Life Beyond The Grave

Death

Latter day revelation teaches us that there was no death on this earth for any forms of life before the fall of Adam. When the fall happened, death entered the world as a result. Each person suffers only one physical death, since when once resurrected, the body can die no more.
President Hugh B. Brown once declared: “Sooner or later life’s vicissitudes bring each of us to grips with this important subject … of the immortality of the soul, and man’s relationship to Deity. … Each of us, regardless of color, creed, or nationality, has a rendezvous with the experience that we call death." Living on this wonderful world is a gift that we must treasure. Yet there will come a day when we will be taken, so to speak, from this world. We do not know the time nor the place. All we know is that once our mortal bodies die we are freed from this temporal state.

Two different deaths are spoken of in the Book of Mormon. The Fall of Adam and Eve brought about two deaths. We are subject to those deaths.
Physical death is the separation of the spirit from the physical body. Because of the Fall of Adam, all mankind will suffer physical death. We have no way around it. No amount of surgeries or procedures can alter the fact that we will one day die then be resurrected.
In Alma 11:42-45 it states:
(42) Now, there is a death which is called a temporal death; and the death of Christ shall loose the bands of this temporal death, that all shall be raised from this temporal death.
(43) The spirit and the body shall be reunited again in its perfect form; both limb and joint shall be restored to its proper frame, even as we now are at this time; and we shall be brought to stand before God, knowing even as we know now, and have a bright recollection of all our guilt.
(44) Now, this restoration shall come to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, both wicked and the righteous; and even there shall not so much as a hair of their heads be lost; but every thing shall be restored to its perfect frame, as it is now, or in the body, and shall be brought and be arraigned before the bar of Christ the Son, and God the Father, and the Holy Spirit, which is one Eternal God, to be judged according to their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil.
(45) Now, behold, I have spoken unto you concerning the death of the mortal body, and also concerning the resurrection of the mortal body. I say unto you that this mortal body is raised to an immortal body, that is from death, even from the first death unto life, that they can die no more; their spirits uniting with their bodies, never to be divided; thus the whole becoming spiritual and immortal, that they can no more see corruption.
As said, death is inevitable. But once dead, we are promised resurrection. (see Resurrection)

The second death is spiritual. It is a separation from God’s presence. Adam and Eve had the great blessing of talking freely with God in the Garden of Eden. After partaking of the fruit, however, they lost that privilege. After that decision, communication from God came only through faith and sacrifice, and the wonderful gift of prayer.
As of now, we are all in the state of spiritual death. We are separated from God. He dwells in heaven and we live on earth. We would like to return to Him. He is clean and perfect. We are unclean and imperfect.
But we know that the power of Christ’s Atonement overcame both deaths.
After the crucifixion and burial, Christ was resurrected on the third day. This Resurrection reunited Christ’s physical body with His spirit.
The Resurrection is universal and applies to the everyone here on the earth. We will all be resurrected. This is an unconditional gift from God that will never be taken away no matter what we do.
But to be resurrected does not overcome the second death. To gain eternal life and live in the presence of the Father and the Son, we must repent and receive Christ's mercy, which will satisfy justice.
In Alma 12:16 it states: "And now behold, I say unto you then cometh a death, even a second death, which is a spiritual death; then is a time that whosoever dieth in his sins, as to a temporal death, shall also die a spiritual death; yea, he shall as to things pertaining unto righteousness."



Resurrection

The resurrection is the uniting of a spirit body with a body of flesh and bones, never again to be divided. Jesus Christ was the first person to be resurrected on this earth. It is because of the fact that Jesus Christ overcame death that we are able to also be resurrected. "Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth, that they may know that there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah, who layeth down his life according to the flesh, and taketh it again by the power of the Spirit, that he may bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, being the first that should rise. " (2 Nephi 2:8)

Thinking about your body and all the "wrecks" its been in, it's sometimes hard to comprehend that once resurrected, our bodies will become perfect. When our new perfect bodies are reunited with our spirit bodies, we will then be judged. "...there is a space between death and the resurrection of the body, and a state of the soul in happiness or in misery until the time which is appointed of God that the dead shall come forth, and be reunited, both soul and body, and be brought to stand before God, and be judged according to their works. 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." (Alma 40:21&23)


We know what the Resurrection is—the reuniting of the spirit and body in its perfect form (Alma 11:43)
President Spencer W. Kimball said, “I am sure that if we can imagine ourselves at our very best, physically, mentally, spiritually, that is the way we will come back.”
Can you imagine that? Life at our prime? Never sick, never in pain, never pained by the temptations that always seem to enter our lives? What a wonderful thought to know that one day we will be forever happy with the body that we have.



Judgment Day

The final judgment will occur after the resurrection of our bodies. God, through Jesus Christ, will judge each person to determine the eternal glory he will receive. This judgment will be based on each person's obedience to God's commandments, including the acceptance of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Elder Neal A. Maxwell said: " This is a gospel of grand expectations, but God's grace is sufficient for each of us if we remember that there are no instant Christians." (1)

When we are placed before the judgment seat of God, we will know what wrongs we have committed. We will also know with a perfect knowledge that Jesus is the Christ and there won't be any liars. "Yea, every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess before him. Yea, even at the last day, when all men shall stand to be judged of him, then shall they confess that he is God; then shall they confess, who live without God in the world, that the judgement of an everlasting punishment is just upon them; and they shall quake, and tremble, and shrink beneath the glance of his all-searching eye."

It would seem that there is no hope for one who is a daily sinner, which qualifies all those who live and breathe. But just as Elder Neal A. Maxwell said, God's grace is sufficient for each of us. By this he means the Atonement. If we practice the Atonement in our lives we will experience the grace and mercy of God. (see Atonement)

(1) Alma 5:17-21 "Or do ye imagine to yourselves that ye can lie unto the Lord in that day, and say--Lord, our works have been righteous works upon the face of the earth--and he will save you? Or otherwise, can ye imagine yourselves brought before the tribunal of God with your souls filled with guilt and remorse, having a remembrance of all your guilt, yea, a perfect remembrance of all your wickedness, yea, a remembrance that ye have set at defiance the commandments of God? I say unto you, can ye look up to God at that day with a pure heart and clean hands? I say unto you, can you look up, having the image of God engraven upon your countenances? I say unto you, can ye think of being saved when you have yielded yourselves to become subjects to the devil? I say unto you, ye will know at that day that ye cannot be saved; for there can no man be saved except his garments are washed white; yeah, his garments must be purified until they are cleansed from all stain, through the blood of him of whom it has been spoken by our fathers, who should come to redeem his people from their sins."