Life After Death: The Spirit World

We have looked at the purpose of our life on Earth, the beginning and fall of mankind with Adam and Eve, and the life we led before this Earthly life. In this post, I wish to explain the beginning steps of the third section of God’s Plan of Happiness. I will, in part, answer the question, “What happens when I die?” I wish to use the scriptures as the source of our exploration.

It is a fact that every man and woman will die. That is one of the effects of the Fall of Adam: we are all mortal and therefore will not live forever. When we die, our spirits and bodies are separated. Our spirits go to a place we will refer to as the Spirit World.  We have no need to fear death, for life continues beyond our mortal bounds.

In the Book of Mormon, a prophet named Alma recorded counsel he gave to his son concerning what awaits all mankind after death. “Now, concerning the state of the soul between death and the resurrection—Behold, it has been made known unto me by an angel, that the spirits of men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body, yea, the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave them life (Alma 40:11).  Alma teaches that there is a space, a waiting period, between death and the resurrection. In a future post we will talk more about resurrection, which is the reuniting of the spirit body with the physical body after death, never to be separated again. Resurrection is the end to our waiting time in the Spirit world.  What is this waiting period like? What can we expect? Alma goes on to explain the situation in the Spirit World in the following verses.

“And then it shall come to pass, that the spirits of those who are righteous are received into a state of happiness, which is called paradise, a state of rest, a state of peace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care, and sorrow. And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of the wicked, yea, who are evil—for behold, they have no part nor portion of the Spirit of the Lord; for behold, they chose evil works rather than good…there shall be weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth, and this because of their own iniquity, being led captive by the will of the devil. Now this is the state of the souls of the wicked” (Alma 40:11-14).

Alma’s explanation is fairly simple: the righteous will be in a state of peace, or Spirit Paradise, and the wicked and unrepentant will be in a state of misery and sorrow, or Spirit Prison.  As mentioned in the previous post, our purpose here on earth is to make good choices and live the Gospel of Jesus Christ by having faith in Him, repenting, receiving baptism by the proper authority, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.  If we sincerely and earnestly seek to follow Christ by living His Gospel, we can be sure we will be counted among the righteous. But what about those who have not heard of Jesus Christ or His Gospel? Thankfully, God’s plan is a merciful plan, and He has provided a way for even this group of people to receive the same blessings as those who have heard the gospel and who strive to live like Christ.

Peter spoke of Christ visiting the Spirit World after He was crucified, and preaching to the people there. “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit; By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison” (1 Peter 3:18-20). He further expounds in a later verse, “ for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit” (1 Peter 4:6).

I take great joy in the thought that God is so merciful to all of His children that He would provide a way for everyone to hear and accept His Son. When Christ was in the Spirit World, He organized a force of missionaries to preach His Gospel to the souls in Spirit Prison because they had not the opportunity to hear and accept the gospel and Christ. For those who have an opportunity in this life to live the Gospel, the Spirit World is not a fail-safe. It is not in place so one can postpone repentance until the next life. Alma taught: “For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors. And…I beseech of you that ye do not procrastinate the day of your repentance until the end; for after this day of life, which is given us to prepare for eternity, behold, if we do not improve our time while in this life, then cometh the night of darkness wherein there can be no labor performed. Ye cannot say, when ye are brought to that awful crisis, that I will repent, that I will return to my God. Nay, ye cannot say this; for that same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world” (Alma 34:32-34). In other words, our character and our desires that we possess in this life will be with us in the Spirit World. Because of this, we need to strive diligently to improve our standing before God while in this life.

In closing I would like to cite one more scripture from modern-day revelation, which comes from the Doctrine and Covenants. In 1918, the prophet Joseph F. Smith was studying the verses previously cited in 1 Peter concerning Christ preaching to the souls in prison. Of his experience he wrote:

“As I pondered over these things which are written, the eyes of my understanding were opened, and the Spirit of the Lord rested upon me, and I saw the hosts of the dead, both small and great. And there were gathered together in one place an innumerable company of the spirits of the just, who had been faithful in the testimony of Jesus while they lived in mortality; I beheld that they were filled with joy and gladness, and were rejoicing together because the day of their deliverance was at hand” (Doctrine & Covenants 138:11,12,15).

I pray that this will be our goal, that we will do all that it takes to repent and live the Gospel of Jesus Christ, so we can have a fullness of joy in the life to come. I know that God is merciful, that His plan is real, and that He seeks to guide us in the right way that will lead us to eternal happiness and success beyond what the world measures. I know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and thanks to His great sacrifice, we can have hope for a better world.  In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.