Vessels of Wrath

Thus saith the Lord concerning all those who know my power, and have been made partakers thereof, and suffered themselves through the power of the devil to be overcome, and to deny the truth and defy my power—
They are they who are the sons of perdition, of whom I say that it had been better for them never to have been born;
For they are vessels of wrath, doomed to suffer the wrath of God, with the devil and his angels in eternity;
Concerning whom I have said there is no forgiveness in this world nor in the world to come—
Having denied the Holy Spirit after having received it, and having denied the Only Begotten Son of the Father, having crucified him unto themselves and put him to an open shame.
These are they who shall go away into the lake of fire and brimstone, with the devil and his angels—
And the only ones on whom the second death shall have any power;
Yea, verily, the only ones who shall not be redeemed in the due time of the Lord, after the sufferings of his wrath.
(D&C 76:31-38)

The anger of God is shown forth in those who disobey His word, and find themselves shut out of peace, joy, and happiness. They are "doomed to suffer the wrath of God." They remain the children of God. They are part of Him. God encompasses all, all of us, all of them, all that He creates -- including those who receive anger, pain, separation and loneliness. God is the embodiment of all. There is nothing that exists that isn't part of Him. They are cast out of His presence that they are not tormented by Him, but they do come to Him as Satan came to the Lord when all the sons of God were brought before Him. "Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them." (Job 1:6)

The vessels of wrath serve the purpose of God, "to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." (Moses 1:39) He does not hate them. He does not reject them, but rather they have their agency to reject Him. They do not desire His life, Eternal Life, but rather prefer "to dwell with the damned souls in hell." (Mormon 9:4) They are given bounds that they cannot cross, but have free will within those bounds. They endure suffering, and desire to be connected to others, but only so that they may exercise control or dominion over them. They only submit to the bounds they must because they have no power to do otherwise. They are the "wrath of God," to bring punishment, temptation, and darkness in opposition to the peace, forgiveness, and light of Christ. As such, they are a "necessary evil" in the progression of His children. He needs them. He loves them. They are a part of Him, though they reject that, they cannot avoid it. He loves them in spite of them. He forgives them, but they are not able to receive what He would give them. At some point, it becomes too late, and they remain in their lost and fallen state forever. They cannot be what He is, but they can come to Him. He cannot bless them with light because they are unable to receive the light. While the offer stood, they rejected it, and decided to take a smaller portion. That is theirs -- forever. They then try to bring others into their "kingdom" to rule over them. God does the same. Each of the children of God chooses their own glory. God offers it all. All are part of Him. All are His children. Each can have whatever he wants. All are saved by Him to whatever degree they desire. All are different in degree of glory. Each is unique -- infinite uniqueness! All are His. All are God, together.

The "vessels of wrath" contain His wrath, just as the "vessels of mercy" contain His mercy. He encompasses all. "He comprehendeth all things, and all things are before him, and all things are round about him; and he is above all things, and in all things, and is through all things, and is round about all things; and all things are by him, and of him, even God, forever and ever." (D&C 88:41) He knows the depths of their sorrow. They contain, and carry-out, His anger. They are the embodiment of the wrath of God. They are "of" Him as surely as the gods are "of" Him.

Jesus "treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God." (Revelation 19:15) He willingly subjected Himself to these "vessels of wrath" and suffered their torment. In doing so He suffered more, descending below even them into the absolute depths of loss and separation. "He that ascended up on high, as also he descended below all things, in that he comprehended all things, that he might be in all and through all things." (D&C 88:6) Zero degrees Kelvin. There is a zero. There is an absolute bottom. Nobody else has hit bottom because of Him, and nobody else ever will.

Jesus Christ saves the spectrum of people from the least to the greatest. "What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory." (Romans 9:22-24)

The "lower kingdoms" are also part of God, or His realm. It is His winepress, after all. All those who exist do so because of Him. They are part of Him. They are His. Jesus could save even them, if they so desired. But they will not submit to Him. They would rather suffer loss and separation forever than submit to Him. Thus is everyone who will not submit to the Lord of lords, King of kings. The degree to which they submit is the degree of growth, power and glory they receive. They say, "I will go this far, and no farther!" and they are done -- damned, because they refuse to let go of their own desires. They are given exactly what they want. Jesus Christ offers them all they want, and so much more. Each chooses his own glory according to his desires -- and willingness to submit.

The Lord has determined that "every knee shall bow, every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ." (Isaiah 45:23) This means every one of God's children, from the beginning to the end -- including Satan himself! He truly is Lord of lords. None are above Him because none have ever been below Him. He is in all things, and he comprehends all things. No matter where you are, or where you've been, He's been there. Thus, Christ brings all things together and presents them whole to God. "He shall deliver up the kingdom, and present it unto the Father, spotless, saying: I have overcome and have trodden the wine-press alone, even the wine-press of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God." (D&C 76:107)

This is the Atonement: to bring together as one. He even saves the lowest of God's children to the exact degree they desire, allowing them to be above absolute zero. The "whole" is the sum of its parts, every part in perfect order -- "spotless!" This includes the "vessels of wrath" as well as those who receive more. All things are brought together by Him.

The children of God are not so separated as I have often thought. We are all different in glory. "...for one star differeth from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead." (1 Corinthians 15:41-42) We are all different. We have different talents, and different weaknesses -- and different glories. God's children span the spectrum from the greatest to the least. Jesus saves us all.

Even so, only a relative few will find find the path to Eternal Life. "Damnation" explains every level except for those who achieve the highest, exaltation, or Eternal Life. Each who rises above damnation "becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father." (Mosiah 3:19) Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and the Eternal Father of all.

When Joseph Smith Jr. was in Liberty Jail for over six months he inquired of the Lord what would happen. The Lord enumerated all the trials he would suffer, and then finished with, "The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he? Therefore, hold on thy way, and the priesthood shall remain with thee; for their bounds are set, they cannot pass. Thy days are known, and thy years shall not be numbered less; therefore, fear not what man can do, for God shall be with you forever and ever." (D&C 122:8-9) The disobedient have boundaries through which they cannot pass, while those who keep the word of the Lord will be boundless!

In contrast to the vessels of wrath, those who have Eternal Life have increasing joy forever. While in this life we are subject to evil, however, after the resurrection we will not be -- unless we choose to become the vessels of wrath!