Heaven's Paradise

The Judeo-Christian religious concepts suggest that the spirits of the dead go to heaven to sing praises to God for eternity (or to hell and burn in a lake of literal fire for eternity). There are differences across the spectrum.

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints tend to believe similarly to others of the Judeo-Christian background, but their understanding of what occurs in these places differs.

Heaven or Paradise is the place where righteous spirits go after death to await the Resurrection. In this place, the righteous sons and daughters of God rest from all their cares in relation to the world--having to sleep, eat and work for sustenance. It is not a place where people sit idly on a cloud singing.

In Paradise, people do the work of the Lord. All righteous people preach and hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. All good people from the beginning of time have a righteous Christian adorned by the authority of God to teach them. Those who have not had the opportunity to hear about Christ in mortal life have that chance because of Jesus Christ.

Heaven is not a place to rest in the sense of relaxing and sleeping. Heaven is where people rest from the commandment (some call it a curse) given to Adam recorded in Genesis: "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground (3:19)" In other words, all the people of Heaven rest from the mandate that humanity must work hard to survive and enjoy the beauty and comforts of Earth.

In His love for humanity, God arranged so that all people who have not had the chance can hear and accept Jesus Christ during mortality will hear it in the next life. This fulfills the prophecy that "every knee shall bow and every tongue confess" (Mosiah 27:31) that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, and the Savior of all humanity.

God's love maintains it is essential to His Plan of Salvation that all human beings have a chance to hear and accept Jesus so that all His judgments are faultless.

In heaven, expect to work. Heaven is a place of instruction and preparation for the righteous to receive a glorious resurrection. It provides refuge from the worries of mortality so the righteous can help those left in mortality complete their works.

Christ organized missionary work among the righteous during his visit to paradise recorded in 1 Peter chapters three and four. Christ opened the gates of heaven to the lost souls in spirit prison giving them the ability to live "that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit." 1 Peter 4:6

Reunions between the righteous will occur. Parents and grandparents welcome children and grandchildren. Brothers and sisters welcome siblings to Heaven to commence the work of Jesus Christ as spirits, unencumbered by the frailties of the flesh.

1. Heaven is a place of work
2. Billions of people who die without knowing about Jesus learn about Him

Yes. All the dead will have been judged partially for entrance into this temporary state of heaven (or hell). As busy as heaven is, it is a rehearsal for what will occur after the resurrection!

Jesus Christ has the grace to allow our spirits to continue in joy in the next life as we have faith in Him in mortal life. By unshaken faith in the teachings of Jesus, all righteous people continue in that state of mind.

This mortal life is the time to cultivate a relationship with God through the Holy Ghost because "that same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life ... will have the power to possess your body in that eternal world." Alma 34:34

When we die, we do not shed our old personalities, and we will not be infused with un-pursued knowledge. The media, especially religious media, show people repenting on their deathbeds and floating off to the fairytale version of heaven.

Heaven is a state of mind for the dead. Whatever concerns people in mortality will trouble them as spirits. There is no getting away from the lives we live. If we live lives of unrepentant debauchery, we should expect it to continue with us. If we are good in this life, we will continue to be good when we die, and the Holy Ghost will still have a personal influence on our actions and knowledge.

The righteous will have the ability to learn and accept more of the mysteries of God in Heaven if they seek to know them in mortality. Heaven will last only as long as the children of God need it to prepare for a glorious resurrection. Heaven is as magnificent as we all believe it will be. Emotionally splendid experiences occur seeing relatives again, and psychologically superb culmination occurs for investing faith in post-mortal life. Heaven provides the proof to the righteous who have only hoped in faith during mortality.