After Death

To my son,

               Recently you went to the funeral of a wonderful teacher at your school who passed away suddenly from cancer. You also are very aware of another wonderful sister in our ward who you know and who has suffered immensely from cancer. She may also pass away in the near future. Last week we also visited my grandfather who is very old and may also be close to death. With these things happening, today I want to write to you about the plan of salvation and the resurrection. It can be scary to think about death and what happens after this life, but I know that through Jesus Christ and His plan of salvation, we need not fear death. When Alma taught his son Corianton, he explained some of what would happen when we die. He said this, “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 all 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.” He taught that our spirits will be taken home to that God who gave us life; we will in some way be back in His presence for a time perhaps in a short reunion with the Savior before we go to the Spirit World. The Spirit World is where people go after they die but before they receive their body again in the resurrection. Alma continued explaining, “And then shall it 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” (Alma 40:11-12). Those who have followed Jesus Christ in this life and sought to keep His commandments will go to a place of peace where they will rest from the cares of this world. You can know that those who die here who were trying to stay on the covenant path will be happy and at peace. And so will each of us in our family, whenever it is that we die, if we have sought to do the same.

But the righteous in the Spirit World won’t be just sitting around! President Joseph F. Smith, the sixth president of the church and son of Hyrum Smith, had a marvelous vision of the Spirit World and what happens there. He explained this about how the Savior set up an organization there to continue to do missionary work to those who had not accepted the gospel in this life: “But behold, from among the righteous, he organized his forces and appointed messengers, clothed with power and authority, and commissioned them to go forth and carry the light of the gospel to them that were in darkness, even to all the spirits of men; and thus was the gospel preached to the dead.” He continued, “And the chosen messengers went forth to declare the acceptable day of the Lord and proclaim liberty to the captives who were bound, even unto all who would repent of their sins and receive the gospel.” So those who die who are righteous will become messengers to those who haven’t yet accepted the gospel.  President Smith told of some of the missionaries that he saw there, including, “The Prophet Joseph Smith, and my father, Hyrum Smith, Brigham Young, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, and other choice spirits” (Doctrine and Covenants 138:30-31,53). So he saw these five incredible prophets, all of whom he had known in his life and one of whom was his own father, there in the Spirit World preaching the gospel to other spirits who had died. How amazing that vision must have been! That is why we do baptisms for the dead in the temple, so that those who accept the gospel in the Spirit World can have the ordinance of baptism done for them here. Ultimately everyone will leave the Spirit World and will be resurrected, receiving their body again. I know that through Jesus Christ all of us will indeed live again after we die and will have the opportunity to remain with those we love forever. How grateful I am that through Jesus Christ we too will be together as a family even after we die. It wouldn’t be heaven for me if you weren’t there with us!    

Love,

Dad