Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints

DC 84:45 "For the word of the Lord is truth, and whatsoever is truth is light and whatsoever is light is Spirit, even the Spirit of Jesus Christ. And the Spirit giveth light to every man that cometh into the world: and the Spirit enlighteneth every man through the world that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit. And everyone that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit cometh unto God, even the Father."

Moroni 7:48 "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart...that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is: that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen"

John 17:3 "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou has sent."

DC 76:56 "they are they ... who have received of his fulness, and of his glory."

Life/Eternal life is to know God. (hence why marriage is so important, it teaches us selflessness, charity, love beyond what we'd ever know, and sacrifice. We'll never become like God without mariage. Which is why the highest degrees of the Celestial kingdom requires an eternal marriage. It's not that God doesn't want us to be happy and glorified, but it is impossible for us to become like God, unless we become like God, in which is the most happiness and Glory. Hence it requires eternal marriage...*ahem* He is married.)

Which is why the gospel is so important - it teaches us who God is. When Elder Holland spoke of the apostasy, he said (Oct 2008 conf)

A fourth-century monk cried out, “Woe is me! They have taken my God away from me, . . . and I know not whom to adore or to address.”⁵ How are we to trust, love, worship, to say nothing of strive to be like, One who is incomprehensible and unknowable? What of Jesus’s prayer to His Father in Heaven that “this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent”?⁶ (one more reason the first vision is soooo important... the nature of God and His bodily separation from Christ, was absolutely incontroversial because God appeared next to Christ in a body)

Which for me helps me see why it is SO important to share the gospel. Because these children of God don't even know how to fathom who He is.. is it a spirit. Does it have a personality? Does he know me? Does he have a body? Can I hug him? What will it mean to worship Him in heaven? What is my relationship to Him? What's "he" like? What will it be like to live with "Him"? Is it Christ? Without knowing who He is, it's impossible to draw close to him. Which is why everything in the gospel teaches us the nature of God.

As we learn ANY truth, the light of that truth (truth is light, D&C reference) becomes part of us. With greater light, a.k.a. greater truth and understanding, we become people of light. As we are filled with light, we are more able to comprehend Christ in all His glory, and who Christ actually is, what is His nature and form and purpose (all taught through the gospel, only fragments of which survive in other doctrines). So when Christ comes again, only those who have become people of light will be able to recognize Him. This ability or inability to comprehend Christ's light (if you do not have light within yourself, you can't look at a flame. Some who have no light or truth in them will only recognize God as a brilliant light of the Spirit maybe. But we will be able to SEE HIM AS HE IS, if we have become purified through the gospel and th eknowledge that comes with the gospel). This is the same difference in light that makes some people go to the terrestrial kingdom, vs. the Celestial kigndom. Celestial beings know God to a fuller degree and can comprehend a greater degree of His glory. We can only see Him as he is if we are like Him, otherwise it will be overwhelming. And we can only become like him if we have also acquired light, which is in the form of the spirit, which is truth (D&C), which is why we must feast upon truth.

ALL of the gospel is to know who God is (this is life eternal). So because it is so hard to know Him, God sends Christ (John 15:23, John 14:6 "No man cometh unto the father but by me", 2 Cor 5:18, Eph 2:16, Philip 2:8, John 5:19 "Doeth nothing of himself but what he seeth the father do", etc.) . We need to draw near to Christ, and the only way to comprehend Christ is through HIS gospel and teachings... That's why repentance is not sad, but happy. Repentence is change (BD Repentence: Greek word of which this is the translation denotes a change of mind i.e., a fresh view about God, about oneself, and about the world.). It doesn't have to be change in the form of sorrow or guilt. It's simply this. Repentence is to change to draw closer to Christ. Hel 15:7, Repentence = a change of heart, we've heard that million times right? And often that change is simply in the form of learning who Christ is, because learning who He is draws us closer to Him, right? So as missionaries what are we called to do? Cry repentence (Alma 5:49; D&C 15:6;16:6). How do we do that? Teach the gospel. We don't have to wail and literally cry "Repent"! Just teach people to do or know whatever helps them better comprehend christ, which brings a natural and unstoppable change in people.

Adam fell that men might be and men are that they might have joy. Repentance, possible because we fell away and can now learn through our own experience and by overcoming this spiritual separation - by learning who christ is again, so that we may know just as well in the flesh who He is as we did when we stood in his presence, this repentence brings joy. Joy because it is bringing us closer to Christ and God, which is the purpose of life and eternal life. Which makes way more sense why life here and in the eternities is about furthering the process of doing as God does, that we might KNOW him as you can only know Him through becoming like him. (Don't you understand AND appreciate your parents SO much more now that you're grown up and paying bills. Imagine how much more it will help us to know them and appreciate them when WE have kids, etc.) Those that choose to just know OF Christ and not know how to be like him are going to the Terrestial kingdom - which, funny - it's those churches that teach "be saved. Believe in Jesus, but don't have to know exactly what He taught or expects or why He did what he did" that teach people that "heaven" is praising God as angels, which is exactly what the terrestial Kingdom is.... angels and servants to God, but not like him. vs. 112 "They shall be servants of the Most High; but where God and Christ dwell they cannot come, worlds without end."

DC 76:76 "These are they that received of his glory but not of his fulness." and 79 "These are they who are not valiant in the testimony of Jesus; wherefore, they obtain not the crown over the kingdom of our God." How is it that people are valiant in their testimony of Jesus don't receive celestial? Because they believe IN him, but don't strive to be LIKE him. So they won't see him as he really is on the most deep and wonderful level, so they can never become like him until they accept more of the doctrine he is teaching, which were restored through the prophet Joseph, but they reject it. They say we are apostate for claiming to become like God and reject the doctrines that teach them how to. So, fine, have it their way. the heaven they are taught to believe in is the heaven they will receive because they do not understand God well enough to even comprehend the greater glory He wants to give them, but they believe in Him enough to worship him forever, and they want that and that's why they go to their church and worship, so that's what they will recieve.

But how much would your parents be satisfied if you never had children, even if you said you were fine with not really knowing what it felt like to be a parent? Sure you might choose that and God respects that agency. But how much more happy and fulfilled would He be, or our parents, if we actually did go ahead and move forward and experience the JOY that only comes through becoming a parent? Same with the Celestial. Yeah, they'll receive the heaven they choose and believe in, but God knows they can have reach a higher and more full potential. So he asks us to serve and do our best to bring them to know Him better, aka teach the gospel of Jesus christ, which brings change, which is repentence. So yes. He asks us to cry repentence... which is asking us to bring these children to a greater understanding of their potential so that he can watch them enjoy a greater portion of his joy and happiness... fill the measure of their creation...

As missionaries, we increase the light in anyone that we can increase it in - even if it's a tiny tiny bit. Granted baptism is a necessary ordinance that we call them to, but God is still happy to have them know him and their potential a sliver or a fraction more than they did before we met them. Every one you meet as a missionary is an opportunity to spread that knowledge of God's nature and Christ's gospel, whether or not you feel they will accept lessons or come to church, ALWAYS give God the gift of leaving them the tiniest bit more enlightened (hence, even when tracting try to leave a meaningful commitment, even if they dont invite you back, PMG pg 201 "Focus on inviting people to make commitments in every finding or teaching situation, both with those who are not members of the Church and with Church members." ) - however much they allow for. That light is what will purify them and allow them to Comprehend a fuller degree of who Christ and God are and recieve a greater degree of Glory. They must respect the ordinances in order to really fully become a citizen of a higher kingdom, but even in whatever realm their glory and eternal perspective depends on the light and truth they inherit, so let's just spread that light.

That's why members of the church have this powerful fantastic light that is so strong and beautiful in them. I've seen it stronger in New York than i've seen in a long time. And good members of other faiths have that same light, becasue they are learning to become liek Christ, just through different lessons, that might not involve "12 apostles, a restoration, Christ has a body, etc." but it still teaches them to become like Him, which is the only path that it matters to progress on, however we progress on that path is up to each one of us. So whatever you can teach them to comprehend a greater degree of who christ is, even if it's just to smile, or be a little more charitable, or forgiving, and especially if you can commit them so that they live more like him (in which is the most learning, and even, therefore repentance, PMG pg 195 "When you ask for commitments as part of your teaching, you are inviting the investigator to repent.") you are being an absolute representative of Christ and God and bringing His Children to Him through repentance.