Alma 40:16-26
Before we get into today’s study, I had an insight into the concept of “time” that we talked about yesterday, time in relation to all knowledge, knowing the beginning and the end, and having it all present in front of God’s face at all times. In the book “The Infinite Atonement” while discussing the Savior’s ability to exercise faith, Tad R. Callister asks “Was there ever a time (Jesus) did not know the end form the beginning? Like all other mortals, did he ever have to choose faith in God over his own powers of reason?... Luke tells us that as a youth he ‘increased in wisdom,’ implying that omniscience was not conferred at a singular moment of time. Evidently his knowledge and reasoning power progressed step by step during his mortal sojourn. Such a progression suggests times when he was not all-knowing.” While hearing this, it occurred to me that omniscience is the opposite of faith, like Alma taught us that faith is not having a perfect knowledge of all things, and we are to walk by faith here in this life. Tad Callister continues teaching “to live a fully predictable life… a life devoid of anxiety, suspense, and faith is a pseudo-human life- it is no more than a façade.” Surely knowing all things, the beginning and the end would take away all the unknown, basically, taking away our agency, we wouldn’t choose anything wrong when we already know the consequences that would befall us. The concept of time being measured only by men, to me is an indication that there is a mysterious past and an unknown future, meaning that there would be times of anxiety, fear, anticipation, hope, and when we would have to choose the follow the Savior when we aren’t sure of everything that is going to happen. Anyway, just a little insight that the Lord gave me today.
40:16-22 - Alma goes into the different parts of the resurrection, different times and to be honest, it is a little bit confusing to me, so I’m going to stick with the IM on this on. The IM teaches “Alma was speaking of the First Resurrection in relation to earthly time. Jesus Christ would be resurrected first, followed shortly thereafter by the righteous who had lived and died from the beginning of time for our mortal earth down to the time of Christ’s Resurrection. This resurrection is what Alma called the First Resurrection.” Jesus was the first one to be resurrected, which initiated the First Resurrection, I saw a chart once that was like the beginning of the world to Christ, then throughout the second coming to judgment day, and the line demarcating the First Resurrection begins at the time of Christ then extends all the way through the Judgment day, seeing as how the righteous will live and die at different times, just like Alma says here, so the First Resurrection might not be just a one-time event, but perhaps many different times, or throughout an expanse of time. The IM quotes President Joseph Fielding Smith as teaching “while there was a general resurrection of the righteous at the time Christ arose from the dead, it is customary for us to speak of the resurrection of the righteous at the Second Coming of Christ as the first resurrection. It is the first to us, for we have little thought or concern over that which is part. The Lord has promised that at the time of his Second Advent the graces will be opened, and the just shall come to reign with him on the earth for a thousand years… Following this great event, and after the Lord and the righteous who are caught up to meet him have descended upon the earth, there will come to pass another resurrection. This may be considered as a part of the first, although it comes later. In this resurrection will come forth those of the terrestrial order, who were not worthy to be caught up to meet him, but who are worthy to come forth to enjoy the millennial reign.’ This is a really interesting concept to me, the idea that there will be resurrections at different times but still throughout the millennium, to be honest, it’s all really confusing to me and while it would be nice to understand it, ultimately I would like to strive to be among the First Resurrection, and then maybe I’ll understand more readily. The IM goes onto quote Elder Bruce R. McConkie as teaching “those coming forth in the morning of this resurrection do so with celestial bodies and shall inherit a celestial glory; these are they who are Christ’s the firstfruits. Those coming forth in the afternoon of this resurrection do so with terrestrial bodies and consequently shall inherit that kingdom; they are described as being Christ’s at this coming. All who have been resurrected so far have received celestial bodies; the coming for of terrestrial beings does not commence until after the Second Coming.” A few interesting points from this passage, the first being that anyone who has been resurrected so far are heirs of the celestial kingdom because the no one receiving terrestrial glory will be resurrected until after the second coming. Second, and this is something that is new to me, there’s a difference between resurrected bodies, there are those who will be resurrected with celestial bodies and those who will be resurrected with terrestrial bodies. This is new to me because I had thought that that all people will be resurrected with bodies of the same caliber, I didn’t know that there would be a difference. What is the difference? I’m going to have to think about this because this is literally something I’d never heard before.
40:23-26 – Regardless of the difference between terrestrial and celestial bodies, Alma assures us that “the soul shall be restored to the body, and the body to the soul; yea, and every limb and joint shall be restored to its body; yea, even a hair of the head shall not be lost; but all things shall be restored to their proper frame.” It’s funny, my friend and I had talked about our hopes that the resurrection will mean that we will have 6 pack abs, that was fun. What an amazing gift, to have a body that will be perfect and not susceptible to injury or disease, especially for anyone who has endured great physical pain, which we all have, to know that after this life, that will not be a possibility anymore. The IM quotes Elder Dallin H. Oaks as teaching “What a comfort to know that all who have been disadvantaged in life from birth defects, from mortal injuries, from disease, or from the natural deterioration of old age will be resurrected in ‘proper and perfect frame…’ The assurance of resurrection gives us the strength and perspective to endure the mortal challenges faced by each of us and by those we love, such things as physical, mental, or emotional deficiencies we bring with us at birth or acquire during mortal life. Because the resurrection, we know that these mortal deficiencies are only temporary!” This is truly hope, I couldn’t imagine believing in an afterlife with our bodies which meant pain and suffering still. The IM continues to quote President Joseph F. Smith as teaching “Deformity will be removed; defects will be eliminated, and men and women shall attain to the perfection of their spirits, to the perfection that God designed in the beginning. It is his purpose that men and women, his children, born to become heirs of God, and joint heirs with Jesus Christ, shall be made perfect, physically as well as spiritually, through obedience to the law by which he has provided the means that perfection shall come to all his children.” So this is interesting as well, and feeds into the concept that there will be varying degrees of bodily perfection after the resurrection. When he says “men and women shall attain to the perfection of their spirits,” I can read that the body’s perfected state is conditioned on the spirit’s perfected state, and that spirit is perfected through the law that God has provided for all of us to attain that perfection. I guess it’s kind of the opposite of in this life when the spirit on the inside and the bodily “beauty” on the outside don’t always match. There are many people who are beautiful spirits but not “beautiful” bodies, and vice versa, is this a way of saying that our bodies will match our spirits after the resurrection? Will there be opportunities to further perfect our bodies after the resurrection, as we learn and grow spiritually? Finally, Alma contrasts the “the righteous shine forth in the kingdom of God” to the “awful death cometh upon the wicked… but they are cast out, consigned to partake of the fruits of their labors.” The IM teaches that “the following statement helps us understand what this ‘awful death’ refers to: ‘The scriptures sometimes speak of salvation from the second death. The second death is the final spiritual death- being cut off from righteousness and denied a place in any kingdom of glory. This second death will not come until the Final Judgment, and it will come to very few. Alma every person who has ever lived on the earth is assured salvation from the second death.” The permanent separation from God, as the ultimate consequence? Consequence not meant to punish but to uphold the laws of justice for those who refused mercy. Elder Callister also teaches about the “pangs of separation” saying “Even Cain in his depraved condition shuddered at the thought of banishment from God, that one being who had shed forth warmth and love, even for him. To be cast from the presence of the Holy One is estrangement of the worst kind. It is to take from us that which means most – our sense of belonging to the divine family. It is to strip us of security and self-worth in one fatal blow.” Sounds pretty brutal, if this is indeed the consequences waiting for those who refuse God’s mercy than it is little wonder why it is compared to fire, brimstone, and the gnashing of teeth. If the second spiritual death is the final separation of the very wicked from the presence of God permanently, then what is the first spiritual death? Elder Callister continues to teach that “As another consequence of Adam’s transgression, all men are born in a setting outside God’s physical presence. This separation is known in the scriptures as the first spiritual death, It is an estrangement from God cause by Adam… Each form of spiritual death has its cure. The Atonement corrects the first spiritual death for all men without any effort on their own, and understandably so, for they in no way were its cause… The scriptures teach that ‘no unclean thing can swell with God.’ This does not mean, however, that we will not return to God’s presence temporarily for judgment purposes- for in fact each individual will.” The atonement’s effect on the first spiritual death will ensure us at least one finally meeting with God face to face where we will be judged for our works, this is a fair accommodation , we will have to look God in the face and acknowledge that He is just.
40:16-22 - Alma goes into the different parts of the resurrection, different times and to be honest, it is a little bit confusing to me, so I’m going to stick with the IM on this on. The IM teaches “Alma was speaking of the First Resurrection in relation to earthly time. Jesus Christ would be resurrected first, followed shortly thereafter by the righteous who had lived and died from the beginning of time for our mortal earth down to the time of Christ’s Resurrection. This resurrection is what Alma called the First Resurrection.” Jesus was the first one to be resurrected, which initiated the First Resurrection, I saw a chart once that was like the beginning of the world to Christ, then throughout the second coming to judgment day, and the line demarcating the First Resurrection begins at the time of Christ then extends all the way through the Judgment day, seeing as how the righteous will live and die at different times, just like Alma says here, so the First Resurrection might not be just a one-time event, but perhaps many different times, or throughout an expanse of time. The IM quotes President Joseph Fielding Smith as teaching “while there was a general resurrection of the righteous at the time Christ arose from the dead, it is customary for us to speak of the resurrection of the righteous at the Second Coming of Christ as the first resurrection. It is the first to us, for we have little thought or concern over that which is part. The Lord has promised that at the time of his Second Advent the graces will be opened, and the just shall come to reign with him on the earth for a thousand years… Following this great event, and after the Lord and the righteous who are caught up to meet him have descended upon the earth, there will come to pass another resurrection. This may be considered as a part of the first, although it comes later. In this resurrection will come forth those of the terrestrial order, who were not worthy to be caught up to meet him, but who are worthy to come forth to enjoy the millennial reign.’ This is a really interesting concept to me, the idea that there will be resurrections at different times but still throughout the millennium, to be honest, it’s all really confusing to me and while it would be nice to understand it, ultimately I would like to strive to be among the First Resurrection, and then maybe I’ll understand more readily. The IM goes onto quote Elder Bruce R. McConkie as teaching “those coming forth in the morning of this resurrection do so with celestial bodies and shall inherit a celestial glory; these are they who are Christ’s the firstfruits. Those coming forth in the afternoon of this resurrection do so with terrestrial bodies and consequently shall inherit that kingdom; they are described as being Christ’s at this coming. All who have been resurrected so far have received celestial bodies; the coming for of terrestrial beings does not commence until after the Second Coming.” A few interesting points from this passage, the first being that anyone who has been resurrected so far are heirs of the celestial kingdom because the no one receiving terrestrial glory will be resurrected until after the second coming. Second, and this is something that is new to me, there’s a difference between resurrected bodies, there are those who will be resurrected with celestial bodies and those who will be resurrected with terrestrial bodies. This is new to me because I had thought that that all people will be resurrected with bodies of the same caliber, I didn’t know that there would be a difference. What is the difference? I’m going to have to think about this because this is literally something I’d never heard before.
40:23-26 – Regardless of the difference between terrestrial and celestial bodies, Alma assures us that “the soul shall be restored to the body, and the body to the soul; yea, and every limb and joint shall be restored to its body; yea, even a hair of the head shall not be lost; but all things shall be restored to their proper frame.” It’s funny, my friend and I had talked about our hopes that the resurrection will mean that we will have 6 pack abs, that was fun. What an amazing gift, to have a body that will be perfect and not susceptible to injury or disease, especially for anyone who has endured great physical pain, which we all have, to know that after this life, that will not be a possibility anymore. The IM quotes Elder Dallin H. Oaks as teaching “What a comfort to know that all who have been disadvantaged in life from birth defects, from mortal injuries, from disease, or from the natural deterioration of old age will be resurrected in ‘proper and perfect frame…’ The assurance of resurrection gives us the strength and perspective to endure the mortal challenges faced by each of us and by those we love, such things as physical, mental, or emotional deficiencies we bring with us at birth or acquire during mortal life. Because the resurrection, we know that these mortal deficiencies are only temporary!” This is truly hope, I couldn’t imagine believing in an afterlife with our bodies which meant pain and suffering still. The IM continues to quote President Joseph F. Smith as teaching “Deformity will be removed; defects will be eliminated, and men and women shall attain to the perfection of their spirits, to the perfection that God designed in the beginning. It is his purpose that men and women, his children, born to become heirs of God, and joint heirs with Jesus Christ, shall be made perfect, physically as well as spiritually, through obedience to the law by which he has provided the means that perfection shall come to all his children.” So this is interesting as well, and feeds into the concept that there will be varying degrees of bodily perfection after the resurrection. When he says “men and women shall attain to the perfection of their spirits,” I can read that the body’s perfected state is conditioned on the spirit’s perfected state, and that spirit is perfected through the law that God has provided for all of us to attain that perfection. I guess it’s kind of the opposite of in this life when the spirit on the inside and the bodily “beauty” on the outside don’t always match. There are many people who are beautiful spirits but not “beautiful” bodies, and vice versa, is this a way of saying that our bodies will match our spirits after the resurrection? Will there be opportunities to further perfect our bodies after the resurrection, as we learn and grow spiritually? Finally, Alma contrasts the “the righteous shine forth in the kingdom of God” to the “awful death cometh upon the wicked… but they are cast out, consigned to partake of the fruits of their labors.” The IM teaches that “the following statement helps us understand what this ‘awful death’ refers to: ‘The scriptures sometimes speak of salvation from the second death. The second death is the final spiritual death- being cut off from righteousness and denied a place in any kingdom of glory. This second death will not come until the Final Judgment, and it will come to very few. Alma every person who has ever lived on the earth is assured salvation from the second death.” The permanent separation from God, as the ultimate consequence? Consequence not meant to punish but to uphold the laws of justice for those who refused mercy. Elder Callister also teaches about the “pangs of separation” saying “Even Cain in his depraved condition shuddered at the thought of banishment from God, that one being who had shed forth warmth and love, even for him. To be cast from the presence of the Holy One is estrangement of the worst kind. It is to take from us that which means most – our sense of belonging to the divine family. It is to strip us of security and self-worth in one fatal blow.” Sounds pretty brutal, if this is indeed the consequences waiting for those who refuse God’s mercy than it is little wonder why it is compared to fire, brimstone, and the gnashing of teeth. If the second spiritual death is the final separation of the very wicked from the presence of God permanently, then what is the first spiritual death? Elder Callister continues to teach that “As another consequence of Adam’s transgression, all men are born in a setting outside God’s physical presence. This separation is known in the scriptures as the first spiritual death, It is an estrangement from God cause by Adam… Each form of spiritual death has its cure. The Atonement corrects the first spiritual death for all men without any effort on their own, and understandably so, for they in no way were its cause… The scriptures teach that ‘no unclean thing can swell with God.’ This does not mean, however, that we will not return to God’s presence temporarily for judgment purposes- for in fact each individual will.” The atonement’s effect on the first spiritual death will ensure us at least one finally meeting with God face to face where we will be judged for our works, this is a fair accommodation , we will have to look God in the face and acknowledge that He is just.
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