We know that there are three degrees of glory, but
do you ever have a hard time remembering which kingdom is which? When I was younger somebody
taught me the mnemonic “Sea Turtle” to remind me that it’s the CElestial, TERrestial, and
TELestial kingdoms. If you struggle to remember which is which, just remember the CE TER TEL.
Sometimes we might think of the Celestial Kingdom as an unattainable place where we can never
hope to belong. In fact, my friend Anthony Sweat surveyed 701 EFY participants and found that 53%
thought they would go to the Celestial Kingdom, 40% thought they would go to the Terrestial
Kingdom and 5% the Telestial Kingdom. Two percent even thought they were going to outer darkness!
Commenting on these survey results, Anthony wrote, “These numbers are disheartening to me
because the youth who took these surveys appear to be actively engaged in the gospel…yet half
don’t think they are celestial material. Why is this so? The most common answer I hear from these
youth goes something like this: ‘Well, I have sins and I’m not perfect, so I don’t think I am
good enough to go to the celestial kingdom. But I don’t think I’m so terrible that I will go to the
telestial kingdom either. So I think I will end up somewhere in the middle—in the terrestrial.’”
Anthony continues, “This line of…thinking demonstrates a possible misunderstanding about
the fundamental role of Jesus Christ’s Atonement and His divine ability to save God’s children.”.
It’s interesting that many of the people surveyed thought they had to be perfect to go to the
Celestial Kingdom—that definitely is not true. You’ve probably spent time studying Doctrine and
Covenants 76, looking at the specific attributes of those who inherit each kingdom. As I recently
did so, I noticed a pattern about the inhabitants of each of these kingdoms—a key factor in all
three relates to a testimony of Jesus Christ. Speaking of those who inherit the Celestial
Kingdom, the Lord said, “They are they who received the testimony of Jesus.”
Regarding those who inherit the Terrestrial kingdom the Lord said, “These are they who
are not valiant in the testimony of Jesus” and referring to go to the Telestial Kingdom,
“These are they who received not…the testimony of Jesus.” I think it’s interesting and important to
note that the testimony of Jesus is a key factor in our eternal destiny.
Please don’t misunderstand me—I’m not saying that if you’re struggling in your testimony
of the Savior that there is no hope for you. What I am saying is that for each one of us,
specifically focusing on our testimony of Jesus Christ is one of the most important things we
can do. In fact, did have you noticed that the first two temple recommend questions focus on our
testimony of Jesus Christ? As recently shared in in General Conference by President Nelson,
these questions are: “Do you have faith in and a testimony of God, the Eternal Father;
His Son, Jesus Christ; and the Holy Ghost? Do you have a testimony of the Atonement of Jesus Christ
and of His role as your Savior and Redeemer?” The Prophet Joseph Smith taught, “The fundamental
principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus
Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven;
and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it.” All
of the fundamental principles of our religion directly connect to Jesus Christ. In my life,
I’ve noticed that when I start to get worked up over what Joseph Smith called “appendages” it’s a
sign that I need to focus more on the fundamental principle—Jesus Christ and his Atonement.
Perhaps we can strengthen our testimony of Jesus Christ by centering more of our studies on him.
Maybe we could pray and ask for direction as to can we strengthen the testimony that we have.
Perhaps we could more often directly share our witness of Jesus Christ.
What could you and I do today to more fully receive the testimony of Jesus Christ?