BIBLE DICTIONARY
Degrees of Glory

It is apparent that if God rewards everyone according to the deeds done in the body, the term heaven as intended for man's eternal home must include more kingdoms than one. In speaking of man in his resurrected state, Paul tells of glories like the sun, the moon, and the stars (1 Cor. 15: 39-41). He also speaks of the "third heaven" (2 Cor. 12: 2). Jesus spoke of "many mansions" or kingdoms (John 14: 2). Latter-day revelation confirms the teaching of the Bible on these matters and verifies that there are three general categories or glories to which the members of the human family will be assigned in the judgment following their resurrection from the grave. These are known as the celestial, terrestrial, and telestial kingdoms, of which the sun, moon, and stars are spoken of as being typical (D&C 76; D&C 88: 20-32; D&C 131: 1-4). In addition to the degrees of glory, there is a place of no glory, called perdition, reserved for those who commit the unpardonable sin.