Church members were awestruck by the vision recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 76. It provided a compelling description of life after the Final Judgment, particularly for those who will inherit celestial glory and live in the presence of God.
Exactly two weeks later, on March 1, 1832, Joseph Smith received another revelation that provided practical instructions for managing the temporal affairs of the Church. “The time has come, and is now at hand,” said the Lord, “that there be an organization of my people, in regulating and establishing the affairs of the storehouse for the poor of my people” (Doctrine and Covenants 78:3). It sounds as though He’s telling them to get their heads out of the clouds and plant their feet squarely on the ground. However, these practical instructions are interlaced with references to the earlier vision, illustrating that the duties of the day are tightly connected with heavenly realities.
These new instructions serve the purpose of helping church members become “equal in the bonds of heavenly things, yea, and earthly things also, for the obtaining of heavenly things” (Doctrine and Covenants 78:5). Joseph Smith had seen that recipients of celestial glory become “equal in power, and in might, and in dominion” (Doctrine and Covenants 76:95). Now, the Lord explains that we must practice that equality today; it won’t just happen:
For if ye are not equal in earthly things ye cannot be equal in obtaining heavenly things;
For if you will that I give unto you a place in the celestial world, you must prepare yourselves by doing the things which I have commanded you and required of you.
Doctrine and Covenants 78:6-7
Joseph Smith and Newel K. Whitney are directed to “sit in council with the saints in Zion,” with a warning that “Satan seeketh to turn their hearts away from the truth, that they become blinded and understand not the things which are prepared for them” (Doctrine and Covenants 78:10). The terrestrial world, they had learned, will be populated by “honorable men of the earth, who were blinded by the craftiness of men” (Doctrine and Covenants 76:75). So here’s the practical guidance: Avoid terrestrial blindness by counseling together with God’s chosen servants.
And those who receive a telestial glory “received not the gospel, neither the testimony of Jesus, neither the prophets, neither the everlasting covenant” (Doctrine and Covenants 76:101). Therefore, church members are invited to organize themselves “by a bond or everlasting covenant that cannot be broken” (Doctrine and Covenants 78:11).
Multiple times in Doctrine and Covenants 76, the Lord refers to celestial beings collectively as “the church of the Firstborn,” echoing language from Hebrews 12:23 (see v. 54, 67, 71, 94, 102). What is this church? The “Firstborn” obviously refers to Christ, but does the unfamiliar name indicate a different kind of association, limited to the next life, when we are in His presence? The Lord answers this question in section 78:
For ye are the church of the Firstborn, and he will take you up in a cloud, and appoint every man his portion.
And he that is a faithful and wise steward shall inherit all things.
Doctrine and Covenants 78:21-22
The gap between heaven and earth disappears. The Church of Jesus Christ is the church of the Firstborn. The relationships we are building now are the relationships we will enjoy throughout eternity.
Book of Mormon prophets followed a similar pattern, transitioning seamlessly between transcendent spiritual experiences and practical instruction. After the people of King Benjamin receive a remission of their sins, he teaches them to live in peace with one another, to be good parents, and to care for the poor and needy among them. (See Mosiah 4.)
After Alma’s people were baptized at the waters of Mormon and filled with the Spirit of the Lord, he taught them to be unified, to meet regularly, and to “[impart] to one another both temporally and spiritually according to their needs and their wants” (Mosiah 18:29).
These instructions were not separate from the powerful spiritual experiences which preceded them; they were built upon and motivated by those experiences. As Brad Wilcox once put it, “We are not earning heaven. We are learning heaven” (“His Grace Is Sufficient,” Brigham Young University Devotional Address, 12 July 2011). Celestial glory will be a continuation and an amplification of what we are building here with God’s help, not a replacement for it. (See Doctrine and Covenants 130:1-2.)
Today, I will strive to “live celestial.” I will strive to reduce inequality, counsel with others, and build strong relationships. I will remember that true doctrine and good practice go hand in hand.
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