As we get older and begin to realize that there are fewer days ahead of us than behind, many of us, I'd dare to say most of us, begin to think a little more about what "the end" might be like.
After Joann first got sick, I started watching more TV and movies, as we were kind of stuck at home a lot. Yes, TV and movies are not real. But, the writing and producing of TV has many goals, the top one, of course, is to get viewers, which translates into money. So, the writers and producers want to write a show that appeals to as many of their audience as they can. Thus, the subjects of these shows and the way they are presented is likely to be representative of a large segment of our population.
I believe that another goal of these writers and producers is to influence the thoughts and beliefs of the audience. So, they present subjects and actions that subtly push viewers to the desired mindsets. Gun control? Most modern TV shows portray firearms as dangerous and disgusting and their owners as dangerous and not very smart. The same with politics. Left/Democrat good, right/Republican stupid. Religion (now we're getting to my point) deluded and even ludicrous.
I've watched more than one modern TV show in which a tragic death plays a major part of the plot. The emphasis in all these shows is that death is "it". No continuation of a soul; no existence of a soul. Simply a biological, mortal end of the deceased person. Any suggestion that there might be an afterlife is shown as ridiculous and scientifically impossible. There is often what they call an "Intellectual Trope": Writers often use a "Scientist/Skeptic" character to act as the audience’s proxy, debunking spiritual hope as a coping mechanism for the "weak-minded."
Even shows that give a nod to religious belief portray only the fact that there are so many different opinions of life after death; Heaven or Hell, the nature of Spirits, that there is no consensus and thus it just can't be true.
I'm sorry for those who live such hopeless lives and I wish to try and help. This life isn't it. Your soul is a combination of your Sprit/intelligence and your body. When the mortal body dies, the Spirit still lives and goes back into the Sprit World; which is separated from our mortal view by a thin veil. In that world, you continue to learn and progress until you are resurrected and your body and spirit are reunited. The same sociality exists there as exists here. You will recognize those with whom you have interacted here in mortality. Your friends and family are there with you. This Is Not The End! That's the short, Readers Digest version.
One of the contentions expressed by other Christian Sects towards the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is that, in their estimation, we believe that we are saved by works, not by grace. The prevailing belief of most Protestant/Evangelical Christians is that everyone is "saved" through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and repentance of our sins.
I have always replied that "Faith without works is dead" and "we are saved by grace, after all that we can do". But, it's actually more than that. I realized that we understand that EVERYone attains a degree of glory, save the Sons of Perdition; and even they are resurrected. The Atonement of Jesus Christ unconditionally allows every person to attain one of the Three Degrees of Glory!
We know that life here isn't a Pass/Fail test where, if we never heard of Jesus Christ; so we can't logically have faith in Him, we are lost. We failed the test without being given the study materials? No. Everyone at least sees the Telestial Kingdom, which glory is beyond our imaginings.
And an examination of the scriptures, with modern revelation and teaching applied, takes this even further. Not only does someone who never heard of Jesus and His Atonement get a degree of Glory, but they also have the opportunity to LEARN the gospel and accept it, if they want. And, with vicarious Temple ordinances, even those who never knew the gospel are able to progress, on the other side of the veil. Not only does the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints understand and teach that everyone is "saved" by Grace but we also know that everyone can continue to progress throughout eternity; all because of the Love, Courage, Honor and Sacrifice of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
In reality, Protestant/Evangelical Christians are the ones who preach works over grace, by "requiring Faith and Repentance" in order to get to Heaven. The truth is, even that much isn't required. EVERYone goes to "heaven" and everyone is resurrected, because of the Atonement of our Savior.
All of us are literal sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father. We've existed for eternity as spirits, but had progressed as far as we could with our spiritual experiences. We needed to learn things that only a mortal body could teach. So, we got to come to the earth and live in these mortal bodies, experiencing pleasure and pain, love and hate, light and darkness. We get to know what it's like to come from a cold winter night into our warm house. At the same time, we learn what it's like to suffer pain, illness and loss. How could we understand joy if we'd never experienced sadness? There was only an academic concept of these things as spirits.
But, we had to be able to experience these things on our own and we knew we couldn't do it without making mistakes and doing things that would make us unworthy to return to the presence of our Heavenly Father. Two primary things helped us here. First, when we are born, our memories of our previous life in the Spirit World are blocked by a veil of forgetfulness. If we had a perfect memory of our pre-existence, we would then be deliberately rebelling when we fail here. Those "sins" would be permanent and we'd be cast out forever.
Second, and most importantly, we needed someone who could suffer the punishment for the sins we do commit. Someone who could accept the justice necessary and leave us clean to return to our Sprit home.
Jesus Christ took upon Himself that responsibility. As the only Begotten Son of God, only He could suffer for others, taking upon Himself the punishments that had to be meted out for justice. And, with mortality from His earthly Mother and immortality from His true Father, He was able to raise himself from the dead and rejoin his mortal body in resurrection, thus granting that blessing to us all, forever.
What's more, those who have never heard of the Savior can learn these great truths on the other side of the veil, when their mortal body dies. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is taught in the Spirit World, to all those who wish to hear.
These are simple truths that we each know, instinctively. Look into your heart. Your Spirit knows of the eternal nature of all people; of the reality of a Father in Heaven and the comfort of His Justice and Mercy. It's real. If you let yourself really ponder it and think about it, pray about it; you'll KNOW it's real!
Thus, in our Temples, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints practice Baptism for the Dead as well as performing sealing ordinances for all members of families, thus sealing everyone together for eternity. It is also in the Temple where husband and wife can be sealed together for all eternity. A Temple Marriage does not end with "'Til Death do we part". No, it ends with "For all time and for all eternity".
These are great blessings, restored to the Earth in these latter days, through living prophets.
Matthew 16:19
"And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
Context: Note the use of the singular "thee" and "thou." This highlights Peter’s role as the "chief" apostle or the one holding the keys of the presidency for the entire Church.
Matthew 18:18
"Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
Context: In the original Greek (and reflected in the King James "ye" and "you"), these pronouns are plural. This indicates that while Peter held the keys of presidency, the authority to act in the name of God and seal things eternally was shared among the Apostles as a quorum.
Jeremiah 1:5: God tells the prophet, "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee".
Job 38:4–7: The Lord asks Job, "Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?" and notes that during creation, the "sons of God shouted for joy".
Ecclesiastes 12:7: States that at death, the "spirit shall return unto God who gave it," implying the spirit was with God before coming to Earth.
John 9:1–3: The disciples ask if a man was born blind because of his own sins, a question that presupposes he existed and could have sinned before birth.
Hebrews 12:9: Refers to God as the "Father of spirits".
These modern revelations provide the most explicit details about the "first estate":
Abraham 3:22–26: Describes a vision of "noble and great" spirits organized before the world was, including the Grand Council in Heaven.
Moses 3:5: Clarifies that God created all things spiritually before they were naturally upon the face of the earth.
Doctrine and Covenants 93:29: States that "Man was also in the beginning with God" and that "intelligence" is eternal.
Alma 13:3: Teaches that many were "called and prepared from the foundation of the world" based on their exceeding faith and good works in the pre-mortal life.
These verses establish the continuity of the spirit and the existence of a "waiting place" or different realms after death.
Ecclesiastes 12:7"Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it."
(Directly counters the "biological end" narrative by separating the body's fate from the spirit's.)
Luke 23:43 "And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise."
(Jesus’s promise to the thief on the cross confirms a conscious state of happiness immediately following death.)
1 Peter 3:18–20 "...being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient..."
(A foundational text for the "Spirit World" concept, showing that spirits exist in a state where they can still be taught.)
2 Corinthians 5:8 "We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord."
(Paul emphasizes that the "self" or spirit moves from the "tent" of the body to another location.)
These scriptures provide the "map" of the spirit world.
Alma 40:11–12 (The State of the Soul) "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... are taken home to that God who gave them life. 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..."
Alma 34:34 (The Continuity of the Self) "Ye cannot say, when ye are brought to that awful crisis, that I will repent... 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."
(This supports the point that the soul is real and carries our character/personality forward; we aren't just "wiped out.")
Doctrine and Covenants 138:29–30 (The Bridge) "...from among the righteous, he organized his forces and appointed messengers... 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..."
(This vision given to Joseph F. Smith explains the "missionary work" occurring between Paradise and Spirit Prison.)
1 Corinthians 15:40–42 (KJV)
40 There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.
41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.
42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption.
The Three Categories: Paul explicitly uses the terms Celestial (heavenly/sun-like) and Terrestrial (earthly/moon-like). While he doesn’t use a specific name for the third, he identifies it by the "glory of the stars," which LDS scripture later identifies as the Telestial kingdom.
The Physicality of the Soul: Paul’s argument is a direct hit against the "nothingness" of modern media. He argues that the soul isn't just a vapor; it is a "body" of a higher, more permanent order.
Individuality Persists: In verse 41, when he says "one star differeth from another star in glory," he is suggesting that our unique identities and our efforts in this life result in a unique state in the next. We aren't just absorbed into a "cosmic soup"; we remain us.
Another verse that supports a structured, multi-layered afterlife is where Paul mentions his own spiritual experience:
2 Corinthians 12:2
"I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago... such an one caught up to the third heaven."
By mentioning a "third" heaven, Paul confirms that the afterlife isn't just one big room, but a place of varying degrees and progression.
Doctrine and Covenants 76:50–70 (The Kingdoms of Glory)
This section is the primary source for the Celestial, Terrestrial, and Telestial kingdoms, describing the "many mansions" Jesus referred to in the New Testament.
Matthew 16:19
"And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
Context: Note the use of the singular "thee" and "thou." This highlights Peter’s role as the "chief" apostle or the one holding the keys of the presidency for the entire Church.
Matthew 18:18
"Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
Context: In the original Greek (and reflected in the King James "ye" and "you"), these pronouns are plural. This indicates that while Peter held the keys of presidency, the authority to act in the name of God and seal things eternally was shared among the Apostles as a quorum.
Biblical scriptures, indicating the Pre-mortal Spirit World
Jeremiah 1:5: God tells the prophet, "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee".
Job 38:4–7: The Lord asks Job, "Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?" and notes that during creation, the "sons of God shouted for joy".
Ecclesiastes 12:7: States that at death, the "spirit shall return unto God who gave it," implying the spirit was with God before coming to Earth.
John 9:1–3: The disciples ask if a man was born blind because of his own sins, a question that presupposes he existed and could have sinned before birth.
Hebrews 12:9: Refers to God as the "Father of spirits".
Unique Latter-day Saint Scriptures:
These modern revelations provide the most explicit details about the "first estate":
Abraham 3:22–26: Describes a vision of "noble and great" spirits organized before the world was, including the Grand Council in Heaven.
Moses 3:5: Clarifies that God created all things spiritually before they were naturally upon the face of the earth.
Doctrine and Covenants 93:29: States that "Man was also in the beginning with God" and that "intelligence" is eternal.
Alma 13:3: Teaches that many were "called and prepared from the foundation of the world" based on their exceeding faith and good works in the pre-mortal life.
Biblical Scriptures (King James Version)
These verses establish the continuity of the spirit and the existence of a "waiting place" or different realms after death.
Ecclesiastes 12:7"Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it."
(Directly counters the "biological end" narrative by separating the body's fate from the spirit's.)
Luke 23:43 "And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise."
(Jesus’s promise to the thief on the cross confirms a conscious state of happiness immediately following death.)
1 Peter 3:18–20 "...being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient..."
(A foundational text for the "Spirit World" concept, showing that spirits exist in a state where they can still be taught.)
2 Corinthians 5:8 "We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord."
(Paul emphasizes that the "self" or spirit moves from the "tent" of the body to another location.)
Latter-day Saint Specific Scriptures
These scriptures provide the "map" of the spirit world.
Alma 40:11–12 (The State of the Soul) "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... are taken home to that God who gave them life. 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..."
Alma 34:34 (The Continuity of the Self) "Ye cannot say, when ye are brought to that awful crisis, that I will repent... 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."
(This supports the point that the soul is real and carries our character/personality forward; we aren't just "wiped out.")
Doctrine and Covenants 138:29–30 (The Bridge) "...from among the righteous, he organized his forces and appointed messengers... 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..."
(This vision given to Joseph F. Smith explains the "missionary work" occurring between Paradise and Spirit Prison.)
1 Corinthians 15:40–42 (KJV)
40 There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.
41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.
42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption.
The Three Categories: Paul explicitly uses the terms Celestial (heavenly/sun-like) and Terrestrial (earthly/moon-like). While he doesn’t use a specific name for the third, he identifies it by the "glory of the stars," which LDS scripture later identifies as the Telestial kingdom.
The Physicality of the Soul: Paul’s argument is a direct hit against the "nothingness" of modern media. He argues that the soul isn't just a vapor; it is a "body" of a higher, more permanent order.
Individuality Persists: In verse 41, when he says "one star differeth from another star in glory," he is suggesting that our unique identities and our efforts in this life result in a unique state in the next. We aren't just absorbed into a "cosmic soup"; we remain us.
Another verse that supports a structured, multi-layered afterlife is where Paul mentions his own spiritual experience:
2 Corinthians 12:2
"I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago... such an one caught up to the third heaven."
By mentioning a "third" heaven, Paul confirms that the afterlife isn't just one big room, but a place of varying degrees and progression.
Doctrine and Covenants 76:50–70 (The Kingdoms of Glory)
This section is the primary source for the Celestial, Terrestrial, and Telestial kingdoms, describing the "many mansions" Jesus referred to in the New Testament.
This is the joyful message that is here for everyone. You are a son or daughter of God. You are an Eternal Being. Mortal death is just a step back to your Spirit home. You and your family can be re-united and live together throughout all eternity. What more wonderful message could there be?!
