🪦 Afterlife¶
Estimated time to read: 22 minutes
When I served as a missionary for the LDS church, we were told to raise awareness that the Book of Mormon contains answers to the questions of the soul, including "what happens after I die?" You might find that the quoted scriptural passages to answer that question are, at best, vague.
But before we get into the long-foretold Judgment Day, a staple tenant of Christianity, you heathens have to do your time in spirit prison, because you were naughty. Unless you weren't.
Spirit World¶
This is an intermediary step between mortal death and Jesus' judgment day.
As soon as our mortal bodies pass away, according to LDS doctrine, our spirit and body separates. Our spirit goes to a "spirit world," which, conveniently, happens to be right here on Earth. Why make the distinction? ... Shut up, that's why. While you're here there, you'll get to either do missionary work for Jesus, or be the recipient of that missionary work.
After death, our spirit bodies go to the spirit world. There, the spirits of the righteous “are received into a state of happiness, which is called paradise, a state of rest, a state of peace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care, and sorrow” (Alma 40:12). “Those who … died in their sins, without a knowledge of the truth, or in transgression, having rejected the prophets,” are spirits in prison (Doctrine and Covenants 138:32; see also 1 Peter 3:18–20).
— What Do We Know about the Spirit World?, Spirit World; Gospel Study Guide
You know it's true & doctrinal because both words start with the letter "p," are diametrically opposed, and both appear in scripture. What if you were somewhere in the middle of that spectrum? ... Shut up, that's where. Off to prison with you, just to be on the safe side. This all takes place before the dreaded Judgment Day™, which makes me wonder who sorts people into these two opposing binary categories? Does this mean there are two judgments to get through?
Spirit Prison¶
In the spirit prison are the spirits of those who have not yet received the gospel of Jesus Christ. These spirits have agency and may be enticed by both good and evil. The spirits may progress as they learn gospel principles and live in accordance with them. The spirits in paradise can teach the spirits in prison (see Doctrine and Covenants 138). If they accept the gospel and the ordinances performed for them in the temples, they may leave the spirit prison and dwell in paradise.
— Spirit World, Topics and Questions
This choice of words is something I've often found troublesome.
As I understand it, a prison is meant to isolate criminals from society to prevent them from causing harm. If a prison awakens to the realization that criminals are, in fact, human beings, they might offer some rehabilitation programs to minimize re-offense rates. A penitentiary places more emphasis on rehabilitating inmates, rather than reducing a human to the embodiment of crime, deserving to be treated with harsh contempt. Either of these locations are meant to be used as consequence for disregarding law. I'm not aware of any worldly nation where ignorance of law is an adequate defense against prosecution. I suppose the same could be said of this spirit prison— we were commanded to be baptized, and you (hypothetical conversation partner) were not, thereby defying a commandment irrespective of accountability. Very cool—thanks, God.
As mentioned previously, and in the above quote, folks in spirit paradise get to do missionary work to a captive audience in spirit prison. That's notorious for a variety of reasons&mdashone, why would we bother spending two years of our mortal life doing something we're going to have all of eternity to catch up on; two, depending on your conviction, being trapped and forced to listen to missionaries until you agree with them sounds... manipulative. No, they're not being forcibly converted, but... what options do they have, really?
"Hi! You died, but you remain conscious in a spirit world. You're also a sinner and will be eternally punished if you don't join us." well shit, I guess when you put it that way...
This is all orchestrated by our heavenly father who really values individual agency, by the way.
Judgment Day¶
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.
At Judgment day, God (or maybe Jesus) will sort everyone into three categories. ... Four, actually. Well, it's really more like six. 🤷♂️ I don't make the rules.
- Folks who are indisputably on the naughty list are, for some reason, called sons of perdition and get sent to Outer Darkness.
- Folks who were mostly good, but not good enough, go to either the Terrestrial or Telestial kingdoms. Yes, one of those words is made up.
- The Celestial kingdom is special enough to have multiple subcategories. You can only obtain the highest degree within the highest glory if you get married to multiple wives. I am not making this up.
I don't know that one can be relegated to the Celestial kingdom outside of those three tiers within the highest of three tiers, so I count six possible outcomes at Judgment Day.
What happens in the lesser tiers within the top-tier afterlife? ... You need to stop looking at porn, that's what.
Exaltation¶
We remain the same person we were prior to our death but without our body. I believe that eventually our spirit will reunite with our body. This is the resurrection. Our personal identity will remain with us forever. The faith, understanding, character, and qualities we develop on earth go with us. For all of us, death is an important transition to the next stage in God’s plan of happiness for His children. We continue to learn and progress. We continue to have interaction with others.
There is a hell for the evil and wicked. What that means would take too long to explain, but I do not see it as the paintings of Dante’s Inferno. Rather, it is a place where one comes to understand the terribleness of his actions, and guilt and remorse bring extreme sadness and sorrow. I do not believe it lasts forever except for a very, very few.
— Reflections on Life after Death, Elder Neil L. Andersen, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Liahona 2020 October
"Yeah, there's a destined fate for 'the evil and wicked,' but it'll take too long to explain, so don't worry about it."
The thesis of that speech is "life after death" what the fuck are you doing by omitting the doctrine of eternal conscious torment
Ego¶
I find the idea of life after death to be fascinating. Or, extending beyond "life," the idea of consciousness after death. I think that the idea of unending consciousness sounds awful.
My experience with world religions is very narrow. I grew up in the United States, born and raised as a Mormon, a subcategory of Christianity. I can only offer conjecture at this point—but I'm curious about non-Christian faiths' teachings about what happens after death. I'll likely add more notes here once I take time to read about this topic. From my perspective as of early 2025, the Christian afterlife really seems to be appealing to human ego.
Some strawman examples would be "I can't simply cease to exist. I'm too important to just end." "Some aspect of who I am must persist even after my mortal body expires." "Not only will I will continue to exist after death, but I will exist alongside the God whom I grew up revering. ... Also, people who disagree with me will also continue to exist, but they'll get the sad version."
A very cynical outlook on this teaching is that it's a tool for a ruler to control subjects. It's a carrot-and-stick approach of promising reward and punishment. A constable officer can levy punishment for crimes visibly committed. But what does an illiterate peasant do when no one is around to witness some misdoing? The ruling class can't have him or her getting too bold, so... Now Christianity teaches that there is an invisible, omniscient force, always present to witness your actions, and even your thoughts. You won't know it until after you die, but this divine presence is keeping track, and if you mess up badly enough, you'll burn and suffer forever. Conversely, you get to live a carefree existence, luxuriating forever if you're obedient to what your pastor says.
Trouble is, as with many promises that religions make, none of this gets realized until you're dead. And, once you're dead, there's no risk of you coming back to your religious clergy to say "hey, you lied to me!"
Consciousness¶
Consider for a moment the possibility of immortality. If you were impervious to harm, you could do some fun stunts, chasing new sources of dopamine for a good, long while. In science fiction and fantasy, this condition leads to "everyone you've ever known or loved dies, leaving you alone." If you had unending life, remaining conscious and aware indefinitely, the novelty would at some point wear out. In this hypothetical scenario, after thousands of years, you would eventually outlive the planet you were on, drifting aimlessly in outer space, unable to suffocate or freeze—it honestly just sounds like a bad time.
Now, for another example to illustrate my point: solitary confinement is considered inhumane, cruel punishment (1, 2, 3, 4). Why? You're left conscious and aware with no stimulation. Humans like novelty. Keeping someone confined and alone is widely considered torturous. Prisoners lose their sense of time passing, distorting their estimation of how long they've been confined. Three weeks can feel like ten years in a windowless, featureless room. You have absolutely no way to measure it, and it is maddening.
These would be fair comparisons if the scenario of Christianity's afterlife was simply continuing consciousness. The prospect of eternal life as described in Mormonism isn't so grim and ominous. Instead, it's... vague. You'll just live forever, and your family will be there, having "eternal joy." What does not seem to be taken into consideration is that an eternity of anything would be torturous. Our consciousness is not able to fully comprehend eternity. If you take issue with your family for whatever reason, tough luck—you have the privilege of staying with them for an incomprehensible amount of time. At least you get to hang out with God and Jesus. Doing what for eternity? 🤷♂️ Playing Mario Kart, I guess.
I realize that I likely sound insensitive or crass. For folks who do genuinely have a strong affinity for their family, this afterlife arrangement is a solid deal. True, humans don't always get along—inevitably upsetting each other for reasons ranging from egregious to annoying. Losing a close loved one is emotionally painful. The idea that they will again be alive and well truly is encouraging. If that hope is what helps you get through a depressive episode, or helps to bring closure to grieving, or simply prevent existential dread, then... it makes sense to want to believe that. I think the purpose of this religious teaching is to do exactly that—the "gospel," or good news, is to inspire hope and optimism. It's very appealing to the human ego.
The idea of being reunited with loved ones post-mortem is not only appealing, but useful. As a motivating force, it has tangible impact on our mortal lives. I am inclined to believe that death is death, and we shouldn't rely on the promise of being reunited. My disposition toward this belief may change in future years, once more of my peers, family, or friends pass away due to tragedy or simply old age.
Families¶
What about folks who don’t want to stay with their family forever? What about people who grow up in an abusive household? Someone who gets beaten and raped by their father probably won’t see that promised Eternal Family™️ as a selling point. What if one's mother grapples with depression, and doesn't regulate her emotions well? C-PTSD can stem from both prolonged verbal abuse and neglect. If you were raised to believe that you were a worthless piece of shit, would you want to spend eternity with the people who raised you that way? What if your hypothetical spouse or partner, over years and decades, becomes manipulative or aggressive behind closed doors? What if your local priesthood leaders tell you to forgive & forget, deal with it, endure to the end, etc—would you want to spend eternity with him or her?
If we’re all descendants of a common ancestor, Adam, then… where do we delineate family? If you’re Joseph Smith and your brother just passed away, that’s probably as far as the consideration got. Smith did get some pretty timely, convenient revelations, after all—although after Smith passed away, God became suspiciously racist and misogynist.
I would hypothetically be with my siblings, parents, and grandparents. What about their family? Are my grandparents' grandparents going to be counted as part of "my" family? Where would it end? Would my seventh cousin, Nth removed be part of the group I'm in? We'd share a common ancestor at some point, which ancestor would want to be with his or her family forever, including their descendants, and their descendants' respective descendants. How many generations back would it go? Wouldn’t that mean that everyone you see in Celestial Kingdom is family, and therefore being with family is a moot point?
I think the Abrahamic Covenant is promised to anyone "[obedient to] the laws and ordinances of the gospel," which I have been assured by my bishop that is what the "new and everlasting covenant" means.
And it was in the night time when the Lord spake these words unto me: I will multiply thee, and thy seed after thee, like unto these; and if thou canst count the number of sands, so shall be the number of thy seeds.
A person can receive all the blessings of the Abrahamic covenant—even if he or she is not a literal descendant of Abraham—by obeying the laws and ordinances of the gospel.
The idea of one's "seed" being as numerous as sand sounds like it's being presented as an inventive. "You'll have so many descendants and they will all think that you're cool. That is what awaits you in heaven." I guess??? This would only be a valid or useful "reward" if you were going to be able to spend time with this innumerable posterity. I could imagine an elderly patriarch gleefully grinning as he's introduced to his fifth-generation grandchild, and I suppose that's the intrinsic reward promised to those who are obedient to God's commandments. Is this hypothetical recipient spending eternity with this posterity? I assume so. Is that heaven for everyone else, though?
Put yourself in the position of this posterity. Five generations (an arbitrary number I'm using for this example) back, you have ancestors. Imagine they have their temple work done, and... what do you know about these people? What do they know about you? Look further back to eight generations. Culture will be so drastically different that far back that you might think that set of grandparents are insufferable assholes. Do they share the same values that you do? You're part of their reward per the Abrahamic covenant.
Do we draw a line somewhere between Homo Sapiens and other humankind precursors? Do Neanderthals and Homo Erectus count as family, if we can trace our lineage to them? ... What's that? They don't exist? How convenient.
If Polygamy is an eternal law, and we are to become like God, then… that means that exaltation for women is to be a spiritual breeder, who shall not be named or known, and her children cannot commune with her. Does that sound like heaven? Watching your own children suffer through arduous trials on earth, and being able to offer no comfort, knowing they’re forbidden from even talking to you, or even knowing about you? Does that sound like heaven?
Polygamy¶
Brigham Young is a prophet, yes or no?
When he teaches that Elohim and Jehovah are both polygamists, should be believe the spokesperson of Elohim and Jehovah?
“Plural marriage is the patriarchal order of marriage lived by God and others who reign in the Celestial Kingdom.”
— Brigham Young and His Wives and The True Story of Plural Marriage, John J. Stewart, 1961, p. 41
Brigham Young has a fair amount of other statements on the godhead being polygamist, but those quotes fit better in another page of notes.
For women¶
Polygamy is already kind of a raw deal for mortal women, but early LDS leadership pretty strongly suggests that God and Jesus both are polygamists. If we’re spirit sons and daughters of God, it’s kind of odd to think that Heavenly Mother doesn’t refer to one individual. Could be one of many. Each of us are from the same heavenly father, and there is a non-zero chance we’re from different heavenly mothers, if the second Prophet of the church is to be believed.
If Polygamy is an eternal law, and we are to become like God, then… that means that exaltation for women is to be a spiritual breeder, who shall not be named or known, and her children cannot commune with her. Does that sound like heaven? Watching your own children suffer through arduous trials on earth, and being able to offer no comfort, knowing they’re forbidden from even talking to you, or even knowing about you? Does that sound like heaven?
Damnation¶
The Plan of Salvation is another differentiating factor between the LDS faith and other varieties of Christianity. An oversimplification of this teaching is that our afterlife has more nuance than "playing a harp on a cloud" versus "burning for eternity." The Mormon afterlife has more middle ground. The categorization ranges from "living with God" as described above, to "not much better than the earthly mortality you just got out of." Unless the LDS church's leadership really doesn't like you— you can get banished to outer darkness to be sad and lonely for eternity.
One line that I remember repeating while serving an LDS mission was "a water dam does not obliterate or destroy the water—it stops the water. Beavers don't halt the flow of water out of spite. Damnation means becoming stagnant, no longer progressing. The ideal outcome in the afterlife is eternal progression, and damnation simply means 'being stopped.'" I perpetuated this idea because while dam and damn are homophones (1, 2, 3) with separate definitions (1, 2, 3, 4, 5), but I didn't have any access to the internet or any book of text that could clarify my misunderstanding, and I had been raised to believe that having a dong meant that I could receive revelation so whatever I said was magically true somehow. This combination of factors made me a fantastic missionary, at least by someone's standards. (If it wasn't obvious, my above description of damnation was misguided and is incorrect.)
I use this anecdote to introduce the teaching of Exaltation's opposite. What exactly does the LDS church teach about folks who do not get exalted in the celestial kingdom?
Lower Kingdoms¶
By the pamphlets I used to hand out & read from as a full-time missionary:
Terrestrial kingdom. People who refuse to accept the gospel of Jesus Christ but who live honorable lives will receive a place in the terrestrial kingdom.
Telestial kingdom. Those who continue in their sins and do not repent will receive a place in the telestial kingdom.
— The Plan of Salvation, Teaching Pamphlets
Some more verbose descriptions of these kingdoms and their respective glories are found in a book called The Articles of Faith by a fellow named James E. Talmadge. Those descriptions are quoted in an Institute manual, which... makes them doctrinal, question mark? We're never really sure what is actually doctrinal. Just because a prophet says something doesn't mean he should be quoted as saying it.
Perdition¶
That same institute manual has some ominous descriptions of what will happen to those who qualify for extra-special eternal torment from our loving Heavenly Father. I had been raised to believe that the reason for this teaching to be sparse is that it's largely irrelevant to us lay folk—the only people who qualify for Outer Darkness are apostles or prophets, as the requirement is to have clearly seen Jesus. As in, not acting by faith or belief, but by a proper knowledge and certainty. As such, Jesus doesn't want to show Himself as his very presence can condemn someone to eternal punishment. He loves us sooo much that he has to stay away and remain hidden. ... What the hell, God?
I remember reading in the Book of Mormon about Jesus appearing in 🫡🍔America🇺🇸 🎆to multitudes of gathered people. The whole unnumbered multitude "did know of a surety and did bear record, that it was he, of whom it was written by the prophets, that should come." However many thousand people who were present are now on the line for eternal damnation and suffering. The record doesn't say nor imply that they strayed by drinking coffee or any other damnable sin. In fact, the scriptural account fast-forwards 320 years before anything of interest happens. Truly inspired writing 👍
So... what is it? Modern scriptural resources seem to shy away from actually describing Outer Darkness. (1, 2, 3) In fact, among the few passages I find where this term actually appears in the Book of Mormon is immediately downplayed in the Seminary teachers' manual. "Naw, man, I mean yeah it says Outer Darkness, but Alma wasn't actually talking about outer darkness! He was talking about Spirit Prison."
We have a description from the Gospel Topics to turn to, though. ... It pretty much says "only bad people who reject Jesus go here, so don't worry about it. You're not going to reject Jesus, are you?"
In the above section on the "lower kingdoms" we got a description from James Talmadge's Articles of Faith. Fortunately for us (maybe?) he also describes perdition. It's about as vague as the positive incentive to go to Mormon Heaven. What makes it awful and unbearable? What will you be doing in either destination? Playing Superman 64, I guess. The D&C does say in no uncertain terms that "it had been better for them to never have been born[.]" That tracks.
Modern Teachings¶
Amid my searches for quotes in General Conference, the two excerpts I found were both in 1981. One description says that outer darkness only sucks because you have all the rest of eternity to ruminate over your poor life choices. The other equivocates—but does not explicitly say—that it's cold and dark, possibly at absolute zero.
I'll again iterate what you can do to warrant being banished here: you make Jesus sad. "Love me and obey me, or else suffer for eternity." 😕 Is complying with this directive actually "love"? If anyone else posed an ultimatum like that, we'd call it emotional abuse. How did we get into this abusive relationship, anyway? We agreed to it before we were born? Well golly gee whiz what could go wrong