Prayer Is Communication

First and foremost, prayer is communication with God in the name of His Son. Under this general definition, we can pray at any time and any place. For us to understand and use the gift of prayer most effectively, we need to understand who we really are. We have the privilege of communication with Heavenly Father, because we are His literal spirit children. Do you like to call up your parents and talk to them? I do. When I talk to my parents, I like to tell them about my day, ask for their advice, and sometimes even seek comfort. Our relationship with God can be the same way. He loves to hear from us and hear what we have to say about our lives. Once we understand that we are indeed children of a loving Heavenly Father, prayer becomes natural and instinctual.

Express Gratitude

After you begin your prayer, you should try to express gratitude. Prayers are a tool we can use to communicate our needs to God, but we should never neglect to say thank you. Do you feel underappreciated when those you serve fail to express gratitude? Our Father in Heaven is no exception. When we express gratitude to Heavenly Father, not only are we showing appreciation for what we have, but we also become more aware of other blessings and more in tune with a spirit of happiness and contentment.

Sometimes I have prayers in which I offer only thanks. These are special prayers, because I’m consciously not asking for things and focus instead on expressing sole gratitude. These prayers help refocus my priorities and rejuvenate my heart.

Asking for Blessings and Help

You can always ask Heavenly Father for blessings. Because He’s an omniscient God, He already knows your needs, but sometimes the blessings we need are contingent upon our asking for them. You can ask for immediate blessings, temporal blessings, and blessings of eternal consequence. You can ask questions about what job to take, what college to attend, whom you should marry, and when to have children. Bring your heavy-laden plate to the Lord and allow Him to take it all. He is always willing to take upon Himself our pains and trials, but we must first tell Him about what we need Him to carry. Confess to Him your weaknesses and insecurities, your concerns and worries. If you’re having a hard time in a friendship, tell the Lord about it, and ask Him for help and wisdom. Nothing is off limits in prayer.

Pray for Forgiveness

When you pray, you should use some of that time to repent and seek forgiveness. We all make mistakes and need to start over. Regardless of the seriousness of your sin, confess it to the Lord and allow Him to change your heart and guide you to the best ways to rectify your mistake. Some sins require guidance from your local ecclesiastical leader (for Mormons that would be a bishop or branch president) to reach full repentance. While sin may make you feel guilty or ashamed, always know that God loves you and issues commandments so that we can be happy. And because Jesus Christ suffered for our sins, we have the opportunity to repent from our mistakes and move forward. So much of the beauty of the grace of Christ is realized through prayer.

Some Prayers Aren’t Formal

In the Book of Mormon (a book of scripture complementary to the Bible) we learn that we must “counsel with the Lord in all [our] doings, and he will direct [us] for good” (Alma 37:37). Some of the things we encounter in the day don’t allow time for kneeling down in formal prayer. We can and should always have a prayerful heart, a heart that is constantly open to communication from God. I remember several nights when my new baby wouldn’t sleep, and in the middle of the crying and the rocking, I would plead to God to strengthen me and show me the way. Those prayers were just as effective as prayers said on my knees.

End Your Prayers in the Name of Jesus Christ

When you conclude your prayer, be sure to do so in the name of the Savior. Doing so not only acknowledges our need for Jesus Christ and His grace, but it also gives His stamp of approval on our words. When we pray we should always be seeking to know God’s will, and by closing our prayers in the name of Jesus Christ, we signal that we have done our best to know the will of the Lord.

Prayer Works

I have been praying my whole life, and I know that prayer works. Because of prayer, I have a knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and I know that my Savior lives. God has answered my prayers, and I know that He hears me every single time. If you are unsure about whether God exists or whether He hears you, take a few moments and offer a heartfelt prayer. He will hear you, and He will manifest His love to you. I know this.

Hell Is Part of the Plan of Salvation

The Plan of Salvation is God’s divine plan to enable the happiness of His children. It began in what Mormons call the premortal existence, the time before we were born to earth in our physical bodies. The key components to the Plan of Salvation are first, our own ability to choose right or wrong (called “agency”), and two, the redemptive power of Jesus Christ.

Throughout our mortal lives we are expected to make moral choices and to make those choices in line with what we understand of the gospel of Jesus Christ. If we don’t know what the gospel of Jesus Christ is, or if we never hear it in this life, our actions here will be judged according to what to know and we will all have the opportunity to learn the gospel at some point, even if it’s in the afterlife.

What Happens after We Die

According to the Plan of Salvation, after we die our spirits will enter either spirit paradise or spirit prison. Spirit paradise will be a place of peace and rest, including rest from temptation. Spirit prison, however, is a place where spirits will be able to feel the full weight of their sins and will be able to be tempted. Spirit prison is a place for those who either haven’t learned or accepted the gospel of Christ. This is also a place of learning. Spirit prison is the place where spirits will be taught the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and they will have the choice to accept it or not. If they choose to reject it –because spirits here can still be tempted by Satan—then they will have to suffer for their own sins (because they rejected Jesus Christ, who could have saved them from the full pain of their own sins). Mormons refer to this state as hell.

For those who reject the Savior’s redemptive power, hell will be a very painful place. Once they have paid for their sins, however, they will be free to enter the lowest kingdom of heaven, because they will be clean.  In this definition, hell is surely a painful and agonizing place, but also a temporary one.  Note that hell is often described as “endless torment.”  The Doctrine and Covenants, a collection of modern revelations, explains this:

Wherefore, I revoke not the judgments which I shall pass, but woes shall go forth, weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth, yea, to those who are found on my left hand. Nevertheless, it is not written that there shall be no end to this torment, but it is written endless  torment.

Again, it is written eternal damnation; wherefore it is more express than other scriptures, that it might work upon the hearts of the children of men, altogether for my name’s glory.   Wherefore, I will explain unto you this mystery, for it is meet unto you to know even as mine apostles.

I speak unto you that are chosen in this thing, even as one, that you may enter into my rest.   For, behold, the mystery of godliness, how great is it! For, behold, I am endless, and the punishment which is given from my hand is endless punishment, for Endless is my name. Wherefore—

Eternal punishment is God’s punishment.   Endless punishment is God’s punishment (Doctrine and Covenants 19:5 – 12).

We should note that Jesus Christ is still the one who makes their redemption possible, but that through their own choices, the spirits in this state do not choose to change.

Outer Darkness

There is one more component to the Plan of Salvation. After spirit paradise or prison, our spirits will be reunited with our bodies in the resurrection, which will happen after Christ’s Second Coming to the earth. After the resurrection comes judgment day, and after judgment we will enter heaven. (And remember, those who reject Jesus Christ will still be able to enter the lowest tier of heaven after they have paid for their sins. However, their resurrection will be delayed until after the millennial reign of Christ.)

Mormon doctrine teaches of a place called outer darkness. It is the place that is a state of eternal hell. This is the place for those who have had a sure witness and perfect understanding of Jesus Christ and who have chosen to reject it. A sure witness is more than belief or strong faith; it necessitates an actual visit from the Lord, so that the person has sure knowledge that transcends faith.  Those who fall to this fate, by their own choices, are not redeemed by the power of the atonement. In the Doctrine and Covenants  we read that these spirits will have “no forgiveness in this world nor in the world to come—having denied the Holy Spirit after having received it, and having denied the Only Begotten Son of the Father, having crucified him unto themselves and put him to an open shame” (76:34–35). This is a place of everlasting hell, but it is also one most of God’s children will escape. Most of us will end up in some kingdom of heaven.  This is why the prophet Nephi of the Book of Mormon said that “Salvation is free” (2 Nephi 2:4).

God Is Merciful

Remember that God is merciful, that He wants us to be happy and clean. He does everything in His power to save and purify our souls. He blessed us with the ability to make choices, and He has not only given us the tools and knowledge that we need to make good choices, but He also gave us the atonement of Jesus Christ so that we may repent from the bad choices we make.

We need not fear hell if our hearts are intent and humble. Whether we have a testimony of Jesus Christ at this moment or we don’t, we can rest assured that if our intent and seeking is sincere that we will be led to truth. We will not be held accountable for what we do not know, and once we do know truth, we will find strength and empowerment through Jesus Christ to do that which is right. Yes, hell is real, but so is Jesus Christ and His saving power. With the Lord Jesus Christ as our champion, we need not fear death or sin, but can rather rejoice in His freely-offered redemption.

Latter-day Saints Believe Everyone Is Saved

Unlike my friend’s understanding of “being saved,” Latter-day Saints believe that Jesus Christ saves everyone from sin, not just those who say they accept Him. That isn’t to say, however, that everyone is automatically redeemed. The grace of Jesus Christ—one aspect of which Latter-day Saints (“Mormons”) commonly call the Atonement—isn’t something that you earn, but rather it’s something that you’re given. And, like a gift, we have the choice to accept it or not.

When Jesus suffered for our sins in Gethsemane and died on the cross at Calvary, He suffered for everyone, not just those who He thought might need it or accept it. His Atonement is a blanket one. Our entering mortality came with the condition that we would be saved through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. He suffered and died for us so that we might be made clean and perfect, so that we could live with Heavenly Father again. Latter-day Saints believe that everyone is saved because Jesus Christ overcame death and sin; that triumph alone is enough to qualify everyone for redemption. Even those who never accept Jesus Christ’s sacrifice will be saved from a fate in hell.

We Must Choose Jesus Christ

The Atonement of Jesus Christ doesn’t automatically make everyone clean, however. Rather, it makes it possible to become clean. In Psalms we learn about the conditions for dwelling with God: “Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart” (24:3–4). No one can be perfectly clean through their sole efforts; anyone who lives with God must be made clean through the grace of Jesus Christ.

The key to being saved is our own moral agency. (Moral agency is a term Latter-day Saints use to describe our ability, freedom, and responsibility to choose between right and wrong. Our moral agency is a gift from God and gives us the power to become as He is.) When the Savior completed the Atonement, He established a condition whereby we may be cleansed. He made it possible. But because He won’t force us to keep His commandments and live by His example, He cannot guarantee that we will be saved unless we choose to accept His gift of grace.

In the Book of Mormon (a book of scripture unique to Latter-day Saints and a companion book to the Bible) we learn a key characteristic of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ: “he [Christ] cannot save them in their sins; for I cannot deny his word, and he hath said that no unclean thing can inherit the kingdom of heaven; therefore, how can ye be saved except ye inherit the kingdom of heaven? Therefore, ye cannot be saved in your sins” (Alma 11:37, emphasis added). The key to this scripture is that Christ cannot save us in our sins; He can only save us from them. If He redeemed us in our sins, then we wouldn’t be required to change, and we wouldn’t really be made clean. He saves us from our sins, so that we can repent, change, and be cleansed.

Faith and Works

When my friend and I were discussing this, she got hung up on the battle of faith versus works. In James we read that “faith without works is dead” (2:26). But we also know that we cannot become perfect and clean through our own efforts. So how do faith and works fit together? What James means is that our faith in Jesus Christ is powerless unless we act on it. We must use our faith to propel us into making choices that guide us closer to Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father.

When it comes to grace and being saved, our works are crucial, not because we “earn” salvation but because we surrender ourselves to God’s will. We cannot say that we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior without changing the way we live. So when my friend said that her relative had accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior, he was clearly indicating that he had faith in the Lord. But unless he changed his life to fit more in line with the teachings of Christ, then his faith didn’t do much.

We Are Saved by Grace

I need to emphasize that Latter-day Saints (“Mormons”) do not believe that our works will get us a ticket into heaven. The pathway to salvation isn’t divided up into one part works and two parts grace. The atonement of Jesus Christ is the whole pathway. Our works come into play because they are what gets us onto the road of grace, and our works keep us there. Being saved isn’t a passive act; it is an involved and active way of living. Being saved is a way of life that invites the Savior into your heart, mind, and actions so that He can make you clean. He can’t wash away our sins if we insist on holding on to them.

Latter-day Saints say that everyone can be saved, because that pathway to salvation is available to everyone. No one is exempt from being able to choose to follow the Savior, and because of His sacrifice, all can make it down the road He has prepared for us.

Heaven Is Part of the Plan of Salvation

Mormons see heaven as part of a great and eternal plan for our own happiness. Heaven is the goal for our lives and choices. Heaven is where we can live with God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ again. It is a place where our souls are perfected and where our families dwell with us. Mormons believe it to be an unimaginably beautiful and glorious place.

To understand heaven the way Mormons do, we must understand the Plan of Salvation. God’s plan for our happiness began before we came to earth. In our pre-mortal existence we lived with God as His spirit children, and we fought Satan for our right to make choices on earth. We came to earth to gain a body, live with a family, and make ourselves more like our Savior. Our choices here matter greatly, and even though we make mistakes, the grace of Jesus Christ makes it possible for us to repent, change, and start over. Our mortal life is all about choosing, repenting, changing, and choosing again. The more knowledge of gospel truth we have in this life, the greater our responsibility is to act accordingly.

Spirit Paradise and Spirit Prison

Once we die and our spirits separate from our bodies, we go to one of two places (and no, they’re not heaven or a dead-end in hell!): If we had a knowledge of the true gospel and lived to it the best we could, we go to what Mormons call spirit paradise. If we either didn’t know about the truth or did but didn’t live what we know, we go to what Mormons call spirit prison. Spirit prison is not as scary as it sounds. It’s merely a place to learn the gospel of Jesus Christ. Spirit prison is for learning and spirit paradise is for teaching. Spirit prison may be a hard place to be for some, especially for those who have heard and rejected the gospel of Jesus Christ. This place has been referred to as hell in Mormon scripture. Once these spirits, however, have suffered for their sins, they will be released and allowed into a tier of heaven. Spirit paradise is a peaceful place, where we can rest from our cares and be assured of the reality of Jesus Christ.  There, we can also enjoy the company of loved ones who have already passed from mortality.

The Resurrection and Judgment

Eventually Jesus Christ will come again to the earth, and He will come in all of His glory. This will be an exciting time for His righteous children. Christ’s Second Coming means that we will all be resurrected, or reunited with our perfected and immortal bodies. After the resurrection, we will be judged by God the Father with Christ as our mediator. This judgment will be a merciful and honest one. After the judgment day we will be accepted into a tier of heaven.

The Three Kingdoms of Heaven

What we can traditionally call heaven is a collection of three different kingdoms, or tiers. The highest kingdom is called the celestial kingdom. This is the place for the righteous, for those who accepted Christ’s atonement and allowed it to change and perfect them. Here we can be with our families forever and all dwell with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ eternally.

The second kingdom is called the terrestrial kingdom. This is the place for those who were good people and made good choices, but who didn’t accept the gospel of Jesus Christ in its fullness. The third kingdom, the telestial kingdom, is for those who didn’t accept any part of the gospel of Jesus Christ and who deny the witness of the Holy Ghost. Despite these differences within the tiers of heaven, all kingdoms will be more glorious than we can imagine. We should also note that depending on the state of our character, on who we have ultimately become, we will go wherever we are most comfortable. Those who refuse to accept the gospel of Jesus Christ would never feel at ease living in His constant presence, like those in the celestial kingdom would. Remember that God is merciful and He does that only which is best for us.

You Can Prepare Now for Heaven

The beautiful truth of the doctrine of heaven is that where we end up eternally is based on a glorious combination of our choices and Christ’s grace. Jesus Christ will make up for our shortcomings if we allow it. Our destiny is in our hands. Even the highest degree of heaven is possible to attain  through Jesus Christ. To learn more about the heaven and the Plan of Salvation go here and here.  To read the account of a vision of the kingdoms of heaven, go here.