Terrestrial Kingdom - Definition and Overview

According to the doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Terrestrial Kingdom is an eternal status in the afterlife to which some portion of humankind will be assigned following resurrection and the judgment day. The primary source of this doctrine is a vision recounted by Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon, at Hiram, Ohio, February 16, 1832, and recorded in Doctrine and Covenants, Section 76.

The Terrestrial Kingdom is the middle of three "degrees of glory," in which the highest or Celestial Kingdom is compared to the sun, the middle or Terrestrial Kingdom is compared to the moon, and the lowest or Telestial Kingdom is compared to the stars. However, the Latin word terrestrial literally means "earthly". Also, "in addition to the degrees of glory, there is a place of no glory, called perdition, reserved for those who commit the unpardonable sin." (Bible Dictionary: Degrees of Glory)

Persons who will attain the Terrestrial Kingdom in the afterlife, according to the Church's teachings, include those who lived respectably but "were blinded by the craftiness of men" and "were not valiant in the testimony of Jesus" while on Earth or those who would did not do enough to search out the truth before their death but who have accepted it in the post-mortal realm (this latter doctrine being emphatically rejected by virtually all other Christian polities).

External links

• Doctrine and Covenants Section 76 (http://scriptures.lds.org/dc/76)
• Bible Dictionary (http://scriptures.lds.org/bd/contents)