Section 76

This section is the longest one, as far as I know, but that just makes the truths revealed here are well explained and beautiful. It's amazing how just one verse in John can have such a huge impact on the prophet's live again! Shows how important the scriptures are and should be in our lives.

Whenever I think about the phrasing "fear God more than you fear man" I have to remember that it's not the 'be scared of what could happen to you' but respect and love. The Lord says that he is merciful and gracious to those who fear Him, but we shouldn't fear Him literally (v5). It's more of delighting to honor Him as He does to us who serve in righteousness. All the faithful can have experiences like Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon had here as their eyes were opened and understanding enlightened (v11-12). 

Now the real juice of this section is the truths about the Plan of Salvation and what happens after life on earth. Setting up for that was how Lucifer fell from glory by rebelling against God and seeking to lead away those who came to receive bodies on earth (v28-29). Anyone who decides to follow the devil during their time on earth are called the sons of perdition who are not redeemed and sentenced to hell after death (v30-38&43-49). I can't help but feel both sorry for the sons of perdition and anger that they would work so hard to work against the Lord's work. It makes me want to work for my Lord as hard as I can to help Him with His work on earth to spread the truth. In other words, I seek for the celestial kingdom during my life on earth so I can live with my Heavenly Father after death.
I know I have the potential to inherit the celestial kingdom if I continue on the path I am currently on because I want to be married in the temple and live my life in the service of my God. I constantly seek to grow closer to God through daily prayer, scripture study, and bettering myself with service. Writing my thoughts down in this blog has helped me understand my thoughts completely and then have a place to reread them if I lose any of the understanding I've had before. I have known of the this plan of salvation and the celestial kingdom to be my goal for a long time, and I am still hoping for the same thing I have since learning of it.