For those of us who grew up with the concept of the Plan of Salvation and its many kingdoms, the vision recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 76 is nothing new. Because of our familiarity with it, I think it can be easy to miss the majesty and goodness that is God. One of the things I love about the doctrine we received in this section is that it upholds the idea that God is good and perfect and just. As Latter-day Saints, we don’t just claim that God is a perfect judge. He actually is a Perfect Judge.

The traditional beliefs surrounding what is recorded in the bible about heaven and hell make no sense upon closer examination. I have had friends who have believed I was going to hell. They very specifically iterated that Conner and I were good people, but they still retained their beliefs that God would throw us into an eternally burning pit. I pondered this for a very long time.

There are many interpretations of heaven and hell and judgment, but the most common I’ve come across is the idea that if you believe in Christ (the right Christ because apparently we don’t believe in the right one), you will be saved. If you don’t believe in the right Christ, you will be thrust into an eternal fire. For many, it doesn’t matter how evil you lived your life. If you believe in Christ, you’re good to go. 

I want you to imagine, for a moment, that you were saved on Judgment Day. In fact, God even asked you to come and help carry out His judgment because your belief was sufficient. One day, He sends over a man for you to toss out of heaven. This man was a good man who loved his family, freely gave to all of his neighbors around him, and deeply sacrificed on behalf of his belief in God. But he was not Christian. It is now your job to toss this uplifting man into a literal fire pit, and that man gets to stay there forever.

Would you do it? How would you feel about God afterwards? Would you look at Him and call Him perfect because He calls Himself perfect? 

As Latter-day Saints, we believe in heaven and hell but have different interpretations of it. There are many different kingdoms in heaven so as to make room for all the children of God to fit perfectly and comfortably. The bible declares that God is good and perfect and just, and I believe that. If I had never heard of God and someone came and taught me the truths found in Doctrine and Covenants 76, I would not need someone to declare to me that God was good and perfect and just. His plan declares it for Him.

There are so many ways that this doctrine plays out in individual lives, but I suppose that’s the point. This doctrine allows Christ to judge perfectly rather than trying to fit the whole spectrum of humanity into something as stark as heaven and hell. Let’s observe how this might play out in one circumstance so that we can better understand how beautiful this truth is.

Let’s say that you don’t believe in God and don’t want to worship Him. Even if you got to the spirit world on the other side and people tried to preach to you, let’s say that you still refused to worship God. Heavenly Father would send you somewhere safe and warm because you are still His child. He would send you to a place that has everything you need, and you would be surrounded by people who feel similar to you. As a mother, this kind of judgment makes perfect sense to me.

But there is still judgment, and though you would be “saved” in a place where you’re safe and warm, you would still experience some level of hell because you refused to worship God. The aspect of hell that you would experience is opportunity cost. I believe in a God who is worth worshipping. I picture an adult child who reflects on their life and sees all of the opportunities given to them by a loving mother. I picture an adult child who can see the heartache and sacrifice experienced by this loving mother, and I picture that adult child feeling such a deep attitude of awe and gratitude that it’s akin to worship. 

I have a relationship with my Heavenly Father. I have seen the sacrifices He, and His Beloved Son, have made on my behalf. I have personally felt how the Lord is turned completely towards my eternal joy, and I worship Him for that. I experience heaven when I experience that awe and gratitude. Being around Someone who loves me like He does is an incomparable feeling that I have only glimpsed. You would experience hell to the extent that you miss out on experiencing the greatness that is God.

We believe that God is a perfect judge (not just because He says so but because He really is perfect). We believe that He loves His children and will place them where they will have all they need and will experience as much happiness as their choices allow. 

And so with Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon and so many, many other Saints, I declare these words as well.

Doctrine and Covenants 76:1-3

1 Hear, O ye heavens, and give ear, O earth, and rejoice ye inhabitants thereof, for the Lord is God, and beside him there is no Savior.

2 Great is his wisdom, marvelous are his ways, and the extent of his doings none can find out.

3 His purposes fail not, neither are there any who can stay his hand.