So before we get into this episode, I've got some bad news for all of our viewers.
You might already know, hopefully I'm not the one to break it to you but here goes...
The bad news is that one day you're all going to die. It's just a fact of life.
But what happens after you die? Take a look at this roadmap of how Latter-day
Saints believe the afterlife is gonna play out:
most Christians agree that when we die, our bodies go into the ground but our
spirits continue to live on. Eventually we'll be resurrected and stand before
God at the final judgment but what will our spirits be doing in between death
and resurrection? For some spirits that's quite a long time. The Bible isn't
explicitly clear on this subject which is why Latter-day Saints are grateful
for the Book of Mormon which teaches clearly, "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... these shall be cast out into outer darkness;
there shall be weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth, and this because of
their own iniquity... And thus they remain in this state, as well as the righteous in
paradise, until the time of their resurrection." So immediately after you
die, your spirit will enter what we just called the spirit world.
"It looks like King's Cross station, only cleaner." You will still be you. You'll
have the same personality, talents, desires, etc. Your spirit will still look
like you, you just won't have a physical body. That was really awkward. The
righteous will be in a state of paradise, the wicked will be in prison. The spirit
paradise and prison are both literal places as well as conditions or states
of being. Now one of the coolest things about the spirit world is that those who
did accept the gospel in this life will have the opportunity to teach that
gospel in the spirit world to the spirits in prison, especially to those
who didn't have the opportunity to learn about the gospel during their lives. In
order for God to judge us based on gospel principles, it makes sense that
everyone should have the chance to learn those gospel principles. In order to be
saved, one must have faith in the Savior Jesus Christ. Some people believe that if
you're one of the trillions of people throughout history that never had the
opportunity to learn about Jesus Christ in your life, you're simply doomed to
eternal torture in hell. Latter-day Saints believe everyone in this
life or the next we'll have a fair shot at learning about Christ. "For 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."
Christ Himself organized this missionary effort while he was in the spirit world
during the three days after his death and before his resurrection. 1 Peter
3 in the NIV tells us, "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for
the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made
alive in the spirit. After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to
the imprisoned spirits-- to those who are disobedient long ago when God waited
patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built." While righteous
spirits teach the gospel in the spirit world, we mortals perform ordinances in
temples like baptism for and in behalf of our ancestors in prison who didn't
have that opportunity in life. In the spirit world, those ancestors have the
opportunity to accept those blessings or reject them. We're not forcing them on
anybody, just providing the option. Now, Jesus Christ suffered for all of our
sins so that we wouldn't have to suffer for them if we repent. That's what the
gospel is all about. So those spirits who either reject the gospel in this life or
after learning it in the spirit world will have to suffer and pay for their
own sins. This is generally the condition most Latter-day Saints are referring to
when we talk about Hell. What will this suffering look like? I'm not sure but it
doesn't sound very pleasant. After they pay the price for their sins and after
the resurrection and judgment, we believe that even they will inherit a place in
heaven albeit not in the full presence of God the Father. The term 'spirit world'
might be confusing to some people because it sort of sounds like we
believe spirits go to outer space or to another planet where all the spirits
live. That's not the case. The spirit world is this world, it's earth. We can't
see them but there are spirits among us. President Joseph F Smith said, "We live in
their presence, they see us, they are solicitous for our welfare, they love us
now more than ever, for now they see the dangers that beset us because their love
for us and their desire for our well-being must be greater than that
which we feel for ourselves." There's still lots of questions we have about
the spirit world that we don't have answers for but there are plenty we
can answer as well that I haven't had time to get to here so if you've got
further questions about the spirit world, drop them in the comments below, check
out the links in the description for more information, and have a great day!