“S” is for the Spirit World

“…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. 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 should rest from all their troubles and from all care, and sorrow. The spirits of the wicked, yea, who are evil—for behold, they have no part nor portion of the Spirit of the Lord;…shall be cast out into outer darkness.¹”

Most Christian churches agree that when a person dies there is a separation of the physical body and the immortal soul. Most also agree that the physical body remains in the tomb while our spirit returns to our Heavenly Father or goes down to Hell to stay with the devil. Many think that that is the way things remain, ignoring the importance of the Resurrection; but the LDS believe that the resurrection is the reunion of the soul and the physical body to be led before the judgment bar.

So then, what happens to our spirit in the time between the physical death and the resurrection? According to Alma, a prophet in the Book of Mormon, the righteous spirits are taken into a state of happiness, or paradise, whereas the spirits of those who have lived evil lives will be sent into outer darkness, or to a spirit prison, where they will be preached the gospel.²

And so, the spirit world is not our final destination, but it will be decided at the Judgment Day, which immediately follows the resurrection. People who have visited the spirit world have said that life there is very similar to how it is here, without pain and suffering, for those living in Paradise, but there is no idleness: all are employed in some continuing task, or continuing to learn. It is not a place or condition to be feared, but one where peace and joy abide.

¹Alma 40:11,12,13

²1 Peter 3:19; 4:6

 

© April 22, 2015. Mary E. Purpari. All Rights Reserved.

“F” is for Faith

Faith: a strong or unshakeable belief in something, especially without proof or evidence; a trust in God and in his actions or promises.¹ The Book of Mormon defines faith as not having a perfect knowledge of things, but having things means to have hope in things that can’t be seen, but which are true.²

The fourth Article of Faith declares: “We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: First, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ…”³ The reason behind this is stated quite clearly in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave His Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth (has faith in) in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Therefore, faith is essential for anyone who wishes to enter God’s kingdom and gain eternal life therein.

But faith needs also to be nurtured, just like anything else. Faith that has not been nurtured will not grow, nor will it be able to withstand the difficulties and trials that life will throw at it if not nurtured. It is like a farmer who plants seeds in a field; he has faith that he will have a good crop, followed by a good harvest. But, if he doesn’t water the plants, pull the weeds, loosen the soil around the plants and eliminate parasites, his faith that the seeds will grow will probably avail him very little, because without proper care, the seeds will probably die.

James said, “What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and hath not works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body, what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.”⁴

¹Reverso Dictionary

² Alma 32:21; also see the entire chapter 32.(Book of Mormon)

³ Articles of Faith, 4

⁴ James 2:14-17 (New Testament)

“E” is for Easter: the Atonement and the Resurrection

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.”¹

Easter is one of my two favorite holidays. It is the day that we, together with all Christianity celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. However, we believe that every person who has ever lived, because when Jesus rose from the dead, He triumphed over the physical death that was brought upon the world through Adam’s transgression, for all mankind, regardless of who they are.² The resurrection is the literal reuniting of our soul with our physical body, rendered immortal. As Job said, “And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.”³

The part of Easter that is so important for believers in Christ actually began several days before Easter Sunday, in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus, knowing what was to come, withdrew to a solitary place, asking his closest friends to wait for him and to keep watch. There, he took upon himself the weight of the sins of the people of the world. The physical and spiritual pain that He alone could bear was so great that the scriptures say that he “bled from every pore”.⁴ And after he had finished praying, he went out and found that his friends had fallen asleep and that he had been betrayed by one of his own disciples into the hands of those who wished him no good.

Still bearing the weight of the world’s sins, mocked, derided, and whipped, a thorn crown pushed onto his head he was dragged from one illegal “kangaroo court” to another, until he was condemned to die on the cross by the same people he had come to save. And there, in the midst of thieves, he completed His atonement, for all those who would accept the gift of his sacrifice, with the words, “It is finished”.⁵

“We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.”⁶ 

 

¹John 3:16

²1 Corinthians 15:21-24

³Job 19:26

⁴Luke 22:44

⁵John 19:28-30

⁶The Articles of Faith

The painting in the upper left corner: The Crucifixion of Christ, by Harry Anderson

The statue on the Right: The Christus, by Thorvaldsen