4 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.
The Book of Mormon helps us to better understand the nature of the Final Judgment. God will not have to send us away from His presence if we aren’t worthy; we won’t even want to be there. That’s not to say that we won’t wish we could be there or that we will consider another location to be more desirable, or even that we’ll be happier elsewhere than we could have been with God. But we will leave His presence voluntarily because it’s too painful to stay: “For he who is not able to abide the law of a celestial kingdom cannot abide a celestial glory” (D&C 88:22).
I suppose that a person who hasn’t trained to run a marathon might be more comfortable running a 5K, but they might still wish they were capable of running the full marathon. They choose not to run the longer race, not because they don’t want to, but because they can’t do it. Likewise, if we have not received a remission of our sins, we will leave God’s presence, not because we don’t want to stay, but because it is painful for us to stay.
Today I will remember the importance of learning to live a celestial law, so that I can eventually return to my Heavenly Father and remain there. I will recognize that the trials and temptations I face serve to strengthen me and prepare me to be able to receive a celestial glory.