(Mormonism & Islam, part 7)

 

D E S T R U C T I O N S,   J U D G E M E N T   &   H E A V E N
 

Another point of agreement shared by Islam and Mormonism is the impending destructions at the end of the world. The Quran has several references to this including the following:

When the sun is wrapped up,

And when the stars are obscured,

And when the mountains are made to move,

And when the she-camels, ten month pregnant, are abandoned,

And when the beasts are gathered together,

And when the seas are made to flow forth,

And when the people are brought together, (80:2-8)

When the heaven is cleft asunder,

And when the stars are scattered,

And when the rivers are made to flow forth,(82:2-4)

And what should make thee know what the great

Calamity is?

The day when mankind will be scattered like moths,

And the mountains will be like carded wool (101:4-6).

Among the many Mormon references to these final destructions are the following:

For not many days hence and the earth shall tremble and reel to and fro as a drunken man; and the sun shall hide his face, and shall refuse to give light; and the moon shall be bathed in blood; and the stars shall become exceedingly angry, and shall cast themselves down as a fig that falleth from off a fig-tree . . .

For after your testimony cometh the testimony of earthquakes, that shall cause groanings in the midst of her, and men shall fall upon the ground and shall not be able to stand.

And also cometh the testimony of the voice of thunderings, and the voice of lightenings, and the voice of tempests, and the voice of waves of the sea heaving themselves beyond their bounds.(D. & C. 88:87-90)

And the day shall come that the earth shall rest, but before that day the heavens shall be darkened, and a veil of darkness shall cover the earth; and the heavens shall shake, and also the earth; and great tribulations shall be among the children of men, but my people will I preserve.(Moses 7:61)

And immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven shall be shaken.(Joseph Smith 1:33)

The Quran indicates that the Lord will come to earth accompanied by rows of angels:

Nay, when the earth is completely broken into pieces and made level;

And thy Lord comes and the angels ranged in rows after rows;(89:22-23)

Mormon scriptures agree:

And , as I said before, after the tribulation of those days, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken, then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn; and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.

And whoso treasureth up my word, shall not be deceived, for the Son of Man shall come, and he shall send his angels before him with the great sound of a trumpet,(Joseph Smith 1:37-38)

Both religions agree that after the final destructions, there will be a new earth and new heavens. The Quran states:

On the day when this earth will be changed into another earth, and the heaven too, and they will appear before Allah, the One, the Most Supreme.(14:49)

The Mormon Doctrine and Covenants reiterates this:

And the end shall come, and the heaven and the earth shall be consumed and pass away, and there shall be a new heaven and a new earth.(D. & C. 29:23)

The Doctrine and Covenants affirms that then the earth will be ruled by divine law for 1,000 years during the Millennium:

For I will reveal myself from heaven with power and great glory, with all the hosts thereof, and dwell in righteousness with men on earth a thousand years, and the wicked shall not stand.(D. & C. 29:11)

The Quran agrees:

He will plan the Ordinance from the heaven unto the earth, then shall it go up to Him in a day the duration of which is a thousand years.(32:6)

Along this same line the Doctrine and Covenants says:

For in mine own due time will I come upon the earth in judgement, and my people shall be redeemed and shall reign with me on earth.

For the great Millennium of which I have spoken by the mouth of my servants, shall come.(D. & C. 43:29-30)

Both Islam and Mormonism agree on the resurrection and a division of heavenly rewards for mankind according to their deeds. Both agree with the concept of three main degrees in heaven and that those are subdivided. Seven heavens are mentioned in the Quran as well. The Quran discusses the hereafter:

And worldly life is nothing but a sport and a pastime. And surely the abode of the Hereafter is better for those who are righteous.(6:33)

And the dead, Allah will raise them, then to Him shall they be brought back.(6:37)

Whoso does a good deed shall have ten times as much; but he who does an evil deed, shall have only a like reward; and they shall not be wronged.(6:161)

And for all are degrees according to what they do, and thy Lord is not unmindful of what they do.(6:133)

Mormons agree with these points and accept the view that there are three degrees of glory as noted in the Bible and in the Doctrine and Covenants:

Also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial, and bodies telestial; but the glory of the celestial, one; and the terrestrial, another; and the telestial, another.

There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differeth from another star in glory.

So also is the resurrection of the dead. (I Corinthians 15:40-42)

And thus we saw, in the heavenly vision, the glory of the telestial, which surpasses all understanding;

And no man knows it except him to whom God has revealed it.

And thus we saw the glory of the terrestrial which excels in all things the glory of the telestial, even in glory, and in power, and in might, and in dominion.

And thus we saw the glory of the celestial, which excels in all things--where God, even the Father, reigns upon his throne forever and ever.(D. & C. 76:89-92)

The Quran affirms the three degrees of reward:

And you shall be three groups; Those on the right hand--how lucky are those on the right hand--Those on the left hand--how unlucky are those on the left hand--The foremost, they are the foremost; They will have achieved nearness to God. In the Gardens of Bliss.(56:5-13)

Mormons further divide the degrees in heaven which indicates that the idea of seven heavens is not beyond their acceptance since there are many degrees within the main three categories:

In the celestial glory there are three heavens or degrees;(D. & C. 131:1)

The Quran indicates seven heavens:

How can you disbelieve in Allah? When you were without life, He gave you life, and then He will cause you to die, then restore you to life, and then to Him shall you be made to return.

He it is Who created for you all that is in the earth; then He turned towards the heavens, and He perfected them as seven heavens,(2:29-30)

Both Islam and Mormonism agree that the righteous will dwell in the highest degree of heaven with their spouses and families. The Quran describes the promised estate:

Gardens of Eternity. They shall enter them and those who are righteous from among their fathers, and their wives and their children.(13:24)

And those who believe and do good works, We shall make them enter Gardens through which streams flow, to abide therein for ever; therein shall they have pure spouses; and We shall admit them to a pleasant and plenteous shade.(4:58)

. . . And they will have therein mates perfectly pure, and therein will they abide.(2:26)

. . . therein shall they abide; and pure spouses(3:16)

Mormon teachings agree with this concept:

And again, verily I say unto you, if a man marry a wife by my word . . . Ye shall come forth in the first resurrection . . . to their exaltation and glory in all things, as hath been sealed upon their heads, which glory shall be a fullness and a continuation of the seeds forever and ever.(D. & C. 132:19)

Suppose it possible that you have the privilege of securing to yourselves eternal life--to live and enjoy these blessings forever; you will say this is the greatest blessing that can be bestowed upon you, to live forever and enjoy the society of wives, children, and children's children, to a thousand generations and forever; (Widtsoe 1951:96)

"He said that the people he saw were organized in family capacities(Gospel Principles 1988:279)

The Mormon belief is that in order to be in heaven with one's spouse and family a person must be married and sealed in the temple. According to Teachings of the Doctrine and Covenants: "Family ties sealed by the power of God, endure beyond the grave."

     (Continued in Mormonism & Islam, Part 8)