All Must Hear the Gospel Before Final Judgment
Joseph Smith
•
The great Jehovah contemplated the whole of the events connected with
the earth, pertaining to the plan of salvation, before it rolled into
existence, or ever “the morning stars sang together” for joy; the past,
the present, and the future were and are, with Him, one eternal “now;”
He knew of the fall of Adam, the iniquities of the antediluvians, of the
depth of iniquity that would be connected with the human family, their
weakness and strength, their power and glory, apostasies, their crimes,
their righteousness and iniquity; He comprehended the fall of man, and
his redemption; He knew the plan of salvation and pointed it out; He was
acquainted with the situation of all nations and with their destiny; He
ordered all things according to the council of His own will; He knows
the situation of both the living and the dead, and has made ample
provision for their redemption, according to their several
circumstances, and the laws of the kingdom of God, whether in this
world, or in the world to come. (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith,
p.220)
• All those who have
not had an opportunity of hearing the Gospel, and being administered
unto by an inspired man in the flesh, must have it hereafter, before
they can be finally judged. (History of the Church, 3:29)
Joseph Fielding Smith
• Of course, I
realize that there are thousands of people who have never heard the
gospel. They are not going to be punished for that. We cannot expect a
person to observe a commandment he has never heard. But all those who
have never had the privilege of hearing it will at some time have that
privilege. If it is not in this life it will be in the spirit world. And
every soul will have the opportunity to accept the mission of our
Savior Jesus Christ or to reject it. (Conference Report, April 1967, p.
121)
• The Lord has so
arranged his plan of redemption that all who have died without this
opportunity shall be given it in the spirit world. There the elders of
the Church who have died are proclaiming the gospel to the dead. All
those who did not have an opportunity here to receive it, who there
repent and receive the gospel, shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom
of God. (Doctrines of Salvation, 2:132-133)
Christ Organized the Work in the Spirit World
Joseph F. Smith (D&C 138)
25
I marveled, for I understood that the Savior spent about three years in
his ministry among the Jews and those of the house of Israel,
endeavoring to teach them the everlasting gospel and call them unto
repentance;
26 And
yet, notwithstanding his mighty works, and miracles, and proclamation of
the truth, in great power and authority, there were but few who
hearkened to his voice, and rejoiced in his presence, and received
salvation at his hands.
27
But his ministry among those who were dead was limited to the brief
time intervening between the crucifixion and his resurrection;
28
And I wondered at the words of Peter--wherein he said that the Son of
God preached unto the spirits in prison, who sometime were disobedient,
when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah--and how
it was possible for him to preach to those spirits and perform the
necessary labor among them in so short a time.
29
And as I wondered, my eyes were opened, and my understanding quickened,
and I perceived that the Lord went not in person among the wicked and
the disobedient who had rejected the truth, to teach them;
30
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.
31
And the chosen messengers went forth to declare the acceptable day of
the Lord and proclaim liberty to the captives who were bound, even unto
all who would repent of their sins and receive the gospel.
32
Thus was the gospel preached to those who had died in their sins,
without a knowledge of the truth, or in transgression, having rejected
the prophets.
36 Thus
was it made known that our Redeemer spent his time during his sojourn
in the world of spirits, instructing and preparing the faithful spirits
of the prophets who had testified of him in the flesh;
37
That they might carry the message of redemption unto all the dead, unto
whom he could not go personally, because of their rebellion and
transgression, that they through the ministration of his servants might
also hear his words.
What is Taught in Spirit Prison?
Joseph F. Smith (D&C 138)
33
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, 34 And all other principles of the gospel that were necessary
for them to know in order to qualify themselves that they might be
judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the
spirit. 35 And so it was made known among the dead, both small and
great, the unrighteous as well as the faithful, that redemption had been
wrought through the sacrifice of the Son of God upon the cross.
Neal A. Maxwell
Understandably
emphasized is vicarious baptism for the dead, because that ordinance is
absolutely essential for their cleansing and salvation. Furthermore,
the recipients can there by qualify to become members of The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by developing sufficient faith and
also by showing sufficient repentance in the spirit world. Typically, in
that connection, we here do not emphasize as much the other essential
part of what can happen vicariously – confirming Church membership and
the bestowal of the great gift of the Holy Ghost. Because the
accompanying and essential ordinances remain to be accomplished
vicariously on our side of the veil, it would be well if more of the
intensity characteristic of the work in the spirit world were displayed
by us in mortality. Indeed, the gifts of the Holy Ghost also help
recipients there to lend a hand and to function more effectively in the
spirit after they are empowered by the vicariously given gift of the
Holy Ghost! (The Promise of Discipleship, p. 109)
The Vastness of the Work in the Spirit World
Neal A. Maxwell
•
Often Church members suffer from a lack of perspective, perhaps
understandably, as to the vastness and intensity of the Lord’s work in
the spirit world. The scope is enormous! Demographers estimate that some
sixty to seventy billion people have lived on this planet thus far.
Without diminishing in any way the importance of the absolutely vital
and tandem work on this side of the veil, we do need a better grasp of
“things as they really will be” (Jacob 4:13). Otherwise, we can so
easily come to regard family history as a quaint hobby and its resulting
temple work as something we will get around to later. Not only does the
word vastness characterize the work there but so does intensity. (The
Promise of Discipleship, p. 105)
• Is one reason we
are not told more about the details of God’s work in the spirit world
perhaps the intimidating larger scale of things there? The scope of the
work there is so large that it might embarrass those of us here.
Probably twelve times the earth’s present population live there. For
sure, twelve times as many Presidents of the Church in this dispensation
alone are in residence and at work there! Perhaps God thus protects us
in our present provinciality from feeling diminished by considerations
of scale. (That Ye May Believe. Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1992, p 93)
Spirit Prison (or Hell) is a Place for Teaching, Disciplining, & Redemption
James E. Talmage
Hell
is no place to which a vindictive judge sends prisoners to suffer and
to be punished principally for his glory; but it is a place prepared for
the teaching, the disciplining of those who failed to learn here upon
the earth what they would have learned . . . No man will be kept in hell
longer than is necessary to bring him to a fitness for something
better. When he reaches that state, the prison doors will open and there
will be rejoicing among the hosts who welcome him into a better state.
(Conference Report, April 1930, p.97.)
Brigham Young
How
long the damned remain in hell, I know not nor what degree of suffering
they endure. If we could by any means compute how much wickedness they
are guilty of, it might be possible to ascertain the amount of suffering
they will receive. They will receive according as their deeds have been
while in the body. God’s punishment is eternal, but that does not prove
that a wicked person will remain eternally in a state of punishment.
(Journal of Discourse, 9:147-148.)
Harold B. Lee
To
those who are righteous, it will be a paradise. There they will rest
from all their earthly labors, and there shall be peace and harmony, joy
and love, all described by a great Book of Mormon prophet. But to those
who die in their wicked state, not having repented, the scriptures say
the devil shall seal them as his own (see Alma 34:35), which means that
until they have paid the uttermost farthing for what they have done,
they shall not be redeemed from his grasp. When they shall have been
subjected to the buffetings of Satan sufficient to have satisfied
justice, then they shall be brought forth out of the grasp of Satan and
shall be assigned to that place in our Father’s celestial, terrestrial,
or telestial world merited by their life here upon this earth. (The
Teachings of Harold B. Lee, p. 59)
Joseph Fielding Smith
•
Paradise is a term which means a place of departed spirits according to
the Prophet Joseph Smith. “Hades, the Greek, or Sheol, the Hebrew,
these two significations mean a world of spirits.” (Teachings of the
Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 310.) Before the resurrection of Christ, the
wicked were shut up in darkness and were not visited. In this awful
state they suffered the torment of their consciences not knowing what
their fate would be, just as Alma has pictured it. We are given further
light on the condition of the wicked in this spirit world from the words
of the Lord to Enoch.
“But
behold, their sins shall be upon the heads of their fathers; Satan
shall be their father, and misery shall be their doom; and the whole
heavens shall weep over them, even all the workmanship of mine hands;
wherefore should not the heavens weep, seeing these shall suffer?
“But
behold, these which thine eyes are upon shall perish in the floods; and
behold, I will shut them up; a prison have I prepared for them. “And
That which I have chosen hath plead before my face. Wherefore, he
suffereth for their sins; inasmuch as they will repent in the day that
my Chosen shall return unto me, and until that day they shall be in
torment. Wherefore, for this shall the heavens weep, yea, and all the
workmanship of mine hands.” (Moses 7:37-40.)
From
these paragraphs we learn that the Lord does not delight in punishment,
however there is the demand of justice which must be met, and therefore
the wicked are forced to suffer, and this suffering helps to cleanse
them from their sins. Before the visit of our Savior to the spirit world
there was a gulf separating the righteous from the wicked, and the
wicked were evidently without knowledge as to what fate awaited them.
(Luke 16:19-31.) Savior after his crucifixion bridged this gulf and the
gospel was carried to those who sat in this darkness and through the
instruction of those who held the priesthood, these miserable spirits
were taught the gospel. They were granted some measure of blessing
according to their works on earth and according to their opportunity or
lack of it, to hear the gospel when living on the earth, and accept the
same in the spirit world. (Answers to Gospel Questions, 2:84
• Why did he preach to these disobedient spirits?
Surely
not to increase their torments, to taunt them for not accepting of his
truth in the days of the prophets! Was it to tantalize them and make
them more miserable because of the blessings they had lost! Jesus was a
merciful Redeemer, who suffered as no other man suffered that he might
save the children of his Father. He would take no pleasure in the
suffering of the wicked.
It
was his nature to plead for them, to entreat his Father for mercy in
their behalf. Therefore, whatever his mission was, it was one of mercy
and comfort to those prisoners. Peter tells us that the object of his
visit was that the gospel might be preached also to the dead, “that they
might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to
God in the spirit.”
The
visit of Christ to the spirits in prison was not made in vengeance, to
show them that he had power to triumph over the grave, while they, who
died without the remission of their sins, should remain in that
condition of punishment forever. He took the glorious message of the
gospel and proclaimed it to the dead with the promise that they, if they
would obey it, should partake of its blessings.
What
good reason can be given why the Lord should not forgive sins in the
world to come? Why should man suffer throughout the countless ages of
eternity for his sins committed here, if those sins are not unto death?
There are many good, honorable men who have wilfully wronged no man,
have lived to the best of their opportunities, righteously, yet have not
received the gospel, for one reason or another. Where would be the
justice in condemning them forever in hell, “where their worm dieth not,
and the fire is not quenched?”
We
learn from the Doctrine and Covenants that eternal punishment, or
everlasting punishment, does not mean that a man condemned will endure
this punishment forever, but it is everlasting and eternal because it is
God’s punishment, and he is Everlasting and Eternal. Therefore, when a
man pays the penalty of his misdeeds and humbly repents, receiving the
gospel, he comes out of the prison house and is assigned to some degree
of glory according to his worth and merit.... That sins are forgiven in
the world to come, we need only refer to the words of the Savior: “All
manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the
blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And
whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven
him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be
forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.” This
shows that some sins will be forgiven in the world to come. We are also
informed in First Corinthians that, “If in this life only we have hope
in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. But we have hope in Christ
both in this life and in the life to come. (Doctrines of Salvation,
2:159-161)
The Faithful in Mortality Preach to the Spirits in Prison
Joseph Smith
Now,
all those [who] die in the faith go to the prison of spirits to preach
to the dead in body, but they are alive in the spirit; and those spirits
preach to the spirits that they may live according to God in the
spirit, and men do minister for them in the flesh; and angels bear the
glad tidings to the spirits, and they are made happy by these means.
(The Words of Joseph Smith, p. 370)
Joseph F. Smith
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. (D&C 138:57)
Wilford Woodruff
•
When Joseph Smith had laid the foundation of this word he was taken
away. There are good reasons why it was so. Jesus sealed his testimony
with his blood. Joseph Smith did the same, and from the day he died his
testimony has been in force upon the whole world. He has gone into the
spirit world and organized this dispensation on that side of the veil;
he is gathering together the elders of Israel and the Saints of God in
the spirit world, for they have a work to do there as well as here.
Joseph and Hyrum Smith, Father Smith, David Patten and the other elders
who have been called to the other side of the veil have fifty times as
many people to preach to as we have on the earth. There they have all
the spirits who have lived on the earth in seventeen centuries – fifty
generations, fifty thousand millions of persons who lived and died here
without having seen a prophet or apostle, and without having the word of
the Lord sent unto them. They are shut up in prison, awaiting the
message of the elders of Israel. We have only about a thousand millions
of people on the earth, but in the spirit world they have fifty thousand
millions; and there is not a single revelation which gives us any
reason to believe that any man who enters the spirit world preached the
gospel there to those who lived after him; but they all preach to men
who were in the flesh before they were. Jesus himself preached to the
antediluvian world, who had been in prison for thousands of years. So
with Joseph Smith and the elders – they will have to preach to the
inhabitants of the earth who have died during the last seventeen
centuries; and when they hear the testimony of the elders and accept it
there should be somebody on the earth, as we have been told, to attend
to the ordinances of the house of God for them. (The Discourses of
Wilford Woodruff, p.151)
• The same
priesthood exists on the other side of the veil. Every man who is
faithful is in his quorum there. When a man dies and his body is laid in
the tomb, he does not lose his position. The prophet Joseph Smith held
the keys of this dispensation on this side of the veil, and he will hold
them throughout the countless ages of eternity. He went into the spirit
world to unlock the prison doors and to preach the gospel to the
millions of spirits who are in darkness, and 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, and there is a thousand times more to preach there than there
is here. (The Discourses of Wilford Woodruff, p.77)
• I have felt of
late as if our brethren on the other side of the veil had held a
council, and that they had said to this one, and that one, “Cease thy
work on earth, come hence, we need help,” and they have called this man
and that man. It has appeared so to me in seeing the many men who have
been called from our midst lately. (The Discourses of Wilford Woodruff,
p.77)
• And I will here
say that every elder of Israel who lays down his life, whether he dies
in his bed, or is put to death by the enemies of truth, when he goes
into the spirit world his works follow him, and he rests in peace. The
priesthood is not taken from him, and he has thousands more to preach to
there than he ever had here in the flesh. But it depends upon the
living here to erect temples, that the ordinances for the dead may be
attended to, for by and by you will meet your progenitors in the spirit
world who never heard the sound of the gospel. You who are here in Zion
have power to be baptized for and to redeem your dead. (The Discourses
of Wilford Woodruff, p.77)
Ezra Taft Benson
•
The death of a righteous individual is both an honorable release and a
call to new labors. (President Nathan Eldon Tanner Funeral Service, Salt
Lake City, Utah, 30 November 1982.) [Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson,
p.33]
• The work to be
done on the other side of the veil is far more extensive than here.
There, billions must hear the gospel preached. Joseph F. Smith, sixth
President of the Church, received this revelation: “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” (D&C 138:57).
Bruce
R. McConkie will continue his ministry there – only on a much more
enlarged and expanded scale. Amelia and family members, I pray the
benediction of our Heavenly Father’s Spirit on all of you that you may
have the perfect peace and assurance that our Heavenly Father’s will was
done in the calling of your husband and father to the other side of the
veil. His ministry will carry forward as he now joins with other
prophets of this dispensation in furthering the work of the Lord which
he loves so much. (Bruce R. McConkie Funeral Service, Salt Lake City,
Utah, 23 April 1985.) [Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, p.36)
• We preside over
the great redemptive work for the dead. Before the Savior can present
this kingdom to His Father, all the descendants of Shem, Ham and Japheth
who have not received the gospel in the flesh must have the opportunity
to hear the gospel. That work is going forward on the other side of the
veil with greater acceleration than it is here. Our work is to
officiate in the temples of God for them. We don’t build temples until
the Church is well established in a country. Our predecessors have
prophesied that temples will dot the landscape of North and South
America, the isles of the Pacific, Europe, and elsewhere. If this
redemptive work is to be done on the scale it must be, hundreds of
temples will be needed. Our first step then is to see that nations are
opened to receive the gospel so that stakes may be established.
(Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, p.247)
Brigham Young
•
The spirits that dwell in these tabernacles on this earth, when they
leave them go directly into this world of spirits. What! A congregated
mass of inhabitants there in spirit, mingling with each other, as they
do here? Yes, brethren, they are there together, and if they associate
together, and collect together, in clans and in societies as they do
here, it is their privilege. No doubt they yet, more or less, see, hear,
converse and have to do with each other, both good and bad. If the
Elders of Israel in these latter times go and preach to the spirits in
prison, they associate with them, precisely as our Elders associate with
the wicked in the flesh, when they go to preach to them. (Discourses of
Brigham Young, p.378)
• They are just as
busy in the spirit world as you and I are here. They can see us, but we
cannot see them unless our eyes were opened. What are they doing there?
They are preaching, preaching all the time, and preparing the way for us
to hasten our work in building temples here and elsewhere, and to go
back to Jackson County and build the great temple of the Lord. They are
hurrying to get ready by the time we are ready, and we are all hurrying
to get ready by the time our Elder Brother is ready. (Discourses of
Brigham Young, p.378)
• Suppose, then,
that a man is evil in his heart – wholly given up to wickedness, and in
that condition dies, his spirit will enter into the spirit world intent
upon evil. On the other hand, if we are striving with all the powers and
faculties God has given us to improve upon our talents, to prepare
ourselves to dwell in eternal life, and the grave receives our bodies
while we are thus engaged, with what disposition will our spirits enter
their next state? They will be still striving to do the things of God,
only in a much greater degree -- learning, increasing, growing in grace
and in the knowledge of the truth. (Discourses of Brigham Young, p.379)
• Spirits are just
as familiar with spirits as bodies are with bodies, though spirits are
composed of matter so refined as not to be tangible to this coarser
organization. They walk, converse, and have their meetings; and the
spirits of good men like Joseph and the Elders who have left this Church
on earth for a season to operate in another sphere, are rallying all
their powers and going from place to place preaching the Gospel, and
Joseph is directing them, saying, go ahead my brethren, and if they
hedge up your way, walk up and command them to disperse. You have the
Priesthood and can disperse them, but if any of them wish to hear the
Gospel, preach to them. (Discourses of Brigham Young, p.379)
Those on the Other Side are in a Hurry Doing the Work
Wilford Woodruff
I
will say here that in my dreams I have had a great many visits from the
Prophet Joseph since his death. The last time I met him was in the
spirit world. I met him at the Temple. He spoke to me. Calling me by
name, he said, “I cannot stop to talk to you, for I am in a hurry.” I
met Father Smith. He, too, said to me, “I am in a hurry.” I met a great
many of the Apostles and others who are in the spirit world, and they
all seemed to be in a hurry. I marveled at this, and wondered very
greatly in my mind why anybody should be in a hurry in the Paradise of
God.
I had an
interview with the Prophet Joseph afterwards and asked him the question,
“Why are you all in such a hurry here?” I said, “I have always been in a
hurry in the world since I was born, but I thought there would be no
occasion for it when I died and entered the spirit world.” He replied,
“Well, I will tell you: The Prophets and Apostles in this dispensation
have had no time nor opportunity to prepare themselves to go to the
earth with the great bridegroom when He goes to meet the bride, the
Lamb’s wife. We in this dispensation have not had time. We have first as
much work to perform, to prepare ourselves, as in other dispensations.”
...
I have had a many interviews with President Young since he died, a
great many teachings from him, and from others who held important
positions here in the flesh, but who have gone into the spirit world,
and seem, in a measure, to have an interest and watch-care over the
Church and Kingdom of God though they have passed to the other side of
the veil. (Collected Discourses, Vol.2,October 4, 1890)
Spirits Have Agency to Repent or Reject the Gospel
Orson Pratt
It
is intended that, in these sacred and holy places, appointed, set apart
and dedicated by the command of the Almighty, genealogies shall be
revealed, and that the living shall officiate for the dead, that those
who have not had the opportunity while in the flesh in past generations
to obey the Gospel, might have their friends now living, officiate for
them. This does not destroy their agency, for although they laid down
their bodies and went to their graves in a day of darkness, and they are
now mingled with the hosts of spirits in the eternal worlds, their
agency still continues, and that agency gives them power to believe in
Jesus Christ there, just as well as we can who are here. Those spirits
on the other side of the veil can repent just the same as we, in the
flesh, can repent. Faith in God and in his son Jesus Christ, and
repentance are acts of the mind--mental operations--but when it comes to
baptism for the remission of sins they cannot perform that, we act for
them, that having been ordained to be performed in the flesh. They can
receive the benefit of whatever is done for them here, and whatever the
Lord God commands his people here in the flesh to do for them will be
published to them there by those holding the everlasting Priesthood of
the Son of God. If, when the Gospel is preached to them there, they will
believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, they will receive the benefits of the
ordinances performed on their behalf here, and they will be partakers,
with their kindred, of all the blessings of the fullness of the Gospel
of the Son of God; but if they will not do this they will be bound over
in chains of darkness until the judgment of the great day, when they
will be judged according to men in the flesh. We are here in the flesh,
and the same Gospel that condemns the disobedient and the sinner here,
will, by the same law, condemn those who are on the other side of the
veil. (Journal of Discourses, 15:51)
Not All Will Accept the Gospel
Joseph Fielding Smith
I
have no idea in my mind that every soul that has lived upon the face of
the earth, who has died and gone to the spirit world, is going to
repent and receive the gospel. There will be many that will not do that.
Our scriptures point to that fact. They are not going to receive the
gospel in the spirit world, when their souls are full of bitterness and
hate towards the truth, but they have a right to have it taught to them.
(Conference Report, 1959, p. 23).
Evil Spirits Hinder the Preaching of the Gospel
Brigham Young
Those
who have died without the Gospel are continually afflicted by those
evil spirits, who say to them--“Do not go to hear that man Joseph Smith
preach, or David Patten, or any of their associates, for they are
deceivers.” (Journal of Discourses, 3:371)
Our Progenitors will Most Likely Accept the Gospel
Wilford Woodruff
Another
principle connected with this subject I want to talk about. A man has
married a woman, and they have a family of children. The man lays down
in death without ever hearing the Gospel. The wife afterwards hears the
Gospel and embraces it. She comes to the temple and she wants to be
sealed to her husband, who was a good man. The feeling has been to deny
this and to say, “No, he is not in the Church, and you cannot be sealed
to your husband.” Many a woman’s heart has ached because of this, and as
a servant of God I have broken that chain a good while ago. I have laid
before every woman this principle and let her have her choice. Why
deprive a woman of being sealed to her husband because he never heard
the Gospel? What do any of us know with regard to him? Will he not hear
the Gospel and embrace it in the spirit world? Look at Joseph Smith. Not
one of Joseph Smith’s fathers or brothers or sisters were in the
covenant when he received the keys of the kingdom of God and translated
the Book of Mormon. They afterwards received it. Every brother and
sister that he had, and his father and his father’s brothers, except
Uncle Jesse Smith, embraced the Gospel. Now, suppose that any of these
had died before they had the opportunity of entering into the covenant
with the Lord through the Gospel, as his brother Alvin did; they would
have been in the same position as Alvin, concerning whom the Lord, when
Joseph saw him in the celestial kingdom, said: “All who have died
without a knowledge of this Gospel, who would have received it if they
had been permitted to tarry, shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom of
God; also all that shall die henceforth without a knowledge of it, who
would have received it with all their hearts, shall be heirs of that
kingdom, for I, the Lord, will judge all men according to their works,
according to the desire of their hearts.” So it will be with your
fathers. There will be very few, if any, who will not accept the Gospel.
Jesus while His body lay in the tomb, went and preached to the spirits
in prison, who were destroyed in the days of Noah. After so long an
imprisonment, in torment, they doubtless gladly embraced the Gospel, and
if so they will be saved in the kingdom of God. The fathers of this
people will embrace the Gospel. It is my duty to honor my father who
begot me in the flesh. It is your duty to do the same. When you do this,
the Spirit of God will be with you. (Messages of the First Presidency,
3:257-258)
Joseph Fielding Smith
It is our opportunity, in this dispensation, and our privilege and duty to spend our time in searching out our dead. We are of the house of Israel. We learn that through revelation; and that being true, then we reach the conclusion, unless we have been adopted through the gospel and were gentiles, that our ancestors were also of the house of Israel. In other words, the promise made to Abraham, that through the scattering of his seed all nations would be blessed, has been fulfilled, and our lineage has come down generation after generation through the loins of Abraham and the loins of Israel. Therefore our fathers are more likely to receive the gospel (if they did not hear it in this life, to receive it in the spirit world), than are those whose descendants are not in the Church and who refused to receive the gospel here. (Doctrines of Salvation, 2:133)
Honorable Mortals Most Likely Will Accept the Gospel
Neal A. Maxwell
Surely those just and honorable mortals who have done so well here with the light they have received are the most likely to respond in paradise and the spirit world, when the fulness of the light of the gospel is given to them there. Consider the comments of the Prophet Joseph Smith about the important role of spiritual knowledge:
“Knowledge does away darkness, suspense and doubt, for where Knowledge is there is no doubt nor suspense nor darkness. There is no pain so awful as the pain of suspense. This is the condemnation of the wicked; their doubt and anxiety and suspense causes weeping and gnashing of teeth.”[Joseph Smith, The Words of Joseph Smith. A. Ehat, and L. Cook (Ed.s). Provo, UT: Grandin, 1991, p. 183]
The “pain of suspense” apparently will necessarily operate to some extent in the spirit prison because of uncertainty–along with a price to be paid as part of repentance for transgressions. The Prophet Joseph also said:
“A man is his own tormentor and his own condemner. Hence the saying, They shall go into the lake that burns with fire and brimstone. The torment of disappointment in the mind of man is as exquisite as a lake burning with fire and brimstone. I say, so is the torment of man.” [Joseph Smith, The History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint, 1932-51, 6:314].
The word prison carries with it the connotation of “a state of confinement,” including a conceptual confinement. The Prophet Joseph Smith said, for instance, that God has “made ample provision for their redemption, according to their several circumstance,... Whether in this world, or in the world to come.” [Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1938, p. 220]
The Prophet also consoled: “God has administrators in the eternal world to release those spirits from Prison. The ordinances being administered by proxy upon them, the law is fulfilled.” [Joseph Smith, The Words of Joseph Smith. A. Ehat, and L. Cook (Ed.s). Provo, UT: Grandin, 1991, p. 372]
Likewise, the Prophet, wen speaking of us and our chance to become “saviors... on Mount Zion,” instructed as to how the merciful salvation for the dead “places the human family upon an equal footing, and harmonizes with every principle of righteousness, justice and truth.” [Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1938, p. 223] (The Promise of Discipleship, pp. 111- 113)
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