I have heard discussion among Church members about how much we can
change in the Spirit World after we die and what the consequences are for
waiting to change until then. Here are some scriptures that refer to this
situation:
Alma 34:32-35
32 For behold, this life is
the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is
the day for men to perform their labors.
33 And now, as I said unto
you before, as ye have had so many witnesses, therefore, I beseech of you that
ye do not procrastinate the day of your repentance until the end; for after
this day of life, which is given us to prepare for eternity, behold, if we do
not improve our time while in this life, then cometh the night of darkness
wherein there can be no labor performed.
34 Ye cannot say, when ye
are brought to that awful crisis, that I will repent, that I will return to my
God. Nay, ye cannot say this; 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.
35 For behold, if ye have
procrastinated the day of your repentance even until death, behold, ye have
become subjected to the spirit of the devil, and he doth seal you his;
therefore, the Spirit of the Lord hath withdrawn from you, and hath no place in
you, and the devil hath all power over you; and this is the final state of the
wicked.
Alma 12:24 And we see that death comes upon mankind, yea, the death which has been spoken of by Amulek, which is the temporal death; nevertheless there was a space granted unto man in which he might repent; therefore this life became a probationary state; a time to prepare to meet God.
Doctrine & Covenants 76:71, 73-74, 76
Doctrine & Covenants 76:71, 73-74, 76
71 And again, we saw the terrestrial world...
73 And also they who are the spirits of men kept in prison,
whom the Son visited, and preached the gospel unto them, that they might be
judged according to men in the flesh;
74 Who received not the testimony of Jesus in the flesh, but afterwards
received it.
76 These are they who receive of his glory,
but not of his fulness.
Doctrine & Covenants 137:7-8
7 Thus came the voice of the
Lord unto me, saying: 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;
8 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;
I often use the BYU
Scripture Citation Index to see what the Prophets and Apostles have said
about a particular scripture. The brown headings below are from this “BYU
Scripture Citation Index” and list the speaker and the General Conference
session it comes from:
1948–A:48, Bruce R. McConkie, Now Is the Day of Our Salvation
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 D&C 137:7-9 DHC 2:380; Teachings of the Prophet Joseph
Smith, p. 107).
There is no promise—that I know
anything about—that those who reject the gospel in this in this life will be
heirs of the celestial kingdom in the world to come.
Now the question naturally
arises, in the light of these principles and doctrines, "What happens to
those who have an opportunity to accept the truth in this life, but who fail or
neglect to do it, and who hereafter accept it in the spirit worlds." The
Lord has given us answer by revelation. Speaking of the terrestrial world, he
said: These are:
. . . they who are the spirits of
men kept in prison, whom the Son visited, and preached the gospel unto them,
that they might be judged according to men in the flesh;
1954–A:131, Marion G. Romney, “Labor Today”
In the light of
these teachings, it would seem to be most unwise to rely upon the doctrine of
the so-called second chance and wait until after death to perform our good
works. I am acquainted with the doctrine that those who have had no opportunity
to hear and receive the gospel in this life will have that opportunity in the
world to come, and I rejoice in it.
"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." (DHC 2:380; D&C 137:1-9
All this I accept with joy.
However, it does not teach, and I have never found anything in the scriptures nor
in the teachings of the prophets which encourages me to believe, that those who
have the gospel taught to them here will be able to make up their loss if they
choose to wait for the next life to obey it. I would not advise anyone to take
that chance. As I understand the scriptures, taking such a hazard would be
fatal.
Amulek, after speaking of "the night of darkness
wherein there can be no labor performed" Alma 34:33 added:
Ye cannot say, when ye are
brought to that awful crisis, that I will repent, that I will return to my God.
Nay, ye cannot say this; 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.
For behold, if ye have procrastinated the day of your
repentance even until death, behold, ye have become subjected to the spirit of
the devil, and he doth seal you his; therefore, the Spirit of the Lord hath
withdrawn from you, and hath no place in you, and the devil hath all power over
you; and this is the final state of the wicked Alma 34:34-35
I
believe and accept the comforting statement of Elder Orson F. Whitney:
“The
Prophet Joseph Smith declared—and he never taught more comforting doctrine—that
the eternal sealings of faithful parents and the divine promises made to them
for valiant service in the Cause of Truth, would save not only themselves, but
likewise their posterity. Though some of the sheep may wander, the eye of the
Shepherd is upon them, and sooner or later they will feel the tentacles of
Divine Providence reaching out after them and drawing them back to the fold.
Either in this life or the life to come, they will return. They will have to
pay their debt to justice; they will suffer for their sins; and may tread a
thorny path; but if it leads them at last, like the penitent Prodigal, to a
loving and forgiving father’s heart and home, the painful experience will not
have been in vain. Pray for your careless and disobedient children; hold on to
them with your faith. Hope on, trust on, till you see the salvation of God.”8 [In Conference Report, Apr. 1929, 110.]
A principle in this statement that is often overlooked is that
they must fully repent and “suffer for their sins” and “pay their debt to
justice.” I recognize that now is the time “to prepare to meet God.”9 Alma 34:32 If the repentance of the wayward children
does not happen in this life, is it still possible for the cords of the sealing
to be strong enough for them yet to work out their repentance? In the Doctrine
and Covenants we are told, “The dead who repent will be redeemed, through
obedience to the ordinances of the house of God,
“And after they
have paid the penalty of their transgressions, and are washed clean, shall
receive a reward according to their works, for they are heirs of salvation.”10 D&C
138:58–59
We remember that the prodigal son wasted his inheritance, and
when it was all gone he came back to his father’s house. There he was welcomed
back into the family, but his inheritance was spent.11 [See Luke 15:11–32 Mercy
will not rob justice, and the sealing power of faithful parents will only claim
wayward children upon the condition of their repentance and Christ’s Atonement.
Repentant wayward children will enjoy
salvation and all the blessings that go with it, but exaltation is much more.
It must be fully earned. The question as to who will be exalted must be left to
the Lord in His mercy.
There are very few whose rebellion and evil deeds are so great
that they have “sinned away the power to repent.”12[Alonzo
A. Hinckley, in Conference Report, Oct. 1919, 161.] That
judgment must also be left up to the Lord. He tells us, “I, the Lord, will
forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men.”13 D&C 64:10
Perhaps
in this life we are not given to fully understand how enduring the sealing
cords of righteous parents are to their children. It may very well be that
there are more helpful sources at work than we know.14 [See John K. Carmack, “When Our Children Go Astray,” Ensign, Feb.
1997, 7–13; Liahona, Mar. 1999, 28–37.] I believe
there is a strong familial pull as the influence of beloved ancestors continues
with us from the other side of the veil.
Do Not
Procrastinate Repentance
We should take
warning and not wait for the death-bed to repent, as we see the infant taken
away by death, so may the youth and middle-aged, as well as the infant be
suddenly called into eternity. Let this, then, prove as a warning to all not to
procrastinate repentance,3 or wait till a death-bed, for it is
the will of God that man should repent and serve Him4 in
health, and in the strength and power of his mind,5 in order to
secure his blessing, and not wait until he is called to die.
There was also an Ensign article by Elder Bednar that
discusses this question:
Statements by General Authorities of the Church describing
the influence of faithful parents on wayward children have been and continue to
be a source of great familial comfort.1 The
consolation arises from the hope these messages seem to proffer that parents
who honor gospel covenants, obey the Lord’s commandments, and serve faithfully
can influence the salvation of their sons and daughters who go astray. However, the interpretation of these
statements by some members of the Church has contributed to a measure of
doctrinal misunderstanding. The confusion derives from the apparent
inconsistency of these interpretations with the doctrine of the Atonement of
Jesus Christ and the principles of moral agency and individual accountability
for sins and transgressions.
The following quotation appears in Teachings of the Prophet
Joseph Smith, compiled by Joseph Fielding Smith during his service as Church
historian and recorder: “When a seal is put upon the father and mother, it
secures their posterity, so that they cannot be lost, but will be saved by
virtue of the covenant of their father and mother.”2
A similar teaching, apparently based on the statement by the
Prophet Joseph, was made by Elder Orson F. Whitney (1855–1906) of the Quorum of
the Twelve Apostles in 1929: “The Prophet Joseph Smith declared—and he never
taught more comforting doctrine—that the eternal sealings of faithful parents
and the divine promises made to them for valiant service in the Cause of Truth,
would save not only themselves, but likewise their posterity.
The statements by Joseph Smith and Orson F. Whitney are
construed by some members of the Church to mean that wayward children
unconditionally receive the blessings of salvation because of and through the
faithfulness of parents. However, this interpretation is moderated by the fact
that the most complete account of the Prophet’s sermon was not available to
Church historians at the time they compiled an amalgamated version of his
teachings from the notes of Willard Richards and William Clayton. In the more
complete set of notes recorded by Howard and Martha Coray, Joseph Smith is
shown to have qualified his statement to make the promised blessings
conditional upon the obedience of the children:
“When a father and mother of a family have [been sealed],
their children who have not transgressed are secured by the seal wherewith the
Parents have been sealed. And this is the Oath of God unto our Father Abraham
and this doctrine shall stand forever.”4
This clarification is more consistent doctrinally. Except
for the additional information contained in the Coray records, the concept of
unconditional salvation for disobedient children would contradict many
foundational teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, including the second
article of faith that “men will be punished for their own sins” (Articles of
Faith 1:2).
President James E. Faust (1920–2007), former Second
Counselor in the First Presidency, provided the most comprehensive explanation
of this eternally important concept:
[then Elder Bednar quotes extensively from President Faust’s talk that
is referenced above.]
President Faust’s teachings authoritatively summarize the
things we do and do not know about righteous parents and wayward children. The
influence of parents who honor covenants and obey commandments indeed can have
a decisive spiritual impact upon children who stray by activating the tentacles
of divine Providence—in ways that have not been revealed fully and are not
understood completely.
However, righteous parental influence
(1) does not replace in the life
of an individual the need for the redeeming and strengthening power of the
Atonement of Jesus Christ,
(2) does not overrule the
consequences of the unrighteous exercise of moral agency, and
(3) does not negate the
responsibility of an individual as an agent “to act … and not to be acted upon”
(2 Nephi 2:26).
Elder Neal A. Maxwell: https://www.lds.org/manual/introduction-to-family-history-student-manual/chapter-9?lang=eng
Elder Neal A. Maxwell: https://www.lds.org/manual/introduction-to-family-history-student-manual/chapter-9?lang=eng
“Sometimes in the Church we speak imprecisely … as if
individuals who die go immediately to the celestial kingdom and are at once in
the full presence of God. We tend to overlook the reality that the spirit world
and paradise are part, really, of the second estate. The work of the Lord, so
far as the second estate is concerned, is completed before the Judgment and the
Resurrection. …
“The veil of forgetfulness of the first estate apparently
will not be suddenly, automatically, and totally removed at the time of our
temporal death. This veil, a condition of our entire second estate, is
associated with and is part of our time of mortal trial, testing, proving, and
overcoming by faith—and thus will continue in some key respects into the spirit
world. …
“Thus, if not on this side of the veil, then in the spirit
world to come, the gospel will be preached to all, including all transgressors,
rebels, and rejectors of prophets, along with all those billions who died
without a knowledge of the gospel (D&C 138)” (The Promise of Discipleship
[2001], 119, 122).
