I’ve written about my view of the Plan of Salvation. In the context of God’s “eternal round,” I like to use the model of a “continuous distillation process” rather than a “batch process model” that represents the “one time through” doctrine. You’ve read of the symbolism of refining gold — so this is another “science” example to explain the plan of salvation as I currently see it.
Actually, the details are disclosed in D& C Section 19. Eternal punishment is God’s punishment; “eternal” is a name for the type of punishment or blessing — the quality, not a measure of time. (I guess this could be applied to eternal marriage too. — something to think about.) A person assigned to the Telestial Kingdom as a judgment sphere is not stuck there forever; we can escape. In fact, some of us may have already advanced. I suppose some have fallen too.
My husband and I are chemists, so we kind of like this analogy representing eternal progression. Let’s look at the alcohol-water distillation process as the model for eternal progression and exaltation.
Let’s say you want to separate pure ethanol from water. In the fermentation broth (mash containing ethanol and water), the ethanol concentration is only 3% or maybe 7%. The distillation process has to accomplish two things: produce ethanol at the top, and remove “all’ the ethanol from the water-ethanol mixture at the bottom. For example, you can’t leave 1% ethanol in the “bottoms;” that’s too much waste.
The feed input is in the middle of the distillation column; the pure ethanol is collected at the top — representing the celestial people. To accomplish the complete separation of ethanol and water requires 20-stages. Here is the significant thing — some of the pure product (the ethanol condensed off the top) has to be recycled back into the distillation column — to help the vapors rise, to effect the separation. That’s why I like the analogy. It’s not perfect. It’s just a metaphor for the plan of salvation.
Certain perfected souls have to serve as the source of “reflux.” They have to put aside their glorified body and “go down” to help others rise. (The story of The Pearl) They act as proxy-saviors. Therefore, “the Nobel and Great ones,” like Abraham, agree to fall and sojourn in mortality; it’s the gospel of sacrifice; it’s a time of great risk; because you can potentially lose everything. Gods can fall, so to speak.
A corollary is that we always have glorified souls available to minister (to come and go, from time to time) to the inhabitants of the lower kingdoms. They can serve as messengers (angels), with a body of flesh and bone, long before the first fruits of the resurrection. Because they have already arrived at a place of reward “in the world where we used to live.”
In my opinion, exaltation is a continuous process, not a one-time-through batch process. Once you understand that the temple teaches this concept, your eyes will be opened, and many doctrinal problems are solved.
Originally posted 2015, updated 2021.
