Katzpur
Not your average Mormon
Part 1 of 3
According to LDS doctrine, immediately after death the spirit leaves the body and goes to the Spirit World to await the resurrection, when it will be reunited with a new, perfected immortal body. The spirit is eternal and continues to be a cognizant entity, even when not inhabiting a physical body.
The Spirit World is not the same place as either Heaven or Hell. It is a sort of an intermediate destination. Heaven (for most) or Hell (for a tiny minority) will come later. The Spirit World is said to be comprised of two parts (states of existence, actually, as opposed to literal places). First, there is Paradise. It is a wonderful place of peace and rest where the righteous (regardless of religion) will reside. Jesus told the repentant thief who hung next to Him on the cross that He would see him in Paradise on that very day, and yet when He appeared to Mary on Easter morning, He told her not to touch Him since He had not yet gone to His Father in Heaven. Clearly then, Heaven and Paradise are not one and the same. Second there is the Spirit Prison. This is where the wicked will remain until they are resurrected. Christ (in spirit form) was said to have visited the spirits in prison during the three day period when His body lay in the tomb. While He was there, He preached His gospel to those who had not had the opportunity to hear it during their lifetimes. Even though two thousand years have passed since Christ’s ministry, millions of other people have lived and died without hearing the good news of His atoning sacrifice. Others have heard the news, but for one reason or another, were just not ready to accept it.
There is no scriptural basis for the common assumption among Christians that either Paradise or the Spirit Prison have since ceased to exist. There is every reason to believe that they continue to exist today as in the past. Besides, in Revelation, we are told that we will stand before God to be judged when Christ returns to Earth to begin His millennial reign. That would make no sense at all if we were already in Heaven and had been since the time of our death – unless, of course, we are to assume that God might want to change His mind after having us around awhile.
Christ will not personally be in Paradise, as He is once again with His Father in Heaven. His presence will be felt, though, by those in Paradise and the work of spreading His gospel will continue among the spirits who are waiting there for the Millennium to begin. The righteous who did not know of His gospel while on earth will have the opportunity to hear it during this period of time – which may be hundreds or thousands of years, depending upon when they died. Those who heard it but did not accept it during their life will have yet another opportunity to do so. Each of us is a product of our culture and environment. We have each had different life experiences. In the Spirit World, many of the factors that influenced our decisions in this life will no longer cloud our vision. We will be able to see things more clearly than we were able to while here on Earth, encumbered by so much baggage. God will make sure all of us have a truly equal chance to recognize and accept the truth we are taught, even if it is not until after we die.
With respect to those in the Spirit Prison (i.e. Ted Bundy, Adolf Hitler, Jeffrey Dahmer, Osama bin Ladan, etc.), their wait will be considerably less pleasant. They will be fully aware of the misery they brought into the world. They will be wracked with guilt over their sins and will be tormented by the knowledge that they lived wicked and depraved lives. For them, the Spirit World will be hell-like. But it will not necessarily be a permanent state. The gospel of Jesus Christ will be taught to them too, spread by believers who are hopeful that they will respond to Christ’s gift of forgiveness. This is something they can still do at that time. God won’t close the door until they have been given every opportunity to repent of their sins and acknowledge that those sins can be forgiven as a result of His Son’s sacrifice. If they choose to sincerely repent, they too can be forgiven. This is not to say that they all will, but they will be given that opportunity. Eventually, “every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ.” Whether that confession will be accompanied by remorse for one's sins and gratitude for His sacrifice will be the determining factor for what happens next.
According to LDS doctrine, immediately after death the spirit leaves the body and goes to the Spirit World to await the resurrection, when it will be reunited with a new, perfected immortal body. The spirit is eternal and continues to be a cognizant entity, even when not inhabiting a physical body.
The Spirit World is not the same place as either Heaven or Hell. It is a sort of an intermediate destination. Heaven (for most) or Hell (for a tiny minority) will come later. The Spirit World is said to be comprised of two parts (states of existence, actually, as opposed to literal places). First, there is Paradise. It is a wonderful place of peace and rest where the righteous (regardless of religion) will reside. Jesus told the repentant thief who hung next to Him on the cross that He would see him in Paradise on that very day, and yet when He appeared to Mary on Easter morning, He told her not to touch Him since He had not yet gone to His Father in Heaven. Clearly then, Heaven and Paradise are not one and the same. Second there is the Spirit Prison. This is where the wicked will remain until they are resurrected. Christ (in spirit form) was said to have visited the spirits in prison during the three day period when His body lay in the tomb. While He was there, He preached His gospel to those who had not had the opportunity to hear it during their lifetimes. Even though two thousand years have passed since Christ’s ministry, millions of other people have lived and died without hearing the good news of His atoning sacrifice. Others have heard the news, but for one reason or another, were just not ready to accept it.
There is no scriptural basis for the common assumption among Christians that either Paradise or the Spirit Prison have since ceased to exist. There is every reason to believe that they continue to exist today as in the past. Besides, in Revelation, we are told that we will stand before God to be judged when Christ returns to Earth to begin His millennial reign. That would make no sense at all if we were already in Heaven and had been since the time of our death – unless, of course, we are to assume that God might want to change His mind after having us around awhile.
Christ will not personally be in Paradise, as He is once again with His Father in Heaven. His presence will be felt, though, by those in Paradise and the work of spreading His gospel will continue among the spirits who are waiting there for the Millennium to begin. The righteous who did not know of His gospel while on earth will have the opportunity to hear it during this period of time – which may be hundreds or thousands of years, depending upon when they died. Those who heard it but did not accept it during their life will have yet another opportunity to do so. Each of us is a product of our culture and environment. We have each had different life experiences. In the Spirit World, many of the factors that influenced our decisions in this life will no longer cloud our vision. We will be able to see things more clearly than we were able to while here on Earth, encumbered by so much baggage. God will make sure all of us have a truly equal chance to recognize and accept the truth we are taught, even if it is not until after we die.
With respect to those in the Spirit Prison (i.e. Ted Bundy, Adolf Hitler, Jeffrey Dahmer, Osama bin Ladan, etc.), their wait will be considerably less pleasant. They will be fully aware of the misery they brought into the world. They will be wracked with guilt over their sins and will be tormented by the knowledge that they lived wicked and depraved lives. For them, the Spirit World will be hell-like. But it will not necessarily be a permanent state. The gospel of Jesus Christ will be taught to them too, spread by believers who are hopeful that they will respond to Christ’s gift of forgiveness. This is something they can still do at that time. God won’t close the door until they have been given every opportunity to repent of their sins and acknowledge that those sins can be forgiven as a result of His Son’s sacrifice. If they choose to sincerely repent, they too can be forgiven. This is not to say that they all will, but they will be given that opportunity. Eventually, “every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ.” Whether that confession will be accompanied by remorse for one's sins and gratitude for His sacrifice will be the determining factor for what happens next.
such an one caught up to the third heaven. Here we have a very definite reference to the fact that there is more than one Heaven or that Heaven is made up of more than one part. 
