Inhabitants
of the Earth
During the Millennium
Prof. Marcus H. Martins,
Ph.D.
From
time to time,
I receive questions about who will reside on the Earth during the
“Millennium”—the
1,000-year period during which the Savior Jesus Christ “will reign
personally
upon the earth; and ... the earth will be renewed and receive its
paradisiacal
glory” (Pearl
of Great Price – Articles of Faith #10; Doctrine and Covenants 63:20–21).
In this way, the
Earth will be transformed, elevated to the condition of a “terrestrial
world” (“world,”
not “kingdom”),
and no longer
the “telestial world” in which we currently live.
The
scriptures
currently available lead us to identify certain categories of righteous
men and
women who will “be” (i.e.,
exist, live, etc.)
on the Earth—or “near the Earth”—during the 1,000 years, the 100
decades, or 10
centuries of the Millennium:
1)
Righteous men and women alive at the time of the
Second Coming
2)
Translated men and women
3)
Righteous men and women who still live as premortal
spirits
4)
Righteous men and women living as post-mortal
spirits
5)
Men and women resurrected with celestial glory
1)
Righteous
men and women alive at the time of the Second Coming
1a)
Millions
(perhaps
billions?)
of righteous men and women (2
Nephi 9:18, 40; 26:8; Doctrine and Covenants 45:54;
49:10; 90:10-11)
will remain here on Earth for “a long (?)
time” as mortal beings, bearing children (Malachi
4:1-2; 1
Nephi 22:24-27; 3 Nephi 24:1; 25:1-2; D&C 45:58; 63:50-51;
101:22-34)
and consequently
providing food, schooling, and everything else needed to prepare these
sons and
daughters for their endowments, eventual matrimonial sealings, and the
formation of their own families—who, in turn, will also remain here on
the
earth for a “long time” (D&C
101:30-31),
generation after generation.
1b)
Millions
(perhaps
eventually billions?)
of “Millennial Day Saints”—men and women—will receive “specifications” (“explicit
details”)
about their own
ordinances and endowments (D&C
29:30; 76:10; 131:5-6; 133:45)
and will
officiate and serve as proxies in ordinances of salvation and
exaltation on
behalf of billions of men and women who will hear the fullness of the
gospel in
the “post-mortal Earth”—the spirit world (D&C
128:8, 15; 138:32-34, 58-59—see #4b.1 below).
2)
Translated
men and women
2a)
The
city of Enoch
and its inhabitants—”translated beings” (a number of men
and women currently unknown to us)—will
return to the “surface” of the
planet (D&C
84:100; Moses 7:62-64).
At present, we do not know how long they will remain on the earth
before
ascending to their thrones and exaltations (D&C
7:1-6; 3 Nephi 28:6-8, 37-40—see #2b below).
2b)
Besides
the people
of Enoch, the Lord has other “translated beings” from other
dispensations--such
as the Apostle John and the Three Nephite-Lamanite Disciples. At
present, we do
not know if Moses and the Prophet Elijah still
remain
in this state, and it is possible that other translated beings exist as
well (D&C
49:8),
though this
lacks confirmation. These individuals will “live through the
Millennium” (or
part of it)
on the mortal
earth; and like the people of Enoch, we can imagine that they will all
fulfill
assignments and tasks within the Plan of Salvation and Exaltation that
only
translated beings possess the power, authority, and gifts to carry out (D&C
7:1-6; 3
Nephi 28:6-8, 37-40).
At present, we do not know how long they will remain on the earth
before
ascending to their thrones and exaltations (3
Nephi 28:6-8, 37-40; D&C 76:5-10,
94-95; 121:29; 132:19, 29, 49; Moses 7:59—see #2b.1 below).
2b.1)
We
do not yet know
the nature of the assignments and tasks within the Plan of Salvation
and
Exaltation that translated beings will have while here on Earth during
the
Millennium, but we can imagine (or,
for now, speculate)
that they will minister to the
righteous men and women (2
Nephi 9:18, 40; 26:8; Doctrine and Covenants 45:54; 49:10; 90:10–11)
of the world—those
who will have witnessed and survived the magnificent and unparalleled
displays
of divine power accompanying the Second Coming of Christ (Revelation
16:20;
D&C 29:11–12; 38:8; 45:57; 61:39; 128:24; 133:23–29)—and
will help
them adapt to a modified planet and a “terrestrial” lifestyle (D&C
38:22;
45:59; 51:1–2),
rather than the “telestial” one that prevails in the world in which we
currently live.
3)
Righteous
men and women who still live as premortal spirits
A
countless (to
us)
number of
premortal spirits will still be waiting in the “premortal Earth” to be
born
onto the “mortal Earth” through righteous fathers and mothers (see
#1a above)
during the years,
decades, and centuries of the Millennium (D&C
45:56–59; 63:50–53; 101:23,
30–32).
4)
Righteous
men and women living as post-mortal spirits
4a)
We
also understand
that billions of other men and women will “live through the Millennium”
in the
spirit world (the
“post-mortal Earth”)
while awaiting the divinely decreed times for their respective
resurrections (Revelation
20:5;
D&C 88:95-102).
4b)
We
do not yet have
details regarding the “schedule of dates and times” for the
resurrection of
righteous men and women throughout the centuries following the Second
Coming of
Jesus Christ (Alma
40:2-10—see #4b.1 below).
4b.1)
It
is conceivable
that many righteous men and women might not be resurrected immediately,
so that
they may remain in the spirit world ministering the fullness of the
gospel of
Jesus Christ to billions of men and women who did not hear or did not
“receive”
(comprehend)
the fullness of
the gospel during their mortal journeys (D&C
138:30-34, 57-59),
and also so that
they may “administer bureaucratic tasks” of the Plan of Salvation and
Exaltation in that post-mortal environment (D&C
128:7-9, 14; 132:8-14).
4c)
Although
we cannot
confirm this at the moment, it is nonetheless conceivable that, due to
divine
goodness and mercy, these ministering men and women in the spirit world
might
be permitted to visit mortal family members (and
perhaps dear friends?)
in the “terrestrial
world” as “spirits of just men [and
women]
made perfect” (D&C
129:3—brackets
added).
However, we currently do not know what the criteria and regulations for
such
visits would be--timing, purpose, duration of the visit(s), etc. But we
can “safely
expect” (or
“safely speculate”)
that some of those visits might be to convey genealogical data about
ancestors.
5)
Men
and women resurrected with celestial glory
5a)
“Many
saints” (we
do not know
how many men and women)
rose shortly after the resurrection of Jesus Christ (Matthew
27:52-53;
3 Nephi 23:9-10),
and we assume they were raised so they could fulfill assignments and
tasks
within the Plan of Salvation and Exaltation that only immortal,
celestially
glorified beings possess power and capacity to perform (D&C
128:20-21).
5b)
Many
others—perhaps thousands, or tens/hundreds of thousands—both men and
women will
rise again at the time of Christ's Second Coming (D&C
133:56)
and will also
fulfill assignments and tasks within the Plan of Salvation and
Exaltation that
only immortal, celestially glorified beings possess power and capacity
to
perform.
5c)
Resurrected
and
glorified beings do not reside on Earth, but rather in another
“environment”—the
“presence of God” (D&C
63:49; 129:1; 130:5-7).
5d)
Although
we cannot
confirm it at this moment, it is nonetheless conceivable that, through
divine
mercy, these men and women resurrected with celestial glory might also
receive
permission to visit mortal family members in the “terrestrial world”;
however,
we currently do not know what the criteria and regulations for such
visits
would be—such as the timing, purposes, or duration of the visits.
Marcus
H. Martins
is a sociologist, professor emeritus and former dean of religious
education at
Brigham Young University-Hawaii. He wrote two books: “Setting the
Record
Straight: Blacks and the Mormon Priesthood” (2007), and “The
Priesthood:
Earthly Symbols and Heavenly Realities” (2025). He has spoken at
conferences
and events in the United States (where he has lived since 1990),
Brazil, China,
England, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Portugal, Qatar,
and Singapore.
Brother Martins joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
in 1972
and became the first Latter-day Saint with Black African ancestry to
serve a
full-time mission after the 1978 Revelation.
He served twice as bishop, seven times as stake high
councilor, three
times as temple worker, translator of the Book of Mormon, and president
of the
Brazil Sao Paulo North Mission with his wife, Mirian Abelin Barbosa.
The couple
has four children and eight grandchildren.