Resurrection 3 - 1 Corinthians 15:20-28

But wait! Christ was resurrected! It doesn't matter what would have happened without his resurrection, because He lives! He was "the firstfruits of them that slept." The term "firstfruits" comes from the law of Moses that required every farmer to "dedicate his first sheaf of grain as an offering to the Lord in acknowledgment that He is the source of all blessings," according to the IM. The IM continues, "Just as farmers' first-fruits were the earliest of many crops to be harvested, Jesus Christ was the first of all beings to be resurrected, thereby opening the way for all of the inhabitants of the world to similarly be raised from the dead."  I had never understood this because I thought that other people had been resurrected before Jesus, like Lazarus and other people that had been risen from the dead. But the difference is that those raised from the dead through the power of the priesthood were not raised to immortality, but just restored to the life and body that they had. They would still die again later, they were still subject to all the pains in infirmities of this life. Jesus Christ was the first person who died and was resurrected into a perfect, immortal body, and that's the difference.

Christ was the first person who could have been resurrected because he lived a sinless life and therefore wasn't required to die. In the universal courts of justice, Christ's death was illegal because death is the consequence of sin, which He had not committed. Because he was not guilty of sin, he was entitled to live forever with God in a glorified, eternal body. He was given his body back in it's perfect state after he had died and gone to the spirit world. Because the resurrection was the pinnacle for the atonement, that means that Jesus has the power to give any opportunity he wants to anyone. Fortunately for us, Jesus decided that we all should be resurrected.

A universal resurrection for all people ever born on the earth is really a matter of justice. Paul explains how, continuing, "for as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." This is a concept that was explained better to me in Jesus the Christ and The Infinite Atonement. Basically, death came into the world because Adam transgressed the law of God. Therefore, because of his choice, Adam was required to die at the end of his mortal journey. However, all of Adam's descendants were born into a fallen world and had to die as well, even though we weren't the ones who sinned. So as a means of justice, we are all given resurrection, regardless of anything we've done in life. The IM quotes President Joseph Fielding Smith as teaching, "No person who has lived and died on this earth will be denied the resurrection. Reason teaches this, and it is a simple matter of justice. Adam alone was responsible for death, and therefore the Lord does not lay this to the charge of any other person. Justice demands that no person who was not responsible for death shall be held responsible for it, and therefore." If anything, Adam and Eve are the only ones who are not entitled to resurrection, but I think Jesus will give it to them anyway.

But just because the resurrection is universal for all doesn't mean that the timing is. This is also another issue that I didn't understand because I always just thought that everyone would be resurrected at the same time, which seemed unfair to me because some of us are trying to be obedient and others are committing genocide. Paul stipulates that "every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming." When Jesus comes again, those who are righteous will be resurrected, and the IM says, "Through latter-day revelation, we learn that these people will inherit the celestial kingdom."

An article from ldsliving.com entitled, "What Does It Mean to 'Come Forth in the Morning of the First Resurrection?'" by Alonzo L. Gaskill, who is absolutely amazing by the way, notes that there are 4 resurrections:

"The Morning of the First Resurrection:" This began when Christ was resurrected and "will continue in and through the Millennium." Several righteous people were resurrected after Jesus was and appeared to many as is recorded in Matthew. We might be in a holding pattern until the Second Coming of Christ, when all the righteous will be resurrected and caught up to meet Him. Then as the millennium progresses and righteous people die, they will be resurrected at that point. These will be the people for whom the celestial kingdom was created.

"The Afternoon of the First Resurrection:" This will happen once the millennium has begun. I don't know if this means that it will begin once the work of God is settled and underway and all the mortal people are good to go on earth. Maybe after all the wicked have been burned and people have resumed living their lives on the earth and Jesus is ruling over the world's government. Either way, this will be for those who will receive the terrestrial kingdom and they will be resurrected with terrestrial bodies. There are bodies that are immortal and perfect, but without the glory and ability to reproduce that celestial bodies have. 

"The Morning of the Second Resurrection:" This resurrection doesn't take place until the end of the millennium. This is for those who "lived sinful lives, for those who have lived contrary to the dictates for their conscience and the promptings of the Holy Spirit." They will inherit the telestial kingdom, and "will not spend eternity in the presence of Satan and his minions. However, they will be eternally shut out of the presence of God and Christ."

"The Afternoon of the Second Resurrections:" This will be the final resurrection, done after everyone else has received their resurrected bodies. "It is reserved for the sons and daughters of perdition, for those who will spend eternity with the devil and his angels because, in mortality, they did the work of the devil and his angels. It is the only one of the four resurrections that provides its recipients with no glory whatsoever."

I guess what the most difficult concept for me is that of being assigned to a kingdom. It makes it sound like I will be begging Jesus to let me be with him and he'll be like "well, I've forgiven you for everything but it took you a while to learn all your lessons, so ever though you have them now, you're still not going to be with me forever." But I know that that's not how it will be. As the master psychologist, God knows how to talk to people, how to teach them and how to reveal truths to them that will be for their benefit. Knowing that we will be allowed to live in which ever kingdom we are comfortable in is liberating for me, but I can see how this might not be the best way to initially teach people these principles.

D&C 88:32 teaches this principle in a round about way, referring to those who remain to be assigned to outer darkness, "they shall return again to their own place, to enjoy that which they are willing to receive, because they were not willing to enjoy that which they might have received." The words "willing" and "receive" tell me that even though they are in what we consider the "worst" place, it's where they want to be. It's hard for me to really relate to that because I so desperately want to be with Jesus and Heavenly Father, but I must accept that there will be people who don't want that. It's a really interesting concept, but when they say that no matter where we end up, we will be happy. I struggle with that because I feel like it's just a way of saying, "you'll eventually not hate it as much." But that's genuinely not the case. Where we end up will be the place that we choose to be, and we will be happy with that.