Where Is the Evidence?
Driscoll claims that the Bible presents only two eternal outcomes: heaven for the saved and hell for the lost. He then contrasts this with the Latter-day Saint teaching of three degrees of glory, which he dismisses as unbiblical.
But once again, let’s replace the burden of proof:
Where does the Bible ever say there are only two possible eternal destinations?
Why does Paul explicitly describe differing degrees of resurrected glory?
Why does Christ Himself speak of “many mansions” in His Father’s house?
If heaven and hell are the only options, what do we make of the passages that describe greater and lesser rewards, stripes, and positions in eternity?
Until these questions are answered, the claim that the Latter-day Saint doctrine of glory is “unbiblical” is groundless.
Paul’s Testimony of Degrees of Glory
In 1 Corinthians 15:40-42, Paul could not be clearer:
“There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead.”
Paul describes the resurrection in terms of differing glories, just as the sun, moon, and stars shine with different light. This is not a vague metaphor. He directly ties it to the resurrection of mankind.
If Paul meant a simple heaven-or-hell binary, why does he labor to illustrate degrees of resurrected glory?
Christ’s Teaching of Many Mansions
Jesus also rejected the notion of a single, undifferentiated heaven.
John 14:2 – “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you.”
Matthew 5:19 – Some will be called “least in the kingdom of heaven” and some “great.”
Luke 12:47-48 – Servants receive different degrees of stripes depending on their knowledge and obedience.
Christ Himself speaks of varying outcomes. This is not “one-size-fits-all” heaven.
The Greek Witness
The terms Paul uses in 1 Corinthians 15 are not accidental.
epouranios (ἐπουράνιος) = heavenly, celestial.
epigeios (ἐπίγειος) = earthly, terrestrial.
doxa (δόξα) = glory, splendor, brightness, radiance.
The word doxa is repeated: one doxa of the sun, another of the moon, another of the stars. Paul does not say one survives and the rest perish. He says all are raised, but with differing doxa.
Early Christian Views
The earliest Christians often spoke of varied rewards and conditions after death.
Origen (c. 185-254 AD) described a hierarchy of heavens, drawing on Paul’s “third heaven” (2 Corinthians 12:2).
Clement of Alexandria (c. 150-215 AD) wrote of three gradations of glory, linked to faith, knowledge, and works.
Hippolytus (c. 170-235 AD) taught that the righteous “will be ranked and arranged by God according to their merits.” (Against Plato 1)
The idea of differing eternal rewards is not a Mormon innovation. It is a biblical and patristic theme.
The Restoration’s Witness
The Restoration restores clarity to what Paul and Christ already taught.
Doctrine and Covenants 76 describes the Celestial, Terrestrial, and Telestial kingdoms — directly reflecting Paul’s sun, moon, and stars.
Doctrine and Covenants 131:1-4 affirms degrees even within the Celestial kingdom, consistent with Christ’s teaching of “many mansions.”
Doctrine and Covenants 137:9 reveals that God “will judge all men according to their works, according to the desire of their hearts.”
This is not “works-righteousness.” It is divine fairness. God does not reduce all eternity to a single binary. He honors every degree of faith, obedience, and desire.
Replacing the Burden of Proof
So here is the challenge to Mr. Driscoll:
Show us where the Bible teaches only two eternal outcomes.
Explain why Paul speaks of the sun, moon, and stars if there is only heaven and hell.
Reconcile Christ’s promise of “many mansions” with a single uniform heaven.
Account for passages about “least” and “greatest” in the kingdom, or differing stripes and rewards, if the final state is identical for all the saved.
Explain why early Fathers spoke of varied heavens and gradations of glory if the doctrine is supposedly “unbiblical.”
Until those questions are answered, the charge that Latter-day Saints invented the three degrees of glory collapses. The evidence points the other way. It was post-apostolic Christianity that flattened the biblical vision into a simplistic binary. The Restoration restores the richness of scripture: a God who honors every soul with a glory suited to their faith and desire.