In Visions of Glory
, Spencer talks about how he could look at someone and know their whole life — this was a gift of knowing which seems to be attached to a higher spiritual level. Once he understood his parent’s feelings and motives buried in their life history, Spencer had compassion for them and was able to heal from feelings of abandonment as a child. He was able to see their lives during a near-death experience. But the ability may rest with your level of spiritual progression.
According to Avraham Gileadi, we progress or ascend the ladder to Celestial glory in stages. Before every ascension to the next level, there is a decension, a trial that is matched in difficulty to the covenants of the next level up. By the time that Spencer gets to the translated level, he never judges anyone. He can see each person’s life. He has a gift of charity. But maybe the word “judge” is not correct, because he does judge whether some people are on the road to ever-increasing destruction and not returning to God.
If you pray for charity, you are actually praying for these times in your life where you descend into trials. This is how the gift is acquired. There is no other way. As Eve made it quite clear when she pleaded with the Lord, “Is there no other way?”
I have not ascended to the level where I have this gift of charity and the ability to see another person’s life. I am not at the translated level and have not seen the spirits with my spiritual eyes, as Spencer did during his near-death experience. While I am still groveling down here in the mire, in my trials, I can learn from these examples and emulate their qualities. Even though I do not have the gift of spiritually knowing a person’s struggles and life, I know they have them. I must remember — “they have troubles — I don’t know life from their perspective.”
John Pontius talked about this as well in his book, Journey to the Veil
. One time he was able to feel everyone’s pain and trial — so much so that he wanted to give away everything he had to the people he saw. The lady at the grocery store who could not afford much, to anyone in his path. Actually, he could not go on feeling this way, and the Lord removed these spiritual eyes from him.
It is definitely a balance because though we need to learn empathy, we cannot drown ourselves in empathy. Knowing that trials are part of the plan of salvation is key. In every trial, there is an opportunity to sometime later ascend the ladder. At some point, we must plug along through deep water, descending into struggles. I have come to realize that you will not find an ascent with every descent in your life. Some of these struggles and trials end, and yet you do not see the next level up the ladder. I believe that they add up — your descents continue to fill a barrel of experiences until there comes a time when God raises you up. For example, at some point He will give you a sign that he has accepted your faithfulness through pain and descents — and give you the baptism of fire — the Holy Ghost. So if you had many struggles growing up, or faced hardships, don’t worry, God knows them, at the time He sees fit as best for you, He will raise you to the next level.
Lucifer wanted no pain, and really, no gain — no chance to become like God. This is the only way to climb the ladder — through this mortal sphere of testing. We become more Zion-like when we descend through times of hardship, illness, humiliation, and the like. We develop qualities that include weeping with those who weep. Enoch reveals that God weeps for His errant people. It is an entirely different way of looking at people. It is a gift from God through affliction. And happens when you become part of the society of the suffering servant.
At any of these lower levels, we still need to avoid judging others. What about people who lie to you, or cheat you, or say awful things about you? I have decided to think, “that’s an imperfect person” when I might be tempted to judge them. We are all on different levels, and that’s what we need to remember. Of course, on another note — the trials and struggles here on earth create devils as well as Zion and Celestial people.
Originally posted May 2014. Updated 2021.
