Alma's Teachings on the Spirit World
Alma 40 contains the teachings about the spirit world and
resurrection from Alma to his son Corianton.
Some of the statements are very clear about the universality of the
resurrection; for example, we learn that “there is a time appointed that all
shall come forth from the dead…. The time cometh when all shall rise.” There is no exception; everyone who has lived
will rise from the dead in the resurrection.
Not only will the resurrection apply to everyone, but there is also no
part of us individually that will not be brought back: “The soul shall be
restored to the body, and the body to the soul; yea, and every limb and joint
shall be restored to its body; yea, even a hair of the head shall not be lost;
but all things shall be restored to their proper and perfect frame” (Alma 40:4,
10, 23). The resurrection applies to all
and will bring our bodies back to a perfect order; this is no question about
its universality.
Despite
these very clear statements about this most important part of the plan of
salvation, there are other statements in Alma 40—of lesser importance for sure—that
for me at least can be difficult to fit together with what we know from other
sources about the plan of salvation. One
of these is what happens in the spirit world.
As members of the Church we are familiar with the teaching that the
spirit world is a place for missionary work; the righteous will go forth to
those who have not received the gospel and they will have an opportunity to
progress in the gospel path through vicarious ordinances. The picture that Alma paints is one that appears
a little different. There are two
places. In one we read 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.” In the other, “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; therefore the
spirit of the devil did enter into them, and take possession of their house—and
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, being led
captive by the will of the devil” (v12-13).
There is no mention of any possibility of progression or what will
happen to those who weren’t necessarily righteous but who weren’t “evil” either
in mortality.
As I’ve pondered Alma’s dichotomy, my conclusion
is that it does not paint a complete picture but gives us instead the two
extremes of those who inhabit the spirit world.
We know from Joseph Smith’s vision of the three degrees of glory that
those who inherit the telestial glory are those who were indeed very evil: “These
are they who are liars, and sorcerers, and adulterers, and whoremongers, and
whosoever loves and makes a lie. These
are they who suffer the wrath of God on earth. These are they who suffer the vengeance of
eternal fire. These are they who are
cast down to hell and suffer the wrath of Almighty God” (D&C 76:103-106). I believe this is generally the group that
Alma was referring to as the wicked who would “be cast out into outer darkness”
and suffer “weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth.” My understanding is that those who inherit
the telestial kingdom will indeed need to suffer for their own sins in the
spirit world before the resurrection, but they are the only ones who will so
suffer. These are those who have
rejected all chance of receiving the gospel, chosen wickedness and the ways of
the devil, and will be in a true prison in the Spirit World. It is not the same “outer darkness” that we
use to describe the final state of the sons of perdition, but it is a place of
paying for one’s sins. There are others,
though, who were not evil but who also did not accept or have the opportunity to
accept the saving ordinances of the gospel.
And while we also describe their place in the spirit world as prison
also, it is not one in which they suffer the demands of justice. It is a prison because they do not have the
ability to progress or get out of darkness without the light of the
gospel. But when they do receive the
Savior, and when the requirements of the gospel are met, they “shall receive a
reward according to their works, for they are heirs of salvation” (D&C
138:59). The missionary work and
spreading of the gospel in the spirit world is for them, and while Alma’s
description of the spirit world to his son does not include it, I don’t think
it precludes it either.
Comments
Post a Comment
Comments: