Spirit Prison in the Book of Mormon

Spirit Prison in the Book of Mormon

Why do Latter-day Saints say there is a spirit prison and levels to heaven when the Book of Mormon in Alma 34:35 makes it clear that if you die without repenting the devil has all power over you?
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Ray Farmer
Jealous of and Zealous for the Book of Mormon11m

According to LDS revelation, the Spirit prison is not for those who die in their sins. The spirit prison was for the righteous people who died before Jesus' suffering and death. Consider 1 Peter 3

8. For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
19. By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
20. Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.

We see, according to Section 138 that Jesus went to teach the spirits in prison but not unto the wicked. He went to those who were righteous who were in prison!

Doctrine and Covenants 138

12. And there were gathered together in one place an innumerable company of the spirits of the just, who had been faithful in the testimony of Jesus while they lived in mortality;
13. And who had offered sacrifice in the similitude of the great sacrifice of the Son of God, and had suffered tribulation in their Redeemer's name.
14. All these had departed the mortal life, firm in the hope of a glorious resurrection, through the grace of God the Father and his Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ.
15. I beheld that they were filled with joy and gladness, and were rejoicing together because the day of their deliverance was at hand.
16. They were assembled awaiting the advent of the Son of God into the spirit world, to declare their redemption from the bands of death.
17. Their sleeping dust was to be restored unto its perfect frame, bone to his bone, and the sinews and the flesh upon them, the spirit and the body to be united never again to be divided, that they might receive a fulness of joy.
18. While this vast multitude waited and conversed, rejoicing in the hour of their deliverance from the chains of death, the Son of God appeared, declaring liberty to the captives who had been faithful;
19. And there he preached to them the everlasting gospel, the doctrine of the resurrection and the redemption of mankind from the fall, and from individual sins on conditions of repentance.
20. But unto the wicked he did not go, and among the ungodly and the unrepentant who had defiled themselves while in the flesh, his voice was not raised;
21. Neither did the rebellious who rejected the testimonies and the warnings of the ancient prophets behold his presence, nor look upon his face.
22. Where these were, darkness reigned, but among the righteous there was peace;

Christopher Foote stated in another answer that the spirit prison is "a place reserved for the unrepentant" or "a place where people who aren't prepared to be resurrected are left to toil". Yet, as we have seen in Section 138, the spirits in prison that Jesus went to, having been put to death in the flesh and quickened in the spirit, was a company of the spirits of the just, who had been faithful in the testimony of Jesus while they lived in mortality. The revelation says specifically that He did not go to the wicked, the ungodly nor the unrepentant who had defiled themselves while in the flesh and who had offered sacrifice in the similitude of the great sacrifice of the Son of God. Clearly, the spirit prison was holding the righteous!

Latter-day Saints doctrine says the exact opposite! It is as though they are unfamiliar with this, their latest canonized section!

The Book of Mormon talks of those righteous people who died before Jesus coming in the flesh and were in this “prison”.

Mosiah 15, the Words of Abinadi:

21. And there cometh a resurrection, even a first resurrection; yea, even a resurrection of those that have been, and who are, and who shall be, even until the resurrection of Christ--for so shall he be called.
22. And now, the resurrection of all the prophets, and all those that have believed in their words, or all those that have kept the commandments of God, shall come forth in the first resurrection; therefore, they are the first resurrection.
23. They are raised to dwell with God who has redeemed them; thus they have eternal life through Christ, who has broken the bands of death.
24. And these are those who have part in the first resurrection; and these are they that have died before Christ came, in their ignorance, not having salvation declared unto them. And thus the Lord bringeth about the restoration of these; and they have a part in the first resurrection, or have eternal life, being redeemed by the Lord.
25. And little children also have eternal life.

Abinadi’s use of "first resurrection" is very interesting. Alma seems to be citing the words of Abinadi and adding a little clarification when he said "And behold, again it hath been spoken" and "there are some that have understood". Alma concedes Abinadi’s point, it seems, when he says, "I admit it may be termed a resurrection". He quotes Abinadi word for word who, with him, says "a resurrection of those that have been, and who are, and who shall be, even until the resurrection of Christ".

Alma 40

12. 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.
13. And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of the wicked, yea, who are evil--for behold, they have no part nor portion of the Spirit of the Lord; for behold, they chose evil works rather than good; therefore the spirit of the devil did enter into them, and take possession of their house--and these shall be cast out into outer darkness; there shall be weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth, and this because of their own iniquity, being led captive by the will of the devil.
14. Now this is the state of the souls of the wicked, yea, in darkness, and a state of awful, fearful looking for the fiery indignation of the wrath of God upon them; thus they remain in this state, as well as the righteous in paradise, until the time of their resurrection.
15. Now, there are some that have understood that this state of happiness and this state of misery of the soul, before the resurrection, was a first resurrection. Yea, I admit it may be termed a resurrection, the raising of the spirit or the soul and their consignation to happiness or misery, according to the words which have been spoken.
16. And behold, again it hath been spoken, that there is a first resurrection, a resurrection of all those who have been, or who are, or who shall be, down to the resurrection of Christ from the dead.
17. Now, we do not suppose that this first resurrection, which is spoken of in this manner, can be the resurrection of the souls and their consignation to happiness or misery. Ye cannot suppose that this is what it meaneth.
18. Behold, I say unto you, Nay; but it meaneth the reuniting of the soul with the body, of those from the days of Adam down to the resurrection of Christ.

So it seems that Abinadi was teaching that when the spirits of the righteous find themselves in the spirit prison of Peter, where Joseph F. Smith places them, it is something like the first resurrection, but not quite. However, it is clear that the company in the spirit prison are those, operating only under the incomplete picture that the Law of Moses provided, still obeyed the prophets, kept the commandments, offered sacrifice and awaited for the Messiah. People like Zacharias and Elizabeth, who “were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless”, and, indeed Joseph husband of Mary, come to mind. "These had departed the mortal life, firm in the hope of a glorious resurrection, through the grace of God the Father and his Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ".

Such were the righteous that waited for Jesus to come and teach the fullness of the Gospel, which they only saw through a glass, darkly. When Jesus went to see them in prison, "....he preached to them the everlasting gospel, the doctrine of the resurrection and the redemption of mankind from the fall, and from individual sins on conditions of repentance". "They were filled with joy and gladness, and were rejoicing together because the day of their deliverance was at hand", meaning they were let out of the spirit prison.

Let's go to the second part of the question. The Book of Mormon in Alma 34:35 makes it clear that if you die without repenting the devil has all power over you.

This is another verse that seems to escape the "Come Follow Me" type LDSaint. Alma teaches plainly that this life, this day of probation, is the time allotted for man to prepare. As pointed out, probation ends at death and it is impossible to repent or perform any labor. I quote the concept in full:

Alma 34

30. And now, my brethren, I would that, after ye have received so many witnesses, seeing that the holy scriptures testify of these things, ye come forth and bring fruit unto repentance.
31. Yea, I would that ye would come forth and harden not your hearts any longer; for behold, now is the time and the day of your salvation; and therefore, if ye will repent and harden not your hearts, immediately shall the great plan of redemption be brought about unto you.
32. For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors.
33. And now, as I said unto you before, as ye have had so many witnesses, therefore, I beseech of you that ye do not procrastinate the day of your repentance until the end; for after this day of life, which is given us to prepare for eternity, behold, if we do not improve our time while in this life, then cometh the night of darkness wherein there can be no labor performed.
34. Ye cannot say, when ye are brought to that awful crisis, that I will repent, that I will return to my God. Nay, ye cannot say this; for that same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world.
35. For behold, if ye have procrastinated the day of your repentance even until death, behold, ye have become subjected to the spirit of the devil, and he doth seal you his; therefore, the Spirit of the Lord hath withdrawn from you, and hath no place in you, and the devil hath all power over you; and this is the final state of the wicked.

Dallin Oaks always says little is known about this state between death and the resurrection in the Bible and Book of Mormon. But all the detail we need is given in Alma 40

13. And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of the wicked, yea, who are evil--for behold, they have no part nor portion of the Spirit of the Lord; for behold, they chose evil works rather than good; therefore the spirit of the devil did enter into them, and take possession of their house--and these shall be cast out into outer darkness; there shall be weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth, and this because of their own iniquity, being led captive by the will of the devil.
14. Now this is the state of the souls of the wicked, yea, in darkness, and a state of awful, fearful looking for the fiery indignation of the wrath of God upon them; thus they remain in this state, as well as the righteous in paradise, until the time of their resurrection.

LDSaint doctrine has it that the wicked rebellious will be taught the Gospel and they can accept proxy baptism and then move over to paradise. However, the above states that the wicked will not be in some kind of spirit school. Rather they will be in outer darkness where, rather than spiritual lessons given by righteous dead elders, there shall be weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth. How long will they be in that state? Says Alma, "they remain in this state, as well as the righteous in paradise, until the time of their resurrection".

Over and over the Book of Mormon says that those who die in their sins, remain in their sins.

2 Nephi 9:38 And, in fine, wo unto all those who die in their sins; for they shall return to God, and behold his face, and remain in their sins.

Mosiah 2:33 For behold, there is a wo pronounced upon him who listeth to obey that spirit; for if he listeth to obey him, and remaineth and dieth in his sins, the same drinketh damnation to his own soul; for he receiveth for his wages an everlasting punishment, having transgressed the law of God contrary to his own knowledge.

Mosiah 2:38 Therefore if that man repenteth not, and remaineth and dieth an enemy to God, the demands of divine justice do awaken his immortal soul to a lively sense of his own guilt, which doth cause him to shrink from the presence of the Lord, and doth fill his breast with guilt, and pain, and anguish, which is like an unquenchable fire, whose flame ascendeth up forever and ever.

Mosiah 15:26 But behold, and fear, and tremble before God, for ye ought to tremble; for the Lord redeemeth none such that rebel against him and die in their sins; yea, even all those that have perished in their sins ever since the world began, that have wilfully rebelled against God, that have known the commandments of God, and would not keep them; these are they that have no part in the first resurrection.

Alma 12:16 And now behold, I say unto you then cometh a death, even a second death, which is a spiritual death; then is a time that whosoever dieth in his sins, as to a temporal death, shall also die a spiritual death; yea, he shall die as to things pertaining unto righteousness.

Moroni 10:26 And wo unto them who shall do these things away and die, for they die in their sins, and they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God; and I speak it according to the words of Christ; and I lie not.

Conclusion (finally)

The Book of Mormon makes it clear that if you die in an unrepentant state, the devil has all power over you for eternity. LDSaints try to extend the day of probation until the judgement, giving the wicked a space to repent. This, however, is confounded by the Book of Mormon.

The spirit prison does not hold the unrepentant wicked. Instead, it was a holding place for the righteous who died before the death of Jesus. After those were set free, the prison seems to have been closed or the prison was also paradise. After the resurrection, the righteous go right to paradise:

Alma 40:12 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.