As
I read 3 Nephi 9 & 10 this morning, I couldn’t help but ponder the
questions asked by my granddaughter on the way to the temple the other
morning. She peppered me with questions
faster than I could adequately answer them.
Reading this morning just generated more questions. I think I found an article that beautifully
answered them. Here is my meandering.
The
long-awaited destruction at the death of Christ has come and those whose lives
were spared are sitting in the dark wondering what’s next. After the three days of darkness came a voice
– the voice of Christ! Wo, Wo, Wo he
says. Whenever we read three “wo’s” in a
row, we need to take careful notice of who is talking and what is being
said.
When
I read this today, the words “. . . the devil laugheth and his angels rejoice,
because of the slain of the fair sons and daughters of my people. . .” This stopped me in my tracks this
morning. My grandson has me reading
Percy Jackson. It’s not really my kind
of reading, but it makes him so happy that I’ll read it, that I force
myself. At any rate, there is a whole
lot of crazy, evil creatures (They are called Gods in the book. Highly unlikely.) and they are constantly
gloating over the loss of the good guys, i.e. Percy’s friends who disappear
because of whatever. They are actually
trying to get to Percy who is a really good kid. I saw the devil in these creatures this
morning. I don’t know that it has any
real meaning - just a thought.
But
there is no doubt in my mind that the devil finds sick joy in the destruction
of God’s people. I’ve noticed that
whenever a good person slips up, there are plenty of other misguided people who
will embrace that person and carefully lead them down the road to further destruction,
and it is a spiraling effect.
Another
thing that was interesting to me is that Christ made it clear that only the
more righteous people had been spared and that those who cast out the prophets,
murdered them and stoned them to death were the ones who were buried or burned
in the destruction that took place throughout the land. This would have been interesting to see
because we know that rain falls and the sun shines on the righteous as well as
the wicked. And the Savior said he
wanted them out of his sight because they were so evil. So where did they go?
According
to the words of Alma to his son, Corianton, they went back to that God who gave
them life. That was Jesus Christ!
Alma
40:11-14 makes it clear how this looks:
11 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.
12 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.
13 And then shall it come to pass, that 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.
14 Now this is the state of the souls of the wicked, yea, in darkness, and a state of awful, fearful looking for the fiery indignation of the wrath of God upon them; thus they remain in this state, as well as the righteous in paradise
until the time of their resurrection.
I
did a little research and came across this article – worth including here:
President Brigham Young taught that the postmortal spirit world
is on the earth, around us (see Teachings
of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young[1997], 279).
Spirit beings have the same bodily form as mortals except that
the spirit body is in perfect form (see Ether
3:16). Spirits carry with them from earth their attitudes of
devotion or antagonism toward things of righteousness (see Alma
34:34). They have the same appetites and desires that they had when
they lived on earth. All spirits are in adult form. They were adults before
their mortal existence, and they are in adult form after death, even if they
die as infants or children (see Teachings
of Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith [1998], 131–32).
The prophet Alma in the Book of Mormon taught about two
divisions or states in the spirit world.
Paradise.
According to the prophet Alma, the righteous spirits rest from earthly care and
sorrow. Nevertheless, they are occupied in doing the work of the Lord.
President Joseph F. Smith saw in a vision that immediately after Jesus Christ
was crucified, He visited the righteous in the spirit world. He appointed
messengers, gave them power and authority, and commissioned them to “carry the
light of the gospel to them that were in darkness, even to all the spirits of
men” (D&C 138:30).
The Church is organized in the spirit world, and priesthood
holders continue their responsibilities there (see D&C 138:30). President Wilford Woodruff
taught: “The same Priesthood exists on the other side of the veil. … Every
Apostle, every Seventy, every Elder, etc., who has died in the faith as soon as
he passes to the other side of the veil, enters into the work of the ministry”
(Deseret News, Jan. 25, 1882, 818).
Family relationships are also important. President Jedediah M.
Grant, a counselor to Brigham Young, saw the spirit world and described to
Heber C. Kimball the organization that exists there:
“He said that the people he there saw were organized in family
capacities. … He said, ‘When I looked at families, there was a deficiency in
some, … for I saw families that would not be permitted to come and dwell
together, because they had not honored their calling here’” (Deseret News,
Dec. 10, 1856, 316–17).
Spirit Prison. The Apostle Peter referred to the postmortal spirit world as a
prison, which it is for some (see 1 Peter
3:18–20). In the spirit prison are the spirits of those who have not
yet received the gospel of Jesus Christ. These spirits have agency and may be
enticed by both good and evil. The spirits may progress as they learn gospel
principles and live in accordance with them. The spirits in paradise can teach
the spirits in prison (see D&C 138). If they accept the gospel and
the ordinances performed for them in the temples, they may leave the spirit
prison and dwell in paradise.
Also in the spirit prison are those who rejected the gospel
after it was preached to them either on earth or in the spirit prison. These
spirits suffer in a condition known as hell. They have removed themselves from
the mercy of Jesus Christ, who said, “Behold, I, God, have suffered these
things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; but if they
would not repent they must suffer even as I; 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” (D&C 19:16–18). After suffering for their
sins, they will be allowed, through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, to inherit
the lowest degree of glory, which is the Telestial kingdom.
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