Celestial Kingdom Quotes

Some scars are carved into our bones - a part of who we are, shaping what we become.

We should appreciate the flower, regardless of its roots.

Like the vital rudder of a ship, we have been provided a way to determine the direction we travel. The lighthouse of the Lord beckons to all as we sail the seas of life. Our home port is the celestial kingdom of God. Our purpose is to steer an undeviating course in that direction. A man without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder—never likely to reach home port. To us comes the signal: Chart your course, set your sail, position your rudder, and proceed.

The men and women, who desire to obtain seats in the celestial kingdom, will find that they must battle everyday.

Why would you want to look like her? Why would a falcon want to be a nightingale?

Elder Neal A. Maxwell suggests that the prime reason the Savior personally acts as the gatekeeper of the celestial kingdom is not to exclude people, but to personally welcome and embrace those who have made it back home.

Everyone has their own troubles; some lay them bare while others hide them better.

I hated him now because I had loved him then.

A glorious future beckoned on the horizon. Yet I still clung to a shred of my past, as a flowering peach blossom tree yearning for its fallen bloom.

What use were adventures when there was no one to share them with?

I had always thought life was a road, twisting and turning with the vagaries of fate. Luck and opportunity, gifts beyond our control. As I gazed across the endless night, it dawned on me then, that our paths were forged from the choices we made. Whether to reach for an opportunity or to let it pass by. To be swept up with changed or to hold your ground.

Never did I imagine such luminous joy existed, and never again would I be content to remain in the shadows.

Why was it that the times which called for greatest strength were when we were at our weakest?

Stand Fast Through the Storms of Life. "You will have all kinds of trials to pass through. And it is quite as necessary for you to be tried as it was for Abraham and other men of God... God will feel after you, and He will take hold of you and wrench your very heart strings and if you cannot stand it you will not be fit for an inheritance in the Celestial kingdom of God" -John Taylor recalls the words of Joseph Smith to the Twelve. JS manual page 231

My path, which had seemed a straight road, had taken a turn into the wilderness—and I was lost.

As long as you are mine as I am yours, we have all the time in the world.

But we could not keep hiding and burying our hurt, especially from those we loved. I had learned that through the pain lay forgiveness, growth, and the eventual healing of our wounds.

I was no longer a child willing to drift with the ride - I would steer against the current if I had to. and if I won, by some miraculous stroke of luck, I would never be helpless again.

I would not yearn after what had been lost, impossible to regain. I would look to the days ahead, to the happiness which awaited me there... if only I were brave and steadfast enough to reach for it.

For we were complex creatures of shades of gray, capable of wonderful and terrible things … of change, because our natures were not fixed like the stars in the sky but flowing as the river toward an unknown horizon.

Titles are inherited, talent might be blood-bound, but true greatness lies within.

I do care," he ground out. "despite my sense, my judgement and honor - I cannot help but care.

You'll never grow if you only do what you're good at... The most difficult things are often the most worth while.

True happiness springs from within, a contentment with oneself. And while it may be humbler and quieter, there is nothing more precious and lasting,

Some scars are carved into our bones—a part of who we are, shaping what we become.

She ascends from the ocean in a way that is nothing short of celestial. The water follows her in a throne, elevating her to the height of my ship. Ocean-soaked hair runs down the length of her body, and she retains the otherworldly glow that always seems to illuminate her moony skin. Only now she is something more than just a siren, or a girl masquerading as a pirate. She is a goddess.

When we met, I felt there were no walls between us. That you were someone I could speak freely with. I’d like us to be friends, if you want that, too?” he asked gently.

Was closing one's heart to love - all love - the only way to contentment? Had I not imagined so myself, during those long months of misery? Indeed, my darkest moments were when I had left my loved ones. And yet... the happiest times of my life had been with them too.

When the battle lines are drawn, advance with a clear mind.

They were beautiful, yet something vital in them had been lost. Once you had seen the full moon, the crescent lost its charm.

Cry. Shout. Strike me if you will. Just don’t treat me like a stranger. Don’t pretend to be all right when you are not.

Love is a privilege, not a possession. We can’t control our own feelings, much less those of others. Sometimes love means letting go—for yourself, if not for them.

This pain you feel . . . you might believe that you will never recover. And while it might always hurt, the pain will fade a little more each time—until one day, there will be no more tears. Just the memories and the hope, that you might find some joy in them again.

Those nights when my pain was at its sharpest, it would have been so easy to slide into resentment and hatred. Yet as much as I loved him, I loved myself more. And as I was discovering, there was no end to love- it was something which grew and renewed endlessly, expanding to encompass each new horizon. Family. Friends. And other lovers, too - nove of them the same - yet each so precious in their own way.

Was this where all paths to love led? Heartbreak, whether through separation, betrayal, or death? Was the fleeting joy worth the sorrow that came after?

Use the past to guide the present, but do not let it trap you. Grow from your mistakes, don't let them become a weakness.

There are things I want which you know nothing of. I do have my own dreams.

Be careful, Little Star.” Ping’er’s hand touched my cheek gently. “The darkest of nights is when the stars shine brightest.

Those most trusted could still let you down, even when they did not mean to—a lesson I had learned with Liwei, and one I learned well.

How dark the night that stretched before us, yet ablaze with the light of the moon and stars, it felt as bright as day.

My fingers clenched around the cup as I lifted it in a toast. "May you always be happy." His gaze rested on me. "If I'm always as happy as I am now, that would be the best wish of all.

Salvation in its true and full meaning is synonymous with exaltation or eternal life and consists in gaining an inheritance in the highest of the three heavens within the celestial kingdom. With few exceptions this is the salvation of which the scriptures speak. It is the salvation which the saints seek. (Mormon Doctrine, 2nd ed., Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1966, p. 670.)

As punishment, I was exiled to the moon—an enchantment cast upon me which binds me here for eternity. I cannot leave this place, no matter how much I want to.” In a low voice, she added, “A palace you cannot escape is a prison nonetheless.

It is the certainty of never that hurts most. The knowledge that I will never eat star-shaped peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with her in the pediatric ward again. Never dance around her living room, headbanging our wigs to the beat. Never watch her paint a new masterpiece. I understand why people believe in the afterlife, why they soothe themselves with the faith that those who are no longer with us still exist elsewhere, eternally, in a celestial realm free of pain. As for me, all I know is that here on this earth, I cannot find my friend.

You’ll never grow if you only do what you’re good at,” she had said. “The most difficult things are often the most worthwhile.

Better a Demon in name than one by nature. Striking the innocent, preying on the weak.” I did not deny his false accusations; it would do no good.

I will never be free of my sorrow. And yet, I would do it again, even knowing all which came after. Because it meant I had you.

No matter what is happening, keep a clear mind to judge when to use your power for greatest impact. But don’t hesitate to use it when necessary.

Some flowers have thorns," I said coldly. "If you pluck them, you will get pricked" His gaze flicked to mine. "Those are the most precious of all".

The ground now glittered like stardust, and in the world below, the mortals would be lifting their heads to the curved wedge of light in the sky, its face partially hidden.

I'm no lovesick puppet, begging for a morsel of affection. I have my own dreams, my own principles, my own honor to uphold.

We lose our life by serving and lifting others. By so doing we experience the only true and lasting happiness. Service is not something we endure on this earth so we can earn the right to live in the celestial kingdom. Service is the very fiber of which an exalted life in the celestial kingdom is made. Oh, for the glorious day when these things all come naturally because of the purity of our hearts... We are truly happy only when we are engaged in unselfish service. Service is what godhood is all about.

Yet as much as I loved him, I loved myself more. And as I was discovering, there was no end to love-it was something which grew and renewed endlessly, expanding to encompass each new horizon. Family. Friends. And other lovers, too-none of them the same- yet each precious in their own way.

Memories of our time together flashed before my mind: our years of friendship, our few stolen days of love. Then the candle flame flickered, struggling for its final seconds of life before curling into a wisp of smoke … the room now enveloped in darkness.

My father slew the suns. My mother lights the moon.

we are strong in different ways.

As for him, he had learned his lesson better than I had, pursuing her with unwavering dedication, risking everything, even choosing her life over his.

Rage and grief are pitiless beasts that devour the heart and mind.

Those in love often make promises they can’t keep,

We each had our own burdens to bear and we alone knew their true cost, and whether we could pay it.

The light in his eyes rivaled that of the moon. “I would give it all up for you, if you would only ask.

Sometimes, by treating others with mistrust, you invite it upon yourself. By refusing to see the good in them, you might lose something precious that you never allowed yourself to find.

Daughter, you are mortal-born, yet immortality flows in your veins. Your home should be here, yet you live on the moon. You, more than anyone, should have learned that nothing is impossible.

My future stretched before me, lonely and bleak—a lifetime of servitude without hope of betterment. An unwanted tear welled up in the corner of my eye. I had learned to swallow them, inhaling sharply or blinking them away. But as I was alone, I let it trail down my cheek.

For a celestial reward, it is absolutely essential that we remain faithful to the end. There is nothing in the Church that is directed toward the telestial or terrestrial kingdoms. For us it is a celestial goal every step of the way.

It’s not the same,” I ground out. “You’ve taken away their freedom to choose, to judge on their own. To compel them to acts they might rather die than commit.” I fixed him with a scornful stare, even as I shrank away inside. “But no enchantment is unbreakable. You’ll pay when they break free.

I would not taint today with the doubts of tomorrow or fears of the past.

Family, whether through blood or bond, who gave a place its heart. And that was more important than any tile or brick, whether of gold, silver, or jade.

Why would a falcon want to be a nightingale?

Not every battle could be won with brute force; sometimes it was water that could wear down stone.

Never again would I be content to remain in the shadows.

She looked like she had stepped out from one of those scroll paintings depicting the classic ideals of beauty.

Wenzhi’s fingers toyed with the rim of his cup. “There might be a field of flowers, yet all I need is one.

They are mistaken. Can we explain?" "It would not mater. You cannot change the minds of those who do not want to be proven wrong.

The past is embedded in who we are, whether we choose to change or keep our course. Without our history, we are unmarked sheets of paper.

For the fools do not fear the odds, the reckless do not care, and only the truly brave proceed regardless.

Every hero was a villain to the other side.

Mortality is the time to learn first of God and the gospel and to perform the ordinances. After our feet are set on the path to eternal life we can amass more knowledge of the secular things...Secular knowledge, as important as it is, can never save a soul nor open the celestial kingdom nor create a world nor make a man a god, but it can be most helpful to that man who, placing first things first, has found the way to eternal life and who can now bring into play all knowledge to be his tool and servant.

This is the exaltingquality—to become so perfectedin our lives that not only do we live with God, but we become like him. This is the ultimate oneness. Oneness is not only a matter of geography, but of identity. The issue is not just where we live, but what we become. To live with God does not assure us we will be like him. All who live in the celestial kingdom dwell with God, but only those who are exalted become as he is. The objective of the Atonement is not just to cleanse us, but to so transform our lives and our way of thinking and acting that we become like God.

Yet as much as I loved him, I loved myself more. And as I was discovering, there was no end to love—it was something which grew and renewed endlessly, expanding to encompass each new horizon. Family. Friends. And other lovers, too—none of them the same—yet each precious in their own way.

This is the great failing of today’s evangelical lobby. Instead of testifying confidently to the presence of a supreme and sovereign God—a celestial chess master rolling His eyes at our earthly checkerboard—Christian conservatives have acted like toddlers lost at the shopping mall, panicked and petrified, shouting the name of their father with such hysteria that his reputation is diminished in the eyes of every onlooker.

Hate me then, for I would rather have your hatred than indifference.” His eyes were the shade of wintry rivers, glints of light traveling in their depths. “The past can’t be undone, but my hope lies in our future. Trust me with your heart again and you will find the truth of mine. For you are the reason I rise each day, for you I live and breathe.

I helped you because I liked you. You speak your mind, you take pride in yourself. You’re honest in what you want, and fearless in reaching for it. You don’t pretend to be someone else around me. And while you didn’t know who I was then, that holds true even now.

What we do is not a reflection of who we are.

Why are you here?" "Curiosity. I wanted to meet my replacement," I said with a flippancy which fell flat. "Who could have taken your place?

In truth, the mortals could teach us far more in resilience and strength of will, as they bore the trials that came their way.

How could I have wept in Wenzhi’s arms, the arms of my enemy? A betrayal of Liwei and myself.

Unclouded by emotion, instinct can be a powerful guide.

Let us leave the stars as they are, for tonight they are where they should be.

I loved you then . . . and I miss you still.

There is no greater unity than a common danger.

Trust was something I had learned not to readily yield. Yet my joy could not be restrained - surging free, spilling through me like the rays of the sun reaching across the infinite sky.

How foolish I had been to think everything would work out, just like in the books I had read: the lost child found by his mother, the monster defeated by a valiant warrior, the princess saved by the prince. But I was no princess and fairy tales did not exist for the likes of me, not even in heaven.

I would not yearn after what had been lost, impossible to regain. I would look to the days ahead, to the happiness which awaited me there . . . if only I were brave and steadfast enough to reach for it.

A highly trained scientist who is also a perfected man may eventually create a world and people it, but a dissolute unrepentant, unbelieving one will never be such a creator even in eternities. Secular knowledge, important as it may be, can never save a soul nor open the celestial kingdom nor create a world nor make a man a god, but it can be most helpful to that man who, placing first things first, has found the way to eternal life and who can now bring into play all knowledge to be his tool and servant.

LOOK, I’M ONLY IN THIS FOR THE PIZZA. The publisher was like, “Oh, you did such a great job writing about the Greek gods last year! We want you to write another book about the Ancient Greek heroes! It’ll be so cool!” And I was like, “Guys, I’m dyslexic. It’s hard enough for me to read books.” Then they promised me a year’s supply of free pepperoni pizza, plus all the blue jelly beans I could eat. I sold out. I guess it’s cool. If you’re looking to fight monsters yourself, these stories might help you avoid some common mistakes—like staring Medusa in the face, or buying a used mattress from any dude named Crusty. But the best reason to read about the old Greek heroes is to make yourself feel better. No matter how much you think your life sucks, these guys and gals had it worse. They totally got the short end of the Celestial stick. By the way, if you don’t know me, my name is Percy Jackson. I’m a modern-day demigod—the son of Poseidon. I’ve had some bad experiences in my time, but the heroes I’m going to tell you about were the original old-school hard-luck cases. They boldly screwed up where no one had screwed up before. Let’s pick twelve of them. That should be plenty. By the time you finish reading about how miserable their lives were—what with the poisonings, the betrayals, the mutilations, the murders, the psychopathic family members, and the flesh-eating barnyard animals—if that doesn’t make you feel better about your own existence, then I don’t know what will. So get your flaming spear. Put on your lion-skin cape. Polish your shield, and make sure you’ve got arrows in your quiver. We’re going back about four thousand years to decapitate monsters, save some kingdoms, shoot a few gods in the butt, raid the Underworld, and steal loot from evil people. Then, for dessert, we’ll die painful tragic deaths. Ready? Sweet. Let’s do this.

Never had my home seemed more beautiful than in this moment when I was pressing each curve, each stone into my mind. The thousand lanterns illuminated the soil, the silver roof tiles reflected the stars. And on the balcony where I had stared at the world below, there stood a slender figure in white.

Were you afraid?" "All the time." Some might think me a coward, but I felt no shame in admitting it. I was not one of those valiant heroes who plunged into danger so fearlessly. I had been terrified of getting hurt, of failure, and most of all - of death. To never see my mother again, or my loved ones. To regret all the things left unsaid or undone. To leave my life... unlived. I had been lauded for my bravery, yet I knew the truth - that I had done these things despite my fear. Because not doing them frightened me more.

THE SPANISH JEW'S TALE. THE LEGEND OF RABBI BEN LEVI. Rabbi Ben Levi, on the Sabbath, read A volume of the Law, in which it said, "No man shall look upon my face and live." And as he read, he prayed that God would give His faithful servant grace with mortal eye To look upon His face and yet not die. Then fell a sudden shadow on the page And, lifting up his eyes, grown dim with age, He saw the Angel of Death before him stand, Holding a naked sword in his right hand. Rabbi Ben Levi was a righteous man, Yet through his veins a chill of terror ran. With trembling voice he said, "What wilt thou here?" The angel answered, "Lo! the time draws near When thou must die; yet first, by God's decree, Whate'er thou askest shall be granted thee." Replied the Rabbi, "Let these living eyes First look upon my place in Paradise." Then said the Angel, "Come with me and look." Rabbi Ben Levi closed the sacred book, And rising, and uplifting his gray head, "Give me thy sword," he to the Angel said, "Lest thou shouldst fall upon me by the way." The Angel smiled and hastened to obey, Then led him forth to the Celestial Town, And set him on the wall, whence, gazing down, Rabbi Ben Levi, with his living eyes, Might look upon his place in Paradise. Then straight into the city of the Lord The Rabbi leaped with the Death-Angel's sword, And through the streets there swept a sudden breath Of something there unknown, which men call death. Meanwhile the Angel stayed without, and cried, "Come back!" To which the Rabbi's voice replied, "No! in the name of God, whom I adore, I swear that hence I will depart no more!" Then all the Angels cried, "O Holy One, See what the son of Levi here has done! The kingdom of Heaven he takes by violence, And in Thy name refuses to go hence!" The Lord replied, "My Angels, be not wroth; Did e'er the son of Levi break his oath? Let him remain; for he with mortal eye Shall look upon my face and yet not die." Beyond the outer wall the Angel of Death Heard the great voice, and said, with panting breath, "Give back the sword, and let me go my way." Whereat the Rabbi paused, and answered, "Nay! Anguish enough already has it caused Among the sons of men." And while he paused He heard the awful mandate of the Lord Resounding through the air, "Give back the sword!" The Rabbi bowed his head in silent prayer; Then said he to the dreadful Angel, "Swear, No human eye shall look on it again; But when thou takest away the souls of men, Thyself unseen, and with an unseen sword, Thou wilt perform the bidding of the Lord." The Angel took the sword again, and swore, And walks on earth unseen forevermore.

In any case, we should expect that in due time we will be moved into our eternal destiny of creative activity with Jesus and his friends and associates in the “many mansions” of “his Father’s house.” Thus, we should not think of ourselves as destined to be celestial bureaucrats, involved eternally in celestial “administrivia.” That would be only slightly better than being caught in an everlasting church service. No, we should think of our destiny as being absorbed in a tremendously creative team effort, with unimaginably splendid leadership, on an inconceivably vast plane of activity, with ever more comprehensive cycles of productivity and enjoyment. This is the “eye hath not seen, neither ear heard” that lies before us in the prophetic vision (Isa. 64:4). This Is Shalom When Saint Augustine comes to the very end of his book The City of God, he attempts to address the question of “how the saints shall be employed when they are clothed in immortal and spiritual bodies.”15 At first he confesses that he is “at a loss to understand the nature of that employment.” But then he settles upon the word peace to describe it, and develops the idea of peace by reference to the vision of God—utilizing, as we too have done, the rich passage from 1 Corinthians 13. Thus he speaks of our “employment” then as being “the beatific vision.” The eternal blessedness of the city of God is presented as a “perpetual Sabbath.” In words so beautiful that everyone should know them by heart, he says, “There we shall rest and see, see and love, love and praise. This is what shall be in the end without end. For what other end do we propose to ourselves than to attain to the kingdom of which there is no end?” And yet, for all their beauty and goodness, these words do not seem to me to capture the blessed condition of the restoration of all things—of the kingdom come in its utter fullness. Repose, yes. But not as quiescence, passivity, eternal fixity. It is, instead, peace as wholeness, as fullness of function, as the restful but unending creativity involved in a cosmoswide, cooperative pursuit of a created order that continuously approaches but never reaches the limitless goodness and greatness of the triune personality of God, its source. This, surely, is the word of Jesus when he says, “Those who overcome will be welcomed to sit with me on my throne, as I too overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. Those capable of hearing should listen to what the Spirit is saying to my people” (Rev. 3:21