The Real COJCOLDS

Eternity

This is the time of year that most Christians celebrate Jesus rising from the dead. It's known as Easter to a lot of the western world.(I won't go into the origins or original name of the holiday.)

Members of my church do celebrate Jesus' Resurrection but we see that event's significance a little differently. In light of today, I feel like I should explain the concept of Eternal Life.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints believes that humans, animals and every other living thing has a spirit. (Weird I know but it's my favorite part of my religion.)

Before we were ever thought of, our spirits existed in the same plane as God the Father. (We believe human spirits are all children of God, therefore we call Him Heavenly Father. Also, we refer to this time as the pre-mortal existence.) They enter our bodies and thus begins mortal life. When we die our spirit leaves the body and remains on earth.

This is by far not the end of the story. Unlike mainstream Christianity, with its heaven and hell, our belief states that our spirits are earth bound in a state of either paradise or prison.

Paradise is the place where the spirits of the righteous— those who on the whole did good—spend a lot of their time. Generally, it's where all those who believed the gospel go after death. They may not have been perfectly obedient but they weren't unrepentantly sinful.

Those that were what some people would call evil or didn't accept the gospel in this life go to Prison. Yes we call the place Spirit Prison. The spirits there are waiting for judgement. But they also have the opportunity to change in the afterlife.

We believe that through Jesus' Atonement gates were opened between these two spirit realms. These gates allow those in Paradise to visit those in Prison. There the righteous spirits teach the other spirits the gospel. Giving the prisoners a chance to reform and convert.(It's a complicated process which I'll describe in a separate entry.) Whether a spirit repents and converts in the afterlife is entirely up to the individual.

So that's the current state of things in the spirit realm. We can't normally see all this because there is a barrier between the mortal and spirit world. Now, to talk properly about the ultimate fate of all living, we need to talk about the Resurrection, starting with Jesus.

Our savior, Jesus Christ, was crucified and died. Three days later, he came back from the dead. His spirit was Reunited with his body never to be separated again.

In our church we refer to Jesus as the Son of God and the first fruits of the Resurrection. What does that mean? Well without getting too wordy it means that everything will be Resurrected. Coming into a new everlasting life.

I know this conflicts with our scientific understanding of Biology or Physics. It seems impossible but my faith in God tells me He will find a way we don't currently understand to make this happen. Anyways this is about religion so moving on.

So after the resurrection all things that were once alive will be immortal. No more death. This doesn't mean happily ever after for everybody.

In the final Judgement after the Resurrection everything will be assigned to one of three Degrees of Glory.(There's a fourth realm called Outer Darkness but only the Devil, Cain and the most wicked end up there. You have to be exceptionally bad to be consigned to Outer Darkness.)

Everything except for humans is automatically saved in the Celestial.(Even the gross creatures people run away screaming from.) By this time, nothing needs to eat so it all works out.

As for people, we are assigned based on our deeds before we die and whether or not we chose to repent and accept the gospel.

Those who are righteous and have received the full gospel and its ordinances. (Which will be discussed in another entry.) Will be assigned to the Celestial Glory. Where they will be with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

There will be people who have accepted the gospel but made mistakes that weren't major and didn't repent. Some people who had the opportunity to hear this gospel in this life or the afterlife but didn't accept it. All of these end up in the Terrestrial Glory. This is not Hell. This place will be like Earth with rules that those there can follow.

The worst of the worst, those that murder, commit blasphemy and/or adultery. These are the people that end up in the Terrestrial Glory. With the exception of Outer Darkness, this is the closest to mainstream Christianity's Hell as exists. These souls are condemned to suffer never ending punishment. They will never see Jesus or Heavenly Father again.

On that grim note, I'm going to end my tour of eternity. To finish, I'll leave this synopsis.

Our spirits existed before we were born. They will exist after we die. Thanks to Jesus' Resurrection, all will rise from the dead. My faith believes it's the decisions we make in this life that determine how eternity will be for us.