Paradise

Satan has no power over the faithful dead

Satan has power here over us to a certain extent. He can afflict us; he can tempt us; he can annoy us in many ways. These are the consequences of the fall and for a wise purpose belong to our probation here in the flesh. But, if we listen to the Lord, if we strive to keep His commandments, if we seek to be governed by His Spirit, when death comes, Satan’s power ceases. He can no more afflict or torment or tempt or annoy those who are thus faithful. His power over them ceases forever.

But not so with those who disobey God, who keep not His commandments, who yield to the power and spirit of Satan. They are his servants; they are under his influence. He takes possession of them when they pass from this mortal existence, and they experience the torments of hell. (Elder George Q. Cannon, Sept. 1, 1885, Juvenile Instructor 20:264)

Satan has no power over faithful dead. Satan is bound as soon as the faithful spirit leaves this tabernacle of clay and goes to the other side of the veil. That spirit is emancipated from the power and thraldom and attacks of Satan. Satan can only afflict such in this life. He can only afflict those in that life which is to come who have listened to his persuasions, who have listed to obey him. These are the only ones over whom he has power after this life.

The Latter-day Saints who have been faithful, the men and the women who have kept the commandments of God, those who have lived according to the light that they have had, whether it be much or little, when they leave this state of existence, they are placed in such a position that Satan has no power over them; he cannot tempt them; he cannot afflict them; he can do nothing to interfere with their happiness; but the wicked, those who list to obey him, those who give heed to his spirit, will only be still more completely in his power in the life that is to come. . . .(George Q. Cannon, Gospel Truth: Discourses and Writings of President George Q. Cannon, selected, arranged, and edited by Jerreld L. Newquist [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1987], 61.)

“Paradise — the abode of righteous spirits, as they await the day of their resurrection; paradise — a place of peace and rest where the sorrows and trials of his life have been shuffled off, and where the saints continue to prepare for a celestial heaven; paradise — not the Lord’s eternal kingdom, but a way station along the course leading to eternal life, a place where the final preparation is made for that fulness of joy which comes only when body and spirit are inseparably connected in immortal glory!” (Bruce R. McConkie, The Mortal Messiah, 4:222.)

According to the prophet Alma, the righteous spirits rest from earthly care and sorrow. Nevertheless, they are occupied in doing the work of the Lord. President Joseph F. Smith saw in a vision that immediately after Jesus Christ was crucified, he visited the righteous in the spirit world. He appointed messengers, gave them power and authority, and commissioned them to “carry the light of the gospel to them that were in darkness, even to all the spirits of men” (D&C 138:30).

The Church is organized in the spirit world, with each prophet standing at the head of his own generation (Joseph Smith, History of the Church, 4:209).

“The same Priesthood exists on the other side of the veil. . . . Every Apostle, every Seventy, every Elder, etc., who has died in the faith as soon as he passes to the other side of the veil, enters into the work of the ministry” (Wilford Woodruff, Journal of Discourses, 22:333-34)

Family relationships are also important. President Jedediah M. Grant, a counselor to Brigham Young, saw the spirit world and described to Heber C. Kimball the organization that exists there: “He said that the people he there saw were organized in family capacities. . . . He said, ‘When I looked at families, there was a deficiency in some, . . . for I saw families that would not be permitted to come and dwell together, because they had not honored their calling here’ ” (Heber C. Kimball, in Journal of Discourses, 4:135-36).

A statement regarding conditions in the spirit world among the righteous was given in 1856 by Jedediah M. Grant, a member of the First Presidency. He had related to President Heber C. Kimball a vision he had had of the spirit world, which President Kimball subsequently discussed at Grant’s funeral a few days later on December 4, 1856. Although an unofficial statement, it represents concepts generally held by Latter-day Saints. A summary follows: Jedediah Grant saw the righteous gathered together in the spirit world; there were no wicked spirits among them. There were order, government, and organization. Among the righteous there was no disorder, darkness, or confusion. They were organized into families, and there was “perfect harmony.” He saw his wife, with whom he conversed, and many other persons whom he knew. There was “a deficiency in some” families, because some individuals “had not honored their calling” on earth and therefore were not “permitted to…dwell together.” The buildings were exceptionally attractive, far exceeding in beauty his opinion of Solomon’s temple. Gardens were more beautiful than any he had seen on earth, with “flowers of numerous kinds.” After experiencing “the beauty and glory of the spirit world” among the righteous spirits, he regretted having to return to his body in mortality (Journal of Discourses 4:135-36).