Life has two beginnings—the womb and the tomb.  The first is riskier than the other.  If life has been well-lived, then death becomes the key that opens to a world of light and knowledge and joy and eternal family relationships.  Birth is a key that we turned ourselves when we chose to follow the Savior and thus activated His plan of salvation in our behalf.  Turning the key of birth opened mortality and set the timer for the automatic turning of the key of death.  There are several keys of death from which to choose, and it is our privilege to select the quality of life—or the room, if you will—that we are to enter when we leave mortality.

Following death there is yet one more key to be turned in each life, and that is the key of resurrection.  Here again there are several keys from which to choose, a choice which is made as one progresses through mortality and the spirit world.  The type of life lived in those two phases determines whether our individual resurrection key will be for that of a celestial body, a terrestrial body, a telestial body, or a body without glory.

The Savior holds the keys.  There are several at each stage from which we choose.  I suspect we chose whether to be born into mortality as a rich man, a poor man, an aborigine, or a Church member.  We’re currently choosing whether to go to paradise or spirit prison.  We’re also in the process of choosing a kingdom of glory or a world without glory.  We’re choosing whether to be kings; priests; queens; priestesses; angels to those worthy of a greater glory; bondsmen to the adversary; companions of liars, adulterers and murderers; single and without family connections; or gods and goddesses having eternal increase.