Dictionary of Terms : Faith, Financial and Social
Faith Terms
NOTE: All biblical scriptures referenced are specific to the King James Version of the Holy Bible.
Angels of God " ministering spirits" (Hebrews 1:14) that are messengers of the Lord. Some non-mortal angels serve God in heaven (1 Kings 22:19) and other of the Lord's angels minister to people on earth so as to do the will of God (Genesis 28:12; 32:1, 2 Samuel 24:16, 1 Kings 19:57; 2 Kings 1:15, 19:35 & Psalms 91:11). Jesus the Christ mentioned angels (Matthew 13:14-30, 37-41, 16:27, 18:10, 22:30, 24:36, Luke 15:10). During his mortal life on earth God's angels helped Jesus the Christ (Matthew 1:20, 2:13, 19, 4:11, 28:28; Luke 1:11-20, 26-30, 2:9-15, 22:43). Some of God's angels have not yet been born to earth which means they minister as spirits. Others have already been born to earth and have died and been resurrected and thus have a perfected immortal body that is whole and can never again be subject to disease or death.
There are several other New Testament references to angels, including in the Revelation of John. Because Heavenly Father is the one true God we worship through His Son Jesus Christ, we are specifically warned not to worship angels (see Col 2:18).
Atonement The reconciliation of man (humankind) to God as man has estranged himself through sin. The word 'atonement' means to be 'at one' with God for the purposes of overcoming the consequences of sin. The scriptural use means to suffer the punishment of for an act of sin to eliminate the effects of sin from sincerely repentant sinners so that they may be reconciled to God. The foreshadowing of Jesus Christ's sacred atoning work was emulated symbolically by the services of the Day of Atonement as referenced in Leviticus. 4, 23:26-32 and Hebrews 9. Because Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God and was the only perfect person to live on earth (he never committed any sins) He is the only one who has the ability to make an atonement for humankind.
God the Father provided the atonement through His Son Jesus Christ's life. Christ made a perfect atonement for all humankind through His sacrifice both in Gethsemane and by His death on the cross in Calvary followed by His bodily resurrection from the tomb.
His atoning sacrifice allowed Him to experience each individual's life from the point of their birth to the point of their physical death so that He would know exactly what each one of us personally experienced in life both physically and emotionally so He could have the greatest compassion for us and give us the perfect guidance and blessings in answer to our prayers of faith in Him in addition to making an infinite sacrifice for our sins. He experienced all of our individual suffering, pains, sicknesses, imperfections, weaknesses and temptations. He also experienced all of the times we've experienced joy and happiness. He did this so we could be assured He is very aware of each of us in our lives and He cares deeply and certainly like no one else can. His power to do this comes from our Heavenly Father.
Two key benefits that come from Christ's atonement are the first form of salvation which is a physical salvation that is unconditional and pertains only to the fall of Adam in that all humankind will receive a perfected immortal body after death the highest form of physical healing for any and all of the bodily imperfections we have been born with or received in the course of our lives regardless of whether we caused some of the imperfections or if someone else did. This great blessing of resurrection is made possible only by Christ's first resurrection.
The second key benefit Christ's atonement provides is a conditional form of salvation, a spiritual salvation, that pertains to each individuals sins specific to the level of faith he or she has in Jesus Christ as manifested by his or her individual efforts towards repentance of sins as well as his or her personal efforts to obey the gospel. Spiritual salvation provides forgiveness of ones sins as well as a perfect healing of all emotional pains we suffer –– especially those traumas that are not of our own creating but were caused by others.
Being clean To be washed from sin. Because the unclean can't enjoy God's presence or be with God while in sin, those who chose sin are stained by sin spiritually. The only way to become spiritually clean and thereby worthy to live again with God in heaven after physical death is to become clean through the atonement of Jesus Christ which provides forgiveness of sin.
Bible The word 'bible' originates from the Greek word, 'biblia,' which means 'the books' like a library of books. Later, it became more often referred to as 'the book.' Therefore, the word bible does not mean just one book but rather it is a heavenly library or record of divine revelations. The centuries of work of many prophets who wrote under the divine inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God is what we know as the Bible. The sacred writings of prophets have been referred to as 'holy scriptures' (Rom. 1:2, 2 Tim. 3:15, compare to Rom. 15:4) as well as 'the scriptures' (Matt. 22:29, John 5:39). The Old and New Testaments are the two sections that form the Christian Bible.
The Old Testament that the Christians have received is the same canon of scripture that the Jews in Palestine had during the time of Christ. The Old Testament, written primarily in Hebrew, covers several centuries as the records of a nation. The New Testament is deemed to have the same hallowedness and divine authority as Jewish scriptures. The work of the New Testament consists of just one generation of people during the Apostolic age and were written in Greek (although it is believed by some that the Aramaic language was used to write the Gospels of Matthew and John).
The word 'testament' in Hebrew means 'covenant.' Prior to the time of Moses, people since the time of Adam had the higher laws of God given to them by Jehovah through His prophets. But during the time of Moses, the children (people) of Israel were given a lesser law to follow most likely since they had proven that it was too difficult for them to stay faithful in their obedience to the greater laws of God that previous generations had obeyed before. Too often, humankind proved again and again that they would depart from the ways of God and form their own ways of worship that always proved to be their destruction. But always God has reached out in mercy to warn them of their pending destruction as a means of encouraging them to freely repent and return to God before it’s too late (Amos 3:7).
The Jehovah of the Old Testament had promised to provide a prophet redeemer who would make an atonement for all humankind since the days of Adam which would also fulfill (satisfy) the law given to the people of Moses which would signify an end to the need to continue to follow that lesser law. The death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ fulfilled the Mosaic law of carnal commandments and much of the ceremonial laws. The lesser law of Moses was meant as a preparatory gospel for the sole purpose of leading people to Christ. Although the law of Moses was a good law, it required less spiritual potential to follow and some of the Jewish leaders had added unauthorized bans, provisions and ceremonies (a. k. a. “traditions of the elders”) – so much so that the law became burdensome to abide and had lost most of it’s spiritual meaning as too often people would act as if they worshipped the law more than the Lord (see Matt. 15:19, Mark 7:1-13, Gal. 2:16-21).
Jehovah fulfilled His promises he had made to prophets since the days of Adam to send a redeemer as He was born to live on earth as Jesus the Christ to restore the gospel and thus the greater law to the Jews in Palestine. His restoration of the gospel to the Jews meant He believed they who sincerely sought Him were ready to once again obey the greater laws as previous generations prior to the time of Moses had done before. So although the New Testament was not a new covenant (as generations from Adam until Moses had the covenant of God already) it was a new covenant for the people of Christ's time since they had not known anything greater since the time of Moses. In Greek, the word “diatheke” translates to mean 'testament' but more with regard to laws that govern what happens to one's property after death as may be outlined in a will or testament.
Therefore, it may be of further benefit to understand the will of the Apostles was clearly to have their witnesses of Christ and His great atoning sacrifice in fulfillment of past Old Testament prophe
cies to be recorded as an event of actual fact through their testimonies and that the sacred sacrifice of Jesus the Christ by His death is also vital for us to remember as a testimony of His life and the importance He placed on giving to each person ever born the opportunity for ultimate and eternal happiness in salvation.
It is interesting to note that William Tyndale (born in Wales 1494) was a man who simply desired to translate the New Testament into English but in the process discovered how the truths of God as found in holy scripture often exposes the false doctrines and corruptions of religious leaders. He was executed for heresy (speaking out against the popular opinions, theories and practices of the times he lived in) on October 6, 1536 simply because he openly favored the higher ways of living that truths of God had encouraged through holy scripture for the happiness and success of those who freely choose to abide God's laws.
The King James Version of the Bible was used for much of the biblical research in the Alex Opalstone books.
Celestial Level of Heaven ( a. k. a. “Celestial Kingdom of God”) It is the highest of all three levels of heaven that are possible for a person to earn after death through the saving grace of the atonement of Jesus Christ after all individual efforts to obey God's laws have been sincerely attempted in life. The Celestial level of heaven is the only level where exaltation is possible. This level is for those who are worthy may live again in the presence of God, and receive the fullest possible joy as they become like God (to be exalted; receive exaltation) while living with loved ones who have freely chosen to qualify for the same. The scriptures compare this heavenly kingdom of God with the glory or brightness of the sun. Those individuals who have repented of their sins, received the ordinances of Christ's gospel and kept the related covenants will be purified or spiritually washed clean through Christ's Atonement so that they may inherit this highest of honors in celestial inheritance. (See ‘Eternal Life’)
Covenant Although a covenant can be between two people, more often in the bible it refers to an agreement between God and His children. Since we are not equal to God, the conditions for the covenant (agreement) are set by God and we agree to do what He asks of us. God promises to give us specific blessings to reward our individual obedience. When we make covenants we promise to honor them.
God's people are a covenant based people. Those who make and keep sacred covenants don't have to be told what to do all of the time by their religious leaders because individuals who keep their covenants tend to live a principle based life which more naturally results in individual self-government for good. If they had to be told what to do all of the time then they would be compelled to do good and this is contrary to God's designs for freedom of choice for individuals. As the gospel is designed that principles and ordinances are to be received by covenant, the person receiving the principles and ordinances is put under a strong and sacred obligation to fulfill their commitment.
The Lord loves to bless those who are faithful to Him. When we decide to not keep covenants then we can't receive the promised blessings that always follow those who keep their covenants. There are also times when we experience a penalty as a consequence for not doing what we agreed to do (just as one might be penalized for speeding when he or she originally promised to obey the speed limit. Other cases can bring a more severe penalty such as in the case of Ananias and Sapphira who intentionally lied to God and broke their covenant. See Acts 5:1-11). But for those who keep their commitment to Him the Lord is generous in His blessings.
The Creation As taught in the early chapters of the book of Genesis in the Bible, God the Father directed His Son, Jesus Christ, to create a place for us to live and experience mortal life so Christ created the earth. Living on earth and out of God's presence means that we don't remember our life with God as His spiritual offspring before our mortal birth on earth. This is by divine design so we will walk in steps of faith here in life rather than only going by what we can physically see to believe in. In order to have the opportunity to advance and become like God we needed a body and a time to be tested to see if we would freely choose to sincerely seek after God or to follow after our own path away from Him and so earth was created for that divine purpose.
Degrees of Heaven (a. k. a. Kingdoms of Glory) See 'Celestial Level of Heaven,' 'Terrestrial Level of Heaven' and 'Telestial Level of Heaven'.
Eternal Life (a. k. a. Exaltation) Eternal life is not so much a length of time as it is a quality of life experience. It means to receive the opportunity to be exalted by God in His highest of inheritances the Celestial level of heaven. 'Exaltation' can only occur for those who live in Celestial glory (the highest degree of glory possible). It is the only form of salvation that allows families and loved ones to live together forever in God's presence. It is the greatest gift God can ever give to his children. (See also Celestial level of heaven and God's Plan for Our Happiness)
Faith To have confidence in someone or to believe optimistically in something. Real faith always leads to some kind of action. To have faith for salvation is to hope for things that are centered in Jesus Christ for salvation yet are not seen with physical sight but are still true (see Heb. 11:1). Jesus Christ has provided numerous truths that teach us of His love, power, knowledge, unchanging nature, justice, mercy and everything we need to help us each put our confidence in Him without hesitation.
Ultimately faith is a gift of God. We obtain faith through sincere prayer and righteous actions. We can be assured as individuals that we are exercising faith correctly in Jesus Christ for our salvation when we honestly feel we are living our lives on the Lord's side and that we are assured of personal salvation after death in part because of blessings we are already receiving from the Lord in this life that help us to place our confidence in Him. Although miracles don't create faith, miracles can confirm our faith after we've made righteous choices to have strong faith. True faith can only exist on the foundation of accurate knowledge or it can't provide the results hoped for.
The Fall of Adam and Eve (a. k. a. 'The Fall' or the 'Original Sin') The way humankind became mortal (which means to become subject to death and sin). Prior to the fall there was no death and no sin and none of the creations on earth had any children yet. Although Adam and Eve had physical bodies there was no blood in them before the fall. God gave two commandments to Adam and Eve. The first was to multiply by having children and the second one was to not eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil because it was considered forbidden fruit.
Neither Adam nor Eve were able to reproduce (nor did they even understand how to create children) prior to the fall. Satan came and tempted Adam and Eve to rebel against God by getting them to eat of the forbidden fruit since Satan wanted to destroy God's children through the physical destruction of their bodies and also create spiritual death by eternally separating them from God. (Satan is thus the one who encourages all practices and consumptions that result in bringing sorrow and destruction upon humankind, starting with the destruction of the physical body, to reduce them to the lowest state of existence possible. In contrast, God encourages the opposite as the Lord desires to help raise each of us as his children up to the highest state of existence possible. )
The first two lessons we learn about Satan as the adversary is to disobey God and then to fear God rather than to learn the truths of God’s plan and obey His laws that are designed for our happiness and helps us to trust in God. Since Eve understood that the commandment to have children was more important to obey than avoiding the forbidden fruit, she felt there was no other way to reproduce and ultimately provide an opportunity for all humankind to obey that same law than to break the lesser law of eating the forbidden fruit. So Eve wisely ate the forbidden fruit and Adam wisely followed her example.
After Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit they became mortal which brought about sin, as blood formed in their bodies and death became an inevitable part of mortal life. Adam's fall caused everything else on earth to become mortal. Both physical and spi
ritual death were brought upon all of humankind due to the fall. They were no longer allowed to live in God's presence in the Garden of Eden and thus Adam and Eve were sent away to live in the world.
The fall of Adam and Eve was expected by God and His plan to have a Savior to save Adam and Eve and all humankind was in place before the earth was even created. If Eve had not wisely chosen to eat the forbidden fruit and have Adam do likewise, humankind could not have had the opportunity to obey the law to reproduce and progress towards an eventual exalted state in eternal life. This is why both Eve and Adam should be honored for making the first sacrificial step of initiating the fall (by condescending to leave the beautiful garden by taking that vital step into mortality through eating the forbidden fruit which gave all of us a chance to be born and choose to learn of and follow Christ). Therefore, the fall is a blessing for all humankind.
The idea that Adam and Eve caused the fall by breaking the law of chastity (by an immoral act of sexual sin) is a false doctrine. Both Adam and Eve lived in purity of mind and heart both before and after the fall. There are no other records that show either of them ever transgressed again or sinned after the fall (so they lived nearly perfect lives by their righteous actions and desires).
The fall of Adam and Eve is one of the most valuable events in the history of humankind. Satan's plan is to enslave humankind in sin (spiritual death that keeps those who choose to sin from experiencing the freedoms that can only come by living in God's presence). Satan also wants to destroy our physical bodies through physical death and other painful forms of degeneration. Eternal salvation in the Lord's highest of heavenly kingdoms (Celestial glory) through the atonement of Jesus Christ frustrates Satan's plan by giving all humankind the opportunity to choose to learn of the way back to God's presence through His gospel and do all they can to obey the Lord's laws and thereby have eternal life.
Forbidden Fruit A fruit found in the Garden of Eden on the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The fruit of this tree was considered by God to be forbidden of Adam and Eve to eat because the fruit was not suited to their nature and condition. The bodies of Adam and Eve were perfect in form and life sustaining function and only an introduction of an element of lesser substance (such as the forbidden fruit) would alter that perfection to become imperfect and unable to perfectly sustain life and health indefinitely. It was forbidden because consumption of such fruit would bring Adam and Eve to become subject to lower laws away from God's presence (spiritual death) which involved the sad experience of two forms of death: physical and spiritual death. It should also be noted that the false doctrine (the loathsome lie) that the fall of humankind occurred due to a violation of the law of chastity has been used by some to pardon deviations from the divinely inspired path of chastity and virtue.
Fornication was not committed or introduced by Eve or Adam. They were pure and virtuous souls despite their one transgression in eating food they were forbidden to eat. (See previous definition of the Fall of Adam and Eve.)
Freedom to choose The ability God gives all of humankind as a privilege to freely choose and take whatever actions they want in life towards their own blessing or detriment as a natural consequence of their choices. The gift to choose freely was one of the first examples given in the Garden of Eden of God’s form of loving and wise governance for all of humankind (as we are His children). Because God provides everything, the only thing that isn’t His that He will never force us to give Him is our willingness to follow Him by our freely given obedience to his laws.
Garden of Eden The place where our first parents, Adam and Eve, lived. While they lived in the garden, before the fall, they had physical life because their spirits were clothed in physical bodies made from the dust of the earth. They had spiritual life because they lived in the presence of God and they had not yet made any choices between good and evil. Had Adam and Eve remained in the Garden of Eden they could not have progressed to become like God (since God has offspring as he created us spiritually as his children) and they would therefore have no offspring and no joy (especially the joy of parenthood when procreation is done at the right time, for the right reasons and with the right partner towards an eternal family unit founded upon the principles of Godliness) having experienced no pain or sorrow to contrast it with. (See The Fall of Adam and Eve)
God (nature of God the Father) God the Father is the first member of the Godhead (Christ is the second member and the Holy Ghost is the third member). He is perfect. In the scriptures we learn a number of good things about God. Our Heavenly Father is a separate personage from His Son, Jesus Christ. Although God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost are united in purpose (one in purpose) they are each separate beings. Both God and His Son, Jesus Christ have a perfected immortal body of flesh and bone. The Holy Ghost does not have a body of flesh and bone but is a personage of spirit. Our Father in Heaven is perfect, knows everything (including our thoughts) and has all power. He is the Supreme Being in whom Christians believe and worship. Because He is the Creator of all things He is also the Preserver of all things (which preservation is made possible by his divine rules).
Everything on earth shows us God exists even all of the planets prove He is a Supreme Creator. He is perfectly kind, merciful and charitable which are key attributes that make his ultimate strength and power perfect. He has perfect judgment. He is extremely careful with who He entrusts sacred matters to. He is very protective of that which is sacred and commands of us all a proper respect for sacred things. This is in part why oftentimes sacred things are not discussed openly or at length to those who may mock or who have otherwise not proven to be worthy of such sacred trust. He is the Father of our Spirits and he loves each of us perfectly. He is the Author of the plan for our happiness through salvation.
He created our physical bodies. God can only be God with the help of a woman, His wife, who is His eternal companion and whom he regards as his sacred and perfect equal because parents in heaven are not single. He embodies the perfect attributes of both justice and mercy. God is merciful because He desires all of His children to be happy and to come back to live with Him forever as an eternal family unit after death. He wants us to enjoy our physical bodies and to be happy in life so he provided the perfect guide (via holy scriptures) for how to best do that. He is sad when we choose to break ourselves against His eternal laws by hurting ourselves and others. If we will not repent of actions (or inactions) we took which bring about harm, we must experience the consequences of our choices and so God is just by allowing consequences for our actions. Justice also includes being rewarded for good choices as it is just to do so.
His mercy is expressed in the opportunity He gives each of us to not have to experience the negative eternal consequences for sinning by allowing us the opportunity to freely choose for ourselves to properly repent and follow the laws of happiness as provided in the gospel of Jesus Christ. God the Father loves each of us so much that He gave us the beauties of this earth, the freedom to choose whether or not we'll return to live with Him in heaven again after death, the power to make a reunion possible through the great atoning sacrifice of the life of His beloved Son, Jesus Christ and the free gift of our bodies resurrected to immortal perfection regardless of whether we choose good or evil in our lives.
God is a separate personage from His Son, Jesus Christ, and from the third member of the Godhead known as the Holy Spirit. God lives in the highest level of his three heavenly kingdoms known as the Celestial degree of glory. He considers us as His children to be the greatest of His creations and therefore He wants us to be happy and be close to Him through prayer and faithfulness to his laws. He always answers our humble and sincere prayers. He created all things on earth for the benefit of humankind.
The best way to learn about God the Father and His love for you is to learn about His beloved Son, Jesus Christ. God the Father asks us by way of commandment to pray only to Him with faith in the name of His beloved Son, Jesus Christ. Doing so helps us to
treat as sacred those things that are of God and to see ourselves in the proper light as His children who have infinite potential for good so that we may become more like God.
Godhead The Godhead consists of three members who are united as one in purpose and doctrine yet they are each separate and distinct beings with different roles. They preside over this world as well as over the other creations of God. Although both the Father and the Son have tangible perfected bodies of flesh and bones, the Holy Ghost (a. k. a. Holy Spirit) is a being of spirit. All three members of the Godhead work together in perfect harmony towards fulfilling God's divine plan for happiness in salvation.
God's Plan for happiness (salvation) God intends for all of His children to experience joy in this life as well as beyond this life. All of His laws, the gospel, prophets He calls to teach of Him, our family relationships and the beauty of this earth are all designed for the happiness of humankind. Many times God's children learn by sad experience that trying to find true happiness and fulfillment by doing things that go against eternal laws of God is to reject the only source of true happiness. Deep and lasting joy comes through serving others and great spiritual growth results in such selflessness. Fun is actually a part of the joy of God's plan for happiness. Most people know that we can have fun in life within the limits established by our loving Father in Heaven. Children prove this every day. Wholesome activities and meaningful service bring far more lasting fulfillment than activities that are self-serving and harmful to ourselves or others.
The Gospel is God's plan for happiness. Long before any of us were born to earth, God's plan for our happiness was put in place so that we could become as God is and inherit a fullness of joy. The Creation, the Fall of Adam and Eve, Christ's great atoning sacrifice and all of the ordinances, laws and doctrines of the gospel create the substance of God's plan for happiness in salvation. It is the highest level of salvation that the Atonement of Jesus Christ provides that brings the greatest joys and makes it possible for us to live again with God in eternal families.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ provides truths about three phases of existence that consist of pre-earth life (premortal life), mortal life and life after death that answers the deep questions of the soul such as: Where did we come from? Why are we here? Where do we go after death?
The premortal life is where we all lived in God's presence. The premortal world was a place of learning where each of us advanced in intelligence. Each of us voted before we were born to come to earth and have the opportunity to continue to learn and advance in intelligence and continue to grow spiritually as well as to freely choose to be obedient or disobedient to whatever of God's commandments in truth we learned in life.
Mortal life is the time span that starts with birth and ends in physical death. Because birth brings a forgetting of our pre-earth life, mortal life is a time where we are each tested to see if we will be faithful to God through obedience to whatever truths and laws we learn of in life and recognize in our hearts are good and of God. This time of testing helps us to ultimately prove to ourselves by our own choices after all is said and done what is most important to us (be it the things of God or the things of this world). Our time spent in life is our opportunity to choose to learn of the Gospel as taught by Christ and to make and keep sacred covenants with God that ensure us the greatest happiness in this life and in the world to come. Learning of the Gospel and teaching others its truths for happiness strengthens our faith in God as we receive and recognize the blessings God gives us for helping others to learn of Christ and freely choose to return to God.
The world of spirits is where we go when we die. It is there that we wait to be resurrected. Later, when we are resurrected, each of us will meet God at the time of judgment where we will be judged individually by God regarding what we personally did with what we personally learned of Christ and His teachings.
To emphasize the fact of God's specific method of individual accountability, it should be said this way: At the time when your spirit and body are reunited through the resurrection, you will inherit one of three possible kingdoms of heaven depending upon how deeply you were converted to the Lord and how sincerely you tried to obey the Lord's commandments. This is why it is imperative to know the saving truths about the goodness of God as manifested in His beloved Son Jesus Christ and His great atoning sacrifice which is at the heart of it all. Your actions in life affect your eternal destiny.
With a correct understanding of God and His plan for our happiness, we can base important life decisions on principles of eternal truth instead of the fluctuating circumstances of life. All that we learn about in life we can take with us into the next life. All of the work that we do to improve our relationships here in life are not a waste since God has made a way for us to live with our loved ones forever as eternal family units in the Celestial level of heaven God's highest of kingdoms and the greatest possible inheritance He can give us if we freely choose it.
Good and Evil (Concept of Opposition) Life is divinely designed to create choices and experiences that are either good or evil. All of those things that lead us closer to Christ and to doing good such as helping others to be happy by doing honorable things through faithful obedience to Gods commandments and thereby being a blessing to those around us and bringing the greatest of blessings upon ourselves – are good and inspired of heaven. All of those things that lead us away from Christ and encourage to do evil such as to disobey eternal laws of God (disobey God’s commands) and thereby experience the natural consequences of disobedience that bring harm to yourself or others is inspired of the devil.
Opposition gives us contrast so we have the opportunity to choose and experience the results of our choices. When we learn from the sad choices of others so we don't have to experience that pain ourselves, we can progress even faster in wisdom. The same is true of learning by the good examples of others. When we learn of the good choices of others and then we freely choose to follow their good example, we advance faster towards lasting happiness and wisdom.
God encourages us to make the best choices for good and to obey the laws of the land in which we live. As pertaining to opposition, we would hardly appreciate the great joy and blessings God gives us if we couldn't also experience sorrow and pain. But God assures us that only in this life is sorrow and pain brief but necessary for us to learn from so we can appreciate those things that are good as well as to encourage us to have compassion for others who suffer.
We know our suffering is temporary because Christ promises to wipe away all tears (including painful and paralyzing memories that cause deep distress in every form of emotional suffering) in the next life through His salvation when we live in heaven. He heals us in this way because He has literally been through what we have been through (see 'Atonement').
Gospel of Jesus Christ ('The Way') God's plan for happiness through salvation for His children. Only through Jesus Christ's atonement is God's plan made possible. Throughout history God's pattern of teaching His complete or full gospel to those people who were ready to receive it has been done through His prophets (i.e. Abraham, Noah, Moses, Jesus Christ etc). The gospel consists of eternal truths (laws, ordinances, and covenants) that are needed by God's children in order that they can return to live in the presence of God in His highest level (Celestial level) of heaven after death. Because the Atonement of Jesus Christ is at the center of the Gospel in God's plan, this is why Jesus Christ is the only Way back to God. This is why Jesus Christ is considered the Way, the Truth and the Life (Eternal Life the highest degree of salvation).
Grace A divine source of help as can only be provided through the perfect love and generous mercy of Jesus Christ. It's Christ's enabling power that He gives to us in this life to help us through difficulties as well as for eternal life so we may be exalted (the greatest degree of salvation) in the next life because we have done our part to prove faithful to Jesus Christ and God (by personally exercising faith in Christ, properly repenting of our individual sins
, and doing our best to keep God's commandments). Each of us needs divine grace because of our weaknesses and because of the fall of Adam. But even if we perfectly obeyed all of God's commandments, it is ultimately by the grace of Jesus the Christ that salvation is possible. Jesus makes this clear in His parable of the vine and branches (see KJV bible John 15:1-11, John 1:12-17, Eph. 2:8-9, Philip. 4:13)
Heaven The place where God lives with his holy angels. It is outside of earth. It is a place of peace, happiness and fullness of joy. We can inherit the highest level of heaven (God's highest kingdom of glory) the Celestial level of glory, when we accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ and do our very best to obey the commandments of God. (See Atonement and Degrees of heaven)
Hell In the world of spirits it is a place separated from the righteous. Hell is a prison for those who died in their sins – a place for those who rejected God's prophets or died without learning the saving truths of God and Christ. It's a temporary place for missionary work to occur where the spirits in prison learn about the Gospel and choose to accept Christ and His teachings and laws or not. Those who accept the gospel can leave hell and enter paradise where they can wait for their own resurrection. After their resurrection they will receive whatever level of heaven God feels they are worthy of. But for those who reject the Gospel in spirit prison and don't repent, they will stay in spirit prison until the end of the Millennium and then they'll be resurrected and receive the lowest kingdom of glory the Telestial level of heaven.
The wicked will find the experience of hell to be a place of torment where they will know what it is like to be the victims of those whom they have harmed because of their choice in life to show no remorse for their victims and thus choose to be unrepentant during life. This is part of the justice of God made possible by the Atonement of Jesus Christ so that those who commit crimes will experience exactly what it was like to be the victim(s) of their crimes in an effort to try and motivate the wicked to choose to repent and understand exactly all of the negative consequences that their choice to sin has brought upon others as well as themselves.
It's one of the Lord's last resorts to help the wicked to learn that disobedience to God's commandments pushes away opportunities for lasting happiness and invites misery. At the very least, in God's infinite mercy, even the very wicked will inherit a kingdom of heaven but only after first paying the price for their sins and even then they will only inherit the very lowest of the kingdoms of God away from his presence and away from all others in the higher Celestial and Terrestrial kingdoms.
Outside of the world of spirits is another hell where the devil and his angels live as spirits (since none of them ever have or ever will receive a body of flesh and bone to house their spirit in) where there is no forgiveness for them.
Holy Scriptures Written recorded histories of God's dealings with His children. Prophets called of God are always commanded to keep a record of the people the prophet is called to lead so as to provide several blessings such as an accurate understanding of the nature of God including His love and mercies as well as His will for the greatest happiness of the people the law is provided for. These sacred writings also provide the current or past evidence of God's fulfillment of his promises since all true prophets that record prophetic forthtellings eventually find those prophecies fulfilled sooner or later.
A strong evidence of our faith is how we treat the holy scriptures of God. As we study, believe and obey the Lord's revealed word, we put ourselves on God's side and provide ourselves with the greatest opportunities for happiness in this life and the next. Diligent personal study of God's word for us opens the windows of heaven for revelation to be provided for us individually to guide us to know what we should do and become for our greatest happiness and for our unique individual needs and circumstances. Learning about Jesus Christ is the most vital purpose for sincere and diligent scripture study. Through studying and living God's word and His gospel we can significantly strengthen the faith in Christ that we receive as a sacred gift from God.
Influence of the Holy Spirit of God Also called the ‘Holy Ghost,’ ‘Spirit of the Lord,’ or ‘the Comforter,’ the Holy Spirit of God is the third member of the Godhead. The Holy Spirit is a personage of spirit who works in perfect harmony with God the Father and Jesus Christ to help God's children receive divine blessings both for this life as well as the next. He is a testifier of the reality and divinity of both God the Father and Jesus Christ as well as a testifier of all other truths.
The way that the Holy Spirit testifies to us of truth is by giving us thoughts that teach us of God's truths while also providing a special feeling within our hearts that can only come from God so you have no reason to doubt the source of the feeling and witness. His unique power of communication with our own inner spirit brings the kind of assurance that is far more powerful and lasting in its witnessing influence than any other means of understanding we could get by our natural senses alone.
The only way any of us can receive a sure testimony of saving truths –– especially a sure testimony of our loving Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus the Christ –– is through the power of the Holy Spirit of God. He can provide both physical and spiritual protection for us in life. He can provide us comfort and quiet our fears as needed for proper hope. At other times, He may allow us to feel fear as a warning of danger so we can quickly choose to change our course and He will lead us to safety as we pray (either openly or quietly in our heart by our thoughts) and do all we can to get ourselves to a place of peace and safety or by removing a potential danger far from us before it's too late. He often guides us to know what is right for us to do as we make decisions in life.
Some of the primary ways we can recognize the workings of the Holy Spirit within us are by a feeling of peace in our heart or a feeling of joy (sometimes both) that help us know something we are learning is true. He can remind us of things we have forgotten if it will help us out in life. He can also help us to feel deep gratitude in our heart for God and/or His Son Jesus Christ. To be baptized with the Holy Ghost is to be sanctified. This goes hand in hand with receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost which provides additional special blessings that can only come after one is properly baptized by one having Christ's authority.
This sacred power and authority is not something any person can take upon themselves or purchase for the sake of power (Hebrews 5:4). Baptism by water only is incomplete without the baptism of the Spirit afterwards. Because the Holy Ghost is a member of the Godhead, only those who receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost (which is different than the influence of the Holy Ghost) can receive the highest level of salvation in heaven after death.
Immortality The condition of being in a resurrected state (a body that is made whole and is perfected where it will no longer be subject to disease or death) with the ability to live forever. A resurrected body is a perfected immortal body that can only be provided by the sacred powers of God as He wills it. Jesus Christ was the great example being the first to receive a resurrected immortal body of perfected flesh and bone. When He was resurrected after His death, everyone recognized Him as He looked the same as He did when he enjoyed good health and walked and talked among them before He died and His resurrection was such a big deal in part because His death was so very public.
Jesus Christ The second member of the Godhead. As the only begotten Son of the Father, he inherited divine traits and attributes as no other in the history of humankind has ever inherited in birth. Jesus’ mother, Mary, made it possible for Him to receive a mortal body but His Father, God, gave Him power over death along with other divine traits and attributes. Although He is one with God united in purpose, He is a separate being from God the Father.
Jesus lived with all of us as spirit children of the Father before any of us were born to earth. God the Father chose Jesus to be the Redeemer of the world before the earth was even created. Jesus created the earth under the direction of His Father. In the Old Testament He was the Great Jehovah. In the New
Testament, He was the promised Messiah. He came to earth to do the will of His Father. God the Father sent His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to fulfill the Atonement so that each of us, no matter where we are located around the world (regardless of race, gender or nationality), can have happiness in this life as well as an eternal fullness of joy in the next life.
Even though He was without sin, He set a good example for all of us by being baptized anyway since baptism is a vital step in righteousness towards salvation. He encourages us to do as He did and so He fulfilled all of His Fathers laws, including the one that requires baptism as a prerequisite for sins to be forgiven. Peace and goodwill was what He lived and taught. He lived his life doing good to others. He worked many miracles such as healing the sick, causing the blind to receive their sight and the crippled to walk. He even raised the dead. He taught eternal truths including the fact of our spiritual existence with God in heaven before earth, the purpose of the experience of our life on earth and our great potential as sons and daughters of God to become perfected and be as God after this life.
Ever since the days of Adam Christ's first coming (his birth and his death) have been prophesied and He was identified early on by various titles: Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). He created the sacrament so we could remember His life as well as His great atoning sacrifice in death. His death was brought about only because He willed it. All of the false charges and the ultimate conviction that brought for Him a sentence of death upon the cross of Calvary became a priceless vicarious gift for all. He willingly gave His life so that all of humankind might live in eternal happiness through His salvation.
He is the Great Mediator as He is the Advocate at the time of judgment for all who have sincerely sought to do God's will (whereas those who have rejected Christ and His gospel leave themselves open to spiritual defeat as the accuser (Satan) seeks to prevent his own followers from obtaining any heavenly glory or inheritance after death).
Jesus the Christ carried out the great atoning sacrifice in total and perfect love for us all in fulfillment of His Father's will and was the first of all of God's children to be resurrected (see 'Resurrection'). Hence the wonderful news: He lives! Jesus Christ is the literal living Son of the literal living God. He taught us to pray to God the Father in His name (in the name of Jesus Christ) and God will hear and answer every sincere prayer.
Those who have never had the opportunity to learn of Christ in their lifetime will have an opportunity after death to learn of Him and His gospel and to freely choose to accept the gospel or not. In this way, the Father assures all who have ever been born an equal opportunity for the highest level of salvation. There is no other in the history of this earth who has had the profound influence that our Savior, Jesus Christ, has had upon everyone who has ever lived or has yet to live on earth. Just as He has fulfilled His promise as foretold by prophets to be born to earth and provide the great atonement, He will return again in fulfillment of the promise given of His heavenly angels immediately after His ascension into heaven (see Acts 1:11).
The second coming of Jesus Christ will usher in His Millennial Reign of peace on earth and bring an end to all wickedness and strife. It is up to each of us to prepare to meet God later by how we live now day by day and it is in mercy that we let others learn of it so they may also have the opportunity to freely choose to prepare and inherit the greatest of God's gifts: eternal life.
Lucifer He became the Devil (a. k. a. the adversary or Satan). Satan is often referred to as the deceiver (Father of all lies), adversary, slanderer, demon and accuser. He is a spirit who is the enemy of all righteousness. He is opposed to all good and thus he is opposed to God. He uses methods contrary to God's plan for happiness to get God's children to follow in his evil ways. He uses lies to trick people into not following God so that Satan may trap souls into doing evil. Whereas God promotes freedom in choice towards happiness and endless progression to become like God in doing good and blessing others, Satan promotes the stifling of progress for good by enslavement and forcing people to do things that always lead sooner or later to misery, pain and destruction.
The example of destructive addiction is a clear example of Satan’s efforts to lead people away from God and towards destruction. Even the idea to force a person to do good is a method of Satan (since God opposes the idea of forcing anyone to make right choices) as the concept of forcing others to do good is simply a front (even if it begins with misguided intentions for good) as Satan does not intend to make people better at being good or becoming good but rather a careful study of truth reveals it leads to the all consuming lust for power and forced submission which always ends up leading to the misery of the enslaved people and mass death and destruction. The adversary constantly seeks to stop people from doing the will of the Lord.
Unlike the unlimited powers of God, Satan has limited powers as he does not have the ability to read our minds or to give us feelings of peace or joy. Satan does have many very real powers but God has all control to limit the influence of Satan at any time, in any place for anyone as often as the Lord likes so we may pray to God in faith that God does in fact have the ability to overpower Satan as the Lord wills it for our benefit so that we are not given more than we can handle in life (although we may choose to give ourselves more than we can handle when we choose to sin by going against God's plan of happiness. But even then, God still helps us out when we sincerely ask for it. That's a vital part of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.) But it is a mistake for any of us to underestimate Satan's abilities.
With deception being the devils craft, he often uses counterfeit means of tricking people into following after him. His primary measure for counterfeit is to take the Lord's gospel and pervert it by mixing it with the ideas taught by humankind which result in false doctrine that is often taken to extremes with the first extreme being a counterfeit of hope as false hope where the false doctrine is taught by good people (most often because they simply don't know the truth) that everyone is saved equally regardless of what sins they may commit in life (meaning there is only mercy and no justice since there are no negative consequences for doing wrong and harming oneself or others so there is no appropriate motivation for doing right.
We are taught in the bible that our One true God is unchanging which means that only humankind can make changes to how we define God although our changes can never change the truth of who God really is as He Himself has defined in holy scripture. God has taught us that He is a God of perfect love which means a God who is both merciful and just. It is therefore a misunderstanding of truth to believe God is anything other than what He Himself has taught us about Himself.) The key indicator that false hope is used as one of Satan's counterfeits is that it leads people away from the teachings of Christ the author of all truth by offering an alternative method of salvation that is only founded upon partial truths (mixed with the ideas of men and women) rather than God's full truth as only found in the fullness of the gospel.
The other counterfeit Satan uses (that seems to be more prominent) is a total lack of hope for humankind. Satan uses two methods to remove hope and replace it with despair: by discouraging any belief that the One true God really exists (and therefore neither mercy nor justice exists) or the other extreme of belief in a false God who exists only as a God of justice so once we mess up, the lie is that there is no mercy or forgiveness. But with either method, false hope or none at all, Satan succeeds if we innocently believe his lies or if we maliciously promote them (which is rare for most people to knowingly do).
Despite his efforts to hide his existence by causing others to not believe the Bible's teachings that Satan really does exist, his path is easily recognized by those who are careful to observe as his path always leads away from Christ and all that is good and instead leads to various forms of destruction, misery and pain. In the battle for our souls it is more of a battle of ideas rather than a physical battle. Satan's strategy is
always the same to call good evil and to call evil good. Only where the freedom for a people to openly discuss their beliefs about God and allow freedom of religion to exist can the potential for God's children to learn eternal truths and find lasting peace and happiness become and remain a blessed reality. Take away that freedom and misery eventually engulfs the people and leads to their eventual destruction. If you can't see the enemy coming (such as convincing oneself that no devil exists in life or that there is no right or wrong in our choices) then you're at a tremendous disadvantage that leaves you vulnerable to be tricked and trapped by Satan's deceptive and destructive ways. This is why his enemy, Jesus Christ, is One he doesn't want the world to know of.
For those who know Christ's teachings have learned who the enemy is and how to spot him (how he deceives us in our lives) and thereby avoid most pain and suffering and live a life of true and lasting happiness. Ultimately Christ will prevail over Satan since the message of all of God's true prophets and apostles have been that truth and righteousness (the fullness of the Gospel) bring the peace and triumph that will bring an end to deception, sin and war.
Those who are faithful to Christ will prevail victoriously over their enemies and all other afflictions including the final triumph over Satan. It is through the power of Jesus Christ that the triumph of righteousness over wickedness will be a lasting triumph.
Mercy It consists of feelings of patience, tenderness, compassion, love and forgiveness. Mercy is a natural byproduct of humility. Mercy is a characteristic trait of God. He expresses His mercy perfectly in the humble atoning sacrifice of His divine Son, Jesus Christ. God's mercy through Christ is available to each of us upon His conditions of our repentance.
Mortality (a.k.a. Mortal Life) The time period starting with birth until physical death. Because birth brings a forgetting of our pre-earth life, mortal life is a time where we are each tested to see if we will be faithful to God through obedience to whatever truths and laws we learn of in life and recognize in our hearts are good and of God. This time of testing helps us to ultimately prove to ourselves by our own choices after all is said and done what is most important to us (be it the things of God or the things of this world). Our time spent in life is our opportunity to choose to learn of the Gospel as taught by Christ and to make and keep sacred covenants with God that ensure us the greatest happiness in this life and in the world to come. Learning of the Gospel and teaching others its truths for happiness strengthens our faith in God as we receive and recognize the blessings God gives us for helping others to learn of Christ and freely choose to return to God.
Obedience and disobedience to commandments Because God's commandments exist for our benefit, our keeping of his laws results in our living happier lives of more abundant freedom. One of the first lessons God gave in the garden of Eden was the freedom to choose between good and evil or obedience and disobedience to his commandments. Although disobedience always proves sooner or later to bring sorrow, God never forces any of his children to do what is right. The best way we can show we love God is to keep His commandments (John 14:15) and the best way for us to feel close to God and to most easily feel His love for us personally (individually as His children) is when we keep His commandments (John 15:10).
It is through our best efforts of faithful obedience to His commandments in this life that activates the saving effect of Christ's atoning sacrifice for those who prove faithful to receive blessings and peace in this life as well as the great gift of eternal life in the next world. He knows we are not perfect and therefore God is patient with us when we at times struggle to obey His laws. No matter how many times we mess up, as long as we keep trying our honest best, starting over with real, sincere intents to do better next time, we’re more likely to be better at doing good. As long as we do our best to obey Him, God blesses us.
Physical death when our eternal spirit leaves our body. Our spirit cannot die or in other words, our spirit cannot cease to exist. You have been you (and I have been me) for a very, very long time. Spiritual death is when we are out of God's presence and removed or separated from his influence. The Atonement of Jesus Christ solves both problems of physical death and spiritual death.
Prayer Because God is the father of our spirits He is eager to help us in our times of need. Prayer becomes easier to do when we have confidence that God is good and loves us perfectly (this is just one of many reasons it is vital for children to have a father who is a good role model who sincerely tries to follow Christ since our first introduction to the concept of fatherhood is when we are children. Those who have good dads are more likely to have a belief in the goodness of God and His love whereas those who have absentee fathers or abusive fathers may find it more difficult to believe in God's love for us. But despite the example of our earthly father, our Heavenly Father loves us deeply and perfectly and forever and His primary work is to help us to live after the ways of happiness (God's ways).
When we pray to God effectively, we get Heavenly Father's will and our own will to communicate one to another not for the purposes of changing God's will but rather to receive for us and those we love those blessings God wants to give us. In order to get the blessings God is eager to provide for us all we have to do is ask with sincere intent (meaning that we are willing to do our part to get the blessings God has for us and use them for good).
The proper way to pray is that we must pray to our Father in Heaven in the name of Jesus Christ. First we thank Him for our blessings and then we ask for those things we need as well as praying for others to be blessed. A key we can remember for success in prayer is that if we want to get specific answers to our prayers, we must ask for specific blessings. If we pray as if everything depends upon God for the answers but go and work as if everything depends upon us for our prayers to be answered, we'll find we work hand-in-hand with God to get the blessings He has for us and for those we pray for. God does not desire to do for us those things we can honestly do for ourselves since the more dependent we become upon others the less freedom we have and our Father in Heaven is a God who encourages the freedom to do for ourselves and enjoy the strengthened self-confidence that comes as well as encouraging us to be a blessing for others.
Many times God answers our prayers by the selfless service of others. Another way he answers our prayers is by helping our abilities to be suited to our tasks.
We can ask him if something is true and He will let us know through the power of the Holy Ghost if we ask sincerely and do all we can to discover the truth for ourselves in preparation for the special witness of His Holy Spirit. Do your best to show respect for God when praying by using words that convey feelings of reverence and love. Also try not to use 'vain repetitions' (Matt. 6:7).
It is best to address Him during prayer with sacred reverence for His name by using the pronouns used in scriptures such as Thee, Thou, Thy and Thine. Ultimately your prayers don't have to be perfect as long as you are sincere. As we make personal prayer a daily habit we will learn more about God, feel closer to him, understand His teachings and find our lives are happier and more fulfilling as we use prayer for the highest of God's designs for us to become like He is. Through counting our many blessings each day we will learn just how generous and wise God is in how abundantly He blesses each of us as His children. So when we offer to Him prayers of gratitude that tell Him we recognize that all of our blessings and our rights come from Him, we will see how He desires to bless us even more.
Prayer was specifically designed by God to ultimately provide each of us his highest of blessings if we freely choose to ask for and accept them as He provides for us in his own time and in his own way the very best of His blessings.
Pre-earth life The time before we were born when we lived with God as his spirit children in heaven. (see God's Plan for Happiness)
Probationary period of time See 'Mortality'
Prophet Those men who are inspired to speak for God. Prophets such as Moses, Isaiah, Noah and Jesus Christ are some of
the prophets God has called to teach people the Gospel. The pattern of God calling prophets has been around since the days of Adam. True prophets called of God have always done the same things: they have taught people God's character, revealed the full meaning of God's dealings with humankind –– especially pertaining to the house of Israel and kept records of the teachings God has revealed during their time as prophets as well as what happened with the people who received or rejected the teachings God revealed by His prophet.
It has always been the prophet’s duty to speak out against sin and warn of the eternal consequences of sin while emphasizing a love for all of God’s children (as sinners) despite our weaknesses and imperfections as prophets also are to set a good example by living an honorable life and treating others with the proper care and respect.
Prophets are called first and foremost to preach righteousness and in cases where people have pushed away a true belief and faith in Jehovah (in the Old Testament) or Jesus Christ (of the New Testament) a prophet is to help restore God's truths as a means of bringing God's children back to a proper worship of and faith in God. True faith in God comes from correcting false views of God's character and clarifying what God requires for our salvation.
As pertaining to predictions, prophets have frequently been forthteller's of important events often with a focus on the kingdom of the Messiah. Other key patterns of true prophets have been that they testify of the divine Sonship of Jesus Christ and His great atoning sacrifice as well as quoting other prophets who have done the same for the purposes of strengthening our faith in Jesus Christ. Prophets also may receive power from God to translate ancient records.
Redeemer (a. k. a. Jesus Christ) One who is divinely appointed to remove the consequences of sin. When any of us commits sin we become a slave to the Devil who holds our souls unless we are ransomed by a power greater than our own. Jesus Christ is the One who holds the power to ransom us by saving us from spiritual death and hell (one of the negative consequences of sin) as well as the ability to deliver us from the hold the grave has on us in physical death. Because spiritual redemption refers to a deliverance from sin, it is imperative to have a correct understanding of Jesus' Atonement which makes such redemption possible. Because Jesus Christ is the Son of God and only sinless person on earth, He was the only one capable of paying the price of sin for all of humankind and also the only one who could make resurrection possible for all people. (See Atonement)
Redemption See Atonement, the Fall of Adam and Eve
Repentance Faith in Christ and a love for God and others leads us to sincere repentance. Repentance is a significant change in how we think, what we believe and a change to stop doing things that are not in harmony with God's laws. When we sincerely repent, we see God in a better light as well as ourselves and the world in a better light (often with optimism for our potential to improve our efforts for doing good). We stop doing things that are wrong and we keep doing things that are right. True repentance is at the very core of the test of our lives.
To pass the test of mortal life we should be diligent in working towards sincerely aligning our will with God's. It is a mistake for any of us to say God is on our side but it is always right for us to seek to put ourselves on God's side. Through the grace of Christ the atonement is made possible for our salvation after we've done all we can do to prove our obedience to the commandments of God. Sincere repentance means caring more about what God thinks of our sins rather than what people think of our sins. It means we care more about what happens to others we may have harmed as well as our eternal salvation more than caring about any embarrassment or material or other worldly losses that come as a natural yet uncontrolled consequence from our choice to sin. We must confess all of our sins to God through personal prayer as well as confess to those we have harmed or deceived in any way.
Serious sins need to be confessed to God's authorized leaders in His church. All sins should be corrected to the best of our ability (via restitution) and we should not wait to confess our sins only after evidence proves our guilt.
Repentance changes us for the better, makes the world a better place and gives us hope in our potential to inherit the highest level of heaven after death thanks to the Atonement of Jesus Christ. The results of repentance also include feeling God's love more easily in our hearts as we experience peace of conscience and divine forgiveness. It plays a key role towards our individual happiness. But since we are not perfect we are bound to make mistakes from time to time in life. So we must keep repenting.
As we practice repentance daily (not as a means to excuse sin by planning to repent later since true repentance requires we make a daily diligent effort to never repeat the same sin again) we will find ourselves happier and more successful in our abilities to master a more productive use our time for good and our desires to do good will increase. Real repentance leads us to Christ who can ultimately provide for us and those we love the greatest of joys. (See also Atonement, Jesus Christ and God's Plan for our happiness.)
Resurrection The reuniting of a person’s spirit body with their perfected physical body of tangible flesh and bones after death to never be separated ever again because of the immortal state of the newly resurrected body. The resurrection is possible only because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. He was the first of God's children to be resurrected.
Salvation See Jesus Christ and Atonement
Savior of the World See Jesus Christ
Sin A refusal of an individual (man or woman or child old enough to understand the basics of right and wrong) to keep the commandments (laws) of God. Sin brings about an estrangement from God which results in a spiritual death. Because we are all free to choose to sin or not, we are not, however, free to choose the consequences of sin. Therefore, when we sin, we lose control over our own will by becoming a slave to sin and thus experience spiritual death. Sin and sorrow go hand-in-hand since even if the sorrow takes time to manifest, it always comes sooner or later. The atonement of Jesus Christ causes us to all be accountable for our individual choices in life. We may receive forgiveness for our sins as we do our best efforts to obey the laws of God as taught by the gospel of Jesus Christ which will help us to be forgiven so we may have eternal life and live again with God in heaven (a state of eternal peace and happiness) after death.
Stewardship The active direction by one in charge over an organization or group. For example, the president of a basketball club would have stewardship over how the club is ran as a benefit for the people that the club serves. In religious matters, a prophet is a leader of God's church (one of it’s presidents) who has stewardship over the people and the prophet is therefore responsible to teach the people of righteousness, lead them by good example to Christ and denounce sin and warn of the negative consequences that will come to those who choose to disobey God's laws. But since God is a God of order, He follows a divine pattern of rank and file which includes the command to honor and obey the laws of the land in which you live.
God's order also provides that no one can receive guidance from God for people who have positions of stewardship above and beyond that of their own stewardship. So for example, in the United States, because a prophet is not usually also the president of the United States, the prophet does not have legal stewardship or legal accountability for the choices that a U.S. president makes and therefore is not liable to tell the president how to do his or her job. Although the president of the United States may receive counsel from any number of different religious leaders of differing denominations, it is still ultimately the responsibility of the president to follow the dictates of his or her own conscience as he or she seeks to honor the laws of the land in carrying out his or her presidential duties to best serve the people of the United States.
Telestial Level of Heaven (a. k. a. “Telestial Kingdom of God”) This is the lowest of all three levels of heaven that are possible for a person to earn after death through the saving grace of the atonement of Jesus Christ. Because we make cho
ices in our everyday lives regarding good or evil, we are rewarded by God depending upon what choices we made in life and what we really desired in our heart (as is often manifested by what we did with our time). After the Judgment we'll be rewarded depending upon what we did with our bodies (actions, choices or the lack thereof since the choice to let someone else choose for you and to go with whatever someone else chooses means that you are willing to let evil be the choice if you allow someone else to invite it thereby passively sharing in the responsibility for the choice made). Those who did not repent but chose to keep sinning will receive this lowest level of heaven. In the scriptures it's compared with the glory of the stars.
Terrestrial Level of Heaven (a. k. a. “Terrestrial Kingdom of God”) This is the second highest level of heaven. This middle level is for those who chose not to accept the full gospel of Jesus Christ but still used their time honorably with many good choices. This middle level is compared in the scriptures with the glory of the moon.
Time of Judgment After death there is appointed a time for each of us to meet God. This time is known as the 'Judgment' or 'Final Judgment.' At the time of judgment, we will each be resurrected and be held accountable for our own individual sins as we are judged individually by God through Jesus Christ. The final judgment results in our receiving an eternal reward of God. The reward we receive will depend upon how obedient we were to the commandments of God which includes if we chose to accept or reject the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. (See also Degrees of Heaven)
To die spiritually This is a death of (or end of) choosing things that are righteous. It is when we become separated from God and His influences. To be spiritually dead while still living on earth is what happens to those who choose evil behaviors, entertain evil thoughts and/or speak lies and other forms of wickedness in their communications with others. Christ gives us hope that each of us can overcome our own spiritual death through the Atonement of Jesus Christ and thereby become cleansed from the spiritual stains of sin as we do our best to obey the principles and ordinances of the Gospel.
To have sins forgiven The Lord has taught us that in order for us to be forgiven of God, we must forgive others who have sinned against us (Matt 6:12, 15). Although we may forgive others for their sins against us, that does not remove the guilty person's responsibility to fully repent as the Lord requires which includes doing his or her best to correct the sin(s) he or she committed. For us to be forgiven of our sins, the Lord provides for us His great atoning sacrifice for our salvation upon conditions of our repentance. (See Repentance, Atonement and God’s Plan for Happiness)
To live again with God See Eternal Life and Celestial Level of Heaven
Tree of knowledge of good and evil See Fall of Adam and Eve
World of spirits The place we all go after death. It basically is divided into two sides. The first side is known as paradise where the spirits of the righteous go. It's a place of peace and rest from all worries and sorrow. The second side is known as spirit prison where those who never learned of Christ and those who knew of Christ but rejected Christ's prophets and chose wickedness.
Those in spirit prison can be welcomed into spirit paradise if they learn the Gospel (all that is required for them to learn for their salvation) and then accept vicarious works done on their behalf since salvation requires good works to be done while we are still alive on earth (and whereas death brings about a separation of our spirit from our body we cannot do the work God requires (such as physical baptism) so we must enlist the help of those still living via vicarious works (1 Cor 15:29). God makes ample provisions for the salvation of all of His children and then leaves it up to each one of us whether in life or after physical death (if necessary) to freely choose to accept the Atonement of Jesus Christ and live in happiness. The world of spirits is where each of us waits for our own individual resurrection and time of judgment.