’ve disqualified ourselves and therefore need a Savior. But instead of saying “heaven” we say “the Celestial Kingdom.”

Because we tend to accept these premises, approaching the how of salvation is a bit awkward. What do we have to do to make sure we have it good in the next life? We know ordinances by correct authority fit somewhere in the mix, and also “enduring to the end.” The commandments seem important, but most of us believe that we can’t keep them all which is why we needed a Savior in the first place. The temple fits somewhere in the mix… but at the end of the day we don’t really find out how well we did on everything until judgment day… right? On the other side of all this, people usually come out with a few different conclusions.

One position that’s become popular in the last 30 years is that once we’ve made the covenant to follow Christ through baptism, we’re “in” the kingdom, and will be “in” the kingdom unless we decide to leave. This idea posits that once we’ve made the covenant, and just have the desire to follow Christ, He makes up for all of our imperfections and can let us into heaven. It’s compared to a child who wants to buy a bicycle, who then works and saves every penny for a few weeks only to find out she has nowhere near what it will actually cost. Her father then tells her that if she’ll give him everything she’s saved with a hug and a kiss, he’ll take care of the rest. This is virtually the same as the protestant position, but just swaps “confession of belief” for “ordinances.” Its contingent concern is still in the doing.

There are other variations of this that are a bit more nebulous and conditional. Some people will say you have to do your best before Christ’s mercy kicks in. If you only give half the effort you could have, for example, you won’t have done enough on your part to inherit Celestial glory. Others will say “if you’re worthy of a temple recommend, you’re worthy of the Celestial Kingdom.” Or, “you just need to be heading in the right direction when you die,” or “stay in the mainstream of the Church and die in full fellowship.”

These all miss the point, and leave people feeling a little uncertain. Many are unsure about their standing with God, and question whether or not they’re doing enough to be saved. They question whether all of their sacrifices, time, and effort are enough to meet God’s demands.

A comment made frequently in Sunday school is: “The Lord doesn’t ask us to be perfect, He just wants us to try our best.” This is generally met with an enthusiastic nod of agreement from everyone in the room, because everyone who has tried beating their flesh into submission knows it doesn’t work. They conclude, “we can’t be perfect, and the Lord doesn’t expect us to do anything out of our control… and besides, isn’t that what a Savior is for? If we could be perfect, we wouldn’t need a Savior. We just need to do our best, and He’ll make up the difference.”

There’s a major problem with this line of thinking though, and that is that “do your best” is not a principle of the gospel. This is to fundamentally miss this point of what this life and the atonement are all about.

To go back to our fountain analogy, it’s as though most people are saying: Did the fountain ever produce any bad water? If it did, it can’t go to heaven. However, if it accepts Jesus (either by confession or ordinance) then it can be forgiven for producing bad water and can be a fountain in heaven. Or, if it accepts Jesus and then tries its best to produce good water, He’ll make up for the bad water it produces so that it can be a fountain in heaven.

When people view salvation this way, their main concern is forgiveness of past sins. However, what the fountain needs is not merely to be forgiven (although that’s an important first step), but to be fundamentally changed. If a bad fountain is forgiven but not changed, it will continue to produce bad water. Put another way, sin is just a symptom of a deeper issue. If the deeper issue is never treated, bandaids won’t fix it.

Consider this for a moment: do you believe people will continue to sin in heaven?

If the answer is yes, then what do you think will make heaven any different than the world we currently live in, or the church you currently attend?

If the answer is no, then in order to dwell in God’s presence you will need to be sinless; not just forgiven of past sins, but you must never commit any kind of sin again. That prospect on its own might create a lot of anxiety and discouragement; will we just be anxiously trying to stay in line, fearing the slightest misstep will result in our being kicked out? That sounds like a perfectionist’s hell.

Some people are under the impression that our desires will be magically changed once we’re resurrected. Alma tells us that this not the case; in the resurrection, we will in fact be restored back to exactly what we were in the life:

“Do not suppose, because it has been spoken concerning restoration [resurrection], that ye shall be restored from sin to happiness. Behold, I say unto you, wickedness never was happiness. And now, my son, all men that are in a state of nature, or I would say, in a carnal state, are in the gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity; they are without God in the world, and they have gone contrary to the nature of God; therefore, they are in a state contrary to the nature of happiness.

“And now behold, is the meaning of the word restoration to take a thing of a natural state and place it in an unnatural state, or to place it in a state opposite to its nature? O, my son, this is not the case; but the meaning of the word restoration is to bring back again evil for evil, or carnal for carnal, or devilish for devilish—good for that which is good; righteous for that which is righteous; just for that which is just; merciful for that which is merciful. (Alma 41:10-13).

We really have to consider the implications of this scripture. If we will be restored to exactly what we are here, desires, nature, and all—then even if salvation was all about forgiveness, it wouldn’t be too long after being admitted back into God’s presence that we would sin again. And then, like Adam and Eve, we would be cut off from His presence all over again. By its nature, a bad fountain will produce bad water.

So what is the solution? Is there any hope at all if our nature and disposition is to sin?

Now we’re getting to the heart of the problem. It’s not about bad marks on our report card—it’s about who we are.

Being Perfect

Instead of thinking about sin as a mistake, misstep, or hitting a wrong note, think of sin as a symptom. It’s a symptom that something in your heart is not right. It’s bent out of place, or facing the wrong way, or not arranged right.

What we need is not to be saved in our sins, but from our sins.

As Helaman told his sons: “And remember also the words which Amulek spake unto Zeezrom, in the city of Ammonihah; for he said unto him that the Lord surely should come to redeem his people, but that he should not come to redeem them in their sins, but to redeem them from their sins” (Helaman 5:10; emphasis added).

It’s important to really think about this. Do you believe Christ came to save us in our sins, or from our sins? Is His atonement for the purpose of saving us despite the fact that we sin, or is it about pulling us out of that lifestyle entirely? Do you believe “he will justify in committing a little sin” (2 Nephi 28:8)? Or that in the resurrection, we will be restored “from sin to happiness” (Alma 41:10)?

Consider what the Lord told Alma, “Marvel not that all mankind, yea, men and women, all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, must be born again; yea, born of God, changed from their carnal and fallen state, to a state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming his sons and daughters; and thus they become new creatures; and unless they do this, they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God” (Mosiah 27:25-26).

The purpose of the gospel is not just about being forgiven, or “making up the difference,” but being fundamentally changed. The Savior is the Master Physician, come to heal us (3 Nephi 9:13). He intends to change our nature from being bitter fountains to pure ones. If our hearts are not changed, we will have a hard time producing good fruit. When our hearts are changed, good fruit will naturally follow.

As He spoke through Ezekiel: “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God” (Ezekiel 36:26-28; cf. Jeremiah 31:33-34).

We see what this looks like with the people of King Benjamin: “the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent… has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually” (Mosiah 5:2). Or as Alma taught, “Now they, after being sanctified by the Holy Ghost, having their garments made white, being pure and spotless before God, could not look upon sin save it were with abhorrence; and there were many, exceedingly great many, who were made pure and entered into the rest of the Lord their God” (Alma 13:12).

Consider how different your life would be if the very desire to sin was rooted out of your heart. Consider how different things would be if instead of trying to wrestle with the flesh, God’s will became your will; if His heart was your heart.

C.S. Lewis wisely observed Christ’s intention: “Give me all of you! I don’t want so much of your time, so much of your talents and money, and so much of your work. I want you! All of you! I have not come to torment or frustrate the natural man or woman, but to kill it! No half measures will do. I don’t want to only prune a branch here and a branch there; rather I want the whole tree out! Hand it over to me, the whole outfit, all of your desires, all of your wants and wishes and dreams. Turn them all over to me, give yourself to me and I will make of you a new self—in my image. Give me yourself and in exchange I will give you Myself. My will, shall become your will. My heart, shall become your heart.”

When His will becomes our will, and His heart becomes our heart, Satan will have no power over us, and sinlessness will be the natural fruit that follows. Consider how this will be the condition of all living in the millennial day: “And Satan shall be bound, that he shall have no place in the hearts of the children of men… And the earth shall be given unto them for an inheritance; and they shall multiply and wax strong, and their children shall grow up without sin unto salvation” (D&C 45:55, 58).

So many of us long for a life in the millennium—that perfect day of peace when Christ will reign personally upon the earth—but what do you suppose will make it so? Why will Satan be bound? Nephi gives the answer: “because of the righteousness of his people, Satan has no power; wherefore, he cannot be loosed for the space of many years; for he hath no power over the hearts of the people, for they dwell in righteousness, and the Holy One of Israel reigneth” (1 Nephi 22:26; emphasis added).

Satan’s being bound is not an arbitrary decision made by God to suddenly remove our opposition. He will be bound because those on earth will have overcome; they will be sufficiently sanctified that they have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually. Satan will have no power over their hearts because His temptations will no longer appeal to them. This is the only way something like Zion gets established; our hearts must all be purified.

The law of Zion is the law of the Celestial kingdom (D&C 105:5). Only those who abide the law of the Celestial kingdom (Zion) can abide in a Celestial glory (D&C 88:22). As the prophet taught, “any person who is exalted to the highest mansion has to abide a celestial law, and the whole law too” (TPJS p. 331).

Because the resurrection is only a restoration of what we already are, the only ones who will be resurrected to a celestial glory are those who have already become celestial here. Those who have allowed the Lord to transform them into celestial, Zion-like individuals in this life.

“For notwithstanding they die, they also shall rise again, a spiritual body. They who are of a celestial spirit shall receive the same body which was a natural body; even ye shall receive your bodies, and your glory shall be that glory by which your bodies are quickened. Ye who are quickened by a portion of the celestial glory shall then receive of the same, even a fulness” (D&C 88:27-29).

These are the kinds of people who establish Zion on earth, or at least live a Zion-lifestyle when no such society is present: “These are they who are come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly place, the holiest of all. These are they who have come to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of Enoch, and of the Firstborn… These are they who are just men made perfect through Jesus the mediator of the new covenant” (see D&C 76:54-69).

Enoch’s city didn’t just happen to have more willpower than everyone else; they were fundamentally transformed by the grace of Christ. When we think of those living in the millennial day, or Celestial kingdom, who have no disposition to sin, and over whom Satan has no power—that is what we must become here and now, through the atonement of Christ.

If this is truly something we can (indeed must) become in this life, what is the process? How do we become the kinds of people who can live a Celestial law? Who bind Satan because of their righteousness? Who have no disposition to do evil, and who cannot look upon sin save it be with abhorrence?

More on this in the following post…