The resurrection is a Christian Doctrine supported by scripture; “As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” (1 Corinthians 15:22) That does not mean that every Christian believer believes in the resurrection.
The mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, pertaining to the ‘redemption of the dead,’ will only be a viable mission for those members who really believe the doctrine of the resurrection and life after death. Those who truly believe that our ancestors continue to exist as spirits, awaiting the day of the resurrection, will have an interest in this work. The resurrection has been defined as follows, “Resurrected beings have bodies of flesh and bones, tangible, corporeal bodies, bodies that occupy space, digest food, and have power, outwardly, to appear as mortal bodies do.” (Mormon Doctrine, “Resurrection,” 637, Elder Bruce R. McConkie)
Living, breathing mortals, generally do not spend much time thinking about death, our own or anybody else’s, nor do we spend time contemplating the resurrection. Only when a loved one, a close friend or an acquaintance passes away, our thoughts will be directed toward that person, and our grieving will be based on that person’s absence in our life. We often hear comments that the person is in a better place now and won’t have to suffer anymore. We may even read or hear scriptures about the spirit world, and we try to envision what that place might be like. Some see it as a far off place in the universe, and others believe it to be right here around us, and that our ancestor’s spirits dwell close to home and family. Soon after the funeral, however, those concerns are gone for most of us, and our thoughts of death and dying are far from our minds. There are even some Christians who don’t believe there is such a place as the spirit world or heaven and that death is the end. Others believe that the resurrection only pertains to the spirit, and that the spirit goes on eternally while the body returns to the dust of the earth. The body, to them, was merely a temporary, earthly shell for housing the spirit while it sojourned in mortality. Paul, writing to the Corinthians (15:19) said, “If in this life only we have hope in Christ we are of all men most miserable.” Many mortals are, in fact, miserable as they experience a death in the family. Their lack of knowledge and/or faith in the resurrection and life after death cause them to believe that they will never see or be with that loved one again.
Regardless of our faith, the spirit world, the resurrection and heaven are hard concepts for us to wrap our mortal minds around. Many who profess belief in the doctrines associated with the restored church may struggle when it comes to finding the energy to be actively engaged in this one mission of ‘redeeming the dead.’ The veil over the earth and the human mind, regarding our pre-earth existence, was made of a heavier material than we would wish. For that veiled ‘pre-mortal vision’ would surely give us more clues as to what the post mortal existence may be like, for we were spirits there too. I believe that we would all like to be able to see back through that veil even just to catch a glimpse. In 1 Corinthians 13:12, we read that, “Now we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face…” One day we will be at the gate of the spirit world ourselves and we will see clearly the things our Father hasn’t given us clearance for yet. Until then, we must walk in faith as we trek through mortality. Latter-day Saints who understand the doctrine and who believe that we are and have been led by prophets of God will testify that the resurrection pertains to both the body and spirit, that all men, at the appointed time, will be resurrected as immortal beings and will be assigned to a station in the hereafter appropriate to our works here in mortality.
We believe that the family unit will continue as an eternal patriarchal organization linked together by priesthood and generational ties. To remember the way we have all felt at the loss of a loved one is to understand how each generation of our ancestors felt when they lost their loved ones, as well. That understanding and that same emotion should be what drives us to assure that the relationships and links are in place for all of those who have gone on before us. May God bless us in this important work, the mission that could only have been fulfilled, in these, the latter days, a mission that will only be accepted by those who are compassionate believers in eternal life as described by the Savior.