The Earth Will Be Renewed and Receive its Paradisiacal Glory
- stephenstrent7
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
Where Science Meets the Doctrine and Covenants, for the Come Follow Me lesson Dec 8-14; The Articles of Faith and Official Declarations 1 and 2
The Articles of Faith, #10 states, “We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory.”
What is actually meant by, “…the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory”? According to the Church website, “The Articles of Faith were written in 1842 by the Prophet Joseph Smith in response to a request from John Wentworth, a Chicago newspaper editor who wanted information concerning the history and beliefs of the Church. They were first published by the Church in 1843 in the Times and Seasons in Nauvoo, Illinois, and were included in the first publication of the Pearl of Great Price in 1851.”1 The first, largest portion of the letter was a history of Joseph Smith, written by himself, followed, at the end, by the “Articles of Faith”, with no elaboration on any of them.
I can find no additional statement by the Prophet Joseph Smith where he either explained or expanded upon this statement in the tenth Article of Faith. Especially, what he meant by the word “renewed”? The Oxford English Dictionary defines renewed as: adjective “having been resumed, re-established, or revived”.
The most authoritative statement ever made concerning the tenth Article of Faith and the word “renewed”, by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was “Written by Appointment and Published by the Church”, by the apostle, James E. Talmage, in his book, The Articles of Faith, in 1899. That book is still the authoritative statement and is still in print today.
Concerning the tenth Article of Faith, and the word “renewed”, Talmage used the word “regeneration”, and stated,
“2. Regeneration of the Earth.—The term regeneration (translated from the Greek palingenesia, and signifying a new birth, or, more literally, one who is born again) occurs twice in the New Testament; while other expressions of equivalent meaning are used in many places. However, the terms are usually applied to the renewal of the soul of man through the spiritual birth, by which salvation is made obtainable; though our Lord's use of the term, in the promise of future glory which He confirmed upon the apostles, has probable reference to the rejuvenation of the earth, its inhabitants and their institutions, in connection with the millennial era:—‘I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.’
“3. A time of restitution is foretold. Consider the words of Peter, spoken to the people who had come together in Solomon's porch, marveling over the miraculous healing of the lame beggar at the gate Beautiful:—‘Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: whom the heavens must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.’…
“9. According to the scriptures, the earth has to undergo a change analogous to death, and to be regenerated in a manner comparable to a resurrection. References to the elements melting with heat, and to the earth being consumed and passing away, such as occur in many scriptures already cited, are suggestive of death; and the new earth, really the renewed or regenerated planet, which is to result, may be compared with a resurrected organism. The change has been likened unto a transfiguration. Every created thing has been made for a purpose; and everything that fills the measure of its creation is to be advanced in the scale of progression, be it an atom or a world, an animalcule, or man—the direct and literal offspring of Deity. In speaking of the degrees of glory provided for His creations, and of the laws of regeneration and sanctification, the Lord, in a revelation dated 1832, speaks plainly of the approaching death and subsequent quickening of the earth. These are His words:—‘And again, verily, I say unto you, the earth abideth the law of a celestial kingdom, for it filleth the measure of its creation, and transgresseth not the law. Wherefore it shall be sanctified; yea, notwithstanding it shall die, it shall be quickened again, and shall abide the power by which it is quickened, and the righteous shall inherit it.’
“10. During the Millennium, the earth, while preparing for the final change, will be tenanted by both mortal and immortal beings; but after the regeneration is complete, death will no longer be known among its inhabitants. Then the Redeemer of earth ‘shall deliver up the kingdom, and present it unto the Father spotless, saying, I have overcome.’ Before victory is thus achieved and triumph won, the enemies of righteousness must be subdued; the last foe to be vanquished is death. Thus saith Paul the Apostle:—‘Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule, and all authority and power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith, All things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.’
“11. The following partial description of the earth in its immortalized condition has been given by the Prophet Joseph Smith in this dispensation:—‘This earth, in its sanctified and immortal state, will be made like unto crystal, and will be a Urim and Thummim to the inhabitants who dwell thereon, whereby all things pertaining to an inferior kingdom, or all kingdoms of a lower order, will be manifest to those who dwell on it; and this earth will be Christ's.’”2
It appears clear to me that, according to Talmage, the statement in the tenth Article of Faith that “…the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory”, is referring, not to the beginning of the millennium, when the Savior shall return, but to the “resurrection” of the earth, at the end of the millennium, when it shall become a “sea of glass”. I have already discussed this future condition in a previous, recent blog, “Angels, Crystal Seas of Glass, and Spirit Matter”.
Trent Dee Stephens, PhD
References
2. Talmage, James E., The Articles of Faith, Written by Appointment and Published by the Church, The Deseret News, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1899, Project Gutenberg, Release date: March 1, 2013 [eBook #42238], based on the Eleventh Edition in English, The Deseret News, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1919; gutenberg.org/cache/epub/42238/pg42238-images.html; reference numbers have been removed from the text; the current, 1981 edition of Articles of Faith, is still in print by Deseret Book