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What do Mormons believe regarding heaven and hell?
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Name : GGomez, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), City : Porterville, State : CA, Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class,What do you define as heaven and hell?
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Name : Rockwell, City : RS, State : WY, Country : United States,Here we go again. . . After Jesus’ second coming, and the succeeding Millenium, is the final judgement. That, as the name implies, is final. There are four places that someone could wind up. The three degrees of glory and ‘outer darkness’. Pretty much no one goes to outer darkness. That is ultimately where Satan and his angels will go and anyone who rejects the holy ghost. The thing is in order to reject the holy ghost you need to have an almost perfect understanding of everything. Possibly, if one of the Presidents of the church were to go completely apostate, he might end up there, but that’s about it. Outer Darkness could definitely be considered hell. Although again, not the Gothic, Dante inspired type. You would however be subject to Satan, which would be unlikely to be a pleasant experience. So now, for the three degrees of glory: Telestial, Terrestrial, and Celestial. The lowest of these is the Telestial Kingdom. It would be compared to the glory of the stars as opposed to the Terrestrial Kingdom, which compared to the glory of the moon, and the Celestial Kingdom, which is compared to the glory of the sun. In some ways it’s both heaven and hell. Despite it being the least degree of glory, it’s apparently still a very nice place–I’ve obviously never been there, although apparently various people have seen visions of it and the other degrees of glory. The problem is at this point we will know everything we did before we came to earth and will realize what we could have had. Also, people in this kingdom can never be in the physical presence of Jesus, or God. In addition, they can’t progress to the next step in their growth. Apparently, people from higher degrees of glory can visit them though. There will be quite a few people going here. Next is the Terrestrial Kingdom. Again, a very nice place, but not the best. These people do not get to progress either. They do get to be in the physical presence of Jesus, but not of God. They can visit people in the Telestial Kingdom, and people from the Celestial Kingdom can visit them. So again, both heaven and hell.
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Name : Danielle, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Mormon, Age : 28, City : Salt Lake City,, State : UT, Country : United States, Occupation : Writer/Grad Student/ etc., Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class,Short answer: We believe in them both. The longer answer is more complicated. The first part isn’t going to answer your question directly, but I think it’s necessary for context. Essentially, Mormons believe that we existed in spirit form before this life. The next step in our development was to come to this life to learn and to be tested. The next step occurs after we die, and I’ll go into that in more depth later since it is to some extent the answer to your question. God had a plan for how things would work when we came to earth. He needed someone to help administrate that plan and in essence to be our Savior–the one who came to earth to perform the atonement as Jesus did when he took our sins upon him. There were two spirits who wanted to fulfill this role. One was Jesus and the other was Lucifer, who became Satan. Jesus propsed he would carry out the plan by performing the atonement, but we would be free to choose whether or not we would obey the laws and conditions that would be required to take advantage of the it. He said all the glory would go to God. Satan on the other hand, said he would force everyone to obey and not one person would be lost–sounds good on the surface until you realize that means that we would have no choice in how we lived our lives (this is different from there being consequences, mind you). Satan also wanted all the glory for himself–he wanted to be worshipped and in some extent to take the place of God. to be continued
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Name : Danielle, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Mormon, Age : 28, City : Salt Lake City,, State : UT, Country : United States, Occupation : Writer/Grad Student/ etc., Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class,Boy, am I long winded. Here’s yet more: People who have heard and accepted the gospel go to what is known as paradise. It’s pretty much like the conventional definition of heaven. I’m not sure exactly what we do there all day, and I don’t think anyone really is entirely, but it’s actually quite a bit like what we do now, but without the bad parts eg. getting sick, being in pain. People who have not heard the gospel or have heard it, but not accepted it go to Spirit Prison. This is not as happy a place as you might imagine from the name. Though it’s not a Gothic sort of hell with lakes of fire, and pitchforks and the whole deal. Basically, once you’re dead you remember what you knew before you were born (the whole plan, essential, eternal truths, that kind of thing) and you realize what you could have had. As for people who didn’t get a chance to hear the gospel, it’s not all over for them. People from Paradise are allowed to visit Spirit Prison and one of the things they will be doing is teaching those people the gospel. If they accept it, then it will be the same as if they had heard the gospel and accepted it while they were alive. The same may go for others too depending on their reasons for not accepting the gospel–the important thing to remember is that God is loving and caring and fair. No matter what happens it will be entirely fair for all involved. As a side note, babies and children who die before they are eight–which is what the church considers the age of reason–are not responsible for any sins they may have committed, so they will go to Paradise. During the millenium after Jesus returns to the earth, their parents will get to raise them to adulthood BTW–but that time and what will happen during it is a whole other, long discussion. to be continued, again
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Name : Danielle, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Mormon, Age : 28, City : Salt Lake City,, State : UT, Country : United States, Occupation : Writer/Grad Student/ etc., Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class,Apparently my post was too long for the forum so here’s the next part: After Satan and Jesus both proposed their plans, something that Mormons call ‘the war in heaven’ occurred. It wasn’t a physical war, but rather a war of ideas, sort of a proselyting war. To some extent like a politcal campaign with each side trying to convince people that their idea was the way things should be. Of course, Jesus’ plan was the correct one–there was no doubt about that really, but some were rebellious and they convinced others I suppose–and everyone who is now, has been, or will be, on this earth voted in favor of that plan. However, Satan and his followers convinced 1/3 of the population of heaven to support him. He and his supporters were cast out of heaven–you can read about that in Revelations where it talks about Michael the Arch Angel throwing the ‘dragon’ out of heaven. Satan and those people essentially failed at the first step and they have never, nor will they ever get to live on earth and have bodies. They’re very miserable because of this. I often wonder what’s so great about having a body, especially during flu season, but the experience of having one is necessary for us to continue in our development.As I said, the devil and his followers, his angels, as they are sometimes called, are not happy because they missed out. They are damned. In this case it relates to a word that sounds similar dammed. When you dam water it can’t progress so to speak. When a person is damned they can’t progress either. For them the saying that misery loves company is true, and this is stated in the Book of Mormon. Satan wants us to be as miserable as he is, so he tempts us to do things that are wrong so that we too will be unable to progress. In other words, we will be damned too. So, now for the next part, what happens after we die. We are judged on a preliminary basis then. to be continued
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Name : Danielle, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Mormon, Age : 28, City : Salt Lake City,, State : UT, Country : United States, Occupation : Writer/Grad Student/ etc., Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class,And here’s yet more . . . The Celestial Kingdom is heaven in the strict sense. People here can continue to progress–there aren’t specific details now on specifically what they will be doing next, but you may have heard the statement made by Joseph F. Smith, ‘As man is so once was God, as God is, so man can be’. So essentially at some point later, I imagine much later, in the process we all get to be in charge of our own worlds and creations. I know that’s both mind boggling and incredibly cool at the same time. I don’t think that’s the last stage. It’s entirely possible that our own God is still progressing Himself. Again, very mind boggling and very cool. That’s primarily it to the best of my knowledge and ability. I hope I made some sense. The details are vague in some areas, mostly due to my lack of coherence I’m sure, because what goes on after the final judgement is not an everyday church topic. Not that it’s a secret, or wierd or anything, it’s just for now we’re better off focusing on doing our best to live our lives correctly and helping others to do the same. Since Mormons are definitely human too, this takes up quite a bit of time. to be concluded
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Name : Danielle, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Mormon, Age : 28, City : Salt Lake City,, State : UT, Country : United States, Occupation : Writer/Grad Student/ etc., Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class,And finally. . . If you want to know more about the church, you might want to get in contact with the Mormon Missionaries in your area. You could ask your Mormon friends, if you have any, to try to explain things to you too. We’re usually both thrilled and scared out of our minds that someone wants to hear more about our religion. I would suggest the missionaries not because they’re trained to give you some sort of party line, but because they’ve prepared to spend two years of their lives teaching people about the church and they’ve usually been taught how to present material in a more organized and understandable manner than I just did. I believe you can request that the missionaries visit you off of the church’s official website http://www.lds.org., or if you’ve seen the commercials that come on sometimes advertising a free copy of the bible, or the book of mormon that are sponsored by the church, you can call the number and at least get a copy of the Book of Mormon. It will explain some of the things we believe and I’m quite sure the people who answer phones for that could tell you how to get in touch with the missionaries in your area. If you have polite questions, you can ask and I’ll try to answer. I hope, speaking to everyone here, not just G. Gomez, that you know what I mean by polite. Basically if you really want to know about something, not just want to tell me I suck, or my religion sucks, or bible bash with me, go ahead and ask.
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Name : Danielle, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Mormon, Age : 28, City : Salt Lake City,, State : UT, Country : United States, Occupation : Writer/Grad Student/ etc., Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class,Mormons don’t realy have a hell as most ‘other’ christens would descibe it. Mormon hell is called outer darkness. It is not a place of suffering, but a place when one doesn’t recieve the blessings one might expect in the after life. The plus side to outer darkness is that one can be redemed and elevated to the next level of heaven. Yes, I did say ‘levels’ of heaven. Mormons believe in three levels of Heaven. They are called terestrial, celestial and … I can’t remember the third. Think of these levels of heaven as classes in an airplane, Coach, Business and First. The lower level is pretty good (flying bets walking). The second level is a bit better than the first (woo-hoo, more leg room) and the third is unbelievable (lobster on an airplane). This third level is where mormons get in trouble with other christians. They believe at this ‘first class’ level one can become a god and have control over there own universe. This is a pretty shocking idea for most. That’s about as much as I know. I’m not a mormon, but my best friend and his family are. We used to get into big conversations about their beliefs and that is where I got the information.
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Name : Ryan W, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 29, City : Denver, State : CO, Country : United States, Occupation : Brand Manager, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,It is best to find a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. They will be able to give you details and you will be able to ask questions with out the long delay. We believe there is both Heaven and Hell but there is much more to it than that. What exactly is it you want to know about them?
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Name : S. Simmons, City : Chino, State : CA, Country : United States,Mormons believe that there are 3 layers of Heaven. I can’t remember the names ’cause I’m not mormon, but they’re something like upper-class, middle-class, and lower class. Normal non-mormons being in the lower class. Mormons can be married in their temple so they can be with their spouse in heaven forever, same with their family. And they can also do baptisms for the dead, so spirits who never were baptized as mormons can move up to a better class in heaven. As for hell, I haven’t heard many details about it…except that it’s bad.
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Name : Jenna31013, City : Concord, State : CA, Country : United States,Mormons believe in 3 degrees of heaven. According to your behaviour on earth, you will go to one of the three: Celestial, terrestrial and Telestial. The first is the supreme heaven, like where God lives. And the last is comparable to a Catholic ‘Hell’ I guess….not a fun place to be. The middle is for those who lived decent lives, but did not accept the gospel. This is how I understood it anywy.
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Name : Starkey, Gender : F, Age : 21, City : TO, State : NA, Country : Canada, Education level : 2 Years of College,I was raised Mormon (otherwise known as LDS, or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints). Mormons are Christians, (hence the name) and believe in the Bible and another book called The Book of Mormon (hence the name :). And just for the record, if any Mormon is caught doing the polygamy thing, they are excommunicated from the LDS Church and the law prosecutes them. It’s been that way for about 100 years I believe. Unfortunately there are some fundamentalist nutcases who belong to the ‘REFORMED Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints’ who still try to get away with polygamy and keep the rumors alive. Mormons do believe in Heaven and Hell, but Heaven is divided into 3 kingdoms (compared to the sun, moon, and stars as far as glory goes). The Celestial Kingdom is the top tier, and those who go there will be in Gods presence. They must be without sin (or have repented of their sins). They other two kingdoms are for people who were very good, but were not perfect. And for the really bad people there is of course hell. All of this sorting of where people will end up will take place on judgement day, after the second coming of Christ. Hope this helps. Anyone else want to add on or clarify? -Gerrit
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Name : Gerit, City : Salt Lake City, State : UT, Country : United States,My devout ‘athiest’ friend met a mormon girl in his first year of university, and became a mormon with the intention of marrying her. Mormons believe that only themselves will go to heaven, and everyone else is condemned to hell. This comdenation also includes mormons of differing ‘sects’ to themselves. The heaven that you get to go to depends on how good a mormon you are. If you marry a mormon, you get ‘bonus points’ as to the type of heaven you go to.You get really good ‘bonus points’ if you marry in the mormon temple, a very expensive excercise. You also get ‘points’ depending on how much of your hard earned wage goes to the mormon church. In the end, depending on how good you were in your life, you get your heaven. I vaguely remember something about spending either 100 or 1000 years in one place… but eventually you get to rule your ‘own world’ in the afterlife, if you are very very good! Sounds a lot like middle management to me… what if your ‘own world’ turns out to be a safeway supermarket or something!!!
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Name : Sarah, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Turkish/ English, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 22, City : Melbourne, State : NA, Country : Australia, Occupation : BA Nursing student, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class,Dont even go into that world Mormons are crazy. Do some research on the history and how is was founded. Remember Satan was the angel of light and music before he was kick out of heaven. You’ll know what i mean when you look it up.
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Name : James20891, City : Warner Robins, State : GA, Country : United States,
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