You Can Do This. You Can Do This Now!

Some people feel that it is unfair or too difficult to become a celestial person in a single lifetime. We believe that they are measuring against the wrong criteria, striving to achieve an incorrect goal of perfection that is impossible and unnecessary. These people feel overwhelmed by what they believe to be the requirement for perfection and their own inadequacy.

Please notice that the scriptures clearly teach that we need only be quickened by a portion of the Celestial to receive a fullness in the resurrection.

“They who are of a celestial spirit shall receive the same body which was a natural body; even ye shall receive your bodies, and your glory shall be that glory by which your bodies are quickened.

29 Ye who are quickened by a portion of the celestial glory shall then receive of the same, even a fulness.

30 And they who are quickened by a portion of the terrestrial glory shall then receive of the same, even a fulness.

31 And also they who are quickened by a portion of the telestial glory shall then receive of the same, even a fulness.” – D&C 88:28-31

For this reason, it becomes important to understand the minimum requirements we must meet for each of the kingdoms of glory. This is explained in “The Kingdoms of Glory” in our online video library. 

Today, there are many who lead but few who know the way.  A calling in a church neither qualifies, nor condemns, you as a true messenger. Claiming dramatic revelation neither qualifies, nor condemns, you as a true messenger. Our task is to identify those who do know the way and who God has sent to help us. But NEVER to place so much trust in anyone that they become an infallible authority in our minds. Even true messengers from God cannot be trusted all of the time. (Consider the prophet Jonah who was a messenger from God and yet in many ways not a role model to follow.) But most importantly, we must learn to correctly recognize and follow the spirit for ourselves. 

If you have the wrong map, you will never arrive at your destination no matter how much time you are given. But with the right map, you are enabled to move at your own pace with assurance that you will arrive. Those who are blinded by the craftiness of men are following the wrong map which will never lead them correctly.

The most common reason good or honorable people do not make their calling and election sure is that they are following a bad map that doesn’t accept that calling and election is possible or teach how to seek it. These bad maps are created by spiritual leaders who don’t know the way themselves. We are told that these people have received the testimony of the Savior, but they are blinded by the craftiness of men. As a result they receive the presence of the son, but not of the Father and they remain limited to the Terrestrial Kingdom. If they had better maps that were created by leaders who knew the way, then they might have obtained the crown.

“These are they who are honorable men of the earth, who were blinded by the craftiness of men.

76 These are they who receive of his glory, but not of his fulness.

77 These are they who receive of the presence of the Son, but not of the fulness of the Father.

78 Wherefore, they are bodies terrestrial, and not bodies celestial, and differ in glory as the moon differs from the sun.

79 These are they who are not valiant in the testimony of Jesus; wherefore, they obtain not the crown over the kingdom of our God.” – D&C 76:75-79

Because many people don’t know what it means to be sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise and make their calling and election sure, (let alone how to do it), they wander in darkness guessing and hoping they are doing what is required to please God. Many are honorable people who blindly follow guides who have not received the promises for themselves and cannot lead others to the promises because they don’t understand them or how to get them for themselves, so they only merit the Terrestrial kingdom.

If you have not had these experiences yourself and are looking for a guide who is qualified to teach you how to breach the veil and see the heavens for yourself, it is essential to know if a person you are following has done so for themselves or not. It puts their teachings and directions into proper perspective. 

 In every area of life, we recognize the value of experience. But for some reason, when it comes to our spiritual direction and instruction, so many of us are willing to learn from and follow those who neglect or refuse to provide their qualifications. Just because a person provides their qualifications does not guarantee that a person is a suitable teacher, it just gives you information to use to put their teachings into perspective. If you want to do something and you were looking for an instructor to teach you, you would want someone who can teach you from experience.

Imagine if you went to a doctor’s office and while in the waiting room you discovered that the only qualification the physician had or provided was their title or position at that clinic. Then, when you went to interview the doctor to see if they would sufficiently be able to instruct you in your physical health, you asked them about their qualifications and experience and they responded by telling you that it is not proper to ask such questions or that information like that is too special to share with you no matter how much you would respect and honor it.

Here’s the thing, they would be right IF they were not endeavoring to instruct and lead others.  Once they accept a position of leadership in which they endeavor to help others to accomplish a goal, it becomes a right of those they lead to know if they have themselves achieved that goal or not.  

We are preparing for our eternal state. We cannot afford to blindly trust people because of their position, title or even claims of spiritual experiences. We must learn to be as a little child and consider what is presented so that we can recognize truth by the spirit when it is taught.

For the sake of our spiritual progression, we need to know the claimed qualifications of the people attempting to lead us. If we believe that they can bring us to Christ but they have never been in his presence themselves, then they really don’t know what they are doing. If they haven’t breached the veil themselves, they are guessing and hoping those they lead can live their instructions better than they can, but they may not have considered that the reason they have not achieved the goal for themselves is not their ability to live according to their own instructions but that their instructions are a bad map based on the traditions of men and will never lead anyone correctly.  

We can tell you these things with certainty because every Elliaison contributor has breached the veil and stood in the presence of God and The Savior. We know the path and are able to lead those who do not until they too know the path and can in turn lead additional others until all equally know the path.

“Wherefore, I the Lord, knowing the calamity which should come upon the inhabitants of the earth, called upon my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., and spake unto him from heaven, and gave him commandments;

18 And also gave commandments to others, that they should proclaim these things unto the world; and all this that it might be fulfilled, which was written by the prophets—

19 The weak things of the world shall come forth and break down the mighty and strong ones, that man should not counsel his fellow man, neither trust in the arm of flesh—

20 But that every man might speak in the name of God the Lord, even the Savior of the world;” – D&C 1:17-20

If we are learning from any person or group, then it is important that we know if they are able to teach and lead us to the goals we are seeking to achieve. If they have not experienced the blessings we want, then they cannot lead us to the results we desire. In such instances, it becomes a case of the blind leading the blind.

Even the greatest of scholars are limited in their knowledge if they haven’t had personal experience. Anyone who knows enough to lead someone else to a blessing or experience will most certainly know enough to have had the experience for themselves. If they have not, then they do not know enough to teach you to have it either. This is why Peter followed up his instruction to “give diligence to make your calling and election sure” by saying,

“For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.

17 For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

18 And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.

19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts.” – 2 Peter 1:10-19

We read the scriptures to learn from these spiritual experts who know from experience the path we must travel so that we can become spiritual experts ourselves by following in their footsteps and having the same experiences they have had. They do not teach us to dominate and rule over us but to raise us to their status.

“And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit upon them!” – Numb. 11:29

They know that we can all receive these blessings and encourage us to do so.

“Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:” – 2 Peter 1:10

And because God is no respecter of persons, (Acts 10:34), any blessing that is available to one is available to all. These blessings are available to you as well. 

Anything the Lord commands is possible because God didn’t set us up to fail. We must believe as Nephi who said,

“And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.”
1 Nephi 3:7

Another reason that people are not receiving the blessings is now emerging as more and more people make their calling and election sure. Having good intentions but lacking understanding and experience, some who make their calling and election sure incorrectly assume that the way they received their blessings is the only way the blessings can be received.

They take this thought so far as to say, “I had this specific experience and was told these specific words, in this specific place or way and I know it was true. If anyone has an experience that does not mirror mine exactly then they didn’t get the blessing that I did and they are deceived if they think they did.” They apply this false thinking to all ordinances and experiences from the baptism of fire to the Second Comforter. This creates a wide variety of teachers who claim to have the experiences and yet teach vastly different requirements, processes and experiences. They sometimes argue with each other and claim anyone who does not believe what they do is deceived and leading people astray, not realizing their own error.

As we read through the scriptures, we see a great deal of variety in how people receive a remission of sins, and the gift of the Holy Ghost. Sometimes it happens at baptism, sometimes before or after baptism. The words spoken to the person by God are different and tailored to the individual or even in some cases like Alma the Younger, there are no words at all. 

We see God give the promise of eternal life in a variety of locations, and ways using a variety of words. God speaks to people in ways that are meaningful to them.

“For my soul delighteth in plainness; for after this manner doth the Lord God work among the children of men. For the Lord God giveth light unto the understanding; for he speaketh unto men according to their language, unto their understanding.” – 2 Nephi 31:3

The requirements for all blessings were set before the foundations of the world and are unchangeable, however few understand these eternal requirements. For example, the requirements for being healed. The Lord says to one man, wash in the river seven times and to another your servant has been healed without so much as seeing the man. But the same eternal requirements were met in both instances.

God does have patterns, and those patterns are guidelines for us to observe how things occur, however, there are many many instances where things happen in ways that make our mortal minds stretch. The Holy Spirit is the decider, and once it has given its sealing promise, let all hold their tongues. 

We have seen many people who believed that it must happen in ONLY the way that they believe it must happen. They get it stuck in their minds and are looking for the wrong thing. When the Lord says to them, “Your place is sure, come into my presence”, they reject the promise because it didn’t come the way they expect and want it. They recede away into their visions of their own unworthiness. 

When this happens, these poor souls must wait and wait until the requirements are fulfilled in their own minds and then and only then do they accept the offering of the Lord to them. But they have missed out on so much growth and the blessings that come after accepting and believing the Lord’s words as he gives them in his own wisdom! For after you have accepted, THEN the doors, windows and gates of heaven can be flung open and the visions and blessings that begin to pour out are incomparable to anything that you could have previously received in your state of doubt and unbelief! 

We feel that these new leaders and guides who encourage folks to not accept the voice of the Lord unless the Lord conforms to them are less experienced in the workings of the Lord and can only see a small portion of the works he has done. In their ignorance, they cause great harm. They are teaching according to their own understanding and wisdom. Unfortunately, those who are even more ignorant heed them and are therefore stunted in their progress. We would encourage you to accept whatever blessings the Lord can offer you with open arms and excitement. When you receive a blessing from the Lord, do not let man tell you what it means, ask the Lord to show you what it means and then ask for and eagerly await the next blessings and instructions he will bring into your lives!

Again, there are many who lead but few who know the way. Many leaders and guides create spiritual dependency with a false sense of security rather than the spiritual independence required to obtain these blessings. Not realizing they are hindering others, they teach dependence on themselves or others using catch phrases like “Follow the leader”. They don’t realize that the spiritual dependence they teach literally prevents others from receiving the blessings they seek. 

With the right map you can reach your destination. We know several people who have progressed through the gospel and made their calling and election sure before the age of 20, and many more who learned about the blessing and received it in less than 2 years. Some people have been sealed by the Holy spirit of promise and made their calling and election sure only days after having learned about it because they were already well prepared and had a strong relationship with God.

We are each starting from our own unique position and so it is not possible to say that everyone can receive their promise in a year or even 5 years, but we can all do it in the time allotted by our probationary period, prior to the resurrection of the dead.

The biggest obstacle to receiving these blessings, (Remission of sins, baptism of fire, Calling and Election made sure, the Second Comforter, and the blessings that follow), is lack of knowledge. If you knew exactly what was required to achieve the blessing and be quickened by a portion of the Celestial glory, then you would know exactly what you needed to do. You would avoid years of wasted time following bad advice and false instructions. 

Being sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise is achievable in our lifetime. Certainly, if you had a thousand years, and a map to follow, you would be able to do it if it was truly the desire of your heart.   

It is therefore essential that you learn to rely on God and not men and learn that special balance that prevents you from the pride and arrogance of damnation. If you have followed someone for several years and have not learned to become spiritually independent, then you might want to ask why, and start learning to recognize the difference between teachers who create spiritual dependence and teachers who create spiritual independence. 

For those who are unfamiliar with Calling and Election Made Sure and the Holy Spirit of Promise, the Elliaison contributors have written the book “The Fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Making Your Calling and Election Sure”, with the specific goal of teaching from their own personal experience what it means to be sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, how it happens and to provide others the information they need to focus on what really matters. This is a MAP that will show you the path. It is not the only map, it is simply the map we have created from our own knowledge of the territory. We have been teaching people for over 50 years to receive these blessings and have a great deal of insight, revelation and experience in the process of guiding others. The information provided by Elliaison is not essential to receiving these blessings, nor complete, just helpful. Most of the Elliaison contributors found their way using the MAP provided by the scriptures and personal revelation.  

This free online book has already been instrumental in helping many hundreds of people to make their calling and election sure. (See unfiltered reviews and comments about the book HERE)

We leave with you our testimony that these blessings are within your reach. While they can be difficult to obtain, they are not impossible or out of reach. The promises are not based upon a person being all knowing, or perfect beyond improvement. They are given to the imperfect, to help them become perfect through Christ. They are given to the meek and humble who need God’s mercy and love. They are given to people just like you! So, why not you too?