towards them as they should, binding them to the Lord by their faith and prayers, I care

not where those children go, they are bound up to their parents by an everlasting tie, and
no power of earth or hell can separate them from their parents in eternity; they will
return again to the fountain from whence they sprang." (Doctrines of Salvation, comp.
Bruce R. McConkie, 3 vols., Joseph Fielding Smith, 2:90-91.)1

One doctrine that would make this unconditional seal seem more likely, is the

doctrine of progression between kingdoms. Although many leaders have made

statements for and against progression between kingdoms, there has been no official

church statement on the matter other than we don’t know. Because I believe in

progression between kingdoms in my current state of doctrinal development, I would like

to present some evidence in favor of that doctrine in chronological order.

Hirum Smith - 1843

Hiram [Smith] said Aug lst [18]43 Those of the Terrestrial Glory either advance to the
Celestial or recede to the Telestial [or] else the moon could not be a type [viz. a symbol
of that kingdom]. [for] it [the moon] "waxes & wanes". Also that br George will be
quickened by celestial glory having been ministered to by one of that Kingdom.2

Joseph Smith - 1844

God has made provision for every spirit in the eternal world, and the spirits of our friends
should be searched out and saved, Any man that has a friend in eternity can save him if
he has not committed the unpardonable sin, He cannot be damned through all eternity,
their is a possibility for his escape in a little time, If a man has knowledge he can be
saved, if he has been guilty of great sins he is punished for it, when he consents to obey
the gospel whether Alive or dead, he is saved. His own mind damns him.3

Brigham Young - 1855

. . . In conversing upon various principles President Young thought none would inherit
this earth when it becomes celestial and translated into the presence of God but those who
would be crowned as Gods and (be) able to endure the fullness of the presence of God
except they might be permitted to take with them some servants for whom they would be
held responsible, all others would have to inherit another kingdom even that kingdom
agreeing with the law which they had kept. Yet he thought they would eventually have
the privilege of proving themselves worthy and advancing to a celestial kingdom but it
would be a slow progress.4

Franklin D. Richards - 1884

. . .but those in the terrestrial kingdom are those who will come forth at the time when
Enoch comes back, when the Savior comes again to dwell upon the earth. . . .They will
go forward, like unto the new moon, increasing in knowledge and brightness and glory,
until they come to a fullness of celestial glory. During the Millennium multitudes of
people who have not heard the gospel will hear and receive it and go forward into this
1
Ensign, Conference Report, May 1992, italics added
2
"Words of the Prophet", p. 24 ("Scriptural Items"); Scribe: Franklin D. Richards, August 1, 1843; CHO?
Ms/d/4409/Misc Minutes Collection
3
Wilford Woodruff Journal; April 7, 1844
4
Wilford Woodruff Journal; August 5, 1855
 glory, while those who will not go forward to a fullness will go back to that lesser glory
which is likened unto the stars of heaven. . . .5

James E. Talmage - 1899

It is reasonable to believe, in the absence of direct revelation by which alone absolute
knowledge of the matter could be acquired, that, in accordance with God's plan of eternal
progression, advancement from grade to grade within any kingdom, and from kingdom to
kingdom, will be provided for. But if the recipients of a lower glory be enabled to
advance, surely the intelligences of higher rank will not be stopped in their progress; and
thus we may conclude, that degrees and grades will ever characterize the kingdoms of our
God. Eternity is progressive; perfection is relative; the essential feature of God's living
purpose is its associated power of eternal increase.6

President Joseph F. Smith - 1910

[O]nce a person enters these glories there will be eternal progress in the line of each of
these particular glories, but. . .the privilege of passing from one to another (though this
may be possible for especially gifted and faithful characters) is not provided for.7

James E. Talmage - 1917

[Later edition of The Articles of Faith statement previously quoted after he was pressured
to change it] It is reasonable to believe, in the absence of direct revelation by which
alone absolute knowledge of the matter could be acquired, that, in accordance with God's
plan of eternal progression, advancement within each of the three specified kingdoms
will be provided for; though as to possible progress from one kingdom to another the
scriptures make no positive affirmation. Eternal advancement along different lines is
conceiable. We may conclude that degrees and grades will ever characterize the
kingdoms of our God. Eternity is progressive; perfection is relative; the essential feature
of God's living purpose is its associated power of eternal increase.8

B.H. Roberts - 1925

The question of advancement within the great divisions of glory--celestial, terrestrial, and
telestial; as also the question of advancement from one sphere of glory to another,
remains to be considered. In the revelation from which we have summarized what has
been written here, in respect to the different degrees of glory, it is said that those of the
terrestrial glory will be ministered unto by those of the celestial; and those of the telestial
will be ministered to by those of the terrestrial---that is, those of the higher glory minister
to those of a lesser order of glory. We can conceive of no reason for all this
administration of the higher to the lower, unless it be for the purpose of advancing our
Father's children along the lines of eternal progression. Whether or not in the great
future, full of so many possibilities now hidden from us, they of the lesser glories after
education and advancement within those spheres may at last emerge from them and make
their way to the higher degrees of glory until at last they attain to the highest, is not
revealed in the revelations of God, and any statement made on the subject must partake of
more or less the nature of conjecture.
But if it be granted that such a thing is possible, they who at the first entered into the
celestial glory---having before them the privilege also of eternal progress---have been
moving onward, so that the relative distance between them and those who have fought
their way up from the lesser glories, may be as great when the latter have come into the
degrees of celestial glory in which the righteous at first stood, as it was at the
commencement; and thus between them is an impassable gulf which time cannot destroy.

5
J.D. 25:236; Franklin D. Richards; Discourse delivered in the Tabernacle, Logan, Cache County; Saturday
afternoon; May 17, 1884
6
The Articles of Faith, by James E. Talmage; lst Edition, pp. 420-421, 1899
7
Improvement Era 14:87; November 1910; Pres. Joseph F. Smith
8
The Articles of Faith, by James E. Talmage; 12th Edition, pp. 420-421; 1917
 Thus: those whose faith and works in this life were such as to entitle them to entrance
into the celestial kingdom---they may arrive where these were, but never where they are.
But if it be granted that the chief fact about Intelligences is that they have power to add
fact to fact and thus build up knowledge, and through knowledge have wisdom, and thus
make progress; and if to such intelligences there is granted eternal life---immortality---
then it is useless to postulate any limitations for them; for in the passing of even a few
thousands of millions of years, even if progress be very slow---there will come a time
when these intelligences--men and women of even the telestial glory---may become very
acceptable characters, and very important personages.9

In 1952, someone wrote to a member of the First Presidency and asked him

“Please inform me to the teaching of the Church regarding the possibility of a person

progressing from one kingdom to another after the resurrection”. The response was as

follows:

THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS

Office of The First Presidency
Salt Lake City 11, Utah

March 5, 1952

Dear Brother:

The brethren direct me to say that the Church has never announced a definite doctrine
upon this point. Some of the brethren have held that it was possible in the course of
progression to advance from one glory to another, invoking the principle of eternal
progression; others of the Brethren have taken the opposite view. But as stated, the
Church has never announced a definite doctrine on this point.

Sincerely your brother,

/s/ Joseph L. Anderson Secretary to the First Presidency

President J. Reuben Clark - 1960

I am not a strict constructionalist, believing that we seal our eternal progress by what we
do here. It is my belief that God will save all of His children that he can; and while, if we
live unrighteously here, we shall not go to the other side in the same status, so to speak,
as those who lived righteously; nevertheless, the unrighteous will have their chance, and
in the eons of the eternities that are to follow, they, too, may climb to the destinies to
which they who are righteous and serve God, have climbed to those eternities that are to
come.10

THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS

Office of The First Presidency
Salt Lake City, Utah 84111

9
Outlines of Ecclesiastical History, 4th Edition, by Brigham H. Roberts; 1925; "The Restoration of the
Gospel", pp. 416-417
10
Church News, 23 April 1960, p.3; President J. Reuben Clark (member of the First Presidency at the time)
 December 17, 1965

Mr. Joe J. Christensen, Director

Institute of Religion
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah 84112

Dear Brother Christensen:

Reference is made to your letter of December 7th in which you inquire what the teaching
of the Church is relative to the possibility of progression from one particular glory to
another after the resurrection.

The brethren direct me to say that the Church has never announced a definite doctrine
upon this point, though some have held the view that it was possible in the course of
progression to advance from one glory to another, invoking the principle of eternal
progression; others have taken an opposite view. As indicated, however, the Church has
never announced a definite doctrine on this point.

Sincerely your brother,

/s/ Joseph L. Anderson Secretary to the First Presidency

February 26, 1979

Dear President Kimball,

I write you with a sincere and humble attiude concerning a most important issue
in my mind. I am presently a Freshman student at B.Y.U. and feel honored to be able to
study here by virtue of a scholarship bearing your name.

Recently I read a statement signed by Joseph Anderson, Secretary to the First

Presidency, on March 5, 1952 concerning the question of whether or not the Church
preaches a certain doctrine involving the possibility of a progression from one kingdom
to another in the hereafter. The statement, made in answer to a personal letter to the First
Presidency, said the following:

The brethren direct me to say that the Church has never announced a definite
doctrine upon this point, though some have held the view that it was possible in
the course of progression to advance from one glory to another, invoking the
principle of eternal progression; others have taken an opposite view. As
indicated, however, the Church has never announced a definite doctrine on this
point.

As a result of my learning of this statement I’ve begun to encounter serious

objection and oppostition from nearly all of those with whom I’ve discussed the matter.
Quotes from several General Authorities like Joseph Fielding Smith (in Doctrines of
Salvation) have been brought up, causing a great deal of confusion in my mind as to the
validity of the original response previously quoted.
 While I recognize the frequent possibility of incongruency among the opinions
and statements offered by General Authorities, I believe that you can inform me as the
the official church position on the possibility of progression from a lower to a more
exalted kingdom in the hereafter. I would deeply appreciate your reply concerning this
matter.

Sincerely,
/s/ (BYU Student)

THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS

OFFICE OF THE FIRST PRESIDENCY
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH 84150

March 9, 1979

Bishop X
BYU 34th Ward
BYU 10th Stake
299 East 4000 North
Provo, Utah 84601

Dear Bishop X:

Enclosed is a copy of a recent letter from Brother X, who it is understood is a

member of your ward.

As you will see, Brother X inquires about progressing from one kingdom to
another after the resurrection. We shall appreciate it if you will contact Brother X and
discuss this matter with him. In doing so, you may wish to review D&C 88:19-24. Also,
we quote for your information the following from The Articles of Faith by Elder James E.
Talmage:

“It is reasonable to believe, in the absence of direct revelation by which alone

absolute knowledge of the matter could be acquired, that, in accordance with
God's plan of eternal progression, advancement within each of the three
specified kingdoms will be provided for; though as to possible progress from
one kingdom to another the scriptures make no positive affirmation. Eternal
advancement along different lines is conceiable. We may conclude that degrees
and grades will ever characterize the kingdoms of our God. Eternity is
progressive; perfection is relative; the essential feature of God's living purpose is
its associated power of eternal increase.”

Brother X has given permission for a copy of his letter to be sent to you.

Sincerely yours,

/s/ Spencer W. Kimball

/s/ N. Eldon Tanner
/s/ Marion G. Romney

The First Presidency

[I have copies of originals in my possession]