I have a grandmother who passed away long before I was born. She was from Guatemala and from what I heard, she was a bit of a spitfire. She sang opera, danced flamenco and loved to laugh. I have always looked forward to being with her. I remember wondering in my younger years, when we are in heaven, if she would teach me how to dance flamenco. I hoped we would have music and dancing. I believe we will.

Thousands of children across the world have been held against their will in front of a piano to practice. Will those hours of practice and play be wasted? I think not. Our talents will rise with us. Whether in music, dance, athletic skills, languages, science, or other subjects, our learning and experience come, too. We will have a lot to learn if we are to become as perfect as our Heavenly Parents.

With an eternity to spend together in family units, I am certain we will have some incredible family home evenings. Surrounded by intelligences and with creation before us, we could have some amazing science experiments. I imagine myself asking questions about all the things I wanted to learn here. I have always hoped that we will have oceans and night skies there, because not only do I enjoy watching them, I want to be inside them.

We will have our children with us. I think of a number of activities that we have had as a family that brought us great joy. Heaven wouldn’t be heaven without dear spouse and children. Elder George Q. Cannon taught: “We believe that when a man and woman are united as husband and wife, and they love each other, their hearts and feelings are one, that that love is as enduring as eternity itself, and that when death overtakes them it will neither extinguish nor cool that love, but that it will brighten and kindle it to a purer flame, and that it will endure through eternity; and that if we have offspring they will be with us and our mutual associations will be one of the chief joys of the heaven to which we are hastening. 1

Our mutual associations will bring us great joy! Can you imagine family talent shows in heaven? Much of our laughter comes from our mortal situation, musical night with the rough patches, goofy things children say, storytelling among generations. I certainly look forward to family story night when the ancestors I never knew tell us about the incredible experiences they had during their mortal sojourn. Perhaps the Savior Himself will attend one of our family home evenings!

I imagine that we will have land to care for and beautify with gardens and flowers. My daughter will be one that provides love to animals and will snuggle every critter on four legs. My son will be busy trying to recreate the stars in the heavens and figure out to make them soar. My other son will want to create fireworks of some sort. Thankfully, I doubt we will have the kind of fires there that catch after someone’s misuse of it. 

Those who love language and writing will allow heavenly words to flow from their pen in honor and praise of our God. Artists will create, musicians will bless us with heavenly strains, dancers will dance in praise of our God. Those with grand senses of humor will still laugh, and I hope, be able to play their jokes, although no joke will be at the expense of someone else.

We have a great future to look forward to. There will be work but there will be play as well. We will live within our glorious Father’s presence and be happy, enjoying the same kind of fun we enjoyed here, just a higher version of it.

1. “Section 131, Keys to Exaltation,” Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual(2002), 324–26
2. Photo by Frank Mckenna on Unsplash. Thanks Frank!