resurrection – Page 2 – What Do Mormons Believe?

The Plan of Salvation

There are fundamental questions that everyone eventually must ask themselves. “Why am I here? Where did I come from? Where am I going?” Whether one asks these under the pressures of daily life or with preponderance of a larger scheme, knowing the answer in the larger sense give perspective and meaning to that same question in the smaller sense. It is my endeavor here to put previously published articles on the subject into proper context and perspective in the meaning of life.

Before this Life

See: Where do babies come from?

Before the foundations of this world were laid, God presented a plan to us, which we gladly accepted. This plan was to allow us to come to earth, gain bodies, experiences, learn, grow and prove (to ourselves) whether or not we would use our agency wisely and submit our will to our Father once we were down here. The integral part of that plan was the Atonement, a perfect sacrifice that would afford us the opportunity to overcome our weakness. Jesus Christ was chosen by the Father to fill this capacity and willingly submitted to His Father’s will. God testified of His part in our happiness when He said, “For behold, this is my work and my glory – to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” (Moses 1:39) He is deeply involved and concerned with our personal salvation.

Our First Parents

See: The Fall of Adam and Eve

As the planning came to an end, the first step was to create a world where we could live. This was done by Christ under the direction of the Father as told in the account given in the book of Genesis. Our first parents, Adam and Eve, were placed in the garden of Eden where everything was provided for them.

While Adam and Eve lived in Eden, they lived in a state of innocence. That is, they had no knowledge of good or evil, of joy or pain, of sickness or health. They were limited in their capacity and opportunity to grow and experience life. That is why God gave them the choice to stay in the garden of Eden or partake of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. They chose to partake of the fruit and as a result, they were cast out of the garden. This was a known part of our Heavenly Father’s plan, however, and was provided for in the Atonement. This separation from God caused two kinds of death to enter the world: physical death and spiritual death. Physical death came in the form of aging and death. Spiritual death is a separation from God caused by our decisions to disobey His will for us.

Our Lives

See: Our Life on Earth

To this day we must live in a world where spiritual and physical death as well as sorrow and pain exist. That does not mean we must continually be mourning. Our purpose here in life is actually to have joy. The prophet Lehi of the Book of Mormon stated, “Adam fell that men might be and men are that they might have joy.” (2 Ne. 2:25) In other words, the fall was a necessary part of the plan so that we might exist.

While in this life, we ought to be happy and we ought to be preparing to join God in His Heaven after this life. (Alma 34:32) The two go hand in hand. When we choose to prepare to meet God (that is, we choose to shun the evil and pursue the good), we will be happy because it is in God’s nature to be happy and everything that is good comes from God. Every decision we have to make has consequences. We are allowed in this life to choose but we cannot choose the consequences that our decisions incur. God has given us commandments to guide our decisions so that we might more fully enjoy life without being encumbered with additional pains. When we keep the commandments in our hearts and seek to obey them, God has promised a fuller and more abundant life.

The Everlasting Atonement of Jesus Christ

See: What Do Mormons Believe about the Atonement?

Even after everything we could possibly do, there is no way to return to our Heavenly Father’s presence by ourselves. Remember the effects of the fall: spiritual and physical death. Every one of us has sinned, there is no way around it and even one sin would be enough to prevent one from living in the presence of God. In addition, every one of us will die. Our Heavenly Father knew of these things and, in His infinite mercy, planned for them, giving us a chance to change our lives and return to His presence.

By the Atonement of Jesus Christ, that great sacrifice that Christ gave Himself up for us, we can be cleansed from our sins and we will be resurrected to a perfect and glorious body. Christ has provided the way in which we can be perfected in Him, and only on the condition that we follow Him. We follow Him by following His example and by doing what He wants us to do, not what we want to do. We follow Him by believing in Him and loving Him. That is all that He asks us to do and in return, He promises to take away our sins and help us bear our burdens in life. What a glorious opportunity!

Beyond this World

See: Life after death – part 1

When death occurs, which it invariably does, the spirit is separated from the body and returns home to God who gave him life (Alma 40:11). That cognizant spirit will then be received in a state of happiness or a state of misery depending on how their life was lived. It is unknown exactly how this state is, what it’s like or even where it is but we do know that those that were righteous in this life will have rest and continue to teach others the gospel of Jesus Christ. Thus, even those who never had the chance before to learn about Jesus Christ will be able to accept Him. They will remain there to wait until the day of resurrection.

Judgment Day

See: Who gets to be Saved?

The weighing of the heart in Egyptian lore is similar to how our hearts will be put in the balance — The Egyptian belief of the afterlife involves one's heart being weighed against justice before being brought to the gods' presence. Should the heart be deemed unworthy, it would be devoured.

Eventually, every soul that has ever lived on this earth, be it an hour or a century, will be reunited with his or her own body. Everyone will be restored to the nature and attributes of the person in this life. The difference will be that everyone’s body will be perfect and immortal and that we will have a perfect knowledge of all our actions in this life, be they for good or for evil (2 Nephi 9:13-15). In such a state, we will all be brought to the presence of God to be judged by the Son (John 5:22) who has selected certain men, such as His apostles, to aid Him (Matt. 19:28). Our decisions in this life will be seen then by all and we will be exposed at that moment. Undoubtedly, those that squandered their lives and wasted their chances will feel utterly naked, with nothing to shield them. Others who followed Christ more fully will be able to stand joyfully before God and behold His face without shame, having been cleansed through Christ.

Our Eternal Inheritance

See: Life after death part 2

The Judgment will be to divide the sons of men from the sons of God. Those that never accepted Christ, neither in this life nor in the spirit world, will receive Telestial glory, which is compared to the stars. Those who accept Christ, but were not valiant in their belief will receive Terrestrial glory, which is compared to the moon. The others who accept Christ fully and held onto that belief firmly throughout their lives will receive a Celestial glory, which is compared to the sun and is the presence of God. These comparisons to the sun, moon and stars illustrate the differences between these kingdoms. The moon can outshine any star but the sun outshines them all. Even the smallest amount of this glory is more than we can imagine here on Earth and even the most vile of sinners can receive a portion of this unimaginable happiness.

In summary, the Plan of Salvation is a plan of happiness and progress to build us up and strengthen us through Jesus Christ. We fall individually and have fallen collectively due to Adam but we can rise again to a higher plane. We may not know what exactly the future will hold, but we do know that a loving Heavenly Father has created a plan for us to return to His presence. He has provided the path and the means for us but it falls to us to accept them so that we can return to His presence.

Jesus the Christ

Among Christ’s titles is “Alpha and Omega,” signifying the first and last letters in the Greek alphabet. His influence can be felt from one end of eternity to the other, as well as all along the way. Every aspect of Mormonism focuses on Him; we revere Him as our God, our Creator, our Brother, and our King.

“In the Beginning…
…was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” (John 1:1-3)

Jesus, like all of us, existed before birth. He was an important figure in our premortal family as the birthright, first-begotten Son of the Father, and our eldest and wisest brother. As our leader, He championed the causes of justice, mercy and free will. He was appointed to be our Savior. We had faith in Him. We followed Him willingly and loved Him.

Under the Father’s direction, Jesus created the heavens and the earth. He made them beautiful and fruitful. But it wasn’t just an art project; earth was to be a testing ground for God’s children. Jesus said, “We will prove them herewith to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them;” (Abraham 3:25)

And command them, He did. Jesus is identified in the Old Testament as Jehovah, the great I Am. He told Noah to build an ark; He spoke to Moses face to face; it was His presence that rested upon the tabernacle of Israel within a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Over the centuries, He spoke to Samuel, Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lehi, Nephi, and many other noble prophets of Israel.

Their messages (which were always His message) were invariably teachings of repentance, obedience, and foretelling of the coming Messiah, who would one day deliver them.

“And the Word was made flesh…
…and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. He came unto his own, and his own received him not.” (John 1:14, 11)

birthofjesus Mary, a virgin maiden from Nazareth became miraculously pregnant: an angel appeared to her and said, “Behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.” (Luke 1:31) When He was born in Bethlehem, He became the only begotten Son of God in the flesh. From His mother, he inherited mortality; from His Father, he received power over death.

At the age of thirty, He began His ministry. Jesus was a profound teacher and a miracle worker. Although He was popular among common folks, He upset the status quo of the reigning religious leaders, and they opted to eliminate Him. They submitted Him to the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate to be executed.

christ-gethsemane He knew His execution was imminent, but something weightier was on His mind: the souls of all people. He had been chosen by the Father to be the sacrificial lamb — to atone for the sins of mankind. He prayed long and hard in the garden of Gethsemane that fateful night. At first He hesitated, pleading for some other way, “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine be done.” (Luke 22:42)

The consequences of sin are death and suffering. Jesus suffered in Gethsemane, then died by crucifixion on Calvary the following day.

But the sins were not His; they were ours.

Why did He do it? Jesus later spoke these words to the prophet Joseph Smith:

“For behold, I, God have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit–Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men.” (Doctrine & Covenants 19:16,18-19).

“He is not here, but is risen”
(Luke 23:6).

On the third day after His death, before He was even fully interred in his tomb, Jesus arose. He showed His fully-perfected physical body to Mary and to His disciples; they felt the nail prints in his hands and feet and knew it was the Lord. His ministry continued another forty days, long enough to more fully establish His Church with the apostles. Then “he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.” (Acts 1:9).

Why didn’t He stick around? For one thing, He had another pressing matter. He had earlier told His apostles, “Other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.” (John 10:16).

jesusteachinginthewesternhemisphere

We have record of at least one group of His “other sheep” in the Book of Mormon. He was met by the Nephites and Lamanites with celebration and enthusiasm (3 Nephi 11). We are certain He visited other groups, but we have not yet received records of these visits.

Jesus has remained alive in an immortal and perfect physical body ever since. He showed himself to Stephen, Saul, John, Mormon, Moroni, and many others, including the pious fourteen-year-old Joseph Smith. He has promised, “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8).

As in ancient times, the prophets dispense the Savior’s message to the world, including a witness “that He lives! For we saw him, even on the right hand of God;” (Doctrine & Covenants 76:22-23).

“The Lord himself shall descend…
…from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first” (1 Thessalonians 4:16).

jesus_returns

We still await the Savior’s triumphant second coming. He will reveal himself to everyone altogether then, and the graves of the righteous will open for their turn at resurrection.

We will all recognize Him as King (some with dismay or anxiety), “For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God” (Romans 14:11-12). He will reign personally for a thousand years; then, the wicked will finally be resurrected, and each of us who has lived in this world will receive our final judgment from Jesus the Christ.

And what better judge could we ask for? Jesus knows us best, having been among us from the very beginning. He created the world and even walked among us in mortality. He felt our pains and afflictions and temptations and death itself; all so He would know how to relieve us (see Alma 7:11-12). He is our righteous leader and king. We can have faith in Him. We can love Him with all our hearts.

Life After Death – Part 2

Most people tend to view life after death in the simple terms of heaven and hell. There is a place for the good people and a place for the bad people. In my last post, Life After Death Part 1, I explained that there is a temporary state between death and resurrection where everyone will be placed in prison or paradise. However, after resurrection (after Judgment Day), our eternal existence is somewhat more complex.

In 1832, Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon had been studying the bible and thinking. Joseph wrote that they came to a realization: “It appeared self-evident from what truths were left, that if God rewarded every one according to the deeds done in the body, the term ‘Heaven,’ as intended for the Saints’ eternal home, must include more kingdoms than one.” (Preface to Doctrine & Covenants 76, see also John 5:29) Subsequently, they beheld a vision in which the three degrees of glory were revealed to them. (Doctrine & Covenants 76)

kingdoms2

There is the Celestial Kingdom, the Terrestrial Kingdom, and the Telestial Kingdom. These are likened to the sun, the moon and the stars in their comparative glory. (Paul also spoke about these in 1 Corinthians 15:40-42) These kingdoms are varying degrees of “salvation”: everyone will receive salvation in some form or another, meaning all will be resurrected and placed in one of these kingdoms. The term “exaltation” however, is the highest form of salvation, reserved for those in the Celestial Kingdom.

Reserved for the most wicked is what is known as Outer Darkness. Those that will be cast into outer darkness and eternal damnation are those who deny the Holy Ghost. They are called “Sons of perdition” and this is not a title I would consider lightly. I do not believe it belongs to your “average” sinner. These are the baddest of the bad; they know the goodness of God and still choose to rebel.

Those in the Telestial Kingdom do not accept Christ as the Savior in this world or the Spirit World. I would say these are “bad” people. As verse 103 says, “These are they who are liars, and sorcerers, and adulterers, and whoremongers, and whosoever loves and makes a lie.”
Those in the Terrestrial Kingdom are good, decent people: people who are half-hearted, or complacent in their testimony. They are described as “honorable men of the earth who were blinded” and “not valiant in the testimony of Jesus.” (D&C 76:75,79)

christ Those in the Celestial Kingdom are those who accept Christ as the Savior, those who are faithful in their testimony and continuously strive to do the will of the Lord. These are those who endure to the end and follow Christ’s admonition to “be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect” (Matt. 5:48) This is the goal to strive for and it requires a life of faith, obedience, and dedication as we grow into the divine role for which we are intended.

I believe the things we should take from this knowledge are: 1) God has a plan, and 2) While it is a simple plan, it accommodates the complexities and ranges of His children and their faithfulness. We will be rewarded according to our steadfastness in keeping our covenants as we attain our divine potential.

See “The Plan of Salvation”

Life After Death – Part 1

mary_and_resurrected_lordjpg First of all, I hope everyone had a happy Easter!

Recently, there have been a number of articles posted here referring to our eternal nature and I think it’s time we discussed this. So, what do Mormons believe about the afterlife?

We believe, as do other Christians, that Christ died and three days later was resurrected. He overcame death and because He rose again, all mankind is freed from the bondage of death. Regardless of age, race, gender, religious beliefs, good actions or bad actions, everyone will be reunited with their bodies at the time of the resurrection, after Christ’s second coming.

But what happens in the meanwhile? Before becoming resurrected beings our spirits dwell in the spirit world. Those who accepted the gospel of Christ during their mortal lives will be in spirit paradise and those who did not, either due to ignorance or rejection, will be in spirit prison. There will be opportunities for those in spirit prison to accept the gospel of Christ as missionary work continues in the spirit world. It is here, in the spirit world, that Christ spent those three days while His body lay in the tomb (see Doctrine & Covenants 138:29-34).

Dale C. Mouritsen explained, “Peter refers to the spirit world as “prison,” and it is for some. (1 Pet. 3:18–20, 1 Pet. 4:6.) However, it is chiefly a place of learning and waiting, not a place of suffering. Here, those who did not have an opportunity in mortality to receive the gospel and those who had a partial opportunity but rejected it will be taught.” However, for those in spirit paradise, the spirit world will be a place of great activity as they will be the ones on whom the responsibility falls to spread the gospel message. There is much work to be done there!

For further reading, I recommend the following excellent articles:

“Because I live, ye shall live also”, President Ezra Taft Benson, Ensign Apr. 1993, 2

“Salvation for the Dead”, Liahona Jun 1992, 25

“The Spirit World, Our Next Home”, Dale C. Mouritsen, Liahona Dec. 1977, 3

“The Plan of Salvation”

<<Life After Death – Part 2>>