Eternal Life was referred to by Shakespeare as the “undiscovered country.” I like that thought because, in fact, it is an undiscovered country. We cannot go to the National Geographic or any other travel oriented or scientific journal and see pictures and/or find an article about Eternal Life, an article describing where it is and what it is like. Even the scriptures reveal very few details about life after mortality, and what happens to us when we lay our body by. Heavenly Father obviously has a good reason for keeping us wondering about the mysteries of heaven and eternal life. What we do know is very sketchy, but it is a place where God and Jesus dwell and the only place where we can obtain a fullness of joy.
I can think of only one reason why we are kept in the dark. If we knew for a certain what it would be like, it would most likely change the way we live our lives. We would no longer be walking by faith because then we would know. We would no longer be looking through a glass darkly, as Paul described this life, because we would then be seeing the afterlife as it is, clearly. If we knew exactly what it was like and where it is, we wouldn’t want to do anything that might prevent or hinder, our entering into such a state.
This life would no longer be a school where we experience mortality and where we are tested in respect to our faithfulness to our Father’s commandments. It would neutralize our agency by reducing the opposition and making it easier to choose to follow the father’s plan. Lehi taught his son Jacob the importance of opposition: “For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, my first-born in the wilderness, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad. Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one; wherefore, if it should be one body it must needs remain as dead, having no life neither death, nor corruption nor incorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense nor insensibility.” (2 Nephi 2:11) We wouldn’t experience joy because we would do nothing to experience misery.
We know where He is. He has told us in the Book of Abraham that: “I am the Lord thy God; I dwell in heaven; the earth is my footstool; (Abraham 2:7) I believe we would all like to be where our Father dwells, and He would like us to be with Him as well.
In the Book of Moses, He tells us that: “For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” (Moses 1:39) From that scripture we know that His work or primary purpose is related to us and our quest to gain eternal life. Jesus gave us a little glimpse of heaven when he stated: “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” ( John 14:2) Therefore, we apparently have places in heaven that we are either assigned to or that we chose to go to. More probably our place will be chosen by us based on our faithfulness. These mansions may possibly have reference to the various degrees of glory, as mentioned by Paul: “There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.” (1Corinthians 15:40–41) and verse 42 adds; “So also is the resurrection of the dead.”
I’m sure that many of us believe that only the good are ‘heaven bound,’ but Heavenly Father loves us all too much to allow that limitation. The scriptures tell us that all have sinned: “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” (Romans 3:23) Even though we are sinners, we have to know that we can be forgiven and that there is hope for every one of us. “And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their iniquities, whereby they have sinned, and whereby they have transgressed against me. ( Jeremiah 33:8)
How will we be pardoned? “Listen to the voice of Jesus Christ, your Redeemer, the Great I Am, whose arm of mercy hath atoned for your sins.” (D&C 29:1) Why would Christ atone for our sins? The answer is because of how important we all are to the Father.
“I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.” (Psalms 82:31) There is only one manner of sin that we cannot be forgiven of and that is blasphemy against the Holy Ghost. “Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.” (Matthew 12:32) Even though we will be forgiven of other sins and shortcomings, based on repentance, that doesn’t mean that we will all go to the same place—as mentioned above there are many mansions.
Another important question some may ask is ‘Will there be an opportunity to repent after we die?’ The answer to that question is described by Peter, “For 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.) God is just, and so for all those who have lived on this earth when the Gospel was not available or if they lived in a place where it was not preached, they will be given an opportunity to hear and accept it. If not in this life, then in the next one.
The Gospel, or ‘Plan of Salvation’ was revealed unto Adam and Eve, and men everywhere, as they spread across the face of the earth, have strayed from the truth. They strayed, but their traditions still carry bits and pieces of the original Plan of Salvation presented to Adam. The following narrative came from Walking Cloud, a Native American from the Northwest Territory: “You ask me about a future life. I cannot see how a person may be taken to another world and come back and tell about it. Old people used to tell us that the dead, when washed clean by the Great Spirit, could be sent to earth. And some believe this even now (Messengers, Angels?). One thing is certain. The body rests in the earth for four days. During that time we take food and place it on the grave, that the body (soul) may not starve. After four days, the body rises and starts out alone, to the happy hunting ground. A spirit comes to guide the body on its way, unseen. They come to a swift stream. They must cross it on a slender pole. If the body is that of a bad Indian, it sinks in the river and never lives more. If it is a good Indian, it walks steadily and crosses the pole. A woman stands on the farther bank and receives the newcomer. The woman asks the stranger his name. When she receives it, she says, “You are good ; you shall always live in the happy hunting ground.” (from Henry Schoolcraft, ‘History of Indian Tribes’)
From a Social Scientist approach, Dinesh D’Souza, in his blockbuster book, ‘Life After Death: The Evidence,’ takes on the doubters with a reasoned, scientifically-based case that Eternal Life is not only possible, it is probable. In fact, he demonstrates, that it has far more evidence on its side than atheistic arguments about death marking our utter extinction. There are many evi- dences that he sites in his book that support life after death, even eternal life for man.
A scripture in the Book of Abraham is one of the most significant; “Thus I, Abraham, talked with the Lord, face to face, as one man talketh with another; and he told me of the works which his hands had made; And he said unto me: My son, my son (and his hand was stretched out), behold I will show you all these. And he put his hand upon mine eyes, and I saw those things which his hands had made, which were many; and they multiplied before mine eyes, and I could not see the end thereof…if there be two spirits, and one shall be more intelligent than the other, yet these two spirits, notwithstanding one is more intelligent than the other, have no beginning; they existed before, they shall have no end, they shall exist after, for they are gnolaum, or eternal.” (Abraham 3:11–18)
The Lord described for Abraham that our spirits were first intelligences (of varying degrees, talents) and that we are gnolaum, or eternal. We always have existed and we always will exist, that describes ‘eternal life.’
Then we have a modern day prophet’s testimony: “I know as surely as anything in this world that someday I shall die as to the life of this world. But I have an absolute certainty in my heart that I shall go on living and doing good and having the association of my beloved companion and my children.” —Gordon B. Hinckley
I began this thought ‘On Eternal Life’ with a quote from Shakespeare; he referred to eternal life as the “undiscovered country,” and he added that, ‘it will be discovered by us all.’ I, too, believe that ‘eternal life’ will be discovered by us all.