Exaltation Yours for the Asking

Volume Three—Chapter Twenty-Two IS EXALTATION YOURS FOR THE ASKING?

#Introduction

In this chapter we will discuss the relative importance of grace (God’s mercy) and works (our obedience to God’s law) in our exaltation. In 2 Nephi 25:23, we read: “We know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.” We have previously defined grace as God’s love for his creations. But grace is particularly that aspect of his love that inclines him to extend blessings to his creatures even when those blessings are not fully deserved. Mercy is God’s inclination to give us blessings we don’t deserve. Thus, God’s grace and mercy are intimately related. The “all we can do” is our works— our obedience to God’s commands. We will discuss this phrase in more detail later in this chapter.

We may become exalted, then, by the workings of two phenomena: (1) God’s grace and mercy and (2) our obedience to the Lord’s commandments. But what is the relative role of each? How do these two relate? Quantitatively which is the more important? How readily merciful is he? How much does God expect us to do? How demanding will he be in judging our efforts to obey him? It would seem we have been given no explicit scriptural instruction on this issue. We are thus left on our own to settle these questions.

I have observed that there are, in the Church, three “schools of thought” on the relative roles of grace and works. I have given each a name:

1. The “Few There Be’s.” At one end of the spectrum is the notion that God is strict and demanding and will extend his grace selectively to only those select few who are able to maintain an unusually high standard of obedience to his laws. “Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:14, italics mine). While this idea may smolder in the worried consciences of some of us, it is, in reality, largely a hypothetical school of thought. There seem to be few, if any, members of the Church who have vocally and actively advocated for this position.

2. The “Easy Gracers.” At the opposite end of the spectrum is the idea that God delights in exalting all who wish to be exalted. He is ever willing and anxious to extend his grace. Works must not be ignored, but accomplishing the saving gospel ordinances and maintaining a desire to be exalted is quite sufficient. After all, the Lord, through the prophet Joseph Smith, taught us: “For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39). And he surely will succeed in accomplish this for most all of us who desire exaltation.

In using the term “easy grace,” I intend no pejorative accusation. I use this term only to provide a distinction between that grace given freely and readily and that for which a significant price must be paid. A related term, “cheap grace,” has a more negative implication and is often applied to the orthodox Christians’ view of earning

salvation.

A recent articulate spokesman for the Easy Gracers is Alonzo L. Gaskill, currently an assistant professor of church history and doctrine at Brigham Young University. His recent book, Odd’s are You’re Going to Be Exalted, compellingly defends the notion that virtually all who desire to live in God’s presence forever will be granted that blessed privilege.

The Easy Gracers are known for commonly making two claims: (1) Well more than half (“the vast majority”) of all God’s spirit children will eventually be exalted. Many of these, if not most, will include those who either lived in mortality in an unaccountable state or during the millennial thousand years. (2) The individual who lives out his mortal experience in an accountable state will be exalted if he participates in the Lord’s earthly Church and maintains a desire to be exalted. Both of these claims will be addressed in the ensuing discussion.

3. The “Sickle Thrusters” or the “Anxiously Engaged.” Between these two extremes is found the idea that exaltation is a highly desirable blessing God desires for each of us. We are not, however, assured of this blessing by simply preferring, desiring, or even longing for it. Exaltation requires diligent and consistent attention to what the Lord would have us do here on earth. It is neither free nor easy to obtain. Serious attention to and dedication to the Lord, his purposes, and his commandments will surely be required. And the effect of this diligent obedience will be to create a “new creature,” one who has grown spiritually and will be comfortable in the celestial heaven. This is the celestial individual.

In a revelation to Joseph Smith, Sr., the Lord taught a basic requirement for exaltation. He said, “He that thrusteth in his sickle with his might, the same layeth up in store that he perisheth not, but bringeth salvation to his soul” (D&C 4:4; see also 11:3).

We may also refer to this group as the “Anxiously Engaged.” In another modern revelation, the Lord counseled those who aspired to be members of “Zion.” They ought to be “anxiously engaged in a good cause” (D&C 58:27).

This school of thought does allow that many, even a large majority, of mortals will not inherit celestial glory. Further, by this standard, it is possible that even some members of the Lord’s Church will not qualify.

#We All Seek for Spiritual Security

It would seem that, relative to religion and the eternity ahead, each individual yearns for security—to know that he is “all right,” that he has arrived. Hence, today in the Church, a pertinent issue is just how worried the vast majority of us members ought to be about our eternal future. Just who exactly is it that will be judged worthy of celestial glory? Will it be just about all of us who love the Lord and who desire to live forever with him? Or, is it possible that some of us—even some of us who are “active” in the Church—will fail to qualify because we have become too casual, too lackadaisical, too relaxed, too passive, and too halfhearted in our dedication to the work of the Lord’s latter-day kingdom? Might it be that the celestial-worthy saints are only those who have been truly diligent and proactive in keeping the commandments and in striving to further the work of the Lord? Is it possible some in the Lord’s Church—the saints—will fail to be exalted and will have to settle for a lesser glory?

Personally, I have not dared hope for easy grace and therefore fit best in the category of the “Sickle Thrusters.” As I look deep within myself, I do sense a yearning for eternal security. I also sometimes entertain worrisome doubts as to whether or not I merit that security. I frequently notice within myself an uneasy hope that the Lord will not demand too much of me—that he will look past my obvious failings, and be merciful.

These yearnings for eternal safety and security are evident as we look around us in the orthodox Christian community. The Evangelicals—the majority of Protestants— also yearn for eternal security and also evidently hope the Lord’s standards for entry into heaven will be lenient. They believe that once they have “come to Christ” by confessing him and committing themselves to him, they may rest assured that each will, with few exceptions, reach heaven—at least as they understand heaven.

I have often felt that a modicum of angst about our eternal future is a good thing. I cannot escape the notion that were I convinced of a high likelihood of my own exaltation, I might tend to comfortably “rest on my laurels” and “coast” rather than struggle to constantly obey. For me, that may well lead to spiritual passivity and mediocrity. I feel the need to maintain a sense of urgent proactivity as I contemplate striving to obey the Lord’s commands. Otherwise, I’m afraid I would become lax in my obedience. It is my observation that this may be true for others as well.

Practically speaking, the central concept in spiritual growth is the summoning of the character to apply deliberate effort against real opposition. That opposition is our natural self, a formidable enemy indeed.2 This natural self is even an “enemy to God” (Mosiah 3:19). Spiritual growth is not an easy process, but rather a painful one. It is easy to relax and fall short. It is easy to tire and become stalled at a middling level in one’s spiritual progress.

As we continue our consideration of this topic, my bias as a Sickle Thruster will doubtless become evident. If, in the end, it turns out that the Lord’s grace is given easily and received by all who would prefer to receive it, I will be ecstatic, as that is indeed what I prefer to receive!

The remainder of this chapter will be spent defining the evidences and logic behind each of the two “contending” groups—the “Easy Gracers” and the “Sickle Thrusters.” Let us acknowledge up front that it will not be possible to conclusively settle this “disagreement.” We have never had the matter explicitly and adequately addressed and explained, at least to my personal satisfaction, by prophetic authority. Therefore, the best I can hope for is that the spiritual intuitions of each of us will become better informed.

#The Appropriate Balance between Grace and Works

Every member of the Church fully recognizes that a man’s works, in and of themselves, can never be sufficient to exalt the man, or even save the man to a lesser kingdom of glory. The Lord’s grace, which the Lord is able to extend because of his atoning sacrifice, is essential. That issue is not in dispute.

The pertinent question is just how much obedience, how much striving, how much effort, indeed, what level of “works” are necessary to trigger the Lord’s grace to the point of exaltation. An oft quoted scripture in the Church is thought by many to settle the issue. It is 2 Nephi 25:23: “We know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.” The problem with this scripture is that it may be interpreted in different ways. The different interpretations hinge on how we interpret the phrase “all we can do.” I will suggest three possible interpretations:

1. “All we can do” means “all that is possible for any mortal to do—a nearly perfect level of obedience.” We might imagine the “Few There Be’s” using this interpretation as their credo. They may claim that the Lord is warning that each person must do all that is humanly possible and then, and only then, will the Lord’s grace be applied. Admittedly, this is an unlikely interpretation.

Ironically, the “Easy Gracers” might also favor this interpretation but put a different twist on it. It might appear to them to imply that even a nearly perfect level of obedience fails, by itself, to result in exaltation. Thus, works are of little consequence, and grace is all important.

2. “All we can do” implies that the only offering of obedience any man is capable of making is a meager and trivial offering, indeed, a truly inconsequential one. This is another interpretation that might be espoused by the Easy Gracers. What you do is not very important relative to the Lord’s grace. The Easy Grace group might claim it doesn’t matter what you are able to do. It is the Lord’s grace, not your works that save. Christ saves—not our small acts of faithfulness. Brother Gaskill apparently approves of the paraphrasing of this verse as:

We are saved by grace “apart from all we can do,” or . . . “regardless of all we can do.” Another acceptable paraphrase of the sense of the verse might read, “We are still saved by grace, after all is said and done” (Gaskill, 7).

According to this view, the Father provided a Savior because the works any of us might achieve, through our obedience to law, are of little consequence.

Brother Gaskill wrote:

What then must we know about commandments? We must believe they are always given for our safety, protection, growth, and happiness.

And we must—with all our hearts—seek to keep them! But they are not given as the primary means of obtaining our exaltation. . . . He did not reveal them out of a desire to damn us (Gaskill, 11).

3. “All we can do” describes the works of a diligent and conscientiously obedient servant. This is the Sickle Thrusters’ interpretation. They readily acknowledge that every person will fall far short of perfection, but Nephi is trying to say that one’s efforts at obeying cannot be lazy or mediocre. They must be truly proactive and painstaking. They must be “all you can do.” The Lord wants the best from everyone before he will pronounce them celestial.

The Lord’s grace is also vital for every person saved in the terrestrial and telestial degrees of glory. Every person saved in a lesser glory must experience the Lord’s grace. Only to those judged truly celestial will the Lord extend grace to the point of exaltation.

Admittedly, every mortal’s situation is unique. With equal diligence, the absolute obedience two people might achieve will differ substantially. The criterion the Lord will apply in judgment is not the absolute level of obedience. Rather it is the effort—the diligence—which is applied. It is not how much one does, but rather how much one does with what he is given. This principle is illustrated by Jesus’s parable of the talents (see Matthew 25:14-31). In this parable, the Lord rewards all his servants equally, even though not all were equally productive. Only the completely unproductive were denied his blessings. The reward is received by those who do the very best they can given their individual circumstances.

By this view, the Father provided a Savior to judge each individual and then grant the degree of grace deserved by each individual.

As quoted above, Brother Gaskill believes that the commandments “are not given as the primary means of obtaining our exaltation.” Surely they are, however, a crucial factor in our exaltation. The degree to which we obey or not obey the commandments will determine whether or not the Savior elects to extend the blessings of his grace. While one may argue that the “primary” means of exaltation is the Lord’s grace, certainly the commandments are also a principal and vital factor. It is true the Lord did not reveal the commandments “out of a desire to damn us.” He revealed them to enable us to grow and progress to be more like him. And surely the degree to which we

grow to become like God is a fundamental factor in the Lord’s judgment of each of us.

President Heber J. Grant taught:

Each and every one of [the] commandments has been given for the express purpose . . . that we may . . . go back and dwell in the presence of our Heavenly Father . . . These duties and obligations are calculated to . . . make Gods of us (Collected Discourses, Delivered by President Wilford Woodruff, His Two Counselors, the Twelve Apostles, and Others ed. Brian. H. Stuy).

#The Perfect Plan of a Loving God

The Father has mercifully made available to us his plan of salvation. His purpose—his primary motivation is patently obvious. He wants us home to live with him forever. Nowhere in scripture are we told how many of us will make it back to his celestial presence.

Easy Gracers. Members of this group are inclined to reason that God is perfect and has therefore created the perfect plan that will surely succeed. Brother Gaskill writes:

Because God is perfect, His plan for accomplishing His goal is perfect—and thus we could not hope for a better plan. Because He is loving, the gift is given out of love and is ideal (or perfect, complete, nothing lacking), just as His love is ideal, perfect, complete, nothing lacking.

We must remember—and we must firmly believe—that the plan of salvation, the great plan of happiness, was designed to work. Indeed, it would not be called the eternal plan of salvation/ happiness/ redemption/ mercy/ deliverance etc. if it did not work—particularly if its primary effect was the damnation of the vast majority of God’s offspring. . . . It intuitively goes against everything we know about the nature of God to suggest that He would create and institute a plan that would, by design, damn most of His children. Yes, agency must be preserved. But to design a plan that is so difficult to succeed at that most would fail does not preserve agency. On the contrary, such would thwart both agency and the very thing the Plan was created to accomplish—namely, our exaltation. The thought that God would promote something that would ensure that the vast majority of His children would never again be able to dwell in His presence is incomprehensible. And the assumption that our mother in heaven would idly sit back and allow such a guaranteed flop to eternally strip her of any interaction with her spirit offspring is equally unfathomable. Such could not—and did not—happen! (Gaskill, 17).

Sickle Thrusters. Reading Brother Gaskill’s book has produced in me a great love for him and his optimistic, magnanimous sentiments. I would that his words just quoted were true in every detail. I find, however, that for me the issue is not settled. Obviously the Father’s plan is perfect—it is the best that could possibly be devised for enabling his spirit offspring to return home. But what exactly is the nature of those who participate in the plan? What, in general, are the characteristics of those uncreated, unembodied intelligences he included in this round of creation? Who has he been given to work with? He had no role in creating them (D&C 93:29), and he cannot force any one of them to do his will. He must allow them complete agency. He must subject them lovingly to his perfect plan and hopefully await the results. Brother Gaskill betrays a fundamental misunderstanding of the concept of agency and the related concept of freedom (liberty). A plan of salvation that requires diligent obedience in no way impairs agency. Every man will always maintain his agency, regardless of his eternal state. The issue is not that of agency. Rather the question is how difficult it is to utilize our agency to obtain the freedom necessary to enter the celestial heaven.

At this point in our existence it is not possible for us to know with any degree of certainty how many of the Father’s offspring have celestial leanings and will return to him. We simply do not know how many will successfully negotiate the plan and return home. Will it be a majority? a minority? a relative few? We simply are not given to know.

We know that some of the premortal spirits (a “third part”) were led astray by Satan and lost their opportunity to participate in the second estate. They are all lost to the Father. Yet, they had been subjected to his plan of salvation, perhaps for a very long time in the premortal world. We also are taught that others of the Father’s spirit children will not be able to “abide” the conditions and laws of the celestial kingdom. Still others will not be able to abide the terrestrial glory. There are even those who will not abide the telestial kingdom (D&C 88:22-24). The Lord has made it clear in other scriptures that there are individuals who would be eternally uncomfortable in the celestial heaven. For example, the prophet Moroni addressed those who deny a belief in Christ and therefore do not obey his commandments: “Do ye suppose that ye shall dwell with him under a consciousness of your guilt? Do ye suppose that ye could be happy to dwell with that holy Being, when your souls are racked with a consciousness of guilt that ye have ever abused his laws? Behold, I say unto you that ye would be more miserable to dwell with a holy and just God, under a consciousness of your filthiness before him, than ye would to dwell with the damned souls in hell” (Mormon 9:3-4).

We are given descriptions in scripture of those mortals who will eventually inherit each of the three degrees of glory (D&C 76:50-90). As we carefully read these descriptions and then look around us today, it is easy to conclude that a majority of mortals will not inherit celestial glory.

#Testimonials Supporting the View of the Easy Gracers

Brother Alonzo Gaskill utilizes the following testimonials to support the basic premise of his book (Gaskill, 19-23). I will separate them into (1) those that support the claim that well more than half of all the hosts of heaven will be exalted and (2) those addressing the idea that the accountable individual who desires it will almost certainly be exalted.

Large majority will be exalted. Robert L. Millet, former dean of Religious Education at Brigham Young University, wrote:

There is no ceiling on the number of saved beings in eternity, no cap, no quota by which the Father of us all must and will be governed.

Like any parent, he surely desires that all of his sons and daughters receive the message of salvation, work righteousness, and return to him honorably. Not all will, it is true. But many will—a great many (Within Reach, 18).

Comment: Here, Brother Millet, in describing the number who will be exalted, does not attempt to be arithmetically specific in any way, other than to state his notion that a relative “great many” will be exalted. He does point out that there is no quota or cap on the number who might be exalted. This is certainly true. The father desires that all men return to him. The prophet Nephi wrote: “He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him. Wherefore, he commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation” (2 Nephi 26:24). Brother Millett says nothing about how many or what proportion of all men will be blessed with a celestial resurrection.

Stephen E. Robinson and H. Dean Garrett wrote:

Those who inherit the celestial kingdom will find themselves in communion and fellowship with billions upon billions of celestial beings like themselves—the hosts of heaven—from billions upon billions of other worlds all created and glorified by the same Jesus Christ who created our world and who will glorify us (A Commentary on the Doctrine and Covenants. 4 vols. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2001-05, 2:310).

Comment: Brothers Robinson and Garrett are including those who will be exalted from all of the “billions and billions” of worlds the Lord created. Their statement implies nothing about the relative numbers of this earth’s, or any other earth’s, mortals who will be exalted. These authors only describe “billions and billions” of individuals in the celestial heaven who were tried on “billions and billions” of worlds.

In their book Doctrinal Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Joseph Fielding McConkie, Robert L. Millet, and Brent L. Top wrote:

Let us reason for a moment. In comparison to the number of wicked souls at any given time, perhaps the numbers of faithful followers seem small. But we must keep in mind how many of our spirit brothers and sisters—almost an infinite number—will be saved (4:94).

Joseph Fielding McConkie also wrote in another place: “Of those who kept their first estate and gained the privilege of being born into mortality the vast majority will return to the presence of their heavenly parents to receive the fulness of their divine inheritance” (Answers: Straightforward Answers to Tough Gospel Questions, 76-78).

In their book, The Life Beyond (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1997), Brothers Millet and McConkie wrote: “Our God and Father is a successful parent, one who will save far more of his children than he will lose!” (137).

Joseph Fielding McConkie and Craig J. Ostler wrote:

It is a false notion, one not worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ, that only a few of God’s children will be saved in the kingdom of God. In his vision of the redemption of the dead, President Joseph F. Smith saw an “innumerable company of the spirits of the just, who had been faithful in the testimony of Jesus while they lived in mortality” (D&C 138:12). All these awaited a glorious resurrection—and their number was limited to those who had lived from the days of Adam to the time of the crucifixion of Christ. Similarly, Alma spoke of “many, exceedingly great many, who were made pure and entered into the rest of the Lord their God” (Alma 13:12). Paul told the faithful of his day that they would join “an innumerable company of angels” in the heavenly place (Hebrews 12:22), while Daniel numbered the righteous who would stand before God as a “thousand thousands” who ministered to him, “and ten thousand times ten thousand” who stood before him (Daniel 7:10) (Revelations of the Restoration, 533).

Comment: Brothers Millet, McConkie, Top, and Ostler describe the numbers of mortals who will be exalted as “almost an infinite number,” “the vast majority,” and “far more . . . than he will lose” (all their terms). Their cited scriptural sources describe the saved as an “innumerable company,” “many, exceedingly great many,” and “ten thousand times ten thousand.” It is clear that more than a few will be exalted, indeed, many will. However, just how many of these scriptural phrases are trying to give accurate quantitative information and how many are figurative and even hyperbolic is not clear. One might debate the closeness of the correlation between the authors’ terminology and the words actually used in the cited source scriptures.

Accountable individual who desires it. In 1976, Elder Bruce R. McConkie taught a group of Church Educational System instructors gathered in Salt Lake City: “You tell your students that far more of our Father’s children will be exalted than we think!” (Millet, Robert L. Within Reach. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1995, 19). Apparently a ripple of surprise went through the room suggesting most of them had not viewed exaltation in such optimistic terms. When asked about his comment, Elder McConkie explained:

All faithful Latter-day Saints—those who chart their course toward eternal life, receive the ordinances of salvation, and strive with all their hearts to be true to their covenants—gain eternal life. Even though they are certainly not perfect when they die, if they have sought to stay on course, in covenant, in harmony with the mind and will of God, they will be saved in the highest heaven. . . . We ought to have hope, [and] we [need] to be positive and optimistic about attaining that glory (Ibid., 13-14).

At another time he said: “If we chart a course of becoming perfect, and step by step and phase by phase, are perfecting our souls by overcoming the world, then it is absolutely guaranteed—there is no question whatever about it—we shall gain eternal life” (Sermons and Writings of Bruce R. McConkie. Ed. Mark L. McConkie, 54).

Comment: In these quotes by Elder McConkie (again, quotes utilized by Brother Gaskill in his book) he describes his perceived standards for eternal life. They include those who “strive with all their hearts to be true to their covenants” and those who chart a course for perfection and then successfully follow it step by step. It is difficult to regard these as lenient, or especially merciful, standards, and it is plausible to imagine that a majority may not be able to live up to these.

#Are the Majority of All Earth Dwellers Celestial People?

Is it really plausible that a majority of all mortals who have lived on the earth will be exalted? How are we to assess this question? One way might be to look at the restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ in this final dispensation. The Lord intends that his earthly kingdom, the Church of Jesus Christ, be the mechanism for bringing mortals to Christ, encouraging them in their spiritual growth, and enabling them to receive all of the ordinances of salvation. How has the Lord’s Church been received? How many of the earth’s peoples have flocked to join?

Since its restoration, the Church has not been a popular organization among the masses on earth and has not appealed to anywhere near the majority of the earth’s inhabitants. Beginning even before the church’s organization in 1830, considerable persecution was directed against the Church from those without. Harassment and maltreatment continues even today. Today, there are an estimated seven billion people on the earth. The membership of the Church is about thirteen million. This means that 1 of every 540 people on the earth (0.2%) is a member of the Church. If we take into account the retention of members after their baptism, there may be only about 3.25 million active members. This means 1 of every 2000 people on the earth is an active member of the Church (0.05%). Annually we are baptizing about 1 of every 20,000 people on the earth, and about 1 of every 80,000 people on earth might be predicted to remain active in the Church for five years.

It is certainly true that many people who have never been members of the Church or who have never even heard of the Church or of Jesus Christ will eventually be exalted as the Savior has the ability to judge them perfectly (D&C 137:5-9). But it is difficult to imagine that a “vast majority” of mortals will find their way back to the Father’s celestial kingdom. It is especially difficult to imagine that a “vast majority” of mortals would be happy living in a celestial society, where they would be obliged to abide a celestial law and a celestial order (D&C 88:22-24).

There is abundant testimony from the brethren about the difficulty of the process of earning one’s exaltation. Mastering our natural self has never been easy and requires real spiritual character or courage. A few examples of “Sickle Thruster” testimony follow:

Elder Spencer W. Kimball taught the students at Brigham Young University:

The king’s highway—the royal road to eternal joys and exaltation—

is a road, full of sacrifices and restrictions. The way is narrow but it is straight, well-marked, and strongly-beamed. But if you get off course, the dot and dash tapping gets dimmer and fainter till it fades out entirely. The permanent kingdom is yours, not for the asking, but for the earning (BYU Speeches of the Year, February 16, 1966, 17).

Elder George Q. Cannon taught in general conference:

Those who wish to attain to this exaltation must cherish sublimity of feeling, sublimity of self-sacrifice. They must not only be willing to pay their tithing, but be willing to give everything they have got on the earth— wives and children, and everything else. If I cannot give up my wife and all my children, if required, if I cannot lay down my life, if necessary, God help me! I do not know what I might do, but God help me to do it if the test ever comes. But if I am not willing to do this, I cannot hope to attain to that exaltation and receive that fulness which the Lord has promised unto us, if we are faithful (CR, April 1899).

Elder Charles A. Callis said: “I believe it with all my heart, that the road to exaltation and eternal progression lies through struggle and work” (CR, April 1910, 77 - 78).

In his book, That We Might Have Joy, Elder Howard W. Hunter included a chapter titled, “God Will Have a Tried People,” In that chapter he wrote:

Documented in scripture are episodes from the lives of many former-day Saints who, by personal sacrifice, opposition, and adversity, achieved their exaltation. From their biographies of struggle, I offer their testaments of faithful endurance.

The classic example of faithful endurance was the Old Testament prophet Job. He lost all his possessions, he suffered great personal affliction and physical pain, some of his children met tragic death, and even his friends deserted him. Yet he proclaimed his faith: “[God] knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. . . . His way have I kept, and not declined” (Job 23:10-11).

We turn the pages to another exemplar of faith, father Abraham. He fought in time of war, went through a period of extensive famine, saw his own father turn away from the priesthood, and suffered persecution for his faith, almost to the point of his own death. After years of waiting for a son, he was ordered to sacrifice him to the Lord. He also experienced the sorrow of the loss of his beloved wife Sarah.

To the early Saints of this dispensation, the Lord said, “I, the Lord, have suffered the affliction to come upon them. . . . They must needs be chastened and tried, even as Abraham” (D&C 101:2, 4) (99-100).

Elder Lorenzo Snow, in a letter to George Reynolds who had been imprisoned for polygamy, wrote:

I suppose that a great number of people will obtain their salvation and some kind of glory without making very little, if any, what is called personal sacrifice. But to gain a Celestial crown and be exalted to the fulness of the Godhead, I believe one and all will have to pay one time or another, a big price, all he is able or capable of paying. . . . It has fallen your lot in the progress of the work of God to be cast into a penitentiary: which may be considered your part to fulfill as you move forward in your path to the fulness of the Godhead. Do you regret it now? When you shall have been seated upon the throne of your glory will you then regret this part that has been allotted you? (Bruce A. Van Orden, Prisoner for Conscience’ Sake: The Life of George Reynolds, 112).

Ed J. Pinegar wrote:

Sacrifice is the ultimate test of the gospel. The Lord has asked his children to sacrifice in order to gain eternal life and exaltation. Without sacrifice, these goals are not attainable. According to Joseph Smith, “A religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation. . . . it is through . . . the sacrifice of all earthly things, that men do actually know that they are doing the things that are well pleasing in the sight of God” (Lectures on Faith, number 6) (Ed J. Pinegar, You, Your Family and the Scriptures, 102).

G. Carlos Smith, Jr. wrote:

It is a wise leader who follows the charted course, thereby eliminating errors and pitfalls. The captain of a ship would never put out to sea without a map and a compass. Nor would the pilot of a plane or an explorer in the jungle or arctic wastes set forth without the guidance of charts and maps. Where would the bus driver find himself if he just sallied forth aimlessly without direction?

The Lord has marked the path, and every point is defined for those to follow who would return unto Him. He has been very specific in His instructions, and they are well defined and available to us. He has told us that there is but one road, not many, to success (exaltation) and that this road is hard and difficult. “Strait is the gate and narrow is the way” are His words (Thomas S. Monson, comp., Favorite Quotations from the Collection of Thomas S. Monson, 119).

Dr. Russel B. Swensen wrote:

The Church demands a great deal from its members. It offers no easy route to eternal exaltation nor stresses a sudden regeneration whereby the elect are saved by a single experience. From childhood to old age there is a multitude of duties and tasks to be performed in the various auxiliary organizations, the priesthood program, and foreign missions (“The Rewards that Attend Participation in Church Service,” Improvement Era, August 1947, volume 50, number 8).

Commenting on the rebellious Satan’s premortal plan, Brent L. Top wrote: “To implement a plan where there would be guaranteed salvation, exaltation without effort, and a life without sacrifice or suffering was theologically impossible (The Life Before, 120). Robert L. Millet and Kent P. Jackson wrote: “The key element in obtaining the promise of exaltation is sacrifice” (Studies in Scripture, volume 1: The Doctrine and Covenants, 520-21).

In his article, “Symbols and Salvation,” Chauncey C. Riddle wrote:

We enter the gate, which is acceptance of the first principles and ordinances, and then begin the struggle to tread the path to exaltation. We must struggle against the temptations of good things apart from divinely prescribed conditions, temptations of pride, of intellect, of physical attainments, of the flattery and cunning of worldly persons, of the shame of the world, and against the taunts of unholy men (BYU Studies, volume 8 (1967-1968), number 3 - Spring 1968, 317).

In his book, A Bible! A Bible!, Robert J. Matthews wrote:

Only by serious and strenuous exertion do we improve in character and in spiritual growth. In our society we still come in contact with many who are influenced by [that] erroneous philosophy advocated by the rebellious in the premortal life. They think they can achieve salvation and exaltation without a struggle. We are still fighting the War in Heaven with the same participants and the same issues, but we are fighting it on new territory (272).

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin wrote:

Life was made for struggle; and exaltation, success, and victory were never meant to be cheap or to come easily. The tides of life often challenge us. To understand why it has to be this way, we should maintain our understanding, our faith, and our courage by a constant rereading of the scripture that tells us, “For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things” (2 Nephi 2:11) (Finding Peace in Our Lives, 49).

#Those Exalted Without a Complete Mortal Test

Some specific factors and circumstances have been suggested as reasons why an inordinately high percentage of all mortals will be exalted. Let us consider these individually:

Infant and early childhood mortality. Infant and early childhood mortality rates have varied considerably over the millennia since the day of Adam. There seems little reason to doubt that as many as 50 percent of all mortals placed on earth have died prior to age eight—the age of accountability. Brother Gaskill asks, “What has happened to the more than 50 percent of all of God’s children who have died prior to the age of accountability? (Gaskill, 27). He then cites D&C 137:10: “All children who die before they arrive at the years of accountability are saved in the celestial kingdom of heaven.”

This verse of scripture seems plain enough, but many years ago I began to struggle to understand the logic of it. The verse, taken at face value suggests that all children, in all cultures of the world, who die prior to age eight years, are automatically exalted. How could this possibly be true, I wondered? In order for it to make sense, God himself would have to orchestrate each and every one of these deaths, and each death must occur in a timely fashion as determined by divine edict. We would have to assume that God, with his perfect insight, determined that each of these children did not need a mortal experience in order to prepare them for exaltation. When these children were born into this mortal earth, they were predestined to die in childhood. God had to orchestrate the timely death of each. God must have been responsible for each of these deaths. That degree of divine intervention and micro-managing has long seemed (and still seems) highly inconsistent with the way in which God deals with his children on this telestial earth.

I remember, on one occasion when struggling with this question, I telephoned the individual then serving as the chairman of the Department of Religious Education at Brigham Young University. I will allow him to remain unnamed. I posed my question to him, “Do you believe that D&C 137:10 is literally true?” He first asked me why I was asking this question. After explaining my confusion and struggle in making logical sense of the verse, he said, “We in church education are instructed to teach a literal interpretation of that verse. But I will admit to you that several in our department feel that we need more revelation on that subject.” On another occasion, I consulted another learned and trusted friend whom I will also allow to remain nameless. I asked him, “Do you really believe that all children who have died before reaching the age of eight years are automatically saved in the celestial kingdom?” He responded, “Oh, goodness no. They wouldn’t all be happy there.”

It is more likely that half of all mortals have died prior to the age of accountability partly because many lived at a time and in a primitive place where they were subject to deprivation and a lack of the knowledge and resources to prevent their deaths. We live in a telestial environment, outside the immediate presence of God. This mortal experience is replete with adversities and trials. God does not orchestrate all, or even the majority, of these vicissitudes. They are simply an integral part of this mortal existence.

I have long been aware of the five verses immediately preceding verse 10 in section 137. Joseph was allowed to see a vision of the celestial kingdom:

I saw Father Adam and Abraham; and my father and my mother; my brother Alvin, that has long since slept; And marveled how it was that he had obtained an inheritance in that kingdom, seeing that he had departed this life before the Lord had set his hand to gather Israel the second time, and had not been baptized for the remission of sins. Thus came the voice of the Lord unto me, saying: All who have died without a knowledge of this gospel, who would have received it if they had been permitted to tarry, shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom of God; Also all that shall die henceforth without a knowledge of it, who would have received it with all their hearts, shall be heirs of that kingdom; For I, the Lord, will judge all men according to their works, according to the desire of their hearts” (5-9).

For those who do not have an adequate opportunity to understand the gospel to the point of being held accountable for the Lord’s commandments, the Lord is still able to understand them perfectly and judge them fairly. Why could he not do exactly the same for the children who die while they are still unaccountable?

Personally, I doubt the conclusion that half of all the hosts of heaven will completely bypass the mortal experience, and be automatically ushered into the celestial glory. This would directly imply that more than half of all God’s children did not actually require a mortal test. All of these will be judged by an all-knowing Lord and Savior and placed in that eternal glory where they will be eternally most comfortable.

Mentally handicapped. Infants are born with mental handicaps due to birth injuries, genetic mutations, inherited conditions passed on by parents, or due to undiscovered factors. Many of these individuals are unaccountable because of a mental age less than eight years of age. Are we to assume that each of these cases of mental retardation was orchestrated by God because that individual “did not need a testing experience in mortality”? Again, I think these unfortunate cases are instances of

“mortal accidents” discussed previously. I believe each will be judged according to the principle of D&C 137:5-9 by an all-knowing and loving Lord. Each will live for eternity where they are well suited, fulfilled, and happy.

The Millennium. Undoubtedly billions of mortals will live on the earth during the Millennium. The telestial elements will have been purged from the earth, and the earth will be a terrestrial world where righteousness will abound. Satan will be bound, and for much of the thousand years the earth will be free of his influence. Brother Gaskill writes of the Millennium:

Thus, it appears that during the Millennium—when Satan is bound and we are enabled to live “without sin unto salvation” (D&C 45:58)— righteousness will abound and many, if not most, who live upon the earth during that period of peace will be exalted. If one couples this reality with the unfathomable numbers of people to be born during the Millennium, the message is one to rejoice over. Again, God has provided the circumstances that will enable a vast number of His children to successfully make their return to His presence. Billions who live during that thousand year period will be exalted. Praise be to the Father and the Son! The Plan works! (Gaskill, 35).

The millennial earth and its society of people will be obviously different from its telestial predecessor. Exactly why is the Millennium necessary? It is not clear that the Lord has revealed to man all of the reasons for the Millennium.5 From the Lord’s perspective, what is its purpose? Certainly the billions of people who live on the earth during the Millennium will be tested in gentler, more merciful ways than people tested during the millennia prior to Christ’s second coming. Those who live during the Millennium will live on a peaceful, secure terrestrial earth without the adversity and turmoil of our present telestial one. What does this lesser test accomplish? Why is it fair? And who are these billions of people who will populate the earth during the Millennium? Is living on the earth during the Millennium a special blessing? If it is, how did those individuals qualify for that blessing? Certainly the Lord does nothing arbitrarily. There are obviously important reasons for every aspect of the Millennium. But what are they?

Perhaps if we were to have the opportunity to ask the Lord face-to-face about the “real” purpose of the Millennium, he may, with tongue in cheek, say, “Why do you want to know?” And well we should be so reprimanded. We know with certainty that he does nothing without deliberate intent. We also know that the central purpose of his existence is to eventually live forever with as many of his children as possible. Can we doubt, then, that there is divine method in the millennial era as it relates to the saving of souls? His ways are higher than our ways. It is not important that we know all the details of the Millennium. The Millennium is doubtless just what some people need (or deserve).

Elder McConkie, in his book Millennial Messiah, considered the ultimate purpose of the Millennium, and concluded:

The purpose of the Millennium is to save souls. There can be no doubt about this. It is the Lord’s work and his glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. This is axiomatic among us. All that he does during all the endless ages of his everlasting existence is designed to save souls. There is no aim or end or purpose in anything that comes from God, except to further the salvation of his children. The

Almighty Elohim is the Father of billions of spirit children, all of whom lived for millions (perhaps billions) of years in his eternal presence. He ordained and established the plan and system whereby they might advance and progress and become like him. That plan is the gospel of God, known to us as the gospel of Jesus Christ because he is the one chosen to put all of its terms and conditions into operation.

Our Eternal Father knows all of his spirit children, and in his infinite wisdom, he chooses the very time that each comes to earth to gain a mortal body and undergo a probationary experience [the concept of foreordination]. Everything the Lord does is for the benefit and blessing of his children. And each of those children is subjected to the very trials and experiences that Omniscient Wisdom knows he should have. Those who were entitled to [and needed] an inheritance in Enoch’s Zion came to earth in that day. Those whose spiritual stature qualified them for life among the Nephites during that nation’s golden era found their inheritance with that people in ancient America. Apostles and prophets are sent to earth to do the work of apostles and prophets at the time and season when their particular talents are needed. All of the elders of Israel were foreordained and sent to earth in the house of Jacob to minister to their kinsmen and to the Gentiles. Indeed, spiritually endowed souls, in large measure, have been born in the house of Israel ever since the day of Father Jacob.

We are here now in latter-day Israel, scattered in all the nations of the earth, because that is where the Lord wants us to be, and that is where we need to be for our own development, advancement, and salvation. . . .

Billions of spirits will come to earth during the Millennium, when Satan is bound, when there is peace on earth, when there is no sorrow because there is no death, when they will not be confronted with the evil and carnality that face us. They will grow up without sin unto salvation. Thus saith the holy word. Knowing this, we are obliged to conclude that a millennial inheritance is the kind and type of mortal life that billions of spirits are entitled to receive [and, should we say, need to receive]. Whatever the Lord does is right whether we understand his purposes or not.

Without question there are many valiant souls now living who are worthy to receive a millennial birth, but who were sent to earth in this day of wickedness to be lights and guides to other men and to lead many of our Father’s children to eternal life. But nonetheless, there will be billions of millennial mortals who will never be tested, as fully as we are, and who will go on to eternal life . . . because an Almighty God in his infinite wisdom arranges that kind of a life for them. The Lord gives each of us what we need. And, we repeat, the whole millennial system has been ordained and established to save souls. There is no other reason for any of the Lord’s dealings with his children. He wants them to gain salvation, and he does for them what he knows they need done, in each instance, to hasten them along the way to perfection. We must understand and believe these concepts if we are to envision properly the worship that will prevail on earth during the soon-to-be thousand years of peace and righteousness (652-661).

It is probably a mistake to underestimate the trials that will await those who live during the Millennium. The essence of the mortal test will still be firmly in place during that period. It is the natural self of every man. It is true that the setting then will be more gentle and peaceful, but each individual will have to engage and overcome (deny) his natural self. We should not assume that almost everyone will be exalted who lives at that time. For one thing, we are given to understand that the wicked will not inhabit the earth, at least during most of the Millennium, but persons who show both terrestrial and celestial promise will. While doubtless many of these will be exalted, it is also likely many will confirm their terrestrial inclinations and receive that degree of glory. Others will certainly sink, in their mortal performance, to a telestial reward.

In studying the Millennium, the student also should be aware of the concept of “generational trials.” We ought not to assume that every individual or every generation is most effectively tested in the same way. The Prophet Joseph Smith, writing from Liberty Jail in March 1839, introduced the idea that an Abrahamic trial for one generation may quite different from that of another, even though both generations may be equally tried. He said:

And now, beloved brethren, we say unto you that inasmuch as God hath said that He would have a tried people, that He would purge them as gold, now we think that this time He has chosen His own crucible, wherein we have been tried; and we think if we get through with any degree of safety, and shall have kept the faith, that it will be a sign to this generation . . . it will be a trial of our faith equal to that of Abraham, and that the ancients will not have whereof to boast over us in the day of judgment, as being called to pass through heavier afflictions (TPJS, 135-36).

The saints in 1839 were being heavily persecuted and driven from their homes. The Prophet Joseph said this was a test equal to that of Abraham and “the ancients.”

What is our collective, generational trial? Elder Ezra Taft Benson said in 1977:

Every generation has its tests and its chance to stand and prove itself. Would you like to know of one of our toughest tests? Hear the warning words of President Brigham Young, “The worst fear I have about this people is that they will get rich in this country, forget God and His people, wax fat, and kick themselves out of the Church and go to hell. This people will stand mobbing, robbing, poverty and all manner of persecution and be true. But my greatest fear is that they cannot stand wealth” (Preston Nibley, Pioneer Stories, 45).

Ours, then, seems to the toughest test of all for the evils are more subtle and clever. While every test of righteousness represents a struggle, this particular test seems like no test at all, no struggle and so could be the most deceptive of all tests.

Do you know what peace and prosperity can do to a people? It can put them to sleep. The Book of Mormon warned us of how the devil, in the last days, would lead us away carefully down to hell [2 Nephi 28:20-22].

The Lord has on the earth some potential spiritual giants whom He saved for some six thousand years to help bear off the Kingdom triumphantly, and the devil is trying to put them to sleep. The devil knows that he probably won’t be too successful in getting them to commit many great and malignant sins of commission. So he puts them into a deep sleep, like Gulliver, while he strands them with little sins of omission. And what good is a sleepy, neutralized, lukewarm giant as a leader?

We have too many potential spiritual giants who should be more vigorously lifting their homes, the kingdom, and the country. We have many who feel they are good men, but they need to be good for something—stronger patriarchs, courageous missionaries, valiant genealogists and temple workers, dedicated patriots, devoted quorum members. In short, we must be shaken and awakened from a spiritual snooze (“Our Obligation and Challenge,” Regional Representatives Seminar, 30 Sept. 1977, 2-3).

President Harold B. Lee added his testimony about our current generational test:

We are tested and we are tried, we are going through some of the severest tests today, and we don’t realize perhaps the severity of the tests that we’re going through. In those days [he refers to the early days of the Church in this dispensation], there were murderings, there were mobbings, there were drivings. They were driven out into the desert, they were starving and they were unclad, they were cold. They came here to this favored land. We are the inheritors of what they gave to us. But what are we doing with it? Today we are basking in the lap of luxury, the like of which we’ve never seen before in the history of the world. It would seem that probably this is the most severe test of any test that we’ve ever had in the history of this Church (Harold B. Lee, Address to Church employees, Salt Lake City, 13 Dec. 1973, unpublished manuscript).

The test of ease and affluence seems to apply, not just to our dispensation today, but to all those who live during the Millennium. Is it not an astonishing notion this type of trial can be an Abrahamic test equal, in the sense of proving one’s faith, to the sufferings and deprivations of earlier generations? If we were given the choice, would we not choose that trial rather than a trial of cruel adversity?

Why are ease and affluence so difficult? Because they inevitably lead toward self-indulgence and self-importance. Richard D. Draper wrote of this trial:

We can become spiritually flabby and casual in our prayers because we seem to need nothing, indifferent to the needs of others because we do not know how it feels to go without. Not liking to be reminded that others have needs, we remove ourselves from the inner city of life to the “quiet hedonism of suburbia” (Neal A. Maxwell, “The Gospel Gives Answers to Life’s Problems” [address to seminary and institute personnel], Provo, Utah, Brigham Young University, Summer 1970, 2) both temporally and spiritually. We can gorge ourselves with temporal things to the point of spiritual death. Mormon’s editorial comment about a deteriorating Nephite society adds another witness: “And thus we can behold how false, and also the unsteadiness of the hearts of the children of men. . . . Yea, and we may see at the very time when he doth prosper his people . . . then is the time that they do harden their hearts, and do forget the Lord their God, and do trample under their feet the Holy One— yea, and this because of their ease, and their exceedingly great prosperity” (Helaman 12:1-2). The test of ease and affluence is real for much of the Church today. And it will become more a factor as the Church expands into third-world countries where there is poverty instead of abundance. It will take the best within us to meet the challenge (“Witness of Jesus Christ,” The 1989 Sperry Symposium on the Old Testament, 61).

There is one additional aspect of the generational trial we face. It involves affluence but of a different sort. It is the affluence of knowledge and sophistication. Elder Harold B. Lee said, “We are now going through another test—a period of what we might call sophistication. This is a time when there are many clever people who are not willing to listen to the humble prophets of the Lord. And we have suffered from that. It is rather a severe test” (“Sweet Are the Uses of Adversity,” Instructor, June 1965, 217).

Could this be the test of the “millennial generation”? Might their test be one of luxury, abundance, and sophistication? Perhaps this will be the “cruelest,” most trying test of all. And could it be that Brother Gaskill is overly optimistic when he says of those who live during the Millennium: “Many, if not most, who live upon the earth during that period of peace will be exalted” (Gaskill, 35)?

The spirit world. We would all agree that a relative few mortals will have the opportunity, while on earth, to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ preached to them. Elder Neal A. Maxwell wrote:

Of the approximately 70 billion individuals who, up to now, have inhabited this planet, probably not more than one percent have really heard the gospel. Today no more than one-tenth of one percent of the world’s population are members of the Church. Even so, before the final judgment and resurrection all will have had an adequate opportunity to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. This underscores the mercy of God and the justice of God (see D&C 1:2) (But for a Small Moment, 115-16, emphasis in the original).

Brother Gaskill believes that “very few, if any” of those who hear the gospel in the spirit world will reject it. He has included all of those who will accept the gospel in the spirit world in his group to be exalted (Gaskill, 36-39). Brother Gaskill again provides evidence for his position in the form of testimonials of the brethren. He writes: “Latter-day prophets and apostles have suggested that the gospel is actually readily accepted by those who hear it in the spirit world.” One historian noted:

Lorenzo Snow and [Wilford] Woodruff both agreed that “very few of those who die without the Gospel will reject it on the other side of the vail [sic]” (Thomas G. Alexander, Things in Heaven and Earth: The Life and Times of Wilford Woodruf, a Mormon Prophet). See also Jay A. Parry and Donald W. Parry. Understanding Earth and the Resurrection).

Brother Gaskill continues:

In the April 1894 general conference of the Church, President Wilford Woodruff stated: “There will be very few, if any, [in the spirit world] who will not accept the gospel” (Collected Discourses, Delivered by President Wilford Woodruff, His Two Counselors, the Twelve Apostles, and Others, comp. Brian. H. Stuy, 4:74). Likewise, church patriarch Eldred G. Smith taught that there are constantly “many” in the spirit world who are accepting the gospel; and this has been the case since Christ first introduced it upon His post-mortal visit there (CR, April 1962, 66). Anthon H. Lund, of the First Presidency, taught that we need to work “in faith” for those in the spirit world. We need to believe that they “will accept the Gospel.” “They are longing for the work to be done” on their behalf. Then he added this: “There are many more going to join the ranks of the Saints” in the spirit world, adding dramatically to the numbers of those who accepted the gospel here in mortality (CR, October 1903, 82). President Joseph Fielding Smith taught that, since we who have the gospel are of the house of Israel, then our ancestors who have passed on before us— even if they did not have the gospel—are also of the house of Israel.

Thus, according to President Smith, they are “likely to receive the gospel” in the spirit world (Doctrines of Salvation, 2:133). John Henry Smith, of the First Presidency, stated that God’s “great plan, as revealed to us, provides for the redemption of millions who have gone before without a knowledge of His Gospel” (CR, April 1908, 25). President Lorenzo Snow taught: “When the Gospel is preached to the spirits in prison, the success attending that preaching will be far greater than that attending the preaching of our Elders in this life. I believe there will be very few indeed of those spirits who will not gladly receive the Gospel when it is carried to them. The circumstances there will be a thousand times more favorable” (Collected Discourses, 3:363) (Gaskill, 37-38).

The issue of the doctrine surrounding the passage from mortal earth to the spirit world is rather complex and, I’m afraid, even a bit problematic. I request that the reader please read carefully again “The Transition Between Mortality and the Spirit World” in volume 2, chapter 13, The Spirit World. It is possible that all celestial-bound individuals will be identified at the moment of the Lord’s partial judgment which occurs shortly after death. In that case all of the preaching of the gospel in the world of spirits would be directed at candidates for the lesser degrees of glory.

A man’s death does not alter his basic nature. He carries into the spirit world the same basic attitudes, personality, and character he possessed on earth. When we came into this earth life, we brought with us inclinations and disinclinations, abilities, weaknesses, and attitudes. These we developed in the pre-mortal world. Similarly, we pass into the spirit world with the same basic qualities we acquired while on earth. If we lived upon this earth with a hunger for righteousness and a desire for things of the Spirit, we will have those same proclivities in the world of spirits. Contrariwise, if the primary objects of our affections on this earth were materialism and things of the flesh, we cannot expect to be different when we arrive in the spirit world. Hence, we find a strong emphasis in the scriptures of this mortal life’s being the time for men to prepare to meet God (Alma 34:32).

The missionary work will indeed be done in a basically different setting and with different rules. It seems clear that all inhabitants of spirit prison will be told they can still be redeemed from Satan’s clutches and saved in kingdom of glory appropriate to each individual. This will require their responding to the missionaries in the spirit world by coming to Christ and accepting his gospel and his atonement. It seems also likely that the inhabitants of spirit prison will be warned of what lies ahead. If they do not sincerely accept Christ and repent of their sins, thus making the blessings of the atonement available to them, they will fall into the group who “remain filthy still” (2 Nephi 9:16; Mormon 9:14; D&C 88:35), and they will go with Satan and his minions forever to outer darkness. This repentance and sincere acceptance of the gospel will be agonizingly painful, as there will be much of the natural-self influences to overcome. There will be abundant suffering in this realm as the hosts of the spirit world strive to repent against the deadline of the final judgment. Thus, this realm of existence has been referred to as “hell” in the scriptures.

Brother Gaskill is entirely correct in his assumption that all in the spirit world, save the few who remain “filthy still,” will come to Christ and accept his gospel. In most all cases, however, the degree of salvation will be to the terrestrial or telestial glories and not to the celestial kingdom.

President Joseph Fielding Smith wrote:

There will be a great host of the dead who will not be entitled to the ordinances of exaltation and who will not be made perfect. Perfection is in the celestial kingdom only, and those who enter the other kingdoms and who are restricted will be as countless as the stars of heaven. Few, there will be, who will be saved [exalted] (Matthew 7:13-14) (Church History and Modern Revelation, 4: 135-136).

#The “Strait and Narrow Path”

Near the end of the Savior’s Sermon on the Mount he counseled and warned: “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:13- 14).

The word “strait,” of course, does not mean “straight”, rather it means “narrow,” “restricted,” “difficult,” “exacting.” A straight-forward and logical interpretation of this passage suggests that the path leading to eternal life has bounds or limits that must be closely adhered to in order for an individual to develop the qualities of an exalted being. The path to eternal life is, indeed, difficult and rigorous. On the other hand, the path leading to “destruction”—spiritual death in other degrees of glory or in outer darkness— is less challenging, less demanding. We know that to become exalted, one must participate, to an acceptable degree, in the process of spiritual growth. This requires repeated denying of one’s natural self and obeying the Lord’s commands. Spiritual character or strength is a vital prerequisite for consistent obedience. Mortals vary widely in their ability and willingness to overcome their natural selves and progress to become like God. It is genuinely difficult. The road to lesser degrees of glory is not as demanding. Lesser spiritual progress is characteristic of those who take the wide gate and the broad way.

The reader’s intuition is capable of answering the question of how many of all of the Father’s spirit children will follow each “way.” Which path will the majority follow? What does the scriptural passage teach?

In a related passage, the scriptures declare: “Many are called but few are chosen” (Matthew 22:14; D&C 121:40). To be “called” is to be foreordained—to be designated to do a certain work here on earth. If one successfully completes that work, he is then “chosen” or given the blessings contingent upon that work. Many are foreordained to receive the Lord’s choicest blessings here on earth. Unfortunately, only a few actually receive them—“few are chosen.”

Brother Gaskill’s interpretation of Matthew 7:13-14 is that the narrow gate and narrow way do not apply to the path leading to eternal life. Instead, they refer only to the number of those mortals who will be baptized into the Lord’s earthly kingdom while they are still here on earth. The “few there be that find it” simply means that very few will be baptized into the Lord’s Church here on earth. Also the wide gate and broad way leading to spiritual death do not describe the path a less spiritually disciplined majority of the Father’s children will take to a lesser glory. Instead Brother Gaskill sees this only as the Lord’s warning that if one is not careful, one is likely to be led astray—to a lesser glory.

#Scripture Survey

Let us make a brief survey of the scriptures, paying particularly close attention to level of effort and attention the Lord wishes us to apply to our service in his earthly kingdom.

The Lord counseled Joseph Smith, Sr., “See that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day” (D&C 4:2). Later in that same section, the Lord urges “diligence” (verse 6). Diligence is urged in other passages. Moses urged the problematic Israelites in the wilderness to, “diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God” (Exodus15:26). Speaking for the Lord, the prophet Isaiah wrote, “Hearken diligently unto me” (Isaiah 55:2). As the prophet Alma preached to the people of Gideon, he enjoined them to be “diligent in keeping the commandments of God at all times” (Alma 7:23). The prophet Mormon praised a few Lamanites who remained faithful to the Lord after most had left the Church. He wrote that they remained “firm, and steadfast, and immovable, willing with all diligence to keep the commandments of the Lord” (3 Nephi 6:14). The Lord urged Oliver Cowdery, “Be faithful and diligent in keeping the commandments of God, and I will encircle thee in the arms of my love” (D&C 6:20). The Lord, in counseling missionaries in this dispensation taught, “Let every man be diligent in all things. And the idler shall not have place in the church, except he repent and mend his ways” (D&C 75:29). The apostle Paul described God as “a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).

In a letter to his son Moroni, the prophet Mormon gave instruction for obtaining the vital gift of charity. He said, “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 7:48, italics mine).

In one of his final words of counsel in the Book of Mormon, the prophet Moroni counseled as to just how one can earn the grace of Christ: “Love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God. And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins, that ye become holy, without spot” (Moroni 10:32-33). The image of loving (obeying) God with “all [one’s] might, mind and strength” does not conjure up any image of passivity or relaxed self-assuredness.

Rather than spend too much time resting, we are counseled to “wear out our lives” (D&C 123:13), to be “wholly dedicated unto the Lord” (D&C 94:7), and to “be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work” (D&C 64:33).

As we ponder these few scriptures, it is easy to become convinced of the necessity of diligent, conscientious, vigorous, and even pro-active obedience to the Lord’s commandments. If we do less, might we, indeed, be judged unworthy of celestial glory? Has the Lord ever been reluctant to point out the consequences of an unworthy life? He is indeed a God of mercy and justice—not mercy alone. The prophet Ether “did cry from the morning, even until the going down of the sun, exhorting the people to believe in God unto repentance lest they should be destroyed” (Ether 12:3). Alma warned his wayward son Corianton, “But there is a law given, and a punishment affixed, and a repentance granted; which repentance, mercy claimeth; otherwise, justice claimeth the creature and executeth the law, and the law inflicteth the punishment; if not so, the works of justice would be destroyed, and God would cease to be God” (Alma 42:22).

Each of us is certain to encounter significant, even daunting, adversities during our mortal experience. These are an intended teaching feature of mortality. Just to survive spiritually, each of us will be required to exert mightily, persevere doggedly, and bounce back courageously. Mortality does not allow us to float about on a cloud of comfortable guaranteed exaltation. Paul warned the Philippians that they must: “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12).

I am not concerned about the possibility that easy grace will rob justice. The Lord will demand of each of us the requisite and appropriate amount of “works.” He is the perfect judge of each of us. I am concerned, however, that those who hold to the idea of easy grace may miss the edifying and exhilarating feelings experienced by one who applies real and concerted effort in serving the Lord.

Brother Gaskill’s yearning for spiritual security for himself is understandable. We all share in that hunger. Also his desires and efforts to reassure all who would read his book are commendable. I do fear, however, that the comfortable assurance of the Easy Gracers may turn out to be an LDS version of the misguided orthodox Christians’ credo

of “confess Christ and be saved.”

1 For a more detailed description of grace and works, and particularly the LDS versus the Evangelical views, see volume 4, chapter 10, Grace and Works.

2 See volume 1, chapters 5 and 6, The “Natural Self” and “Spiritual Self” and The Gospel and the Two Natures of Man.

See “Three Essential Factors in the Final Judgment,” in volume 1, chapter 8, The Blessings of Spiritual Gifts.

4 See chapter 1, Adversity and Suffering.

See chapter 30, The Millennium.

6 See a discussion of this apostate idea in “The Christian Confession—Becoming Saved” in volume 4, chapter 10, Grace and Works. See also “More on the Relationship between Grace and Works” in that same chapter.