Spirit World

Where spirits dwell between our death and resurrection

Have you ever wondered what happens after we die? The gospel of Jesus Christ clearly teaches that life on earth is not all there is. Our spirit bodies existed before we were born and will continue to live after we die. After death, we go to the spirit world to await our resurrection. The gospel of Jesus Christ is also taught in the spirit world. Because every soul is precious to God, Jesus Christ provided a way to salvation for those who died without an opportunity to receive the gospel.

What Is the Spirit World?

The spirit world is where the spirits of the dead live temporarily while they await resurrection. The spirit world consists of both paradise and spirit prison. The gospel of Jesus Christ is preached to those individuals who did not have an opportunity in mortal life to accept the gospel and receive the ordinances of salvation and exaltation.

Topic overview: Spirit World

Related gospel study guides: Plan of Salvation, Resurrection, Vicarious Ordinances for the Dead, Participating in Temple and Family History Work

Section 1

There Is Life after Death

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Girl laying flowers on grave

The death of a friend or loved one comes with pain and sorrow. While mourning the loss of others is part of our mortal experience, the scriptures announce that Jesus Christ removed “the sting of death” through His Resurrection from the dead (Mosiah 16:8; Alma 22:14; Mormon 7:5). Because Jesus Christ broke the bands of death, we will all live again (see Alma 11:42–43). When we die, our physical body and our spirit body are separated. Our spirit body “is [then] assigned to a place according to [our] works with the just or with the unjust, there to await the resurrection.”¹ (See Alma 40:11–13.)

Things to think about

Elder Weatherford T. Clayton observed: “The world sees birth and death as the beginning and the end. But because of God’s holy plan, we know that birth and death are actually just milestones on our journey to eternal life with our Heavenly Father.”² How can this perspective prepare you for the time when someone you love dies?
Read 1 Corinthians 15:51–55, 57. Think back to a time when someone you love died. How did the knowledge that Jesus Christ overcame death help you? How might you use that knowledge to strengthen others who have questions about loss and death?

Activity for learning with others

To help those unfamiliar with the concept of spirit bodies, you might use a glove to represent the physical body and your hand to represent a spirit. Put your hand in the glove and point out that the glove is only “alive” when the hand is in it. Then take your hand back out and explain that the hand continues to live regardless of what happens to the glove. You could then put the glove back on and explain that after we are resurrected, our spirit and our body will never be separated again. (See Alma 11:45.)

Learn more

2 Nephi 9:4–13; Doctrine and Covenants 138:11–24
Paul V. Johnson, “And There Shall Be No More Death,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2016, 121–23

Section 2

What Do We Know about the Spirit World?

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Empty tomb

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).

Things to think about

Spirits who are in prison can receive the teachings of the gospel of Jesus Christ. But the condition of some spirits in prison is sometimes referred to in the scriptures as “hell,” or the temporary place where the unfaithful and those who will not receive the gospel suffer until their resurrection (see Doctrine and Covenants 76:81–85). Individuals who choose not to repent of their sins or accept the gospel of Jesus Christ will suffer for their own sins before being saved into a kingdom of glory in eternity (see Doctrine and Covenants 19:16–18). How can this passage help you better understand the experience of those in spirit prison?
Spirits in paradise are the spirits of the righteous who “are received into a state of happiness, … a state of rest, a state of peace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all their care, and sorrow” (Alma 40:12). How does this truth increase your desire to keep God’s commandments and live righteously?

Activity for learning with others

To learn what the scriptures teach about the spirit world, create two columns on paper and label one side “Righteous” and the other “Wicked.” Then study Alma 40:6–14 and Doctrine and Covenants 138:12–14, 20–22. Discuss what you discovered in these scripture passages.

Learn more

Alma 34:32–34
“The Spirit World,” Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young (1997), 279–84

Section 3

The Gospel Is Preached in the Spirit World

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young woman

Have you considered what happens to people who die without ever hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ or without having the opportunity to receive the ordinances of salvation and exaltation? A wise and loving Heavenly Father has prepared a way for all His children to return and live with Him if they choose to. The Prophet Joseph Smith declared to Church members, “Let the dead speak forth anthems of eternal praise to the King Immanuel, who hath ordained, before the world was, that which would enable us to redeem them out of their prison; for the prisoners shall go free” (Doctrine and Covenants 128:22).

In 1918, President Joseph F. Smith saw a heavenly vision of the spirit world. The details of that vision, recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 138, clarify our understanding of how Jesus Christ made it possible for those in the bondage of spirit prison to learn the gospel, repent, and receive essential priesthood ordinances.

Things to think about

Read Doctrine and Covenants 138:16–19, 50–52. According to these verses, in what way is the whole spirit world like a prison even for the righteous spirits? (see also 1 Peter 3:18–20; 4:6). What emotions did those individuals experience in paradise at the death of Jesus Christ and His appearance in the spirit world?
Read Doctrine and Covenants 138:29–37, 57–59, looking for how the blessings of the gospel are made available to individuals who died without receiving the gospel in this life. What does it mean to you that your ancestors can be saved because of what Jesus Christ did?

Activity for learning with others

President Russell M. Nelson stated, “Anytime you do anything that helps anyone—on either side of the veil—take a step toward making covenants with God and receiving their essential baptismal and temple ordinances, you are helping to gather Israel.”³ Discuss ways you can help those who have died be redeemed and receive essential ordinances. Invite group members who have participated in that work to share their own experiences.

Learn more

John 5:25–29; 1 Peter 3:18–22; 4:6; Doctrine and Covenants 138:53–56
Dale G. Renlund, “Family History and Temple Work: Sealing and Healing,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2018, 46–49
“Redeeming Our Dead through Temple Service,” Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith (2011), 407–15