Life after Death

Reg Christensen lives in the Midwest with his wife, Carol. They have seven children and seventeen grandchildren. Reg has fulfilled a variety of callings in the Church and he and Carol have been blessed with many service opportunities as Pathway missionaries and service volunteers at the BYU Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies, to mention a few. While living in Jerusalem, they served in the Bethlehem branch, Carol as the Relief Society president and Reg as the branch president. His happy times come from being with family and friends, reading, writing, woodworking, leathercrafting, exploring nature, and blessing lives with his handyman skills. He has published several books, including Unlocking Isaiah: Lessons and Insights that Draw Us to the Savior.

Enter Reg…

Perhaps one of the most contemplated questions of all time is the one posed by Job in his sufferings:

“If a man die, shall he live again?” Job 14:14

The answer, of course, is a resounding “Yes.” But since few of us get out of this world alive (I am thinking of the relatively few translated beings), we would like more detail. One of the most experienced and qualified people to answer questions about death is President Joseph F. (Fielding) Smith, the sixth president of the Church. (We refer to him as Joseph F. Smith to distinguish him from his son, also named Joseph Fielding Smith, who became the tenth president of the Church.)

The First Great Loss

In June of 1844, when Joseph F. was a young boy of five years of age living in Nauvoo, Illinois, his father Hyrum, along with his namesake and uncle, the Prophet Joseph Smith, rode on horseback up to their home to respond to a summons to go to Carthage to answer more false charges—this time with an eerie portent that their lives were in serious danger.

Hyrum, without dismounting, reached down and lifted his young son to him to hug and kiss him goodbye. The two brothers then rode off to Carthage. Just days later, Joseph F.’s mother would lift him up to look into the bed of a wagon to see where the bodies of Joseph and Hyrum lay after they had been brutally murdered by an angry and diabolical mob at the Carthage Jail on June 27, 1844. It is difficult to imagine a greater sorrow for a tender-hearted little boy.

Death and Sorrow

Joseph F. would see more death and sorrow all his life. At the age of eight, he drove one of the family’s ox teams across the plains in their emigration to Utah and was witness to the death and suffering of the saints along the way.

During his lifetime, President Smith lost his father, his mother, one brother, two sisters, two wives, and thirteen children. He was well acquainted with sorrow and losing loved ones. When his son Albert Jesse died, Joseph F. wrote to his sister Martha Ann that he had pled with the Lord to save him and asked, “Why is it so? O. God why had it to be?” Despite his prayers at that time, Joseph F. received no answer on this matter. He told Martha Ann that “the heavens [seemed like] brass over our heads” on the subject of death and the spirit world.

The Heavens Open

In his final years of life, President Smith was witness to a world pained by millions of deaths with the simultaneous occurrence of World War I and the worldwide Spanish Flu pandemic. On October 3, 1918, just six weeks before his own death, he sat in his room considering his lifelong questions as he pondered the writings of Peter, wherein he spoke of how Christ “preached also to them that are dead.” (1 Peter 4:6)

In the midst of his ponderings, the heavens were opened to President Smith in a marvelous vision, which he presented to Church members the next day in General Conference. Today, we refer to it as the Vision of the Redemption of the Dead, and it is found in the 138th section of the Doctrine and Covenants.

I encourage you to study and ponder this vision in its entirety. For now, I will just share a few brief highlights.

The World of Spirits

President Smith, in vision, was taken to the world of spirits at the time just before the death of Christ. He saw that the spirits of the dead “were filled with joy and gladness and were rejoicing together because the day of their deliverance was at hand.” (Doctrine and Covenants 138:15)

We recall that Jesus was put to death on Friday and was resurrected on Sunday. The time between His death and resurrection is when He made His redeeming visit to the spirit world. President Smith was witness to this glorious occasion.

“While this vast multitude waited and conversed, rejoicing in the hour of their deliverance from the chains of death, the Son of God appeared, declaring liberty to the captives who had been faithful.” Doctrine and Covenants138:18

President Smith learned that Christ did not go personally among the ungodly and unrepentant at this time.

“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.” Doctrine and Covenants 138: 30. . . “These were taught faith in God, repentance from sin, vicarious baptism for the remission of sins, the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands.” Doctrine and Covenants 138: 33

President Smith was also shown the destiny of our righteous loved ones when they die.

“I beheld that the faithful elders of this dispensation, when they depart from mortal life, continue their labors in the preaching of the gospel of repentance and redemption, through the sacrifice of the Only Begotten Son of God, among those who are in darkness and under the bondage of sin in the great world of the spirits of the dead.” Doctrine and Covenants 138: 57

Light and Truth

I am grateful for the vision of President Smith and the wonderful light and truth about our next life that he shared with us. We also have the scriptures and many more official teachings that we can be assured are true. Many people have had what we call “near-death” experiences wherein they seem to die but are then granted re-entry into mortality. We can learn from them, but we should be cautious because there are also opportunists who embellish or even make up such experiences.

Because of the vast pool of information on the topic and the limited space and scope of my article, I am going to shift to “bullet-point mode” and share a sampling of some things that I believe to be true about life after death.

I will also limit my comments mostly to the context of those who are unswerving in their faithfulness. There is provision in God’s plan for the not-so-faithful also, but that is another discussion and perspective. Hopefully, some of these ideas will serve as a springboard for further study and pondering of this topic of a lifetime.

Death is a natural, welcome part of life. We need not regret or fear it as much as we sometimes do. It is an essential step in the great plan of happiness of our Heavenly Parents. The Psalmist said, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” (Psalms 116:15) An inspired prophet has taught, “Death hath passed upon all men, to fulfil the merciful plan of the great Creator.” (2 Nephi 9:6)
We each retain our personal, eternal identity when we die. We do not transition into something or someone else other than who we are now—we are eternal souls. The scriptures teach, “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 34:34)
Such things as sorrow, discouragement, pollution, pains, illnesses, disabilities, poverty, abuse, and all sad and dark things that are part of our lives on this mortal earth are left behind when we die. (Granted, those who have not repented or overcome their addictions in this life will yet have some sorrow to conquer and work to do.) President Brigham Young taught that in death we pass “from a state of sorrow, grief, mourning, woe, misery, pain, anguish, and disappointment. . . . My spirit is set free . . . I am full of vigor, and I enjoy the presence of my Heavenly Father . . . in a state of bliss and happiness.” The scriptures teach, “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 40:12.
Death can be a pleasant, joyful experience that we may look forward to with happy anticipation. “Those that die in me shall not taste of death, for it shall be sweet unto them.” Doctrine and Covenants 42:46 I am not necessarily talking about the event or process of dying but the transition from mortality to the spirit world. And I am not suggesting that it is always sweet for those left behind, who may struggle for years with the sorrow of the passing of their loved one. I am suggesting that for the righteous who die, transition to the spirit world is a pleasant time. Granted, many righteous people suffer horrible physical deaths, as with Joseph and Hyrum in Carthage Jail, and often unrighteous people seem to pass so peacefully. But even in horrible death, we do not now know all the details. Could the spirit perhaps be released from the body before the painful suffering? Or could a person be exempted from the pain and suffering? I believe that death is a personally customized process for every person. We may someday learn that our perceptions of a person’s death have been different than the complete story of what happened. I believe that our Heavenly Parents love Their children and bless and protect them even as they die. Whatever the case, I believe that the principle that death is “sweet” refers to the complete, eternal process of transitioning rather than the brief circumstances of our physical death.
When we die, we take forward with us all the knowledge and experience we have gained in this life. We progress—we do not regress. In modern revelation, we learn, “Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection.” Doctrine and Covenants 130:18 Although it says “in the resurrection,” I can’t imagine and do not believe that our experience will be negated, or our learning and progress be erased or put on pause, in the spirit world. This realm is part of our eternal progression where we continue to learn without the physical ailments and burdens that seem to inhibit our learning and progress here on earth.
The world of spirits is nearby, not on some distant star or planet. We as mortals live amongst our departed loved ones but are just in a different plane of existence. They are near us in proximity and in love and spirit.
As we place our feet on the revealed covenant path toward eternal life while in mortality, we will remain on that path throughout our waiting time in the spirit world. With our death, our time of mortal probation comes to an end. “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.” Alma 34:32 Of course we continue to learn, grow, and progress toward eternal life in the spirit world, but our probationary test of mortality ends with death.
In the spirit world, all our righteous feelings—love, empathy, compassion, charity—are accentuated more than we can now imagine.
Our spirit body is in the likeness of our physical body. We will recognize our loved ones and they us. Entering the spirit world will be just as natural to us as walking through a door into another room here on earth.
We will enjoy eternal sociality—we will joy in the renewal of our love and companionship with our friends and family.
We will enjoy spirit-to spirit communication. We will have the ability to convey our deepest feelings one to another that we may now struggle to express through our mere words and limited language.
Our individual agency is eternal and will continue in the spirit world. We will continue to be blessed with individual intellect and powers of reason and analysis and be able to choose from a variety of activities.
Provision of eternal life is made for those who do not have opportunity to hear the gospel during their mortality. God knows their hearts and will judge accordingly. “All that shall die henceforth without a knowledge of it, who would have received it with all their hearts, shall be heirs of that [celestial] kingdom.” Doctrine and Covenants 137:8
Children who die before they reach the age of accountability will be given eternal life. “And I also beheld that all children who die before they arrive at the years of accountability are saved in the celestial kingdom of heaven.” Doctrine and Covenants 137:10
We will joy in the grand and essential work to be done of teaching, persuading, and helping all children of our Heavenly Parents use their agency to increase their degree of light and truth. We will delight in having ample meaningful work to do.
In the spirit world, our mortal perplexities and mysteries will begin to be solved. We will discover that our leaders and teachers who have taught us to trust in the Lord were right—He is in control, and we can trust Him.
We will come to know with certainty that all souls really are alike unto our Heavenly Parents. They love all without bias or prejudice.

Let Us Live Well

As glorious as the next world is for those striving to be righteous, this mortal existence is essential and can be in large measure what we make of it. Sure, there may be disabilities and circumstances that become our “thorns in our flesh” that we must deal with all our lives, but our perseverance in mortal trials and our diligence in service are essential to our eternal progress. We do well to prepare for and live long lives of growth, progress, and dedication and to not obsess about our own time or circumstance of death. Let us live well in the realm we are in and leave our transition to the spirit world to our Heavenly Parents and Their timing. In other words, let us live until we die.