Umm. I'm afraid you misunderstood me. Must be that annoying Mormon terminology. When I said "the next life," I meant the afterlife-- heaven, hell, the spirit world, the place we go after we die. Not that we are sent back to earth to make up for mistakes we made in this life. No, that wasn't the point at all. :)
So, when I talk about spirits being given the opportunity to accept Christ in the next life, I am talking about, essentially, missionary work in hell. Our belief in this doctrine is centered on modern revelation-- specifically, teachings of Joseph Smith and Joseph F. Smith. But there is some justification for it in the Bible, namely in the first epistle of Peter. There it mentions that Christ, after the crucifixion and before the resurrection, "preached unto the spirits in prison" (see 1 Peter 3:18-20), and in the next chapter Peter again mentions that "For this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit" (1 Peter 4:6).
In our own scripture, we have several scriptures that bear up this idea. The first is found in Doctrine and Covenants 137, which is a vision given to Joseph Smith in 1836. He saw the celestial kingdom, which you would probably know as heaven, and saw father Adam and Abraham, and his father and mother and his brother Alvin there. Alvin had died before the Church was restored and had not been baptized, so Joseph was puzzled as to why he would be there. Then "came the voice of the Lord unto me, saying: All who have died withoug a knowledge of this gospel, who would have received it if they had been permitted to tarry, shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom of God; Also all that shall die henceforth without a knowledge of it, who would have recieved it with all their hearts, shall be heirs of that kingdom; for I, the Lord, will judge all men according to their works, according to the desire of their hearts" (D&C 137:7-9).
Another key scripture for us concerning this doctrine is found in D&C 138, which is a vision given to Joseph F. Smith (Joseph Smith's nephew and the 6th president of the church) in 1918. He had been pondering those verses from Peter which I quoted above, and had a vision of the afterlife and the visit of Christ to the spirits in prison. Here's the most relevant passage: "And as I wonder, my eyes were opened, and my understanding quickened, and I perceived that the Lord went not in person among the wicked and the disobedient who had rejected the truth, to teach them; But behold, from among the righteous, he organized his forces and appointed messengers, clothed with power and authority, and commissioned them to go forth and carry the light of the gospel to them that were in darkness, even to all the spirits of men; and thus was the gospel preached to the dead. And the chosen messengers went forth to declare the acceptable day of the Lord and proclaim liberty to the captives who were bound, even unto all who would repent of their sins and reveive the gospel. Thus was the gospel preached to those who had died in their sins, without a knowledge of the truth, or in transgression, having rejected the prophets" (D&C 138:29-32). Later in the chapter he says this: "The dead who repent will be redeemed, through obedience to the ordinances of the house of God, And after they have paid the penalty of their transgressions, and are washed clean, shall receieve a reward according to their works, for they are heirs of salvation" (58-59).
no subject
So, when I talk about spirits being given the opportunity to accept Christ in the next life, I am talking about, essentially, missionary work in hell. Our belief in this doctrine is centered on modern revelation-- specifically, teachings of Joseph Smith and Joseph F. Smith. But there is some justification for it in the Bible, namely in the first epistle of Peter. There it mentions that Christ, after the crucifixion and before the resurrection, "preached unto the spirits in prison" (see 1 Peter 3:18-20), and in the next chapter Peter again mentions that "For this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit" (1 Peter 4:6).
In our own scripture, we have several scriptures that bear up this idea. The first is found in Doctrine and Covenants 137, which is a vision given to Joseph Smith in 1836. He saw the celestial kingdom, which you would probably know as heaven, and saw father Adam and Abraham, and his father and mother and his brother Alvin there. Alvin had died before the Church was restored and had not been baptized, so Joseph was puzzled as to why he would be there. Then "came the voice of the Lord unto me, saying: All who have died withoug a knowledge of this gospel, who would have received it if they had been permitted to tarry, shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom of God; Also all that shall die henceforth without a knowledge of it, who would have recieved it with all their hearts, shall be heirs of that kingdom; for I, the Lord, will judge all men according to their works, according to the desire of their hearts" (D&C 137:7-9).
Another key scripture for us concerning this doctrine is found in D&C 138, which is a vision given to Joseph F. Smith (Joseph Smith's nephew and the 6th president of the church) in 1918. He had been pondering those verses from Peter which I quoted above, and had a vision of the afterlife and the visit of Christ to the spirits in prison. Here's the most relevant passage: "And as I wonder, my eyes were opened, and my understanding quickened, and I perceived that the Lord went not in person among the wicked and the disobedient who had rejected the truth, to teach them; But behold, from among the righteous, he organized his forces and appointed messengers, clothed with power and authority, and commissioned them to go forth and carry the light of the gospel to them that were in darkness, even to all the spirits of men; and thus was the gospel preached to the dead. And the chosen messengers went forth to declare the acceptable day of the Lord and proclaim liberty to the captives who were bound, even unto all who would repent of their sins and reveive the gospel. Thus was the gospel preached to those who had died in their sins, without a knowledge of the truth, or in transgression, having rejected the prophets" (D&C 138:29-32). Later in the chapter he says this: "The dead who repent will be redeemed, through obedience to the ordinances of the house of God, And after they have paid the penalty of their transgressions, and are washed clean, shall receieve a reward according to their works, for they are heirs of salvation" (58-59).
Continued. . .