D&C 76:40-50

76:40- - The Lord pauses in his description of the sons of perdition long enough to glory in the plan of salvation. Leaving off from when the Lord says that, except for the sons of perdition, "all the rest shall be brought forth by the resurrection of the dead, through the triumph and the glory of the Lamb." All of us who choose to at least abstain from sinning against the absolute knowledge of God, are going to be given glory and a place to live that is more incredible than anything that we can even imagine in this life time. "And this is the gospel, the glad tidings." This is the good news! The plan of salvation is in effect and is glorious and merciful. This is what the gospel of Jesus Christ is all about, "that he came into the world, even Jesus, to be crucified for the world, and to bear the sins of the world, and to sanctify the world, and to cleanse it from all unrighteousness; that through him all might be saved whom the Father had put into his power and made by him." Imagine living a life where you didn't know that. I am so blessed because I was born into the gospel, and even though I didn't know everything, or even very many things, I've always at least known where to find it. There have been times when I willfully disobeyed and during those times, my rebellion against God, I felt lost, I felt a gaping hole in my heart that could be filled by nothing except the gospel. Whenever I was living that life, there was a purpose and meaning missing in my life that was all consuming, I couldn't live without it unless I went into straight self-destruction mode. I have to have the gospel to be happy, I've lived without it before, and I'm in such a state that all I can do is think about what is missing in my life. I love the gospel, not because I learned it and it fit the hole in my heart like a puzzle piece, but because I learned some, and it filled my heart, then I learned more and my heart grew, and then I learned more and it filled my spirit, and the more I learn, the more I realize that I want to learn, and the more I want to learn the more room I make in my life for that knowledge. As I bring positive knowledge of the gospel into my life, I move negativity out of my life to make more room for the glory of God, and it's incredible. The IM says, "The world gospel (Anglo-Saxon for 'good story') is translated from the Greek evangelion, which means 'good tidings or 'glad tidings.' In the New TEstament the verb meaning 'to preach or bear witness of the gospel' is evangelidzo, literally, 'to bring good news, to announce glad tidings.' Doctrine and Covenants 76 gives a summary of what the gospel, or glad tidings, consists of, namely, that all who will may be saved by the atoning power of Jesus Christ."  The vision continues that Jesus "Who glorifies the Father, and saves all the works of his hands, except those sons of perdition who deny the Son after the Father has revealed him. Wherefore, he saves all except them- they shall go away into everlasting punishment, which is endless punishment, to reign with the devil and his angels in eternity... And the end thereof, neither the place thereof, nor their torment, no man knows; Neither was it revealed, neither is, neither will be revealed unto man, except to them who are made partakers thereof." The IM notes that "it is futile to discuss the fate of sons of perdition" saying, "It appears that in the early days of the Restoration some attempted to teach the destiny of the sons of perdition. The Prophet Joseph Smith responsed by writing: 'Say to the brothers Hulet and to all others, that the Lord never authorized them to say that the devil, his angels, or the sons of perdition, should even be restored; for their state of destiny was not revealed to man, is not revealed, nor ever shall be revealed, save to those who are made partakers thereof: consequently those who teach this doctrine have not received it of the Spirit of the Lord. Truly Bother Oliver declared it to be the doctrine of devils. We, therefore, command that this doctrine be taught no more in Zion. We sanction the decision of the Bishop and his council, in relation to this doctrine being a car to communion.'" This is an interesting concept, I have my own ideas, but I will follow the Prophet on this one and remain quiet about it. The IM asks, "How can the sons of perdition 'reign' in eternity?" and answers by quoting Smith and Sjodahl as teaching, "The Lord is the sovereign ruler. He reigns. Sin is said to reign, when men submit to its behests. Grace is also said to reign. The Saints will reign with Christ. But here the sons of perdition are said to 'reign' with the Devil and his angels in eternity, in the place where the worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched. The conflict between lucifer and the Son has been, from the beginning, for sovereignty. Men have ranges themselves on one side of the other. The Saints are, and will be, citizens and officials in the Kingdom of God and there they will 'reign,' as citizens in a free country. The sons of perdition are, and will remain, citizens and officials in the kingdom of Lucifer. But that kingdom will, finally, be confined to Gehenna. There they will 'reign,' under such laws and rules as obtain in the kingdom of the Devil, and of which we have had numerous illustrations in human history, during the dark ages of ignorance, superstition, tyranny, and iniquity. Think of a place where the evil passions of human beings are evil spirits rage, unrestrained by the influence of the gospel! Such is the kingdom of the Devil, where the sons of Perdition will reign." Speaking of the usage of the word "ordained" the IM says that the sons of perdition are "not foreordained, in the sense of pre-elected by God, to condemnation. God has ordained that rebellion against Him shall result, if persisted in to the end, in misery, but He has not foreordained anyone to that fate. A legislature may ordain that thieves must be imprisoned and murderers killed, but that does not mean that is has foreordained any individual, or any number of individuals, to do that which ends in imprisonment, or death. The sons of perdition pursue their course according to their own choice, and not as victims of inexorable destiny."

Next time we will move on to vision #4, Celestial glory.