A joke a non-denominational Christian preacher told me:
One day a group of people arrived at the gates of heaven. They were greeted by St. Peter, who welcomed them to their new eternal home, and invited them to take a tour. Naturally they all agreed, so St. Peter led them along a path to a wide, lazy river, where a boat was waiting for them.
Everyone boarded the boat and found a seat. two angels on the docks cast of the lines, and the boat pulled away, moved by some silent propulsion system.
As they rounded the first bend in the river, an enormous cathedral came into view. It was a beautiful structure of stone, with ornate, stained-glass windows everywhere. The sound of a regal choir poured from an open doorway, into which people were reverently entering the building. A few turned, and seeing the boat, waved in greeting.
"Those are the Catholics," St. Peter returned the wave of greeting as the boat continued upstream.
The next bend opened on a giant, outdoor amphitheater. A large crowd was gathered, listening to a band perform, there were drums and guitars, and the crown swayed to the music, their arm raised high.
"And these are the Pentecostals," St. Peter smiled, his foot tapping to the beat. Someone in the crowd noticed the boat. He let out an enthusiastic yell, and the entire crowed turned, shouting in greeting. The people on the boat waved to the crowd, who returned to their worship.
"They are a lively bunch," St. Peter observed with a grin.
Around another bend, the newcomers observed a large meadow, dotted with picnic pavilions. Where people sat in small groups, conversing as they sampled the smorgasbord and read scripture.
"These are the Baptists," St. waved cordially at a nearby by group, who shouted a greeting to the newcomers.
"Wow!" one of the passengers exclaimed, "I had no idea heaven was so huge!"
"In my father's house are many mansions," St. Peter quoted the scripture with a smile.
Just then, one of the passengers pointed at the opposite bank, a look of alarm on her face. The others followed her gaze to a tall, fortified barricade, with caution signs posted at frequent intervals, warning all to 'keep out.'
'Oh, yes,' St. Peter seemed startled, "I almost forgot. Everyone please be quiet until we are past this area. no noise."
The boat floated on in dreadful silence, the passengers not daring to breath.
As the barricade finally faded in the distance, one passenger turned to St. Peter.
"What in heaven is so dangerous it needs to be walled in like that?"
"Oh, no," St. Peter shook his head, chuckling. "It's nothing dangerous. Those are the Mormons. They think they're the only ones here."
As a twenty-year-old hearing this, I politely laughed at his joke, but I found it not even slightly amusing. A few decades of human interaction later, and I have come to appreciate the humor in his joke. Though I will say it is applicable to any number of people from any number of faiths.
In reality however, I think most people, me included, tend to misrepresent the scope of heaven from the perspective of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I say that having recently re-read section 76 of the Doctrine and Covenants.
(I feel I should probably post a disclaimer here - I am not authorized to speak for, or on behalf of the church, the following is my personal opinion.)
Doctrine and Covenants (or D&C - a collection of latter-day revelations, held as scripture in the Latter-Day Saint faith) Section 76 includes several verses which describe, at least in part, the concept of the "many mansions..." spoken of by Jesus Christ in the New Testament (John 14:2). It accounts a vision seen by Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon, in which they were shown certain aspects of the resurrection of the dead.
During that vision, they saw three "worlds" or "glories" (Both terms are used in this section. People often refer to them as "kingdoms" as well, though that word is not used as such in this section.)
And this becomes a point of contention for many Christians (and others), who see this as some sort of grading system. That is another topic, which I might address in a separate post, if anybody is particularly interested.
For now, I just want to look at a few of the verses describing these three glories, and dig into my most recent observations:
First, the Celestial:
D&C 76:69 "These are they who are just men made perfect through Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, who wrought out this perfect atonement through the shedding of his own blood."
Seems pretty straight forward. The contention many have with this is the implication that we earn our way into heaven by our works. And many in and out of the Church interpret it this way. Though I think this verse quite clearly calls out the atonement as the vehicle which makes entry possible.
But this is is the least interesting one, so, moving on...
The Terrestrial:
D&C 76:74 "Who received not the testimony of Jesus in the flesh, but afterwards received it."
Now this one troubled me on first read. It seems to say, that Mother Theresa, and Mahatma Ghandi can do no better than this, but several politicians and businessmen (who shall not be named), who have been caught publicly lying, but have temple recommends can fare better in the afterlife.
That doesn't make sense. Not if God is truly just and merciful.
There is a footnote in this verse which cross references D&C 138:2 which includes this elaboration.
"...those who had died in their sins, without a knowledge of the truth, or in transgression, having rejected the prophets."
I read this as the same statement, made twice. They died in their sins (or, transgression), Without a *Knowledge* (not faith) of the truth (or, they rejected the prophets).
So, this isn't talking about people like Ghandi, who didn't have sufficient opportunity to learn about and accept the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is talking about people who learned it, understood it, and rejected it, but then came around in the afterlife.
Now here's the real kicker.
The Telestial:
82 "These are they who received not the gospel of Christ, neither the testimony of Jesus."
84 "...are thrust down to hell."
85 "...shall not be redeemed from the devil until the last resurrection."
103 "These are they who are liars, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and whosoever loves and makes a lie."
89 "And thus we saw, in the heavenly vision, the glory of the telestial, which surpasses all understanding."
This is where heaven gets bigger in Latter Day Saint teaching. Among the inhabitants of this Glory - A glory which "surpasses all understanding" - are those who reject the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Not just in this life (That's already been covered by the Terrestrial), but also in the afterlife. In any other Christian doctrine, that qualifies you for hell. End of story.
But the way I read these verses, those people - the worst of the worst - some of whom refuse to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior, not just now, but after they die, still get to go to heaven! An Infinite Atonement indeed.
