Good Heavens! What If I Don’t Want to Play the Harp?

 

Good Heavens!  What If I Don’t Want to Play the Harp?

 

If the traditional description of heaven is accurate, is it any wonder more people aren’t excited about going?  Do we really have to take harp lessons?  Sing in a heavenly choir?  With none of the familial and social relationships we enjoyed here on earth?  And in our spare time, do we just float around on a cloud and wonder what we could have done to qualify for the seemingly more lively and exciting atmosphere of the nether regions?

We’ll return to that question shortly, but first let’s detour to our recent celebration of Easter.   Young ones could understandably be confused about whether all the fuss had to do with a commemoration of the birth of the Easter Bunny or a celebration of the invention of candied eggs. 

 

Now let’s join the two issues together.  The Book of Mormon tells us that in the last days, Satan would have much success in deceiving people into believing there was no such thing as hell nor a devil.  An Ipsos survey conducted in 26 nations in 2023 found that only 49% believed in a literal devil and 42% in a literal hell.  Satan seems to have been even more successful in convincing people that if there really is a God and a heaven, they can’t be nearly as exciting as what he has to offer here and now.  Just as Santa has stolen the thunder from Baby Jesus at Christmastime, so have Easter egg hunts, candy, picnics, and games become much more attractive to many of the rising generation than going to Easter church services or seeing another video about the last week of Jesus.

 Let’s see what we can do in the remainder of this article to make the true meaning of Easter and the real nature of our future heaven seem as exciting and wonderful as they really are.  I have other articles on this site addressing the happiness which living the gospel can bring in this life.  I’ll limit this post to a look at the real nature of heaven and the happiness which we can have there, depending on our taking advantage here of all that Easter has to offer. 

One of the great truths revealed through Joseph Smith is that we are eternal beings, having lived before our birth into mortality and destined to live forever, in one state or another.  And that which brings the deepest happiness or misery here appears to be that which will do the same in the hereafter.  Amulek tells us, “That same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world.”  (Alma 34:34.)

 We further learn that not only our attitudes, but our knowledge and intelligence will go with us from this sphere to the next:  “Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection.  And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life, through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come.”  (D&C 130:18-19.)

It would seem to follow that those activities which bring us true happiness and joy here in this life will be the same things which would bring them in the next.  Let’s look at what studies have found on the subject of earthly happiness.  Surveys have confirmed that the things which now bring the most happiness include:

 

1. Strong Relationships – Close bonds with family, friends, and romantic partners are consistently ranked as the top source of happiness. Social connection and love provide emotional support and meaning.
2. Good Health – Physical and mental well-being are foundational to happiness. People who report good health tend to be much happier than those with chronic illnesses or pain.
3. Purpose & Meaning – Engaging in meaningful work, hobbies, or volunteering contributes to long-term happiness. This includes having goals and a sense of accomplishment.
4. Financial Security – Having enough money to meet basic needs and some comforts reduces stress, but beyond a certain point, extra wealth doesn’t significantly increase happiness.
5. Work-Life Balance – People value time for relaxation, leisure, and family over excessive work demands.

 

Studies also show the reported sources of mortal unhappiness, which include:

 

1. Loneliness & Poor Relationships – Social isolation, conflict, or divorce are major sources of distress.
2. Health Problems – Chronic pain, disability, or mental health struggles (e.g., depression, anxiety) are strongly linked to unhappiness.
3. Financial Stress – Debt, unemployment, or poverty create significant anxiety and unhappiness.
4. Job Dissatisfaction – Toxic work environments, lack of autonomy, or unfulfilling jobs contribute to misery.
5. Regret & Negative Thinking – Dwelling on past mistakes or worrying about the future undermines well-being.
6. Lack of Autonomy – Feeling trapped in life circumstances (e.g., a bad marriage, oppressive job) leads to unhappiness.

 

The really exciting thing about Easter is that through Jesus’ paying the price for our sins, mistakes, sicknesses, and weaknesses, we can have an eternity of all the things that bring happiness and an eternal absence of all that brings misery.  As Jacob worded it, “Their joy shall be full forever.”  (2 Nephi 9:18.)   Let’s look at God’s promises one by one, matching them with what surveys have shown bring happiness here and now.

 

Strong Relationships

 

Rather than navigate the life to come as lonely cloud floaters, we are promised that we can have eternal family relationships:  an eternal marriage, eternal ties to both ancestors and posterity, and eternal increase, procreating and raising spirit children just as our Heavenly Parents did for us.  Just as our greatest joy in this life tends to center around our families, so will it in the next. 

 

 

And evidently, joyful relationships in the hereafter include those with not only family, but with friends.  One of my very favorite of all scriptures is D&C 130:2, which promises:  “That same sociality which exists among us here will exist among us there, only it will be coupled with eternal glory, which glory we do not now enjoy.” 

 

Brigham Young painted a beautiful picture of our relationship with friends on the other side when he said, “We have more friends behind the veil than on this side, and they will hail us more joyfully than you were ever welcomed by your parents and friends in this world; and you will rejoice more when you meet them than you ever rejoiced to see a friend in this life; and then we shall go on from step to step, from rejoicing to rejoicing, and from one intelligence and power to another, our happiness becoming more and more exquisite and sensible.  (Journal of Discourses 6:349)

 

It appears that one of the joyful activities of the righteous in paradise may be to watch over and minister to loved ones still on the earth.  While references are rare in Latter-day Saint literature to “guardian angels” as conceived by some, there are many references to the ministering of angels.  And who would enjoy the assignment to minister to a mortal more than a departed family member or a close friend?  Elder Richard G. Scott taught, "I am certain that if we… desire help from our Father in Heaven, it will be given. At times, that help may be the appearance of a loved one who has passed on." ("To Acquire Spiritual Guidance," Ensign, Nov. 2009)

 

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland similarly offered, “"From the beginning down through the dispensations, God has used angels as His emissaries in conveying love and concern for His children… Usually such beings are not seen. Sometimes they are. But seen or unseen, they are always near." ("The Ministry of Angels," Ensign, Nov. 2008)

 

And President Ezra Taft Benson said,

 

I am sure many of you know that the veil can be very thin ‑‑ that there are people over there who are pulling for us ‑‑ people who have faith in us and who have great hopes for us, who are hoping and praying that we will measure up ‑‑ our loved ones (parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, and friends) who have passed on. (Salt Lake Utah Emigration Stake Conference, 2 February 1975.  Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, Pg.31)

 

Surely, God could attend to all our needs single-handedly.  But out of love for His children in the spirit world, who would find joy in service, He often lets them be the intermediary between Him and those of us still living.

 

 

Good Health

 

In the life to come, we will be forever free from both death and sickness.  We will not be limited by physical inadequacies nor the limitations of our current senses.  Alma promises, “The soul shall be restored to the body, and the body to the soul; yea, and every limb and joint shall be restored to its body; yea, even a hair of the head shall not be lost; but all things shall be restored to their proper and perfect frame.”  (Alma 40:23.)  And Revelation 21:4 adds:  “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away."

 

 

Purpose and Meaning

 

Missonaries typically report that the year and a half or two years of their mission were the happiest years of their life, up to that point.  Why?  Not because there were no challenges nor disappointments, but because they were spending their full time in the most meaningful of all activities on earth, sharing the gospel with those who did not yet have it.  The world teaches that happiness comes through recreation, indulgence, and leisure.  God teaches that “fun” may come from those sources, but that lasting joy comes from service, work, and a sense of accomplishment.  Alma teaches us that when the spirits of the righteous arrive in the spirit world, they “are received into a state of happiness, which is called paradise, a state of rest, a state of peace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care and sorrows.”  (Alma 40:12.)  Significantly, he does not say that they will rest from work or meaningful service.  The “rest” they enjoy is not an absence of activity but an emotional condition of peace in the midst of energetic and exciting exertion in a great cause. 

 

 

 

 

In his vision of the redemption of the dead, President Joseph F. Smith reported, “I beheld that the faithful elders of this dispensation, when they depart from mortal life, continue their labors in the preaching of the gospel of repentance and redemption, through the sacrifice of the Only Begotten Son of God, among those who are in darkness and under the bondage of sin in the great world of the spirits of the dead.”  (D&C 138:57.)  But far from being an onerous burden, this missionary service is one of the great sources of the joy the righteous in paradise will be feeling.

 

 

 

This is a lesson I have had to learn more than once in my life.  When I was seventeen, I was injured in an accident during the potato harvest and had to sit with one arm in a cast and another in a sling rather than be out in the fields filling up gunny sacks with potatoes.  I soon learned that I had been much happier out in the fields.  The summer after my mission, I had a similar experience.  The only job I was able to find for what remained of the summer was hauling hay for up to sixteen hours a day in the hot sun.  The job ended unexpectedly after a month, and I was left to largely sit around the house until fall, when school would start for me at BYU.  It was a reawakening to an already forgotten principle, that I had enjoyed the long hours loading bales of hay more than I enjoyed the inactivity.  I suspect it is in hell, not heaven, where people sit around with nothing meaningful to do.  No doubt, that is part of what makes it hell!

 

Freedom and Autonomy

 

Jesus promised, “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  (John 8:32.)  The scriptures speak of the “chains of hell,” with which Satan subjects his followers, but those who avail themselves of the power of Christ’s atonement will be forever free from external constraints or compulsion, with the eternal happiness which those who choose bondage can never know.    

 

Financial Security

 

The Lord’s promise is, “If ye seek the riches which it is the will of the Father to give uinto you, ye shall be the richest of all people, for ye shall have the riches of eternity; and it must needs be that the riches of the earth are mine to give.”  (D&C 38:39.)  What’s more, “He that receiveth my Father receiveth my Father’s kingdom; therefore all that my Father hath shall be given unto him.”  (D&C 84:38.)  To those so blessed, living in poverty, as helpful as it may be as part of our mortal experience, will for the righteous eventually become only a distant memory. 

 

Elimination of Regret

 

Just as the pangs of a guilty conscience are one of life’s most unpleasant experiences, so is their removal one of the most joyous.  And the very reason God invites us so constantly to repent and follow His ways is so that we can be free of that unpleasant past forever.    No passage in the scriptures dramatizes this more poignantly than Alma’s account of his conversion.  He tells us, that prior to finding relief, “for three days and for three nights was I racked, even with the pains of a damned soul.”  (Alma 36:16.)  But once he called upon Jesus for mercy, he reports, “I could remember my pains no more; yea, I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more.  And oh, what joy, and what marvelous light I did behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain.”  (Alma 36:19-20.)  While we will never literally “forget” our past sins and misery, we will no longer be tormented by them, but will live in eternal peace and gratitude for the price paid by the Savior of the world. 

 

Work-life Balance

 

While there are many details we do not yet know about the life to come, there is no reason to doubt that we will enjoy the type of “work-life balance” there that people have reported contributing to happiness here.  Even Jesus didn’t keep busy preaching or healing all the time.  He is recorded as having attended a wedding feast and attending dinners with friends.  He enjoyed spending time with Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.  When he saw multitudes approaching, sometimes he went in the opposite direction, to find needed solitude to prepare Himself for further service. 

 

Following the same principle, Joseph Smith sometimes played ball, pulled sticks, or engaged in friendly wrestling matches rather than be constantly about more serious prophetic activities.  Our current Prophet enjoys playing the piano and used to enjoy skiing and other family activities.  Surely, in the life to come, if that same sociality which exists here will exist there, we will find happiness in chatting with friends, enjoying the beauty of nature, and creating and listening to music, as unlikely as it is that harp playing and choir rehearsals will occupy a major or compulsory amount of our time. 

 

 

 

 

And evidently a significant amount of time will be devoted to education, which itself can be immensely satisfying without the pressure of term papers and final exams.  Brigham Young taught:  “I shall not cease learning while I live, nor when I arrive in the spirit world; but shall there learn with greater facility; and when I again receive my body, I shall learn a thousand times more in a thousand times less time; and then I do not mean to cease learning, but shall still continue my researches.”  (Journal of Discourses 8:10.)

 

Some Especially Attractive Prophetic Statements

 

May I share quotes by several past Latter-day Saint prophets and apostles, vividly painting a picture of a heaven far more exciting and enjoyable than the traditional harp-playing caricature:

 

Joseph Smith

 

The spirits of the just are exalted to a greater and more glorious work; hence they are blessed in their departure to the world of spirits.  Enveloped in flaming fire, they are not far from us, and know and understand our thoughts, feelings, and motions, and are often pained therewith.  (History of the Church 6:52.)

 

All your losses will be made up to you in the resurrection, provided you continue faithful.  By the vision of the Almighty I have seen it.  (History of the Church 5:362.)

 

"The Prophet ... told us that we should receive those children in the morning of the resurrection just as we laid them down, in purity and innocence, and we should nourish and care for them as their mothers.  He said that children would be raised in the resurrection just as they were laid down, and that they would obtain all the intelligence necessary to occupy thrones, principalities and powers.  The idea that I got from what he said was that the children would grow and develop in the Millennium, and that the mothers would have the pleasure of training and caring for them, which they had been deprived of in this life."  (Sister M. Isabella Horne, quoted in History of the Church 4:556, footnote.)

 

Those who are married by the power and authority of the priesthood in this life and continue without committing the sin against the Holy Ghost, will continue to increase and have children in the celestial glory.  (History of the Church 5:391.)

 

 

Brigham Young

 

We shall turn round and look upon it (the valley of death) and think, when we have crossed it, why this is the greatest advantage of my whole existence, for I have passed from a state of sorrow, grief, mourning, woe, misery, pain, anguish and disappointment into a state of existence, where I can enjoy life to the fullest extent as far as that can be done without a body.  My spirit is set free, I thirst no more, I want to sleep no more, I hunger no more, I tire no more, I run, I walk, I labor, I go, I come, I do this, I do that, whatever is required of me, nothing like pain or weariness, I am full of life, full of vigor, and I enjoy the presence of my Heavenly Father, by the power of His Spirit. (Journal of Discourses 22:348.)

 

The brightness and glory of the next apartment is inexpressible.  It is not encumbered ... so that when we advance in years we have to be stubbing along and be careful lest we fall down.  We see our youth, even, frequently stubbing their toes and falling down.  But yonder, how different!  They move with ease and like lightning.  If we want to visit Jerusalem, or this, that, or the other place--and I presume we will be permitted if we desire--there we are, looking at its streets.  If we want to behold Jerusalem as it was in the days of the Savior; or if we want to see the Garden of Eden as it was when created, there we are, and we see it as it existed spiritually, for it was created first spiritually and then temporally, and spiritually it still remains.  And when there we may behold the earth as at the dawn of creation, or we may visit any city we please that exists upon its surface.  If we wish to understand how they are living here on these western islands, or in China, we are there; in fact, we are like the light of the morning....

Here we are continually troubled with ills and ailments of various kinds,... but in the spirit world we are free from all this and enjoy life, glory, and intelligence; and we have the Father to speak to us, Jesus to speak to us, and angels to speak to us, and we shall enjoy the society of the just and the pure who are in the spirit world until the resurrection.  (Journal of Discourses 14:231.)

 

Wilford Woodruff

 

Joseph Smith continued visiting myself and others up to a certain time [after his death], and then it stopped.  The last time I saw him was in heaven. In the night vision I saw him at the door of the temple in heaven.  He came and spoke to me.  He said he could not stop to talk with me because he was in a hurry.  The next man I met was Father Smith; he could not talk with me because he was in a hurry.  I met a half a dozen brethren who had held high positions on earth and none of them could stop to talk with me because they were in a hurry.  I was much astonished.  By and by I saw the Prophet again, and I got the privilege to ask him a question.  "Now," said I, "I want to know why you are in a hurry.  I have been in a hurry all through my life, but I expected my hurry would be over when I got into the kingdom of heaven, if I ever did."  Joseph said, "I will tell you, Brother Woodruff, every dispensation that has had the Priesthood on the earth and has gone into the celestial kingdom, has had a certain amount of work to do to prepare to go to the earth with the Savior when He goes to reign on the earth.  Each dispensation has had ample time to do this work.  We have not.  We are the last dispensation, and so much work has to be done and we need to be in a hurry in order to accomplish it."  Of course, that was satisfactory with me, but it was new doctrine to me.  (Quoted in Lundwall, The Vision, p. 102.)

 

Joseph F. Smith

 

I believe that those who have been chosen in this dispensation and in former dispensations, to lay the foundation of God's work in the midst of the children of men, for their salvation and exaltation, will not be deprived in the spirit world from looking down upon the results of their own labors, efforts and mission assigned them by the wisdom and purpose of God, to help to redeem and to reclaim the children of the Father from their sins.  So I feel quite confident that the eye of Joseph, the Prophet, and of the martyrs of this dispensation, and of Brigham, and John, and Wilford, and those faithful men who were associated with them in their ministry upon the earth, are carefully guarding the interests of the kingdom of God in which they labored and for which they strove during their mortal lives.  I believe they are as deeply interested in our welfare today, if not with greater capacity, with far more interest, behind the veil, than they were in the flesh ... they see us, they are solicitous for our welfare, they love us now more than ever.  (Conference Report, April 1916, pp. 2-3.)

 

Parley P. Pratt

 

A Saint who is one in deed and in truth does not look for an immaterial heaven, but he expects a heaven with lands, houses, cities, vegetation, rivers, and animals; with thrones, temples, palaces, kings, princes, priests, and angels; with food, raiment, musical instruments, etc., all of which are material.  Indeed, the Saints' heaven is a redeemed, glorified, celestial, material creation, inhabited by glorified material beings, male and female, organized into families, embracing all the relationships of husbands and wives, parents and children, where sorrow, crying, pain, and death will be known no more.  Or to speak still more definitely, this earth, when glorified, is the Saints' eternal heaven.  On it they expect to live, with body, parts, and holy passions; on it they expect to move and have their being; to eat, drink, converse, worship, sing, play on musical instruments, engage in joyful, innocent, social amusements, visit neighboring towns and neighboring worlds; indeed, matter and its qualities and properties are the only beings or things with which they expect to associate.  (Millennial Star, XXVIII, p. 722.)

 

The flesh, bones, sinews, nerves--all the organs, all the particles of the celestial body, must be quickened, filled, surrounded with that divine and holy element, which is purer, more intelligent, more refined and active, fuller of light and life than any other substance in the universe.  Every organ must be restored and adapted to its natural and perfect use in the celestial body.  Man, thus adapted to all the enjoyments of life and love, will possess the means of gratifying his organs of sight, hearing, taste, etc., and will possess, improve and enjoy the riches of the eternal elements.  The palace, the city, the garden, the vineyard, the fruits of the earth, the gold, the silver, the precious stones, the servants, the chariots, horses and horsemen are for his use; also thrones and dominions, principalities and powers, might, majesty, and an eternal increase of riches, honors, immortality, and eternal life are his.  He is, in a subordinate sense, a god; or, in other words, one of the sons of God.  All things are his, and he is Christ's, and Christ is God's.  (Key to the Science of Theology, pp. 142-143.)

 

They will not only people worlds, but they will create them.  There is room enough to accomplish this when we consider that space is boundless.  There is no end to the worlds that might be formed, for the materials existing in space from which to form them are infinite in quantity, and consequently can never be exhausted....  There is room in boundless space for new creations and materials enough for the creation of new worlds, and for this innumerable offspring to spread forth and people them.  Certainly, they could not all dwell here:  the earth would be overrun by them after a while, but this would be one of the heavenly mansions, and their headquarters.  (Journal of Discourses 14:240.)

 

Orson Pratt

Heaven:  A planetary system where there is no death, sickness, pain, want, misery, oppression, ignorance, error, doubt, fear, sin or sorrow; where the inhabitants enjoy eternal life and live in love and union with each other.  Where each bosom is a mirror, where eternal truth is reflected, and from which emanates the selfishness, jealousy, pride or envy. 

 

Where is such a planet located?

 

At present, no doubt, there are many such worlds among those whining orbs on high:  for instance the planet where Jesus has gone to dwell; and where Enoch, Elijah, and all those who have been translated or raised from the dead have their present home.

But our earth is destined eventually to be redeemed from death, sin, and the curse, and to be regenerated, melted, purified, by fire, and renewed in such a manner as to constitute a celestial kingdom, or in other words a heaven of immortal felicity.  When this comes to pass, there will be no more death, no more pain, or sorrow.  Man will then live on this earth forever, and even those who are gone from it for a season will then return and dwell here forever in the flesh....

 

Adam and Eve will then hold the dominion committed to them at the first....

Job will then see his Redeemer in the flesh, and dwell with him on the earth....

Then the inhabitants of the earth will be governed by apostles and prophets, instead of their pretended successors, under the name of popes, bishops and clergy.  And instead of contentions about the succession to the "Chair of Peter," Peter will be here to fill his own chair, as it is written, "Ye that have followed me, shall in the regeneration, when the Son of Man shall come in his glory, sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel."

...When death, sickness, pain and sorrow are banished from the earth; when sin and all its cursed effects have ceased to operate; when darkness, ignorance and error shall pass away; when Jesus Christ shall be King, and the patriarchs, prophets and Apostles of old become kings, governors, magistrates, judges and civil rulers; when the mountains are thrown down, and the valleys exalted; when the crooked places become straight and the rough places smooth; when cities are built, and houses and temples reared and furnished in the most durable and elegant manner, with a word; when gold is used for paving streets; when men walk in pure white linen, and eat and drink of the fruits of the earth only, instead of flesh; when flowers bloom in eternal spring, and fruits ripen in profuse succession every month of the year; when children are born without pain, and reared without sin; when Rebecca lives again on the earth, and becomes the mother of thousands of millions according to the blessings and good wishes of her friends, when she went to become the wife of Isaac.  When life and law eternal reigns, and God and his tabernacle are with man on the earth forever.  Then will earth be heaven and heaven be earth.  And then shall man know and understand that nothing was made in vain, but that all things were created for the glory and pleasure of God, and the enjoyment of his creatures.  (Prophetic Almanac for 1846, pp. 3-5.)

 

Will that principle of love which exists now, and which has existed from the beginning, exist after the resurrection?  I mean this sexual love....  When the sons and daughters of the Most High God come forth in the morning of the resurrection, this principle of love will exist in their bosoms just as it exists here, only intensified according to the increased knowledge and understanding which they possess; hence they will be capacitated to enjoy the relationships of husband and wife, of parents and children, in a hundred fold degree greater than they could in mortality.  We are not capable while surrounded with the weaknesses of our flesh, to enjoy these eternal principles in the same degree that will then exist.  Shall these principles of conjugal and parental love and affection be thwarted in the eternal worlds?  Shall they be rooted out and overcome?  No, most decidedly not.  (Journal of Discourses 13:186-187.)

 

Heber C. Kimball

 

He [Jedediah M. Grant] said to me, "Brother Heber, I have been into the spirit world two nights in succession, and, of all the dreads that ever came across me, the worst was to have to again return to my body, though I had to do it.  But O," says he, "the order and government that were there!  When in the spirit world, I saw the order of righteous men and women; beheld them organized in their several grades, and there appeared to be no obstruction to my vision; I could see every man and women in their grade and order.  I looked to see whether there was any disorder there, but there was none; neither could I see any death nor any darkness, disorder or confusion."  He said that the people he saw were organized in family capacities; and when he looked at them, he saw grade after grade, and all were organized and in perfect harmony.  He would mention one item after another and say, "Why it is just as brother Brigham says it is; it is just as he told us many a time...."

He saw the righteous gathered together in the spirit world, and there were no wicked spirits among them.  He saw his wife; she was the first person that came to him.  He saw many that he knew, but did not have conversation with any except his wife, Caroline.  She came to him, and he said that she looked beautiful and had their little child, that died on the Plains, in her arms, and said, "Mr. Grant, here is little Margaret; you know that the wolves ate her up, but it did not hurt her; here she is all right."

"To my astonishment," he said, "when I looked at families there was a deficiency in some, there was a lack, for I saw families that would not be permitted to come and dwell together, because they had not honored their calling here."

 

He asked his wife, Caroline, where Joseph and Hyrum and Father Smith and others were, she replied, "they have gone away ahead, to perform and transact business for us....

 

He also spoke of the buildings he saw there, remarking that the Lord gave Solomon wisdom and poured gold and silver into his hands that he might display his skill and ability, and said that the temple erected by Solomon was much inferior to the most ordinary buildings he saw in the spirit world.

 

"In regard to gardens," says brother Grant, "I have seen good gardens on this earth, but I never saw any to compare with those that were there.  I saw flowers of numerous kinds, and some with from fifty to a hundred different colored flowers growing upon one stalk."  We have many kinds of flowers on the earth, and I suppose those very articles came from heaven, or they would not be here.  (Journal of Discourses 4:135-7.)

 

 

 

 

Summary and Conclusion

Easter eggs and chocolate bunnies can still be fun for children, if they do not become a substitute for what is really wonderful about Easter:  That because Jesus suffered and died for us and was resurrected, we also get to be resurrected.  Children and grandchildren can look forward to being with beloved parents and grandparents again.  And departing grandparents can look forward to having loved ones left behind join them soon thereafter (as the Lord measures time) for an eternity of bliss together.  I would hope that could be presented to young ones in such a way as to make it the most exciting thing they could imagine. 

The Latter-day Saint heaven is not a place of boring idleness but an opportunity for eternal progress in learning, growing, and perfecting those godly attributes we only started to master on earth.  As children of God, we have the marvelous opportunity of growing to become ever more like our divine Parents and to experience the same kind of joy They have, as the most completely happy beings in the universe.  While this is our ultimate goal, it will not be achieved in a day.  Joseph Smith taught:

When you climb a ladder you must begin at the bottom, and ascend step by step, until you arrive at the top; and so it is with the principles of the gospel—you must begin with the first, and go on until you learn all the principles of exaltation. But it will be a great while after you have passed through the veil before you will have learned them. It is not all to be comprehended in this world; it will be a great work to learn our salvation and exaltation even beyond the grave.  — Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 348

But the joy doesn’t depend on our having already reached the end goal.  There is joy in the journey, as we labor at a self-chosen pace, in the eternal company of family and friends, to become all we were invited to be and experience all we are entitled to experience as sons and daughters of deity.