Mormon Religion

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, also known as LDS has been a rapidly growing church over the past couple of decades. The current membership is 15 million which includes individuals who convert to LDS religion through baptism, and the birth of children whose parents are part of the congregation. According to Mormon.org, it is currently the second fastest growing church in the United States. With the up-rise in members and the continued growth, it makes it known that it is a highly sought out religion. In order to determine what the churches doctrine is with regards to death and afterlife, it seems only necessary to get a brief foundation as to what their beliefs and religious practice consists of first and foremost.

In 1820,

Mormons themselves express their unity with the Christian faith, and argue to be Christians. The Mormon religion seems to believe that the purpose of life is to “receive a physical body, exercise agency and learn to choose between good and evil, learn and gain experience that will help you become more like your heavenly father, and to form family relationships that may become eternal.”(Mormon.org)

Now that the foundation has been laid with regards to the belief system of the individuals in the Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints, it is important to discuss their doctrine on death and the afterlife. The beliefs of death and the aftermath of what occurs is taken from the book of Mormon. This is where theses church members receive their beliefs from and what they remain with.

It is stated that at the time of death, “The spirit and body separate and "the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave them life. 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.” (Gillepsie) On the other hand however, they believe that those who fail to live their life’s accordingly will “suffer the wrath of God, and remain in spirit prison. It is also stated that regardless if a spirit is righteous or wicked, both will need to wait for the resurrection

As stated in mormonbeliefs.org, Mormons believe that God had materials in order to create the uniform and organize the world out of chaos. John smith believes that the earth itself was not created out of nothing, but out of organized matter. They believe that we as human beings were created by God in order for his children to grow and eventually make their end goal to be more like him. This creation myth helps members to believe that if they follow the commands of the Lord, and they adhere to all of the things that Christ wants from them, they will see that the plan of salvation will work in their favor, and they will be rewarded for their good deeds here on earth.