What do Mormons believe about life after death?
Mormons believe that life does not end with death. Through the blessings of the Mormon temple family relationships can continue beyond the grave. Mormons believe families are eternal unites. At the end of our mortal life on earth, we all die. Mormons believe death is the departure of the spirit from a body that is no longer inhabitable. The spirit leaves the body and enters the spirit world, where they wait for the resurrection and judgment day. While in the spirit world those that did not have a chance to hear the gospel of Christ will be taught by missionaries. The children of God who didn’t hear the gospel on earth may choose to accept it in the spirit world and may receive all the eternal blessings that come with that acceptance. The spirits residing in the spirit world will fulfill their appointed work until the Lord Jesus Christ comes for a second time to the earth. This event is referred to in Mormonism and in many facets of Christianity as the Second Coming.
Mormons believe Christ will again come to reign as King of kings and Lord of lords over all His creations. Satan and all of his influences will be banished and the earth will be a beautiful place to live. Christ’s resurrection after being crucified and buried in the tomb made it possible for every spirit to be reunited with its body.
It is Mormon belief that after the resurrection people will be assigned to one of three kingdoms, each having a certain degree of glory, based upon their faithfulness and the completion of temple ordinances. The sun, moon, and stars represent the three degrees of glory. Christ made it possible for each person to receive the highest degree of glory if they obeyed His commandments and applied His atonement to their lives while on earth. This would have required humility and repentance of sins. The Mormon church teaches that this assigning to kingdoms will occur at what is know universally as “judgment day,” the event at which our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ will preside and we will be judged according to our deeds during our mortal life. Our bodies will be in their perfected states, and we will be assigned to one of three kingdoms: the Celestial, the Terrestrial, and the Telestial. The Celestial kingdom is the highest and most glorious of all the kingdoms, next comes the Terrestrial, and finally, the Telestial. Mormons believe the Celestial kingdom is where we may live eternally with our families and with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Mormonism also teaches that each husband and wife—each eternal companionship formed in sacred Mormon temples—will have the opportunity to create spirit children and worlds of their own. This is the ultimate goal in the plan of salvation. Mormons believe that this state of being gods and goddesses—eternal parents—brings joy and happiness that lasts forever.