Gospel Principles
Unit 10: Life after Death
Chapter 45: The Postmortal Spirit World
Concept 5: Paradise
"According to the prophet Alma, the righteous spirits rest from earthly care and sorrow. Nevertheless, they are occupied in doing the work of the Lord. President Joseph F. Smith saw in a vision that immediately after Jesus Christ was crucified, he visited the righteous in the spirit world. He appointed messengers, gave them power and authority, and commissioned them to "carry the light of the gospel to them that were in carry the were in darkness, even to all the spirits of men" (D&C 138:30)
The Church is organized in the spirit world, with each prophet standing at the head of his own generation (see Joseph Smith, History of the Church, 4:209). Priesthood holders continue their responsibilities in the spirit world. President Wilford Woodruff taught: "The same Priesthood exists on the other side of the veil... Every Apostle, every Seventy, every Elder, etc., who has died in the faith as soon as he passes to the other side of the veil, enters into the work of the ministry" (in Journal of Discourses, 22:333-34)
Family relationships are also important. President Jedediah m. Grant, a counselor to Brigham Young, saw the spirit world and described to Heber C. Kimball the organization that exists there: "He said that the people he there saw were organized in family capacities... He said, "When I looked at families, there was a deficiency in some, ... for I saw families that would not be permitted to come and dwell together, because they had not honored their calling here" (Heber C. Kimball, in Journal of Discourses, 4:135-36).
Discussion
What do the spirits in paradise do? Why are some families incomplete in paradise?