There are few chapters of scripture that are more comforting to believers than Alma 40.
I’ve had to cite this passage at more than one family funeral:
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.
Alma says that he’s received this knowledge by direct personal revelation.
And then there’s also this, referring to the literal, physical, bodily resurrection of the dead:
23 The soul shall be restored to the body, and the body to the soul; yea, and every limb and joint shall be restored to its body; yea, even a hair of the head shall not be lost; but all things shall be restored to their proper and perfect frame.
Remarkably clear and definite.
Much even of the mainstream Christian world is puzzled by the nature of life after death. Is the resurrection spiritual or physical? Literal or metaphorical? Do the resurrected dead have tangible bodies?
This chapter removes the ambiguity. For those who accept it, such questions have been answered. That’s one of the contributions that the Book of Mormon makes.
Posted from Brockwood Hall, Cumbria, England
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