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 The word hell conjures up a
multitude of thoughts and visions—both spiritual and
metaphorical. In the Divine Comedy, Dante depicts hell as a
complex and haunting place. Hell is often synonymous with
fire, torture, demons, and death, a place of eternal
punishment. Hell is often misunderstood, hence the many
definitions and descriptions of hell from any number of
religions.
Two Different States of Hell
The scriptures outline the existence of two different states
of hell: one is temporary before the resurrection, and the
other is eternal after the final judgment.
The Temporary State of Hell in the Spirit World
The Foundation’s website section and Sword Series™ essay on
the spirit world identifies a division of the spirit prison
called hell, or temporary hell. Those who die in a serious
state of sin, without a testimony of Jesus Christ, will be
relegated to spend their time in temporary hell until the
second resurrection (of the unjust) at the end of the
millennium (John 5:28-29). In a revelation given to the
prophet Joseph Smith the Lord said, “These are they who are
cast down to hell and suffer the wrath of Almighty God, until
the fullness of times, when Christ shall have subdued all
enemies under his feet, and shall have perfected his work”
(D&C 76:106).
The Lord describes these individuals as “liars, and sorcerers,
and adulterers, and whoremongers, and whosoever loves and
makes a lie” (D&C 76:103). These spirits will be resurrected,
and because of God’s infinite mercy, they will inherit the
telestial kingdom (the third [lowest] level of heaven), be
saved, and experience the presence of the Holy Ghost and the
ministering of angels—but not the presence of God nor of Jesus
Christ (D&C 76:88). They are damned because they can progress
no further.
The Hell That Has No End in Outer Darkness
The second state of hell is the one most popularly thought of
among Christians—the hell that has no end. It is the hell that
involves endless torment and separation from God, a place
eternally without hope. This hell is also referred to as outer
darkness. There is no mercy attending to these spirits because
they are lost as the “sons of perdition” (John 17:12). The
prophet Nephi further describes these sons of perdition and
their grievous states and sins, and even those who become
“like” the sons of perdition (3 Ne. 27:32 and 3 Ne. 29:7):
The apostle Bruce R. McConkie writes of the sons of perdition:
“Lucifer is Perdition. He became such by open rebellion
against the truth, a rebellion in the face of light and
knowledge…In rebellion with him were one-third of the spirit
hosts of heaven. These all were thus followers (or in other
words sons) of perdition. They were denied bodies, were cast
out onto the earth, and thus came the devil and his angels—a
great host of sons of perdition” (Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon
Doctrine, 746).
The Lord declared that there will be those who will not
receive any degree of glory (D&C 88:24), stating: “…And they
shall go away into everlasting punishment, which is endless
punishment, which is eternal punishment, to reign with the
devil and his angels in eternity, where their worm dieth not,
and the fire is not quenched, which is their torment—And the
end thereof, neither the place thereof, nor their torment, no
man knows” (D&C 76:44-45).
Besides the sons of perdition, these are individuals who have
“sinned against the Holy Ghost” (Matt. 12:32), making it
impossible to “renew them again unto repentance; seeing they
crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an
open shame” (Heb. 6:6).
Few will be cast into Outer Darkness
The prophet Joseph F. Smith taught, “How fortunate it is that
in the mercy of God there will be comparatively few who will
partake of this awful misery and eternal darkness” (Joseph
Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, comp. Bruce R.
McConkie, 3 vols., Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1954–56, 1:49).
It is surprising to many Christians when they hear that very
few will end up in the eternal hell that most are familiar
with, but instead many will end up in the terrestrial and
telestial kingdoms. Although the laws of mercy and justice
must be satisfied in the final judgment of all mankind, our
Father in Heaven desires that none of his children to suffer
for all eternity, and will provide a way for them, even to the
last, to avoid eternal suffering.
For those who may doubt this theology, and have children of
your own, consider the following question: “how much evil must
your own paternal children commit on earth before you would
relegate them to a state of endless torment and suffering?”
The scriptures say that our Father in Heaven loves us
infinitely more than we love our own children. If we then find
it difficult, if not impossible, to relegate our own children
to endless torment for their actions on earth, how much more
difficult is it for our Father in Heaven to relegate even one
of his spirit children to endless suffering and torment?
Thus the Christian doctrine that provides for the children of
God to be given as many opportunities as possible to be spared
the horror of outer darkness. One must understand that life in
the telestial kingdom is one of being damned, although there
is no endless torment and suffering, there is a spiritual
separation.
Understanding the Term Damnation
Christians often misunderstand the term “damnation,” which
means to be condemned. Damnation literally means to have no
more progression, or to be damned in the same sense that water
is held back by a dam. We as children of a loving Heavenly
Father want to progress and return to live with him in Heaven,
and therefore our progression must include having faith in
Jesus Christ, receiving the ordinances of salvation, and
living a righteous life on earth. If we fail to one degree or
another, we will be held back—or damned. This is different
than what is often taught as an “all or nothing” judgment.
Conclusion
Understanding the concept of damnation, one can better grasp
the doctrine that there is a temporary state of hell that
exists immediately after death in the spirit world to punish
those who have lived unrighteous lives on earth; and a
permanent state of hell (outer darkness) that exists for those
whom our Father in Heaven designates as deserving an eternity
of suffering and pain following the final judgment. This
concept of two states of hell is consistent with the
scriptures and the knowledge that our Father in Heaven is all
loving and powerful and desires not to lose even one soul to
the adversary. In the end there will be many who will not
choose the right and will place themselves outside of God’s
presence—but not necessarily a place of endless suffering.
Doctrinal
Study: Life
After Death: Hell
Download the
Sword Series™ essay on Hell |
