The State of the Soul

Several people I know have died in the past few weeks.  Starting with my childhood friend, Charity back in August.  Then my great uncle Ken and my kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Craven a couple of weeks ago.  And my paternal grandmother last week.  In fact her funeral is today.

Anyway I guess death has been on my mind as of late.  I have never been one to fear death.  In fact, I consider it a graduation from mortality.  I know the plan of salvation.  I know where I came from.  I know why I'm here.  And I know where I'm going.  But a lot of people don't.  In fact, that's one of the reasons I served a full-time mission.  I wanted to share the plan of salvation with those who don't know about it. I want others to feel the same joy and happiness that knowing the plan of salvation and living the gospel brings into our lives.

A few days ago, as I was listening to The Book of Mormon in the morning, as I usually do, this scripture stood out to me:

Alma 40:11-14:

11 Now, concerning the state of the soul between death 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 taken home 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 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. 

13 And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits 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 devil did enter into them, and take possession of their house—and these shall be cast out into outer darkness; there shall be weeping, 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 souls of the wicked, yea, in darkness, and a state of awful, fearful looking for the fiery indignation of the wrath of God upon them; thus they remain in this state, as well as the righteous in paradise, until the time of their resurrection.

In four verses, the prophet Alma explains where our spirits go between death and resurrection.  Obviously this just explains a small portion of the plan of salvation.  But it does explain that after death we are all taken back home to our Heavenly Father to live in the spirit world until the resurrection.

I look at the four people in my life who died recently and think about how each of their lives were so different.  The choices they made shaped their lives and determined their destiny.

I'm grateful for the plan of salvation and for my knowledge of it.  I'm thankful for the gospel and the scriptures which so plainly teach us the gospel.  I'm grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who gave us this great plan of happiness. I'm thankful for our Savior, Jesus Christ, who fulfilled our Father's plan. We live in a technologically advanced world where knowledge is literally at your fingertips. We are blessed to have the word of God (scriptures) available instantly with a few taps on an electronic device.  I wish more people would take advantage of that blessing instead of pursuing futile endeavors. If they did, imagine how much richer and more fulfilled their lives would be.

That's my two cents.