Our Father which art in Heaven
Heaven
When the Lord God created the Heavens and the Earth, He divided the waters below from the waters above. The waters below became the Earth. So Earth is physically separated from God, the Father. When He ejected Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden, He separated mankind from Himself, giving men and women a chance to freely choose for themselves without the ever-present knowledge that He was watching them. Thus, He spiritually separated mankind from Himself. This created moral agency and sin, which is departing from the path He showed them. He sent His Only Begotten Son, the Savior and Redeemer into the world to suffer bleed, die and to be resurrected to repair the separation of mankind from Him by paying the price of sin. Otherwise, we would have been permanently separated from the Father and slaves of Satan.[i]
At the end of time, after the millennium, Heaven and Earth will once again be reunited and the physical separation will be repaired. Heaven is the goal and final resting place of those who are redeemed by Jesus Christ.
Ether 12:4 “Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God.”
This hoping for a better world is the Shangri La of all time and eternity. Everything is peace and order. There is no wickedness or Satan there (he was kicked out because of rebellion) to make a mess of everything and everyone. The holy ones, the angels, the saints of every age are there. The City of Enoch is there caught up into the bosom of the Father like Abraham. Spirits of mortals yet unborn are there. The resurrected apostles and prophets of the 1st two millennia are there waiting to return to earth with Christ at his second coming.
Shamayim is the Hebrew word for heavens, having a plural ending. In its simplest definition in the Bible, it is above the earth and is the expanse around the earth. We are told the stars and planets move in the Heavens.
Moses 2:14 And I, God, said: Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven, to divide the day from the night, and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and for years.
Daniel 6:27 He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.
Alma 30:44 The scriptures are laid before thee, yea, and all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and call things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator.
Abraham 3:21 I dwell in the midst of them all; I now, therefore, have come down unto thee to declare unto thee the works which my hands have made, wherein my wisdom excelleth them all, for I rule in the heavens above, and in the earth beneath, in all wisdom and prudence, over all the intelligences thine eyes have seen from the beginning; I came down in the beginning in the midst of all the intelligences thou hast seen.
D&C 88:42-44 He hath given a law unto all things, by which they move in their times and their seasons; And their courses are fixed, even the courses of the heavens and the earth, which comprehendeth the earth and all the planets. And they give light to each other in their times and in their seasons, in their minutes, in their hours, in their days, in their weeks, in their months, in their years
The throne of God, the Father is situated in Heaven, and Jesus Christ is on a throne on His right hand.
Revelations 4:2 And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.
Revelations 3:21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
2 Chronicles 18:18 Again he said, Therefore hear the word of the LORD; I saw the LORD sitting upon his throne, and all the host of heaven standing on his right hand and on his left.
Psalm 11:4 The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD’s throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.
Hebrews 8:1 Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;
From these we see that there is a throne in heaven that is very large. Not only God, the Father is sitting on it, but His Son on the right hand and many others as well. From under the throne water pours forth just like in the vision of Ezekiel where water pours forth from under the temple nourishing trees and creating life in the dead sea with fishes.[ii] Also in heaven is a tree with marvelous healing properties:
“In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.”[iii]
Revelations 10:6 which says “time will be no longer” has been recently translated as God will not delay the time of judgments any longer.[iv] But we have modern revelation stating that:
“But they reside in the presence of God, on a globe like a sea of glass and fire, where all things for their glory are manifest, past, present, and future, and are continually before the Lord.”[v]
Here we understand Revelations better, although God has a different time reference which we do not understand, He and the angels with Him in Heaven can see all things as if they were happening now. It is called the “Eternal Now”.
Here Heaven is like a sea of glass and fire[vi] to our understanding. There are also beasts[vii] in Heaven as seen in Revelations, as well as choirs.[viii] The saints in Heaven will be given a white stone with a hidden name:
“Then the white stone mentioned in Revelation 2:17, will become a Urim and Thummim to each individual who receives one, whereby things pertaining to a higher order of kingdoms will be made known;
And a white stone is given to each of those who come into the celestial kingdom, whereon is a new name written, which no man knoweth save he that receiveth it. The new name is the key word.”[ix]
Heaven has many parts and many mansions. The apostle Paul said speaking of himself:
“I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven.”[x]
Jesus said:
“In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.”[xi]
Not only are there millions of earths like ours, but ours is the most wicked. All the hosts of heaven all the works of God are watching us here on earth and weeping along with God for the wickedness of men who have denied their birthright as God’s children:
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?
30 And were it possible that man could number the particles of the earth, yea, millions of earths like this, it would not be a beginning to the number of thy creations; and thy curtains are stretched out still; and yet thou art there, and thy bosom is there; and also thou art just; thou art merciful and kind forever;
36 Wherefore, I can stretch forth mine hands and hold all the creations which I have made; and mine eye can pierce them also, and among all the workmanship of mine hands there has not been so great wickedness as among thy brethren.
37 But behold, their sins shall be upon the heads of their fathers; Satan shall be their father, and misery shall be their doom; and the whole heavens shall weep over them, even all the workmanship of mine hands; wherefore should not the heavens weep, seeing these shall suffer?
40 Wherefore, for this shall the heavens weep, yea, and all the workmanship of mine hands.[xii]
Since the inhabitants of the Heavens know all things and how Jesus Christ redeemed these from the fall, there eventually will be rejoicing and singing in Heaven when all that can be saved will at last be saved by the blood of Christ.
Other prophets have seen Heaven and seen it in a more joyful light such as Lehi. Like Old Testament prophets before him, he saw God surrounded by numerous concourses of angels.
“And being thus overcome with the Spirit, he was carried away in a vision, even that he saw the heavens open, and he thought he saw God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels in the attitude of singing and praising their God.”[xiii]
Cherubim and Seraphim also surround the throne of God but we know little about them.
Last but not least are the love and light that proceed from God and fill Heaven and the Universe that receives them:
“Which light proceedeth forth from the presence of God to fill the immensity of space—
The light which is in all things, which giveth life to all things, which is the law by which all things are governed, even the power of God who sitteth upon his throne, who is in the bosom of eternity, who is in the midst of all things.”[xiv]
“Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.”[xv]
[i] 2 Nephi 28:19
[ii] Ezekiel 47:10-12
[iii] Revelations 22:2 KJV, Revelations 2:7
[iv] https://www.bibleref.com/Revelation/10/Revelation-10-6.html
[v] D&C 130:7
[vi] Revelation 4:6
[vii] Revelations 4:6-8
[viii] Luke 2:13-14, Revelation 5:11-12
[ix] D&C 130:10-11
[x] 2 Corinthians 12:2 KJV
[xi] John 14:2 KJV
[xii] Moses 7:28-41
[xiii] 1 Nephi 1:8
[xiv] D&C 88:12-13
[xv] 1 John 4:7-8