To William E. McLellin, a 25-year-old recent convert to the Church of Jesus Christ, the Lord gave the following assurance:
Continue in these things even unto the end, and you shall have a crown of eternal life at the right hand of my Father, who is full of grace and truth.
Doctrine and Covenants 66:12
This is the “crown of life” promised by James and John (James 1:12; Revelation 2:10), the “crown of righteousness” anticipated by Paul (2 Timothy 4:8), and the “crown of glory” described by Peter (1 Peter 5:4).
Elder James E. Faust explained the difference between worldly crowns and this heavenly crown:
Thomas Carlyle, a British writer, stated, “Every noble crown is, and on Earth will forever be, a crown of thorns” …
In contrast, those who are faithful and are committed to service are promised that they will be “crowned with honor, and glory, and immortality, and eternal life”
“A Crown of Thorns, a Crown of Glory,” General Conference, April 1991
Book of Mormon prophets don’t use the word “crown” as a metaphor for eternal glory, but they do speak of “sitting down” in God’s kingdom with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. (See Alma 5:24; 7:25; 19:17; 34:36; 38:15; Helaman 3:30; 3 Nephi 28:10.) This mirrors the imagery in the book of Revelation, where the Savior says:
To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
Revelation 3:21
The wonderful thing about these crowns and thrones is that they aren’t the exclusive purview of a few, like worldly leadership roles. Instead, they are available to all of God’s children. As Elder Patrick Kearon testified, God wants to give this gift to every one of His children:
With His omniscient love, He knows exactly who you were before you were sent to earth and what you have experienced so far in your mortal life, and He has mercifully planned for your every tomorrow. And oh, how He yearns to one day have you return to Him, to receive the supreme intent of all His beautiful gifts, eternal life with Him.
“Receive His Gift,” General Conference, April 2025
Today, I will strive to follow the guidance of the Savior, “continuing in the things” He has asked me to do. I will remember that God wants to crown me and all of His children with the greatest of all His gifts—eternal life.
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