Question
Gramps,
Hi. I’m 12 years old. I just want to know what I can do to go to heaven? Or what is required to go? Thank you!
Caydence
Answer
Hello Caydence!
I have a friend, who had the same questions when she was about your age…she’s now a mother of a 12 yr old. When my friend, Leslie, was 10 yrs old she had a friend who had Leukemia. This started her wondering what happens after you die? She was not a member of any church, her parents hadn’t taught her about God, so she didn’t know. Is it like just going to sleep and never waking up again, she wondered? That didn’t feel right at all.
So she started going to different churches in her area. Her mom would give her a dime for the collection plate, and then drop her off and pick her up after the meeting. They lived in Texas, so she went to a lot of Baptist and born again Christian type of churches. From those churches she learned about heaven and hell. Like you she wondered how to go to heaven. She thought, I don’t think I’m bad enough to go to hell, but I also don’t know if I’m good enough to go to heaven. Where do you draw the line?
One day, she heard in church that you needed to accept Christ into your heart. So she did, right then and there. But then the preacher started inviting people to come forward during the meeting and be baptized. She thought, Oh! Maybe this is what I need to do to go to heaven. The preacher said she would need her parent’s permission to be baptized. Her mother said, “We are moving (to another state) and I would like you to go to the Mormon church first, and then you can decide.”
So they moved and Leslie was soon invited to attend Primary with another child. She started attending the LDS (Mormon) church regularly. One day she learned about the Three Degrees of Glory. The Celestial Kingdom, The Terrestrial Kingdom, and the Telestial Kingdom. She learned that hell is only a temporary state where a person suffers for their sins if they don’t repent and give those sins to the Savior. She was amazed. This made so much sense to her. There is not just one dividing line between happiness and eternal burning. That is when she decided to be baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
I’m so glad she did! Caydence, are you a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints also known as the LDS or Mormon church? If so, do you go to church every week and pray and read your scriptures? If you do that, the Lord will teach you through the Holy Ghost and through teachers what you need to do to be with Him again after this life. If you are not a member, pray, read your Bible, and ask your parents if you can meet and talk to the missionaries from the LDS church. Ask them your question about heaven and they will tell you more about the Celestial Kingdom. With your parents permission, you can contact the missionaries here: If for some reason, your parents do not give you permission to talk to the missionaries, be obedient, and keep praying and reading the Bible until you are old enough to choose for yourself.
Gramps
