What happens after we die?

 💔 I am so sad to announce that my Aunt Sally Nelson died last night and my Uncle Danny Schultz died 6 days ago. This is my mother's older sister and younger brother.  It is so difficult to lose two siblings in such a short period of time. They both died of medical complications, not covid related.   My mom has also been super sick which was probably made worse by stress. She is definitely passing through the fire of trials. I told my mother that the Schultz's are having a family dinner in heaven and she has been invited.  She said, "Well, I'm not going." 😅

This leads to many questions...

What happens after we die?

While we don't know everything, we do know principles of truth through the scriptures and the prophets.

Now, concerning the state of the soul between death and the resurrection—Behold, it has been made known unto me by an angel, that the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body, yea, the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave them life.

And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of those who are righteous are received into a state of happiness, which is called paradise, a state of rest, a state of peace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care, and sorrow. Alma 40:11-12

Where is the spirit world?

"President Brigham Young taught that the spirits of those who once lived on earth remain around us on this earth, though we can't see them." Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young (1997), 279.

What is the spirit world like?

That depends. The righteous are received into a state of happiness, rest, and peace called paradise.  They rest from all their troubles, care and sorrow.  The wicked will experience hell or spirit prison. Hell may be defined as the "torment of disappointment in the mind of man." Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith (2007), 224

What do spirits look like?

People's spirits had an adult form before birth and will have that same form in the spirit world, even if they die as children or infants. Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph F Smith (1998), 131-132.

Can spirits in the spirit world see us?

Yes, President Joseph F. Smith said that those in the spirit world can see us more clearly than we can see them and that "their solicitude for us and their love for us and their desire for our well being must be greater than that which we feel for ourselves." Joseph F Smith, Gospel Doctrine, 5th ed. (1939), 430-431

What are spirits in the spirit world doing?

We know that the spirits of the faithful who have not yet been resurrected are doing missionary work among spirits who are in prison. Doctrine and Covenants 138:30

Can people change in the spirit world?

The spirits in prison are "taught faith in God, repentance from sin, vicarious baptism for the remission of sins, the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, and all other principles of the gospel that are necessary for them to know." Doctrine and Covenants 138:33-34

If they accept the principles of the gospel, repent of their sins, and accept the ordinances performed in their behalf in temples, they will be welcomed into paradise.

Is the spirit world the end of our existence?

No, all who have ever lived on earth will be resurrected through the merits of Jesus Christ. 1Corinthians 15:21-23

Then we will be judged and receive our final glory.

Having a knowledge of life after death takes away the 'sting of death' because we know we will see our loved ones again.  It doesn't mean that we don't mourn. We mourn for the separation of our loved ones. This separation causes deep sorrow for those left behind. 

"The only way to take sorrow out of death is to take love out of life." President Russell M Nelson, General Conference, April 1992, "Doors of Death"

 We know life goes on even after death. This gives us hope that one day we will be together again.