“Those Who Will Inherit the Terrestrial Kingdom Are Described; the Status of Those in the Terrestrial Glory Is Explained”
Doctrine and Covenants 76:71–80, 91, 97
71 And again, we saw the terrestrial world, and behold and lo, these are they who are of the terrestrial, whose glory differs from that of the church of the Firstborn who have received the fulness of the Father, even as that of the moon differs from the sun in the firmament.
72 Behold, these are they who died without law;
73 And also they who are the spirits of men kept in prison, whom the Son visited, and preached the gospel unto them, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh;
74 Who received not the testimony of Jesus in the flesh, but afterwards received it.
75 These are they who are honorable men of the earth, who were blinded by the craftiness of men.
76 These are they who receive of his glory, but not of his fulness.
77 These are they who receive of the presence of the Son, but not of the fulness of the Father.
78 Wherefore, they are bodies terrestrial, and not bodies celestial, and differ in glory as the moon differs from the sun.
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.
80 And now this is the end of the vision which we saw of the terrestrial, that the Lord commanded us to write while we were yet in the Spirit. . . .
91 And thus we saw the glory of the terrestrial which excels in all things the glory of the telestial, even in glory, and in power, and in might, and in dominion. . . .
97 And the glory of the terrestrial is one, even as the glory of the moon is one.
President Joseph Fielding Smith wrote:
“Into the terrestrial kingdom will go all those who are honorable and who have lived clean virtuous lives, but who would not receive the gospel, but in the spirit world repented and accepted it as far as it can be given unto them. Many of these have been blinded by tradition and the love the world, and have not been able to see the beauties of the gospel. Into this kingdom, or glory, will also go these who are without law, and therefore redeemed through the blood of Jesus Christ. (See Mosiah 3:11; 15:24; Moroni 8:22; D&C 29:50.) Another class is those who are not valiant in the testimony of Jesus. All who enter this glory ‘[obtain] not the crown over the kingdom of our God’ (v. 79) which is reserved for the faithful in the celestial kingdom. Jesus Christ, the Son, will visit them but not the Father and they receive blessings by ministrations of those from the celestial. Their glory is far greater than the glories in the telestial (v. 91). The Lord will make them as happy, and will bless them as far as He can but their blessings are restricted while those of the celestial are unlimited. President John Taylor has said of these:
“‘As eternal beings we all have to stand before Him to be judged; and He has provided different degrees of glory—the celestial, the terrestrial, and the telestial glories—which are provided according to certain unchangeable laws which cannot be controverted. What will He do with them? For those who are ready to listen to Him and be brought under the influence of the Spirit of God and be led by the principles of revelation and the light of heaven, and who are willing to yield obedience to His commands at all times and carry out His purposes upon the earth, and who are willing to abide a celestial law, He has prepared for them a celestial glory, that they may be with Him for ever and ever. And what about the others? They are not prepared to go there any more than lead is prepared to stand the same test as gold or silver; and there they cannot go. And there is a great gulf between them. But He will do with them just as well as He can. A great many of these people in the world, thousands and hundreds of millions of them, will be a great deal better off through the interposition of the Almighty than they have any idea of, but they cannot enter into the celestial kingdom of God; where God and Christ are they cannot come.’ [John Taylor, “Discourse,” Deseret News, Feb. 12, 1879, 19.]”
(Church History and Modern Revelation, 2 vols. [1953], 1:287–88.)
