The heavens were opened upon us, and I beheld the celestial kingdom of God, and the glory thereof, whether in the body or out I cannot tell.
I saw the transcendent beauty of the gate through which the heirs of that kingdom will enter, which was like unto circling flames of fire;
Also the blazing throne of God, whereon was seated the Father and the Son.
I saw the beautiful streets of that kingdom, which had the appearance of being paved with gold. I saw Father Adam and Abraham; and my father and my mother; my brother Alvin, that has long since slept;
And I marveled how it was that he had obtained an inheritance in that kingdom, seeing that he had departed this life before the Lord had set his hand to gather Israel the second time, and had not been baptized for the remission of sins.
Thus came the voice of the Lord unto me, saying: All who have died without a knowledge of this gospel, who would have received it if they had been permitted to tarry, shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom of God;
Also all that shall die henceforth without a knowledge of it, who would have received it with all their hearts, shall be heirs of that kingdom;
For I, the Lord, will judge all men according to their works, according to the desire of their hearts.
And I also beheld that all children who die before they arrive at the years of accountability are saved in the celestial kingdom of heaven.
D&C 137

This short revelation describes some the most important doctrines of the Gospel. In the end, the doctrines of salvation are grounded in Christ's Atonement for us. Without His sacrifice, Heavenly Father's Plan of Salvation would be impossible, and we would be left to suffer for our own sins without hope of redemption. Because of the Savior, we all have hope of being saved. God is a just and perfect God, and to exclude any of his children from this plan would preclude his commitment to justice. As Peter observed:

Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons. Acts 10:34

Through the revealed word of God in scripture, we understand the processes necessary for salvation and exaltation. But what about those who die before receiving ordinances (like Joseph's brother Alvin)? What about those who were born into countries where they would never learn of the Gospel? What about those who lived in times when proper Church authority hadn't been restored to the earth? What about the person who missed the missionaries' knock on the door while outside watering a garden?

How does God take care of all of His children? Doctrine and Covenants Section 137 teaches us that God's plan is flawless. As the Lord told Samuel:

... the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart. 1 Samuel 16:7

With our limited mortal perspective, we're constantly tempted to judge others based on outside appearances. From our confined viewpoint we might be inclined to assume that all those who fail to live up to God's outlined plan in this life must, of necessity, be damned. But God is also a God of mercy. His foresight far supersedes our pathetic attempts to figure things out.

Temples are, perhaps, one of the least understood parts of our religious worship to those who don't realize their purpose and role. I love this video; it briefly explains why temples are so important to us as a people, and also so essential to all of humanity.



Doctrines of salvation for the dead are particularly poignant because they apply to one of the most difficult aspects of our daily lives, namely coming to grips with the idea of mortality. It's inevitable that all of us will be forced to deal with death at some point in our lives. The beauty of the Gospel's message of hope, as seen in D&C 137, is that God has already provided a way for all of us children to be saved. To those unfamiliar with the bible, the idea of doing work by proxy might seem strange; however, Paul's epistle to the Corinthians clearly shows that proxy work has been part of God's plan since the beginning of the Church in Christ's day:

Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead? 1 Corinthians 15:29

The salvation of God's children is one of the most miraculous concepts in all of human history. It completely resolves Hamlet's dilemma, as found in his famous "To be or not to be" soliloquy:

But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscovered country from whose bourn
No traveler returns, puzzles the will
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?

With the comforting doctrines of the restoration, death is no longer the great unknown. I know that God has provided a means for salvation, and that He loves each of his children, regardless of their circumstances. The Lord judges us "according to [our] works" and "according to the desire of [our] hearts" (D&C 137:9). Our best course of action is to leave the Final Judgment in His hands while doing our part to facilitate the saving ordinances for the entire earth through missionary work and vicarious temple work.

For a powerful example of the pertinence of this message, I turn to Elder Scott's talk from the April session of last year's General Conference. It's one of my all-time favorites.

Temple Worship: The Source of Strength and Power in Times of Need