If you, as a reader, are a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, this will be familiar to you. If, however, you are not, this concept of God's Plan of Salvation may seem strange. I thought it prudent, therefore, to discuss it briefly in light of the things revealed in the Pearl of Great Price.
I've written a lot about the Pre-Earth life or Pre-mortal Existence. This is where the war in heaven spoken of by the Apostle John took place. Once Lucifer, the Son of the Morning, was cast out of heaven, he became Satan, which means adversary and accuser .
After this event, the creation of the Earth took place (more on that later this week.) Through the fall of Adam and Eve, the world became a telestial or mortal world. As we are privileged to have "our turn on earth," we pass through a veil of forgetfulness. We lose the perfect knowledge we had in the pre-mortal world and enter a new stage of life wherein we must live by faith. 
When we die, we return to the world of spirits. If we lived well, that is a place of Paradise, as Jesus told one of the thieves crucified with Him. If we lived with a dark heart, then this world of spirits becomes like a prison. This indicates a preliminary judgment at the time of death.
After the world's "mission" is completed and the Paradisiacal Millennium has concluded, there will be a final judgment. At that time, God's children will be assigned a kingdom of glory according to their faithfulness in bringing their sins under Christ's saving power.
The lowest of these is called the Telestial Kingdom and will be very much the earth upon which we currently live. Those who inherit this kingdom will not dwell with the Father or Jesus, but will be ministered to by the Holy Spirit. It is compared in scripture as a star. I think that is because the stars as seen from earth produce distant light. It is a light, but a far weaker light than either the moon or the sun.
The middle is the Terrestrial Kingdom. Those who inherit this kingdom as the good men and women of the earth who were not valiant in the testimony of Jesus Christ. They will be ministered to by Jesus Himself. This is Heaven as most Christians see it. The Terrestrial Kingdom is compared to the moon. I think this may be because it represents reflected light. It is the Father's light as reflected through His Son. It is far closer and immediate and brighter than any star as seen from Earth.
The highest kingdom is called the Celestial Kingdom. In this place, they will be visited and ministered to by both the Father and the Son. The resurrection is a free gift to all who have ever lived; this is Salvation. Exaltation is given according to those who make and keep sacred covenants and who have Christ's image in their countenance. The Celestial Kingdom is compared to the sun, which is the brightest light in the heavens as seen from Earth. It is close. It is direct. It is fellowship with Heavenly Father Himself.
Those who become Sons of Perdition are those who have attained a perfect or almost perfect knowledge of the Father and the Son while on Earth and then consciously rebel against Them. They have to say that the sun is not shining while they are standing under it at mid-day. Because they will be doing that which Lucifer did in the beginning, they will be cast out to live with Satan and the spirits that follow him where there is no light or warmth. We think of hell as fire and brimstone, but in reality, it will be cold and dark and only those who experience will completely know it.
I personally think that the never-ending burning is symbolic of the torture of a conscience which fully has to deal with the fact that s/he blew the chance given in this, the second estate. And to quote Forest Gump, "That's all I have to say about that."
© Gebara Education, 2016
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