Mormons believe that we all existed as angels in the War in Heaven.  When the Arch Angel Michael revolted against God with a third of the Angelic army, there were two options of belief.  We had the choice to believe in God or in Lucifer.  When he was cast out of heaven (with his army), he became the Devil and they were unable to have human form.

Supposedly God said to his children that you will be tested and some of you will not make it–  Then we were sent to Earth (we were graced by God to have human form because we chose God’s truth rather than Lucifer).  Now Earth / Mortal existence is considered a learning ground and a way for us to fully show our dedication to God.

Talking with the missionaries, they never really gave me a clear answer as to how someone would go to Hell.  They did acknowledge that there is a Hell– but they believed that after this death we would go to one of the three heavens: Celestial, Terrestrial, Telestial, depending on how good we were in keeping God’s commandments. Jesus’ death, if I perceived it correctly, is an option (should you so believe it) to get to the highest level of heaven where God resides: Celestial.

However, I suppose there is the spirit world is our next stop after this death. And if you do not accept Jesus in this life, you have an option to do so in the Spirit world.

This spirit existence, where living things are composed of organized, refined spirit matter, extends beyond the human family and includes animals and plants. Little is revealed about plant spirits beyond the fact that all living things, including plants, were created as spirits before they were created with physical bodies (Moses 3:5, 9).

And in the event of death, whether good or evil, you will return to the Father…  A comment from Joseph Smith:

The spirits of all men, as soon as they depart from this mortal body, whether they are good or evil,…are taken home to that God who gave them life, where there is a separation, a partial judgment, and 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 expand in wisdom, where they have respite from all their troubles, and where care and sorrow do not annoy. The wicked, on the contrary, have no part nor portion in the Spirit of the Lord, and they are cast into outer darkness, being led captive, because of their own iniquity, by the evil one. And in this space between death and the resurrection of the body, the two classes of souls remain, in happiness or in misery, until the time which is appointed of God that the dead shall come forth and be reunited both spirit and body, and be brought to stand before God, and be judged according to their works. This is the final judgment [p. 448].

And in that life it is exactally the same as this life:

The postmortal spirit world is an actual place where spirits reside and “where they converse together the same as we do on the earth” (TPJS, p. 353). “Life and work and activity all continue in the spirit world. Men have the same talents and intelligence there which they had in this life. They possess the same attitudes, inclinations, and feelings there which they had in this life” (MD, p. 762).

The postmortal spirit world is a place of continued preparation and learning. In this sense, it is an extension of mortality. Those who have died without an opportunity to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ will have opportunity to hear and accept it in the spirit world. “The great work in the world of spirits is the preaching of the gospel to those who are imprisoned by sin and false traditions” (MD, p. 762). The faithful elders and sisters who depart this life “continue their labors in the preaching of the gospel of repentance and redemption…Among those who are in darkness” (D&C 138:57; Smith, p. 461; see also Salvation of the Dead).

In doing some more research, I found a list of several key components in the Mormon belief of what they call Salvation of the Dead.  This relates to accepting Jesus in the postmortal spirit life.

  1. Life is eternal. Birth does not begin life nor does death end it. In each stage of existence there are ever-higher levels of divine enlightenment and blessedness.
  2. Repentance is possible in the next life as well as this one. “There is never a time when the spirit is too old to approach God. All are within the reach of pardoning mercy, who have not committed the unpardonable sin” (TPJS, p. 191).
  3. The family bonds extend beyond death. The family bonds that are formed on this earth and consecrated to God by sacred covenants and ordinances are indissoluble and extend into the spirit world. “They without us cannot be made perfect—neither can we without our dead be made perfect” (D&C 128:15; Heb. 11:39-40).
  4. Ordinances may be performed for the dead. Through the holy priesthood, held by the prophets in the Church, Jesus Christ has authorized mortals to receive ordinances “of salvation substitutional” [that is, by proxy] and become “instrumental in bringing multitudes of their kindred into the kingdom of God” (TPJS, p. 191).
  5. Temple ordinances are not “mere signs.” They are channels of the Spirit of God that enable one to be born of God in the fullest sense and to receive all the covenants and blessings of Jesus Christ. The performing of earthly ordinances by proxy for those who have died is as efficacious and vitalizing as if the deceased person had done them. That person, in turn, is free to accept or reject the ordinances in the spirit world.

I find those extremely hard to believe with what I know to be true of the Gospel.  That all sins are equal in the eyes of God.  And I come to believe that yes, we are bonded till death due us part, because after that we will be forever married to the Bridegroom known as Christ and the church.  We will be one with God.

Its amazing how much one can add on to the Bible.  They would recite this information to me in a manner that used the Bible to justify the Book of Mormon and each of these doctrines.  But the truth behind it is the misuse of exegesis.  Jesus’ word is full, complete, and absolute.  No additional supplement is needed.  The Mormon’s refer to their book as “Another Testament of Jesus Christ” or something like that.  But why is it “another”?  They say it is part of the Bible, but the word “another” is a word I use for “supplemental flavour.”

Be weary.  Things are dangerous.  I am in prayer that I might understand their faith more. That I might learn their faith and be able to share my faith.  As Paul put it, we need to know the enemies faith more than they do.  So that we might become like them to save at least one.

Father I pray for the diligence, boldness, and open heart of love to share with these brothers.  Please keep me open, that I might understand, and they might see You in me.