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ANNVER - I've recently heard that only families can only be together in the celestial kingdom...is there no chance at all that families can be together in the other two kingdoms? this is troubling to the mind that God will not allow this knowing the other two kingdoms are also his "kingdoms", please help clarify this concern.
JOEL - When the Gospel talks about families being together forever it is referring to the term "Eternal family". Being an eternal family refers to the ability to have eternal increase in the Celestial kingdom. All who go there as sealed couples will become gods and have eternal increase in that they are able to have their own spirit offspring. They will also know and associate with their exalted children they had while on earth.Eternal increase cannot happen for people without exalted bodies in the other two kingdoms and for that reason family members who go to the lower kingdoms are not considered "Eternal".
Here is what Joseph Fielding Smith said in The Doctrines of Salvation:
"Outside the Celestial kingdom there is no family unit. That organization is reserved for those willing to abide in every covenant and every obligation which we are called upon to receive while we sojourn here in this mortal life(p. 67)
So for the lower kingdoms, the civil marriage ceremony phrase "till death do you part" comes into play as the husband and wife are no longer married to each other when they die. No marriage = no family. As explained in the scripture:
"At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven." (Matt 22: 30)
However, having said all that, even though they would not be considered a family unit as we know it, I see no reason why they would not at least know each other in the other kingdoms, assuming they are even able to find each other among the billions of others in that kingdom. My opinion.
The only thing we know for sure is that only exalted individuals can exist together as an "eternal family" in the Celestial Kingdom.
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