Understanding the Spirit World | Paradise, Spirit Prison & D&C 138 — Curtis Jacobs (LDS)

Send us Fan MailWhat do Latter-day Saints (LDS) believe happens between death and the resurrection — and what's the difference between paradise, spirit prison, and hell? In this episode, Tia Smith features Curtis Jacobs's BYU Education Week talk "Understanding the Spirit World" (2020), a 41-year institute teacher's walk through the doctrine of the postmortal spirit world. He defines the scriptural terms that often get blurred — paradise, spirit prison, Abraham's bosom, hell (from the Greek Hades, Gehenna, and Tartarus), and outer darkness — and shows that in scripture "outer darkness" refers to a place in the spirit world before the resurrection, not the final hell of the sons of perdition. Drawing on Doctrine and Covenants 138 (Joseph F. Smith's 1918 vision), he explains how the Savior organized the righteous in paradise to carry the gospel to all the rest, so that everyone who never had a fair chance can hear and accept it. He works through 1 Peter 3 and 4 to show the gospel is genuinely preached — evangelized — to the dead, tells the account of Frederick William Hurst's deceased brother pleading for his temple work, and closes with the tender doctrine that death is not the end. If you've wondered where a loved one is now, this is a clear, doctrinally sourced answer.Q: What's the difference between paradise, spirit prison, and hell in LDS belief?A: In this episode Curtis Jacobs teaches that paradise is a state of rest and peace for those who were baptized and faithful, while spirit prison holds those who haven't yet received the gospel and can still accept it. "Hell" in scripture translates three different Greek words and can mean the general abode of the dead, a place of torment, or — only once, in 2 Peter 2:4 — the final abyss for the devil and his angels; "outer darkness" in scripture refers to a place in the spirit world before the resurrection, not that final hell ("Understanding the Spirit World," BYU Education Week, 2020).Q: Is the gospel really preached to people who die without ever hearing it?A: Yes — this is a distinctive Latter-day Saint teaching. Curtis Jacobs walks through Doctrine and Covenants 138, Joseph F. Smith's 1918 vision, showing that the Savior organized the righteous in paradise to carry the gospel to all parts of the spirit world, and through 1 Peter 4:6 that the gospel is "preached" (in the Greek, evangelized — meant to convert) to the dead.Q: My loved one wasn't a member of the Church — where are they now?A: This episode teaches hope rather than judgment: those who were honest and good but never had a fair chance to accept the gospel are not consigned to the hell reserved for the wicked, and the gospel is preached to them in the spirit world so they can accept it and progress. Curtis Jacobs cites Joseph Smith's teaching that God has "an order of things to save the poor fellows" — the honest and noble-minded — and D&C 138 that the repentant dead are heirs of salvation.Q: What is our role in temple work for those in the spirit world?A: Curtis Jacobs teaches that people in the spirit world who accept the gospel still need ordinances performed for them that they cannot do themselves — which is why Latter-day Saints act as "saviors on Mount Zion" through temple work. He illustrates it with Frederick William Hurst's deceased brother, who accepted faith, repentance, and baptism in the spirit world but pleaded, "I look to you to do the work for me in the temple."▶️ WATCH & LISTEN🎬 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thinningoftheveil🌐 Website: https://www.thinningoftheveil.com🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thinning-of-the-veil/id1753511394🟢 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6jWCfMHkZXwnSwy2b98J4M🎵 Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/a0a45561-d4c2-46d3-af8d-a1e967a21a25📖 BOOKPatterns of Revelation — Spiritual Foundations for Hearing God's Voice: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BW36MG9B📱 CONNECTInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thinning.of.the.veilFacebook Group (Gathering of the Gatherers): https://www.facebook.com/groups/1429562078443774Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/thinningoftheveil💛 SUPPORT THE SHOWVenmo: https://account.venmo.com/u/thinningoftheveilPayPal: https://paypal.me/thinningoftheveil✉️ Have you had a thinning of the veil experience? Email [email protected] — your testimony may be exactly what someone needs to hear.#ThinningOfTheVeil #SpiritWorld #TempleWork #FamilyHistory #LDS #LatterDaySaints #GatheringOfIsrael #MinisteringAngels #FamilySearch #PersonalRevelationCITATIONS:Curtis Jacobs, "Understanding the Spirit World", BYU Education Week: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxipjPrOdVsSupport the show