9 Therefore, there is a time appointed unto men that they shall rise from the dead; and there is a space between the time of death and the resurrection. And now, concerning this space of time, what becometh of the souls of men is the thing which I have inquired diligently of the Lord to know; and this is the thing of which I do know. 10 And when the time cometh when all shall rise, then shall they know that God
aknoweth all the
btimes which are appointed unto man.
11 Now, concerning the
astate of the soul between
bdeath 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
ctaken dhome 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
ahappiness, which is called
bparadise, a state of rest, a state of
cpeace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care, and sorrow.
13 And then shall it come to pass, that the
aspirits 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
bdevil did enter into them, and take possession of their house—and these shall be cast out into outer
cdarkness; there shall be
dweeping, 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
asouls of the
bwicked, yea, in darkness, and a state of awful,
cfearful looking for the fiery
dindignation of the wrath of God upon them; thus they remain in this
estate, as well as the righteous in paradise, until the time of their resurrection.
15 Now, there are some that have understood that this state of happiness and this state of misery of the soul, before the resurrection, was a first resurrection. Yea, I admit it may be termed a resurrection, the
araising of the spirit or the soul and their consignation to happiness or misery, according to the words which have been spoken.
16 And behold, again it hath been spoken, that there is a
afirst bresurrection, a resurrection of all those who have been, or who are, or who shall be, down to the resurrection of Christ from the dead.
17 Now, we do not suppose that this first resurrection, which is spoken of in this manner, can be the resurrection of the souls and their
aconsignation to happiness or misery. Ye cannot suppose that this is what it meaneth.
18 Behold, I say unto you, Nay; but it meaneth the
areuniting of the soul with the body, of those from the days of Adam down to the resurrection of Christ.
19 Now, whether the souls and the bodies of those of whom has been spoken shall all be reunited at once, the wicked as well as the righteous, I do not say; let it suffice, that I say that they all come forth; or in other words, their resurrection cometh to pass
abefore the resurrection of those who die after the resurrection of Christ.
20 Now, my son, I do not say that their resurrection cometh at the resurrection of Christ; but behold, I give it as my opinion, that the souls and the bodies are reunited, of the righteous, at the resurrection of Christ, and his
aascension into heaven.
21 But whether it be at his resurrection or after, I do not say; but this much I say, that there is a
aspace between death and the resurrection of the body, and a state of the soul in
bhappiness or in
cmisery until the time which is appointed of God that the dead shall come forth, and be reunited, both soul and body, and be
dbrought to stand before God, and be judged according to their works.
22 Yea, this bringeth about the restoration of those things of which has been spoken by the mouths of the prophets.
23
The asoul shall be brestored to the cbody, and the body to the soul; yea, and every limb and joint shall be restored to its body; yea, even a dhair of the head shall not be lost; but all things shall be restored to their proper and eperfect frame. 24 And now, my son, this is the restoration of which has been
aspoken by the mouths of the prophets—
25 And then shall the
arighteous shine forth in the kingdom of God.
26 But behold, an awful adeath cometh upon the wicked; for they die as to things pertaining to things of righteousness; for they are unclean, and bno unclean thing can inherit the kingdom of God; but they are cast out, and consigned to partake of the fruits of their labors or their works, which have been evil; and they drink the dregs of a bitter ccup. THE BOOK OF ALMA
THE SON OF ALMA
CHAPTER 41
In the resurrection men come forth to a state of endless happiness or endless misery—Wickedness never was happiness—Carnal men are without God in the world—Every person receives again in the restoration the characteristics and attributes acquired in mortality. About 73 B.C.
1
And now, my son, I have somewhat to say concerning the restoration of which has been spoken; for behold, some have
awrested the scriptures, and have gone far
bastray because of this thing. And I perceive that thy mind has been
cworried also concerning this thing. But behold, I will explain it unto thee.
2 I say unto thee, my son, that the plan of restoration is requisite with the justice of God; for it is requisite that all things should be restored to their proper order. Behold, it is requisite and just, according to the power and resurrection of Christ, that the soul of man should be restored to its body, and that every apart of the body should be restored to itself.
I am in awe of the immortal nature and perfection of our bodies which will be fulfilled at the time of the resurrection. It is an amazing gift from our Savior Jesus Christ. It brings me so much joy to know that I will be able to live with those I love in a life after death. Joseph F. Smith summed it up so beautifully when he said: “What a glorious thought it is . . . that those from whom we have to part here, we will meet again and see as they are. We will meet the same identical being that we associated with here in the flesh—not some other soul, some other being, or the same being in some other form, but the same identity and the same form and likeness, the same person we knew and were associated with in our mortal existence, even to the wounds in the flesh. Not that a person will always be marred by scars, wounds, deformities, defects or infirmities, for these will be removed in their course, in their proper time, according to the merciful providence of God. Deformity will be removed; defects will be eliminated, and men and women shall attain to the perfection of their spirits, to the perfection that God designed in the beginning. It is his purpose that men and women, his children, born to become heirs of God, and joint heirs with Jesus Christ, shall be made perfect, physically as well as spiritually, through obedience to the law by which he has provided the means that perfection shall come to all his children. . . .
“. . . What else would satisfy us? What else would satisfy the desire of the immortal soul? Would we be satisfied to be imperfect? Would we be satisfied to be decrepit? Would we be satisfied to remain forever and ever in the form of infirmity incident to age? No! . . . From the day of the resurrection, the body will develop until it reaches the full measure of the stature of its spirit, whether it be male or female” (Gospel Doctrine, pp. 23–24).
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