Plan of Salvation — Missionary Training Center mission conference presentation
The Plan of Salvation, by President Young of the MTC presidency
- One of my favorite apostles was Elder Boyd K. Packer. He encouraged all teachers to stress the plan of salvation.
- The plan of salvation is also referred to as the plan of happiness, the plan of redemption, the plan of mercy, the plan of joy, and the plan of the Eternal God.
- Before we were pre-mortal spirits, we were ‘intelligences’. There has been no definitive explanation as to what exactly an ‘intelligence’ looks like or is capable of.
- We are literally spirit children of a Heavenly Father and a Heavenly Mother.
- The Savior created this world (and countless others) as a place for us to gain a body, to be tested, to progress spiritually, and to experience physical death.
- The spirit world is actually here on this planet, as explained by Brigham Young.
- Following our experience in the spirit world, we will be resurrected and then judged.
- We will then inherit the kingdom of glory that we merit.
- Those who inherit the Telestial Kingdom will be those who broke the 10 Commandments.
- Those who inherit the Celestial Kingdom will need to be ‘perfect’ and we can only reach perfection through Christ’s atoning sacrifice.
- Others who will inherit the Celestial Kingdom are children who died before reaching the age of 8 and those who are mentally incapable.
- Others who merit the Celestial Kingdom will only do so by following the covenant path marked by the Doctrine of Christ. Those who inherit the highest degree of the Celestial Kingdom will be able to have spirit offspring and participate in other ‘creation’ activities.
- The three pillars of eternity are the Creation, the Fall, and the Atonement of Christ. All are emphasized in our temple rituals.
- In the endowment session, we symbolically travel through the plan of salvation (Creation, Fall, Telestial Room, Terrestrial Room, the veil, and then the Celestial Room. You are always symbolically moving upward and forward.
- He reviewed the Jacob’s Ladder experience in the book of Genesis. He said that Jacob actually received his endowment and temple covenants during this “dream”. The dream occurred in Bethel, which means ‘house of the Lord’ (the temple). He was endowed before he was married.
- Bethlehem means the house of Bread, with Christ being the Bread of Life.
- Bruce R. McConkie said, “If you are on the straight and narrow path during this life, when you leave this life you will inherit eternal life. Your calling and election is made sure by staying on the straight and narrow path.”
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