User:Seanmcox/We Are Our Own Judges

There is an idea that I have heard sketched out, that, in reality, we are our own judges, and that we put ourselves in whatever kingdom we feel most comfortable in. There are various quotes and scriptures which form the framework for this idea. Generally, I will say, that it is an idea that I think has merit, but that it is not the normal way we describe the judgement day. I the idea is true, then I think that a shame.

I have not yet mapped out even a significant portion of the scriptures and quotes that give rise to this idea, but I have created this page to facilitate doing that in the future.

This quote is probably a fairly direct assertion of the idea by the Prophet Joseph Smith:

A man is his own tormentor and his own condemner. Hence the saying, They shall go into the lake that burns with fire and brimstone. The torment of disappointment in the mind is as exquisite as a lake burning with fire and brimstone. I say, so is the torment of man.
- Joseph Smith, "The King Follett Sermon"

Why Might This Be Necessary

No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned; By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile
- D&ampC 121:41-42

The idea that the authority of God cannot be maintained by force is an idea that is both old and difficult to understand. It is not our usual experience that truth, in and of itself, is sufficient to enforce law. Generally, no matter what the law, there is always a threat of violence that implicitly that acts as an ultimate resort to ensure compliance; which is not to say that it always succeeds in securing compliance, just that it is the ultimate resort; an implicit threat backing up all the demands of human law.

God asserts that the priesthood does not act in this way. If that is so, then how is order maintained in the heavens?

If the citations is to be believed, then persuasion, long-suffering, gentleness and meekness, love unfeigned, kindness, and pure knowledge, suffice to maintain order. However, the scriptures also assert that there are judges. If we take Joseph Smith seriously, then it just may be that we are our ultimate judges, and then, despite whatever wickedness may be in us, we deny ourselves the power and authority of God, in part, because we will not want it.

This is an odd idea, but it does make some intuitive sense, in that, without force, one would expect each individual to naturally go where one is most comfortable. Implicitly then, the Celestial Kingdom would be greater torment to a damned individual, then the torment to which he would naturally be resigned to.

Men and Women

"In the celestial glory there are three heavens or degrees; And in order to obtain the highest, a man must enter into this order of the priesthood [meaning the new and everlasting covenant of marriage]; And if he does not, he cannot obtain it. He may enter into the other, but that is the end of his kingdom; he cannot have an increase. - D&C 131:1-4

The Celestial Kingdom is described here as being divided into 3 degrees and it is further described that obtaining highest degree requires marriage. What is the nature of the other two degrees? We are not told in detail, except that we are elsewhere told that those who don't obtain the highest degree will be angels to the gods, and not gods themselves. However, if the other two degrees are for men and women who are not joined, then it seems reasonable to imagine that these degrees are for the unjoined men and women; one degree for men, and one degree for women.

It has been my observation that there seem to be both men and women who are incapable of the kind of intimacy that is required to join their lives with another. They prefer to be unattached and enjoy the freedom that comes from living life uncommitted to another, and while they may feel sexual attraction, they often find the differing natures of the opposite sex to be too off-putting to be willing to sacrifice the benefits of being unattached for those of being in a committed relationship. I speculate then, that this might form the foundation for the two differing lower degrees in the Celestial Kingdom.

It is also, of course, totally plausible that there is another basis. eg. I also observe that Upholder and Rebel personality types tend to avoid each other in real life, and so, in heaven, good Upholders and good Rebels, who haven't married, might similarly self-sort. (This idea does not appeal to me as much as the idea of separation based on gender.)