Gospel topic
Final Judgment
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It is very evident that men will not have to await the day of final judgment—the formal occasion when every living soul will stand before the judgment bar, an event that will not take place until the last soul has been resurrected—to learn their status and the degree of glory they are to receive in eternity. Those who are living a telestial law will be swept off the earth at the Second Coming. (D&C 101:24; Mal. 3; 4) Those who come forth in the morning of the first resurrection, who “are Christ’s, the first fruits,” will have celestial bodies and go to a celestial kingdom. “Those who are Christ’s at his coming” will come forth with terrestrial bodies and go to a terrestrial kingdom. Similarly those coming forth in the beginning of the second resurrection will have telestial bodies and go to a telestial kingdom, while the sons of perdition, the last to be resurrected, will have bodies capable of receiving no glory and will be cast out with the devil and his angels forever. (D&C 88:98-102) No one has yet been resurrected with any kind of a body except a celestial. Those who were with Christ in his resurrection will all have eternal inheritance in his celestial presence. (D&C 133:54-56) Though there is yet to be a day of formal judgment for all men, yet there is no question, for instance, of the reward that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will receive in that day. “They have entered into their exaltation, according to the promises, and sit upon thrones, and are not angels but are gods,” the revelation records. (D&C 132:29-37) The same is true of Adam, Enoch, Noah, Moses, and the faithful saints from the beginning to the day of Christ.
Elder Bruce R. McConkie
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John saw in vision the resurrection of the just who would reign with Christ for a thousand years. He saw that during this period Satan would be bound, that there would be peace upon the whole earth. Heaven and earth would be closely associated, and all unfinished work pertaining to this world would be completed. Injustices would be righted, and at the end of that reign would come a final judgment.
Elder Harold B. Lee
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I testify that not many years hence the earth will be cleansed. Jesus the Christ will come again, this time in power and great glory to vanquish His foes and to rule and reign on the earth. In due time all men will gain a resurrection and then will face the Master in a final judgment. God will give rewards to each according to the deeds done in the flesh.
President Ezra Taft Benson
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For I, the Lord, will judge all men according to their works
Elder Neal A. Maxwell
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Final Judgment
Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin
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The justice and mercy of God will have been so demonstrably perfect that at the Final Judgment there will be no complaints, including from those who once questioned what God had allotted in the mortal framework.
Elder Neal A. Maxwell
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The principle of restoration also means that persons who are not righteous in mortal life will not rise up righteous in the resurrection. Moreover, unless our mortal sins have been cleansed and blotted out by repentance and forgiveness we will be resurrected with a “bright recollection” and a “perfect knowledge of all of our guilt, and our uncleanness”. The seriousness of that reality is emphasized by the many scriptures suggesting that the resurrection is followed immediately by the Final Judgment. Truly, “this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God”.
Elder Dallin H. Oaks
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Many Bible and modern scriptures speak of a final judgment at which all persons will be rewarded according to their deeds or works or the desires of their hearts. But other scriptures enlarge upon this by referring to our being judged by the condition we have achieved. The prophet Nephi describes the Final Judgment in terms of what we have become: “And if their works have been filthiness they must needs be filthy; and if they be filthy it must needs be that they cannot dwell in the kingdom of God”. Moroni declares, “He that is filthy shall be filthy still; and he that is righteous shall be righteous still”. The same would be true of “selfish” or “disobedient” or any other personal attribute inconsistent with the requirements of God. Referring to the “state” of the wicked in the Final Judgment, Alma explains that if we are condemned by our words, our works, and our thoughts, “we shall not be found spotless; … and in this awful state we shall not dare to look up to our God”. From such teachings we conclude that the Final Judgment is not just an evaluation of a sum total of good and evil acts—what we have done. It is an acknowledgment of the final effect of our acts and thoughts—what we have become. It is not enough for anyone just to go through the motions. The commandments, ordinances, and covenants of the gospel are not a list of deposits required to be made in some heavenly account. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a plan that shows us how to become what our Heavenly Father desires us to become.
Elder Dallin H. Oaks
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But how can anything associated with fear be edifying or spiritually helpful? The righteous fear I am attempting to describe encompasses a deep feeling of reverence, respect, and awe for the Lord Jesus Christ obedience to His commandments and anticipation of the Final Judgment and justice at His hand. Thus, godly fear grows out of a correct understanding of the divine nature and mission of the Lord Jesus Christ, a willingness to submit our will to His will, and a knowledge that every man and woman will be accountable for his or her own sins in the Day of Judgment. As the scriptures certify, godly fear “is the beginning of knowledge” “the instruction of wisdom” a “strong confidence” and “a fountain of life”. Please note that godly fear is linked inextricably to an understanding of the Final Judgment and our individual accountability for our desires, thoughts, words, and acts. The fear of the Lord is not a reluctant apprehension about coming into His presence to be judged. I do not believe we will be afraid of Him at all. Rather, it is the prospect in His presence of facing things as they really are about ourselves and having “a perfect knowledge” of all our rationalizations, pretenses, and self-deceptions. Ultimately, we will be left without excuse. Every person who has lived or will yet live upon the earth “shall be brought to stand before the bar of God, to be judged of him according to [his or her] works whether they be good or whether they be evil”. If our desires have been for righteousness and our works good, then the judgment bar will be pleasing. And at the last day we will “be rewarded unto righteousness”. Conversely, if our desires have been for evil and our works wicked, then the judgment bar will be a cause of dread. “We shall not dare to look up to our God; and we would fain be glad if we could command the rocks and the mountains to fall upon us to hide us from his presence”. And at the last day we will “have [our] reward of evil”.
Elder David A. Bednar
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Now, have you ever wondered what the day of judgment will be like? “How will I know where I’m going to go?” I can answer that for you. You don’t have to die to find out. If living the gospel for you is hard, if it’s a chore—“Oh, if I just weren’t a Latter-day Saint, I could have fun…” If that’s what you’re like when you die, guess where you’re going to go: with other people who feel the same way, because that’s the law that you’ve learned to love. If, during the course of your life, a little bit at a time, you have learned to love living the gospel, guess where you’re going when you die: with people who love living the gospel. The Lord is not going to have to tell you. When you come into His presence, you won’t think, “Gee, I hope He’s in a really good mood today. I hope He gives me some extra points, so my grade will be a little bit better.” When you come into His presence, you will go where you know you belong, based on what you have desired to do and become while you have lived on the earth. If you can look your bishop in the eye, because you’re worthy and clean, you already know what the day of judgment will be like. There’s no awkwardness, no embarrassment, no shame. If you can’t, you already know what the day of judgment will be like. As a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, many people will come and want to shake my hand. Sometimes, others will not want to see me; they don’t want me to look into their eyes. Welcome to the day of judgment. You don’t have to be dead to know what it’s going to be like. So, live the gospel joyfully. Living the gospel is not hard. Not living the gospel is what’s hard. And it is joyful to live it.
Elder David A. Bednar
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After the Resurrection, there will be a Day of Judgment. While all will eventually be saved and inherit a kingdom of glory, those who trust in God and seek to follow His laws and ordinances will inherit lives in the eternities that are unimaginable in glory and overwhelming in majesty. That Day of Judgment will be a day of mercy and love—a day when broken hearts are healed, when tears of grief are replaced with tears of gratitude, when all will be made right. Yes, there will be deep sorrow because of sin. Yes, there will be regrets and even anguish because of our mistakes, our foolishness, and our stubbornness that caused us to miss opportunities for a much greater future. But I have confidence that we will not only be satisfied with the judgment of God; we will also be astonished and overwhelmed by His infinite grace, mercy, generosity, and love for us, His children. If our desires and works are good, if we have faith in a living God, then we can look forward to what Moroni called “the pleasing bar of the great Jehovah, the Eternal Judge.”
President Dieter F. Uchtdorf
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When a mortal judge called of God approves a person for further progress, such as temple privileges, he is not signifying that person as perfect, and he is not forgiving any sins. Elder Spencer W. Kimball taught that after what he called the mortal “waiving [of] penalties,” a person “must also seek and secure from the God of heaven a final repentance, and only he can absolve.” And if sinful acts and desires remain unrepented until the Final Judgment, an unrepentant person will remain unclean. The ultimate accountability, including the final cleansing effect of repentance, is between each of us and God. The judgment most commonly described in the scriptures is the Final Judgment that follows the Resurrection. Many scriptures state that “we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ” “to be judged according to the deeds [that] have been done in the mortal body”. All will be judged “according to their works” and “according to the desire[s] of their hearts”. The purpose of this Final Judgment is to determine whether we have achieved what Alma described as a “mighty change of heart”, where we have become new creatures, with “no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually”. The judge of this is our Savior, Jesus Christ. After His judgment we will all confess “that his judgments are just”, because His omniscience has given Him a perfect knowledge of all of our acts and desires, both those righteous or repented and those unrepented or unchanged. The scriptures describe the process of this Final Judgment. Alma teaches that the justice of our God requires that in the Resurrection “all things should be restored to their proper order”. This means that “if their works were good in this life, and the desires of their hearts were good, … at the last day [they will] be restored unto that which is good”. Similarly, “if their works [or their desires] are evil they shall be restored [to] them for evil”. Similarly, the prophet Jacob taught that in the Final Judgment “they who are righteous shall be righteous still, and they who are filthy shall be filthy still”. That is the process preceding our standing before what Moroni calls “the pleasing bar of the great Jehovah, the Eternal Judge of both quick and dead”. To assure that we will be clean before God, we must repent before the Final Judgment. As Alma told his sinful son, we cannot hide our sins before God, “and except ye repent they will stand as a testimony against you at the last day”. The Atonement of Jesus Christ gives us the only way to achieve the needed cleansing through repentance, and this mortal life is the time to do it. Although we are taught that some repentance can occur in the spirit world, that is not as certain. Elder Melvin J. Ballard taught: “It is much easier to overcome and serve the Lord when both flesh and spirit are combined as one. This is the time when men are more pliable and susceptible. … This life is the time to repent.” When we repent, we have the Lord’s assurance that our sins, including our acts and desires, will be cleansed and our merciful final judge will “remember them no more”. Cleansed by repentance, we can qualify for eternal life, which King Benjamin described as “dwell[ing] with God in a state of never-ending happiness”. As another part of God’s “plan of restoration”, the Resurrection will restore “all things … to their proper and perfect frame”. This includes the perfection of all of our physical deficiencies and deformities acquired in mortality, including at birth or by trauma or disease. Does this restoration perfect us of all our unholy or unconquered desires or addictions? That cannot be. We know from modern revelation that we will be judged for our desires as well as our actions and that even our thoughts will condemn us. We must not “procrastinate the day of [our] repentance” until death, Amulek taught, because the same spirit that has possessed our body in this life—whether the Lord’s or the devil’s—“will have power to possess [our] body in that eternal world”. Our Savior has the power and stands ready to cleanse us from evil. Now is the time to seek His help to repent of our wicked or unseemly desires and thoughts to be clean and prepared to stand before God at the Final Judgment.
President Dallin H. Oaks
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After suffering and repenting for violations of laws we have been taught, we are all destined for a kingdom of glory. The ultimate and final judgment will be by the Lord, who alone has the required knowledge, wisdom, and grace to judge each of us.
President Dallin H. Oaks
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Fourth and finally, modern revelation teaches us that our progress need not conclude with the end of mortality. Little has been revealed about this important assurance. We are told that this life is the time to prepare to meet God and that we should not procrastinate our repentance. Still, we are taught that in the spirit world the gospel is preached even to “the wicked and the disobedient who had rejected the truth” and that those taught there are capable of repentance in advance of the Final Judgment. ... God’s love is so great that, except for the few who deliberately become sons of perdition, He has provided a destiny of glory for all of His children. We know that the Savior will return and that there will be a millennium of peaceful reign to wrap up the mortal part of God’s plan. We also know that there will be different resurrections, of the just and the unjust, with the final judgment of each person always following his or her resurrection. We will be judged according to our actions, the desires of our hearts, and the kind of person we have become. This judgment will cause all of the children of God to proceed to a kingdom of glory for which their obedience has qualified them and where they will be comfortable.
President Dallin H. Oaks
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In the Final Judgment each of us will be judged according to our deeds and the desires of our hearts. Before that, we will need to suffer for our unrepented sins. The scriptures are clear on that. ... Because of our Heavenly Father’s great love for all of His children, He has provided other kingdoms of glory—as Elder Quentin L. Cook explained yesterday—all of which are more wonderful than we can comprehend. The Atonement of Jesus Christ makes all of this possible. He has revealed that He “glorifies the Father, and saves all the works of his hands.” That salvation is granted in different kingdoms of glory. We know from modern revelation that “all kingdoms have a law given.” Significantly: “He who is not able to abide the law of a celestial kingdom cannot abide a celestial glory. “And he who cannot abide the law of a terrestrial kingdom cannot abide a terrestrial glory. “And he who cannot abide the law of a telestial kingdom cannot abide a telestial glory.” In other words, the kingdom of glory we receive in the Final Judgment is determined by the laws we choose to abide by in our Heavenly Father’s loving plan. Under that plan there are multiple kingdoms so that all of His children can be assigned to a kingdom where they can “abide.”
President Dallin H. Oaks
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The revealed doctrine of the restored Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that all the children of God—with exceptions too limited to consider here—will ultimately inherit one of three kingdoms of glory, even the least of which “surpasses all understanding.” After a period in which the disobedient suffer for their sins, which suffering prepares them for what is to follow, all will be resurrected and proceed to the Final Judgment of the Lord Jesus Christ. There, our loving Savior, who, we are taught, “glorifies the Father, and saves all the works of his hands,” will send all the children of God to one of these kingdoms of glory according to the desires manifested through their choices. ... We know from modern revelation that “all kingdoms have a law given” and that the kingdom of glory we receive in the Final Judgment is determined by the laws we choose to follow in our mortal journey. Under that loving plan, there are multiple kingdoms—many mansions—so that all of God’s children will inherit a kingdom of glory whose laws they can comfortably “abide.”
President Dallin H. Oaks
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