Will I still be Me?

[cdowis]

In the next life, the Judgement is all about our righteous lives -- good vs evil.

I already know that our personalities will be the same when we get there == the rebellious will still be rebellious, the stubborn, the charming, charismatic, etc.

Let's talk about Paradise, and the Celestial Kingdom.  We are commanded to love everybody, but that does that mean that we will be friends with everyone.  How will our culture affect us in the afterlife -- the people that we will hang out with.  Will the loner still be a loner?

Does being "perfect" mean that we will ALL have a terrific sense of humor?  Or those who "don't get it" will still not get it. At what point does perfect mean homogeneous, or will we still avoid certain individuals and personality types, etc. 

Edited October 18, 2016 by cdowis

[Tacenda]

It's always bothered me, the "perfect" analogy. Since without sadness how would we know joy, etc. I use to hear that in heaven we will be forever learning, maybe that includes learning to accept others in their differences.

I for one think it would be grand to be of service, I'm terrible at it on this earth, don't always know how to go about it. I'm an introvert lately. I hope to be an angel in heaven, not with wings or anything. But one that helps those on the other side if they need it. And since we're taught to pray, who's gonna help God with all those prayers?

My niece said people in heaven are busy, so that gives me hope that it's a good busy. Maybe we'll have so many things to do we've always wanted to. Or maybe we'll be helping everyone. And maybe we'll still not get jokes, and not even know how to tell a good joke, but we'll never feel lonely because of it, because we're with God. And it will be a happiness like none other. 

 

[ALarson]

14 minutes ago, cdowis said:

I already know that our personalities will be the same when we get there == the rebellious will still be rebellious, the stubborn, the charming, charismatic, etc.

Well, we do not "know" that this will be the case.  You can believe this and it does make sense, but the truth is, none of really know how it's going to be.

[thesometimesaint]

Birds of a feather will flock together. But they are all still birds.

[The Nehor]

You will be you and much more. The problem is so much of what we call uniqueness here is about our talents and skills. There it will be something more. Virtue differentiates. You can see it here to a limited extent. The best people I know are gloriously different and unique. The worst people I know are boring, predictable, and derivative. Perdition will be pretty homogenous.

Everyone will have a good sense of humor and not suffer from shyness but what is left will be their humor and their sociability. It will be unique and everyone will want to interact with that person because of what they bring to life.

[HappyJackWagon]

23 minutes ago, cdowis said:

In the next life, the Judgement is all about our righteous lives -- good vs evil.

I already know that our personalities will be the same when we get there == the rebellious will still be rebellious, the stubborn, the charming, charismatic, etc.

Let's talk about Paradise, and the Celestial Kingdom.  We are commanded to love everybody, but that doesn't mean that will be friends with everyone.  How will our culture affect us in the aftelife -- the people that we will hang out with.  Will the loner still be a loner?

Does being "perfect" mean that we will ALL have a terrific sense of humor?  Or those who "don't get it" will still not get it. At what point does perfect mean homogeneous, or will we still avoid certain individuals and personality types, etc. 

I'm reminded of Pres. Uchtdorf's Four Titles talk from April 2013.

Quote

 But while the Atonement is meant to help us all become more like Christ, it is not meant to make us all the same. Sometimes we confuse differences in personality with sin. We can even make the mistake of thinking that because someone is different from us, it must mean they are not pleasing to God. This line of thinking leads us to believe that the Church wants to create every member from a single mold–that each one should look, feel, think, and behave like every other. This would contradict the genius of God.

IMO- being perfect means we will be the whole and complete version of ourselves. It would seem to contradict the genius of God to have us all turn into clones of each other. How boring would that be.

Edited October 17, 2016 by HappyJackWagon

[VideoGameJunkie]

I learned that perfection is progression. So as long as we are progressing we are perfecting ourselves.

[CV75]

3 hours ago, cdowis said:

In the next life, the Judgement is all about our righteous lives -- good vs evil.

I already know that our personalities will be the same when we get there == the rebellious will still be rebellious, the stubborn, the charming, charismatic, etc.

Let's talk about Paradise, and the Celestial Kingdom.  We are commanded to love everybody, but that doesn't mean that will be friends with everyone.  How will our culture affect us in the aftelife -- the people that we will hang out with.  Will the loner still be a loner?

Does being "perfect" mean that we will ALL have a terrific sense of humor?  Or those who "don't get it" will still not get it. At what point does perfect mean homogeneous, or will we still avoid certain individuals and personality types, etc. 

I think being perfect in relation to our personalities means that we contribute perfectly to the happiness of the whole, and the whole contributes perfectly to our happiness.

[JAHS]

4 hours ago, ALarson said:

 

4 hours ago, cdowis said:

I already know that our personalities will be the same when we get there == the rebellious will still be rebellious, the stubborn, the charming, charismatic, etc.

Well, we do not "know" that this will be the case.  You can believe this and it does make sense, but the truth is, none of really know how it's going to be.

 

I assume she is refering to the scripure:
"for that same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world." (Alma 34:34)

I would certainly hope we have the same personalities; my wife's personality is one of the reasons I love and married her. She is there now and hopefully my personality won't change too much once I get there. 

I think about the personalities of the General authorities and how diferent they are yet they are much further along the road to perfection compared to me. If we end up in the CK we will no longer have the desire to commit sin but I see no reason why we can't keep our own individuality.  

[Glenn101]

4 hours ago, Tacenda said:

It's always bothered me, the "perfect" analogy. Since without sadness how would we know joy, etc. I use to hear that in heaven we will be forever learning, maybe that includes learning to accept others in their differences.

I for one think it would be grand to be of service, I'm terrible at it on this earth, don't always know how to go about it. I'm an introvert lately. I hope to be an angel in heaven, not with wings or anything. But one that helps those on the other side if they need it. And since we're taught to pray, who's gonna help God with all those prayers?

My niece said people in heaven are busy, so that gives me hope that it's a good busy. Maybe we'll have so many things to do we've always wanted to. Or maybe we'll be helping everyone. And maybe we'll still not get jokes, and not even know how to tell a good joke, but we'll never feel lonely because of it, because we're with God. And it will be a happiness like none other. 

 

If we are going to be anywhere like God, we will still experience sadness. Consider the pathos, the longing, the sadness in this statement, " O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!" (Matthew 23:37).  And this from Moses 7:28 "And it came to pass that the God of heaven looked upon the residue of the people, and he wept; and Enoch bore record of it, saying: How is it that the heavens weep, and shed forth their tears as the rain upon the mountains?"

Perfection apparently does not mean an end to sorrow, but maybe just how to deal with it....... perfectly.

Glenn

[Jeanne]

Do we have to wait a long time for physical impairments to be healed?  I fear my husband with his witty sense of humor will think I am so.o.o. boring!

[waveslider]

6 hours ago, cdowis said:

In the next life, the Judgement is all about our righteous lives -- good vs evil.

I already know that our personalities will be the same when we get there == the rebellious will still be rebellious, the stubborn, the charming, charismatic, etc.

Let's talk about Paradise, and the Celestial Kingdom.  We are commanded to love everybody, but that doesn't mean that will be friends with everyone.  How will our culture affect us in the aftelife -- the people that we will hang out with.  Will the loner still be a loner?

Does being "perfect" mean that we will ALL have a terrific sense of humor?  Or those who "don't get it" will still not get it. At what point does perfect mean homogeneous, or will we still avoid certain individuals and personality types, etc. 

In the resurrection people will be emitting light. Those who inherit the Celestial Kingdom will be giving off the most light. There won't be darkness. In other words things won't be hidden. We will know everything about each other. We won't have hidden thoughts or actions. Without sin there is nothing to hide. In other words I think we will understand why there are different personalities and we won't be judgmental of people because we will understand them completely. Hence we'll be less inclined to dislike certain people and like others more. We will love and understand in a complete, and perfect, way that we can't experience here in our mortal state. Just my thoughts on how it might be anyway.

[Guest]

7 hours ago, cdowis said:

In the next life, the Judgement is all about our righteous lives -- good vs evil.

I already know that our personalities will be the same when we get there == the rebellious will still be rebellious, the stubborn, the charming, charismatic, etc.

Let's talk about Paradise, and the Celestial Kingdom.  We are commanded to love everybody, but that doesn't mean that will be friends with everyone.  How will our culture affect us in the aftelife -- the people that we will hang out with.  Will the loner still be a loner?

Does being "perfect" mean that we will ALL have a terrific sense of humor?  Or those who "don't get it" will still not get it. At what point does perfect mean homogeneous, or will we still avoid certain individuals and personality types, etc. 

We do not know all things about the afterlife. The older I get, one thing I know for sure. I want and hope for Mercy, and care less for justice. 

[The Nehor]

2 hours ago, Jeanne said:

Do we have to wait a long time for physical impairments to be healed?  I fear my husband with his witty sense of humor will think I am so.o.o. boring!

Nope, those are fixed quickly and everyone will be handsome/sexy/gorgeous/beautiful but not in a cookie cutter way.

[Jeanne]

37 minutes ago, The Nehor said:

Nope, those are fixed quickly and everyone will be handsome/sexy/gorgeous/beautiful but not in a cookie cutter way.

Good news..want a live concert with the Beatles..and hear them again!!

[strappinglad]

Who is you ? People's ' personalities ' can and do change because of age , drugs , experiences , etc. What part of me is my eternal spirit part and what part comes from the hazards of mortality?

Musicians can play a piece many years after they last played it because muscle and nerve memory has built a " groove " to follow. Does mortality also build a groove  ( or perhaps a rut ) into the spirit?

[cdowis]

I think another factor is culture.  Elder Groberg describes describes his experiences in Tonga with the people.  He observe that they had some very interesting insights into the Book of Mormon that we in North America miss.  Certainly I think we will tend to hang out with those of our culture -- something as simple as big city vs a small ranch culture. And,perhaps, influence how we view the universe.

Basically,is there diversity in the Celestial Kingdom, depending on where we lived  on earth and our culture.

Edited October 18, 2016 by cdowis

[Garden Girl]

4 hours ago, waveslider said:

In the resurrection people will be emitting light. Those who inherit the Celestial Kingdom will be giving off the most light. There won't be darkness. In other words things won't be hidden. We will know everything about each other. We won't have hidden thoughts or actions. Without sin there is nothing to hide. In other words I think we will understand why there are different personalities and we won't be judgmental of people because we will understand them completely. Hence we'll be less inclined to dislike certain people and like others more. We will love and understand in a complete, and perfect, way that we can't experience here in our mortal state. Just my thoughts on how it might be anyway.

I've told this here but will do so again as it has been some time...

I served as an Ordinance worker in the Portland temple for almost six years... every Friday.  When I was set apart I received a beautiful blessing.  As I left the temple president's office, I was filled with joy, and I decided to do a session.  As I walked toward the dressing rooms, I was filled with a deep love for everyone I saw.  In fact, I was stunned that I was capable of feeling such love.  And then I thought... this is a gift from Heavenly Father... a brief glimpse of the love that he has for us... and I felt humble.  Needless to say, I felt joy in serving my sisters all the years as I performed the ordinances for them...

GG

[The Nehor]

2 hours ago, strappinglad said:

Who is you ? People's ' personalities ' can and do change because of age , drugs , experiences , etc. What part of me is my eternal spirit part and what part comes from the hazards of mortality?

Musicians can play a piece many years after they last played it because muscle and nerve memory has built a " groove " to follow. Does mortality also build a groove  ( or perhaps a rut ) into the spirit?

Resurrection gives us all ages. We will reclaim the exuberance and wonder of discovery and creation of childhood, the daring and innovation from teens and young adulthood, the practicality of middle age, and the deep wisdom that often comes from the end of life.

Mortality only sets a trajectory.

[waveslider]

2 hours ago, Garden Girl said:

I've told this here but will do so again as it has been some time...

I served as an Ordinance worker in the Portland temple for almost six years... every Friday.  When I was set apart I received a beautiful blessing.  As I left the temple president's office, I was filled with joy, and I decided to do a session.  As I walked toward the dressing rooms, I was filled with a deep love for everyone I saw.  In fact, I was stunned that I was capable of feeling such love.  And then I thought... this is a gift from Heavenly Father... a brief glimpse of the love that he has for us... and I felt humble.  Needless to say, I felt joy in serving my sisters all the years as I performed the ordinances for them...

GG

I'm sorry. Let me rephrase that. "We will love and understand in a complete, and perfect, way that we rarely experience here in our mortal state." That's better. 

What an awesome experience!!!

[cdowis]

2 hours ago, Garden Girl said:

I served as an Ordinance worker in the Portland temple for almost six years... every Friday.  When I was set apart I received a beautiful blessing.  As I left the temple president's office, I was filled with joy, and I decided to do a session.  As I walked toward the dressing rooms, I was filled with a deep love for everyone I saw.  In fact, I was stunned that I was capable of feeling such love.  And then I thought... this is a gift from Heavenly Father... a brief glimpse of the love that he has for us... and I felt humble.  Needless to say, I felt joy in serving my sisters all the years as I performed the ordinances for them...

I remember a moment when I was in the temple session, and I suddenly understood that the creation of the earth, this whole thing, was a manifestation of the love that Heavenly Father has for us.   It changed my whole understanding of the temple experience.

It is experiences like this that give us a knowledge that we will bring with us into the next world.  Paradise will already be very familiar to us.

Edited October 18, 2016 by cdowis

[Kenngo1969]

M*A*S*H episode:

Col. Henry Blake, dictating letter to Radar: "... between my men and I.  Wait, should that be 'me'?"

Radar: "Sir?"

Col. Blake: "Should 'I' be 'me'?"

Radar: "Who else could you be, Sir?"

Aaaaanyway ...