Seven of Everything

"We are in the telestial kingdom" was a phrase stated at this last general conference which I would like to elaborate on. There are 9 verses in scripture using the word telestial and one Joseph Smith Translation (D&C 76 , 88 and JST 1 Cor 15:40 ). There are an additional 33 making reference to that kingdom in these three chapters; there may be more I did not catch. There is another verse in D&C 88:25 stating, "the earth abideth the law of a celestial kingdom." Out of all 44 of these verses, there is not one that makes any reference to us currently living in the telestial kingdom. So where did this idea come from, is it true, and what does it mean? This idea that we live in the telestial kingdom comes from the temple. It is a true principle but has been and continues to be largely misunderstood. It implies the world that we live in right now is the telestial kingdom. The incorrect interpretation for this is as follows: The world we live in is a fallen ...

This was a talk given to my brother-in-law at his baptism on the gift of the Holy Ghost. I am modifying it for the blog setting. Some of the things I put in brackets are things I didn't say because it is more than I would expound upon to either an eight-year-old or a new convert. Congratulations! I want to start by reiterating a little bit of what [your brother] said. You just went into the water. Now back in the day, eight years ago, before you were born, you were immersed in water and you had your spirit come into your body. Then you were born, right? You were born to your dad and your mom and they were already in the kingdom of God, so you were blessed, and you grew up in the church. You were taught about the gospel, you go to primary, and now you're eight, and when you're eight, just like [your brother] talked about, that's the time when you are ready to choose, right? You're ready to make that choice. Its like being brought to the front door of the kingdom o...