"Kingdoms of Glory" - Mitch Peterson

Last updated on October 30th, 2023 at 03:09 pm

General Conference Applied

S2 E2 – Sunday, October 15, 2023 | “Kingdoms of Glory” by President Dallin H. Oaks; October 2023 General Conference

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Corresponding Talk Outline: “Kingdoms of Glory”

Podcast Episode Outline

Introduction

President Dallin H. Oaks delivered two General Conference addresses – one in the October 2000 General Conference entitled “The Challenge to Become” and the other in the April 2022 General Conference entitled “Divine Love in the Father’s Plan” – which are very similar in topic to this talk, “Kingdoms of Glory”. In fact, there are passages taken straight from those two previous General Conference addresses in “Kingdoms of Glory”. This is very interesting, considering in two weeks (season 2 episode 4), we will be discussing President M. Russell Ballard’s October 2023 General Conference address which he did not prepare beforehand. Thus, we will be experiencing two ends of the spectrum.

Also note how similar in topic “Kingdoms of Glory” is to President Russell M. Nelson‘s talk “Think Celestial!”.

In each episode of General Conference Applied, we are attempting to answer two questions:

What is the speaker inviting me to do?
How might I consider taking action?

What is the speaker inviting me to do?

This talk and President Nelson’s talk “Think Celestial!” are very similar in topic, but very different in delivery. President Nelson’s talk included invitations and directives, or in other words, calls to action. President Oaks’s talk, on the other hand, was much more doctrinally-focused. I identified 9 gospel doctrines and 14 gospel principles in my talk outline of this talk. For purposes of this podcast episode, I will focus on the doctrine of The Plan of Salvation, and the principles of Freedom to Choose and Prophets of God.

Invitations

However, though I did not identify an explicit invitation in this talk, I did develop an implicit invitation: Choose laws now which align with the kingdom of glory in which you desire to abide.

Directives

“‘Consider carefully how it works: During this mortal life you get to choose which laws you are willing to obey—those of the celestial kingdom, or the terrestrial, or the telestial—and, therefore, in which kingdom of glory you will live forever.'” (quote from President Russell M. Nelson)
“That process (attaining ‘the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ’) requires far more than acquiring knowledge. It is not even enough to be convinced of the gospel; we must act so that we are converted by it. In contrast to other preaching, which teaches us to know something, the gospel of Jesus Christ challenges us to become something.
“Because of Jesus Christ and His Atonement, when we fall short in this life, we can repent and rejoin the covenant path that leads to what our Heavenly Father desires for us.”

How might I consider taking action?

Invitations

1: Implicit invitation: Choose laws now which align with the kingdom of glory in which you desire to abide.

I have been asking myself these two questions as I’ve prepared for this podcast episode: 1) Which kingdom of glory do I desire to obtain? 2) Are my current choices getting me closer to my desired destination?
- You might consider asking yourself these same questions, and perhaps even writing down your current responses in your journal.
Principle: Freedom to Choose
I have long been fascinated by the account in 3 Nephi 17:1-8. Let me share these verses, and then a comment:
- “Behold, now it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words he looked round about again on the multitude, and he said unto them: Behold, my time is at hand. I perceive that ye are weak, that ye cannot understand all my words which I am commanded of the Father to speak unto you at this time. Therefore, go ye unto your homes, and ponder upon the things which I have said, and ask of the Father, in my name, that ye may understand, and prepare your minds for the morrow, and I come unto you again. But now I go unto the Father, and also to show myself unto the lost tribes of Israel, for they are not lost unto the Father, for he knoweth whither he hath taken them. And it came to pass that when Jesus had thus spoken, he cast his eyes round about again on the multitude, and beheld they were in tears, and did look steadfastly upon him as if they would ask him to tarry a little longer with them. And he said unto them: Behold, my bowels are filled with compassion towards you. Have ye any that are sick among you? Bring them hither. Have ye any that are lame, or blind, or halt, or maimed, or leprous, or that are withered, or that are deaf, or that are afflicted in any manner? Bring them hither and I will heal them, for I have compassion upon you; my bowels are filled with mercy. For I perceive that ye desire that I should show unto you what I have done unto your brethren at Jerusalem, for I see that your faith is sufficient that I should heal you.”
- These people did not want Jesus to leave. They desired more teachings and more miracles. Do you and I desire the same? At the end of General Conference weekend, do we desire more teachings? A life in the celestial kingdom implies that we will be perpetuating the plan of happiness throughout eternity with our own posterity. Do we love the gospel enough to want to focus on the gospel for all of eternity? If not, what might we change in our lives now to better appreciate spiritual things?

Directives

1: “‘Consider carefully how it works: During this mortal life you get to choose which laws you are willing to obey—those of the celestial kingdom, or the terrestrial, or the telestial—and, therefore, in which kingdom of glory you will live forever.'” (quote from President Russell M. Nelson)

I noted that this quote from President Nelson came from a book entitled “Heart of the Matter: What 100 Years of Living Have Taught Me”. I also noted when I visited Deseret Book’s website that this book is not yet available. Thus, President Oaks has provided us a sneak peek into President Nelson’s new book. I look forward to reading this book soon.
As I studied the scriptures that President Oaks quoted in this talk, and as I witnessed the annular eclipse today (Saturday, October 14, 2023), I was intrigued by these two verses from the Doctrine and Covenants which describe those who inherit the terrestrial kingdom:
- D&C 76:75 – “These are they who are honorable men of the earth, who were blinded by the craftiness of men.”
- D&C 76:79 – “These are they who are not valiant in the testimony of Jesus; wherefore, they obtain not the crown over the kingdom of our God.”
- My 8-year-old son asked Google an interesting question this morning… If the Sun was hollow, how many Moons would fit inside it? The answer: approximately 64.3 million! And yet, that object (the Moon), which is a fraction of the size of the Sun, gradually blotted out its brilliance for approximately 2 1/2 hours this morning. And this got me thinking: what small distractions in my life are blotting out the Son (S-O-N) and taking me away from the celestial kingdom?

2: “That process (attaining ‘the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ’) requires far more than acquiring knowledge. It is not even enough to be convinced of the gospel; we must act so that we are converted by it. In contrast to other preaching, which teaches us to know something, the gospel of Jesus Christ challenges us to become something.

I served as a member of the High Council with two inspiring Stake Presidents. Both men taught me so much, mostly by their powerful, Christlike examples. One of these Stake Presidents consistently impressed me with his commitment to read Church magazines. I remember one time that he had read the entire Ensign magazine for a particular month within the very first part of the month. I will be sharing insights from two October 2023 Liahona articles in this podcast episode, and I would invite each of you, if you’re not already, to also incorporate Church magazines into your gospel study.
In an October 2023 Liahona article entitled “‘Practice Virtue … Continually’“, Elder Lynn G. Robbins, an Emeritus General Authority Seventy shared the following:
- “Virtue is ‘integrity and moral excellence.’ To practice virtue continually requires steady effort with an inspired to-do list. The verbs be and do are a doctrinal pair. Be without do—like faith without works or charity without ministering—’is dead, being alone’ (James 2:17). Likewise, do without be describes those who ‘honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me’ (Mark 7:6). The Savior condemns do without be as hypocrisy (see Matthew 23:23; Mark 7:6).
  
  “People often have to-do lists and give themselves a checkmark after completing a task on the list. But you can’t earn checkmarks with be. For example, when can you check parenting off your list as done? You’re never through being a mother or a father, which is a lifelong effort.
  
  “We practice each virtue (be) through an inspired to-do list of corresponding actions. If I want to become more loving, what ministering actions can I do today to help me become more loving? If I want to become more patient, what can I do today to improve?
  
  “When we are at a moral crossroad in life, we often ask ourselves, What would Jesus do? When we do what He would do, we are practicing virtue and becoming like Him. If we go ‘about doing good’ (Acts 10:38), as He did, with each additional good deed, we grow in love and compassion, and they become a part of our nature.”
In his October 2000 General Conference address entitled “The Challenge to Become“, President Oaks shared this powerful parable:
- “The gospel of Jesus Christ is a plan that shows us how to become what our Heavenly Father desires us to become.
  
  “A parable illustrates this understanding. A wealthy father knew that if he were to bestow his wealth upon a child who had not yet developed the needed wisdom and stature, the inheritance would probably be wasted. The father said to his child:
  
  “‘All that I have I desire to give you—not only my wealth, but also my position and standing among men. That which I have I can easily give you, but that which I am you must obtain for yourself. You will qualify for your inheritance by learning what I have learned and by living as I have lived. I will give you the laws and principles by which I have acquired my wisdom and stature. Follow my example, mastering as I have mastered, and you will become as I am, and all that I have will be yours.’
  
  “This parable parallels the pattern of heaven. The gospel of Jesus Christ promises the incomparable inheritance of eternal life, the fulness of the Father, and reveals the laws and principles by which it can be obtained.”
- “You will qualify for your inheritance by learning what I have learned and by living as I have lived.” That’s a powerful statement. How does our Heavenly Father live? Contemplate that question. And also contemplate what we know from modern revelation that we have a Mother in Heaven. There is a reason that prophets, seers, and revelators have focused for nearly 30 years now on The Family: A Proclamation to the World (and President Oaks focused on this proclamation again in this talk).
- Learning what our Heavenly Father has learned and living as He as lived will certainly be a challenge for each of us. How might we measure our progress? In “The Challenge to Become”, President Oaks shared this thought:
  
  “How can we measure our progress? The scriptures suggest various ways. I will mention only two.
  
  “After King Benjamin’s great sermon, many of his hearers cried out that the Spirit of the Lord ‘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). If we are losing our desire to do evil, we are progressing toward our heavenly goal.
  
  “The Apostle Paul said that persons who have received the Spirit of God ‘have the mind of Christ’ (1 Corinthians 2:16). I understand this to mean that persons who are proceeding toward the needed conversion are beginning to see things as our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, see them. They are hearing His voice instead of the voice of the world, and they are doing things in His way instead of by the ways of the world.”
In the October 10, 2023, Church News Podcast episode, the guest was Rabbi Joseph Charnes. He is a friend of the Church of Jesus Christ, and he shared some powerful thoughts with the Church News after attending the October 2023 General Conference. At approximately the 34:35 mark in this episode, Rabbi Charnes stated the following:
- “The Hebrew word for “commandment” — one of the words; we have many — one of the Hebrew words for “commandment,” also, according to the rabbis, it’s a very creative but semi-legitimate, etymological link, the word “command” and the word “to connect” are the same root, because the way we connect to the divine is through the commandment.”
- Thus, my takeaway is: the more we seek to understand and obey our Heavenly Father’s commandments, the more connected we become with Him.

3: “Because of Jesus Christ and His Atonement, when we fall short in this life, we can repent and rejoin the covenant path that leads to what our Heavenly Father desires for us.”

In “The Challenge to Become”, President Oaks shared important commentary on Jesus Christ’s Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard:
- “As you remember, the owner of the vineyard hired laborers at different times of the day. Some he sent into the vineyard early in the morning, others about the third hour, and others in the sixth and ninth hours. Finally, in the eleventh hour he sent others into the vineyard, promising that he would also pay them ‘whatsoever is right’ (Matt. 20:7).
  
  “At the end of the day the owner of the vineyard gave the same wage to every worker, even to those who had come in the eleventh hour. When those who had worked the entire day saw this, ‘they murmured against the goodman of the house’ (Matt. 20:11). The owner did not yield but merely pointed out that he had done no one any wrong, since he had paid each man the agreed amount.
  
  “Like other parables, this one can teach several different and valuable principles. For present purposes its lesson is that the Master’s reward in the Final Judgment will not be based on how long we have labored in the vineyard. We do not obtain our heavenly reward by punching a time clock. What is essential is that our labors in the workplace of the Lord have caused us to become something. For some of us, this requires a longer time than for others. What is important in the end is what we have become by our labors. Many who come in the eleventh hour have been refined and prepared by the Lord in ways other than formal employment in the vineyard. These workers are like the prepared dry mix to which it is only necessary to ‘add water’—the perfecting ordinance of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost. With that addition—even in the eleventh hour—these workers are in the same state of development and qualified to receive the same reward as those who have labored long in the vineyard.
  
  “This parable teaches us that we should never give up hope and loving associations with family members and friends whose fine qualities (see Moroni 7:5–14) evidence their progress toward what a loving Father would have them become. Similarly, the power of the Atonement and the principle of repentance show that we should never give up on loved ones who now seem to be making many wrong choices.
  
  “Instead of being judgmental about others, we should be concerned about ourselves. We must not give up hope. We must not stop striving. We are children of God, and it is possible for us to become what our Heavenly Father would have us become.”
In his April 2022 General Conference address entitled “Divine Love in the Father’s Plan“, President Oaks promised:
- “God’s plan assures that in the long run, the faithful who keep their covenants will have the opportunity to qualify for every promised blessing.”
- No matter what we’ve done or where we’ve been, we can repent and get back on the covenant path.

Finally, I would like to discuss the importance of God’s Prophets.

Gospel Principle: Prophets of God

Here is the most important quote I identified in President Oaks’s talk:
- “Through revelation, God has revealed the eternal laws, ordinances, and covenants that must be observed to develop the godly attributes necessary to realize this divine potential. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints focuses on these because the purpose of this restored Church is to prepare God’s children for salvation in the celestial glory and, more particularly, for exaltation in its highest degree.
  
  “God’s plan, founded on eternal truth, requires that exaltation can be attained only through faithfulness to the covenants of an eternal marriage between a man and a woman in the holy temple, which marriage will ultimately be available to all the faithful. That is why we teach that ‘gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose.'”

President Oaks speaks firmly. Also, there is much in this talk that the world doesn’t embrace. Thus, I felt it would be important to share a few quotes about the importance of prophets and ongoing revelation. As I browsed through a number of the comments on President Oaks’s social media posts about this Conference talk, I had a great desire to share the importance of focusing on the “primary” questions. The “primary” questions are an insight that Elder Lawrence E. Corbridge shared in a BYU speech entitled “Stand Forever” which was delivered on January 22, 2019. Allow me to share a quote from that speech:
- “There are primary questions and there are secondary questions. Answer the primary questions first. Not all questions are equal and not all truths are equal. The primary questions are the most important. Everything else is subordinate. There are only a few primary questions. I will mention four of them.
  
  “1. Is there a God who is our Father?
  
  “2. Is Jesus Christ the Son of God, the Savior of the world?
  
  “3. Was Joseph Smith a prophet?
  
  “4. Is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints the kingdom of God on the earth?
  
  “By contrast, the secondary questions are unending. They include questions about Church history, polygamy, people of African descent and the priesthood, women and the priesthood, how the Book of Mormon was translated, the Pearl of Great Price, DNA and the Book of Mormon, gay marriage, the different accounts of the First Vision, and on and on.
  
  “If you answer the primary questions, the secondary questions get answered too, or they pale in significance and you can deal with things you understand and things you don’t and things you agree with and things you don’t without jumping ship altogether.”
In a BYU speech entitled “The Love and Laws of God” which was delivered on September 17, 2019, President Russell M. Nelson shared:
- “Sometimes we as leaders of the Church are criticized for holding firm to the laws of God, defending the Savior’s doctrine, and resisting the social pressures of our day. But our commission as ordained apostles is ‘to go into all the world to preach [His] gospel unto every creature.’ That means we are commanded to teach truth.
  
  “In doing so, sometimes we are accused of being uncaring as we teach the Father’s requirements for exaltation in the celestial kingdom. But wouldn’t it be far more uncaring for us not to tell the truth—not to teach what God has revealed?
  
  “It is precisely because we do care deeply about all of God’s children that we proclaim His truth. We may not always tell people what they want to hear. Prophets are rarely popular. But we will always teach the truth!
  
  “My dear young friends, exaltation is not easy. Requirements include a focused and persistent effort to keep God’s laws, rigorously repenting when we don’t. But the reward for doing so is far greater than anything we can imagine, because it brings us joy here and ‘never-ending happiness’ hereafter.
  
  “Thus our commission as apostles is to teach nothing but truth. That commission does not give us the authority to modify divine law.”
In an October 2023 Liahona article entitled “The Sure Witness of Modern Prophets“, President Oaks wrote:
- “As the Bible declares, the true Church of Jesus Christ is ‘built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone’ (Ephesians 2:20). I experienced an application of that fundamental principle of the restored gospel many years ago.
  
  “A member of the Church brought her neighbor to my office. The neighbor’s husband was a Protestant minister with a large congregation. For many years, this couple had served the Lord with great diligence in their Christian ministry. He had baptized many people into that church.
  
  “Now, through the influence of his Latter-day Saint neighbors, he had read the Book of Mormon and was converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was ready to resign his ministry and join the restored Church. But first, he and his wife needed an answer to their question regarding priesthood authority. Reminding me that her husband had baptized many people, his wife asked, ‘Are you telling me that my husband didn’t have any authority to baptize all the people that he baptized?’
  
  “The Spirit prompted my answer, as it will in these situations.
  
  “‘No,’ I said. ‘I’m sure your husband had authority to baptize all the people that he baptized. He had all the authority that his church could give him. He could perform marriages. He could make people members of the congregation. He could hire a contractor to put a new roof on your church. But that isn’t the kind of authority we’re discussing. The authority in your question is the authority that Jesus gave to Peter, that whatsoever he did on earth would be honored in heaven (see Matthew 16:19). And because that divine authority must be traceable to Apostles, it exists only in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.'”
In his April 2023 General Conference address entitled “A Living Prophet for the Latter Days“, Elder Allen D. Haynie stated:
- “Knowing by revelation that there is a living prophet on the earth changes everything. It causes one to be uninterested in the debate about when is a prophet speaking as a prophet or whether one is ever justified in selective rejection of prophetic counsel. Such revealed knowledge invites one to trust the counsel of a living prophet, even if we do not fully understand it. After all, a perfect and loving Father in Heaven has chosen the pattern of revealing truth to His children through a prophet, someone who never sought such a sacred calling and who has no need of our help to be aware of his own imperfections. A prophet is someone God has personally prepared, called, corrected, inspired, rebuked, sanctified, and sustained. That is why we are never spiritually at risk in following prophetic counsel.”
- Also, if you want to listen to a fantastic BYU speech, check out Elder Haynie’s speech that he delivered at BYU this past week (October 10, 2023). It was entitled “Meeting Jesus in the House of the Lord“.
So why would I share so much about prophets and modern revelation? Because I feel a great desire to sustain President Oaks and the rest of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as prophets, seers, and revelators. In this talk, President Oaks has shared directives to choose to obey the laws of the kingdom in which we desire to abide, to become like our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ through diligently living the gospel, and to get back on the covenant path if we have strayed. This life really does matter. The choices we make during this short sojourn on earth will matter for the rest of eternity. What I do today matters. But if I’m not firmly grounded in my response to the “primary” questions, I run the risk of being deceived. I can’t allow little things to get in the way of my desired eternal destination.

This Week’s Action Item

“That which is measured improves. That which is measured and reported improves exponentially.”
Karl Pearson, an early 20th-century British mathematician

“Those who measure their progress improve. Those who measure and report their progress improve exponentially.”
Dan Sullivan, founder and president of The Strategic Coach Inc.

“Do something, do anything! But to start, just do ONE thing.”
Mitch Peterson

I will continue my focus on Christlike Attributes. However, most importantly, I will report my progress to my accountability partner (i.e., my wife) so that my progress can “improve exponentially.”