received their endowments and having been married and sealed in the holy temple, have felt that they were thus guaranteed the blessings of exaltation and eternal life. But this is not so. There are two basic requirements every soul must fulfill or he cannot attain to the great blessings offered. He must receive the ordinances and he must be faithful, overcoming his weaknesses. Hence, not all who claim to be Latter-day Saints will be exalted” (Spencer W. Kimball, Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, 2006, p. 9. Italics in original). 13th President Ezra Taft Benson “There are members who know this latter-day work is true, but who fail to endure to the end. One who rationalizes that he or she has a testimony of Jesus Christ but cannot accept direction and counsel from the leadership of His Church is in a fundamentally unsound position and is in jeopardy of losing exaltation” (Ezra Taft Benson, The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, p. 467). “I think that our Heavenly Father expects the youth of our Church to become exalted in the celestial kingdom. I guess all the rest is encompassed in that. We are not striving for the lower kingdoms. We are not candidates for the telestial or terrestrial kingdoms. The young people of this Church are candidates for the celestial kingdom and the highest degree of glory in that kingdom. That requires a great deal, a great deal that has to do with our dayto-day standards. This means not just going to Church, not just holding the priesthood, not just being married in the temple, not just being a good citizen, not just being happy, as measured by the world. It means living every standard of the Church fully” (Ezra Taft Benson, The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, p. 560). 15th President Gordon B. Hinckley “To my Eternal Father I give thanks for that essence of divinity which is within each of us and for the gift of life which comes from Him. I thank my Redeemer for His supreme gift to all, the gift of eternal life” (Gordon B. Hinckley, “My Testimony,” Ensign (Conference Edition), November 1993, p. 53). 16th President Thomas S. Monson “President Spencer W. Kimball has always been a prolific worker. He spent several summers working on a book which he later entitled The Miracle of Forgiveness. As one reads the book, particularly the first portion, one wonders if anyone will make it to the Celestial Kingdom. However, in reading the final portion, it is apparent that, with effort, all can qualify” (Thomas S. Monson, On the Lord’s Errand: The Memoirs of Thomas S. Monson, 1985, p. 342). “It is the celestial glory which we seek. It is in the presence of God we desire to dwell. It is a forever family in which we want membership. Such blessings must be earned” (Thomas Monson, “An Invitation to Exaltation,” Ensign (Conference Edition), May 1988, p. 56). First Presidency “Hear it, O house of Israel! ye who are seeking to attain to the Celestial Kingdom of our Father—none but the pure in heart can see God; none but those who have sanctified all their affections and passions by entire and complete subservience to His laws can dwell in His eternal presence!” (John Taylor, George Q. Cannon, Messages of the First Presidency 3:62, March, 1886). “There will be immortality to all the sons and daughters of God, whether they are suffering for sin or have been redeemed; whether they are in the celestial, terrestrial or telestial worlds; but only those who attain to the celestial glory, and the power and dominion and exaltation, and the gift of everlasting increase, wherein their posterity will be multiplied worlds without end, have the real gift of eternal life. All their powers will be developed to the full” (Charles W. Penrose, Conference Reports, April 1901, p. 43). “Before we finally succeed, each individual must have played his own part. There can be no substitutions. No individual in the organization can afford to get out of step or lag behind, or, through lack of faith or determination, hinder the work of the Priesthood, and this must be so in either temporal or spiritual matters. Our Church is founded upon the premise that spiritual growth and exaltation must be earned by the efforts of the individual, and cannot result from the efforts of those who o preside over us” (Henry D. Moyle, Improvement Era, “The Church Security Program: Its Present and Future,” December 1937, p. 787). “There are preferential places and conditions in the hereafter, as there are here. The highest and most desirable is the celestial kingdom of our Father. In that kingdom and only there do intelligences attain their highest state of perfection. Only there do we have assurance of the reunion of families and the perpetuation of family relationship and eternal increase. In that kingdom man may ultimately become divine” (Stephen L. Richards, Conference Reports, April 1938, p. 24). “Thus we see that the atonement of Christ brings upon us the redemption from the dead. We all become fruits of the resurrection. Redemption from our own sins depends upon us. We are not saved from ourselves by grace alone as we are from Adam’s transgression. To understand this simple difference gives us the power to differentiate in large measure truth from error. When we seek the inspiration of God in answer to our prayers; he inspires us. We repent, and repentance leads us to an appreciation of the laws and ordinances of God by which man can, through his own effort, through the exercise of his own will power, lift himself from sin to righteousness. When he does this, he is on the way to eternal salvation and exaltation in the kingdom of our Heavenly Father” (Henry D. Moyle, Conference Reports, October 1959, p. 92). “The Lord has given us all that we need to know-that Christ is our Savior, the Redeemer of the world, the One through whom we attain that destiny which is marked out as possible for all of God’s children who earn it” (J. Reuben Clark, “President Clark Delivers Annual Easter Address,” Church News, April 23, 1960. p. 18). “Mercy will not rob justice, and the sealing power of faithful parents will only claim wayward children upon the condition of their repentance and Christ’s Atonement. Repentant wayward children will enjoy salvation and all the blessings that go with it, but exaltation is much more. It must be fully earned. The question as to who will be exalted must be left to the Lord in His mercy” (James E. Faust, “Dear Are the Sheep That Have Wandered,” Ensign (Conference Edition), May 2003, p. 62). “Our conviction is that God, our Heavenly Father, wants us to live the life that He does. We learn both the spiritual things and the secular things “so we may one day create worlds [and] people and govern them” (Spencer W. Kimball, The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, ed. Edward L. Kimball [1982], 386)” (Henry B. Eyring, “Education for Real Life,” Ensign, October 2002, p. 21). “It is hard to know when we have done enough for the Atonement to change our natures and so qualify us for eternal life” (Henry B. Eyring, “This Day,” Ensign (Conference Edition), May 2007, p. 90).