Beliefs > Question & Answer > Heavenly Kingdom

Question

Is the Heavenly Kingdom, as understood by your people, a physical place, and will we be physically present there, and if so, will we enjoy the physical features that we enjoy on this earth, including, for example, our pets?

Response

First of all, when Christ was resurrected, he appeared to his disciples and said, "Handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have." (Luke 24:39) In the same sense that flesh and blood is used to signify mortality, flesh and bones is the scriptural phrase meaning immortality, the state after the resurrection when all of us will have spiritual bodies. If we are in fact children of our Heavenly Father, and if we were created in his image, why would we think or even consider that we could not have our (glorified) physical bodies in the next life if we know that our Savior was resurrected with a tangible body and has given us the same privilege by virtue of his atonement? As children of God, we all have infinite potential. (see 2 Nephi 2:20; Hebrews 12:9) With this divine heritage, all of us carry the inherent capacity to become like our heavenly parents. Latter-day Saints seek to follow Christ's commandment to be, "perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." (Matt. 5:48) Regarding our surroundings, at the second coming, when the earth is taken back to its Edenic state: "every corruptible thing, both of man, or of the beasts of the field, or of the fowls of the heavens, or of the fish of the sea, that dwells upon all the face of the earth, shall be consumed . . . And in that day the enmity (hostility) of man, and the enmity of beasts, yea, the enmity of all flesh, shall cease from before my face." (D. & C. 101:24-26) Then finally, all these forms of life will come up in the resurrection, "in their destined order or sphere of creation, in the enjoyment of their eternal felicity." (D. & C. 77:3) So yes, we do in fact believe that when we are resurrected, it will be a physical place with tangible bodies as we now have but in a glorified condition. Because Christ died for us and was resurrected, He gave us that same privilege, a redemption from death, allowing us the opportunity to be brought back into the presence of the Lord. Before the death of Joseph Smith, he summarized the beliefs of the Latter-day Saints in thirteen statements which is called the Articles of Faith. In the Tenth Article it states: "We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory." In response to the animals around us, I certainly hope so. In fact, I know so and I'm glad of it. I remember two dogs that I had when I was a young boy, Lady and Fuji. The greatest dogs a boy could have. I loved them so much. It's comforting to be able to make this next statement. Just as we lived before we came to earth, the fish, the fowl, the beasts of the field, and the plants lived as well before they were upon the face of the earth. The spirits that possess the bodies of the animals are in the similitude of their bodies. In other words, the bodies of animals conform to the spirits which possess them, and which existed before they were placed on the earth: "that which is spiritual being in the likeness of that which is temporal; and that which is temporal in the likeness of that which is spiritual; the spirit of man in the likeness of his person, as also the spirit of the beast, and every other creature which God has created." (D&C: 77:2) If you carefully read Genesis, chapter one, and the third chapter of Moses in the Pearl of Great Price, you will see that the animals were all created and put here on the earth before Adam and Eve were placed here. As a matter of fact, the whole earth and all the creatures on it were prepared for Adam and Eve before Adam's fall. In that condition, the earth and everything on it were not subject to death until Adam fell. When Adam and Eve partook of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, the same judgment was placed on the earth and all things upon it. Therefore, every living thing, including the earth itself partook of the same condition of mortality. Therefore every living thing, including our pets, are entitled to death and the resurrection. So you see, the Lord will save not only us, the earth and the heavens, but everything he's created. The animals, the fish, the birds, as well as mankind. We all will be recreated, or renewed, through the resurrection. We are all living souls. Even the earth, as a living body, will have to die and be resurrected because it has been redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ as well. I would certainly consider it a very strange world if after I was resurrected I discovered that people were the only living creatures with immortality, although there are some that believe we have a spirit and animals don't, and that is what distinguishes us from all other beings. You may want to read D&C:29:22-25. It sheds some light on this subject as well. Hope that answers it. Sincerely, Donny Osmond See related multimedia presentations

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