“Many years ago I stood at the bedside of a young father as he hovered between life and death. His distraught wife and their two children stood nearby. He took my hand in his and, with a pleading look, said, ‘Bishop, I know I am about to die. Tell me what happens to my spirit when I do.’
“I offered a silent prayer for heavenly guidance and noticed on his bedside table a copy of the triple combination [the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price]. I reached for the book and fanned the pages. Suddenly I discovered that I had, with no effort on my part, stopped at the 40th chapter of Alma.
“As I continued to read about the Resurrection, a glow came to the young man’s face and a smile graced his lips. As I concluded my visit, I said good-bye to this sweet family.
“I next saw the wife and children at the funeral. I think back to that night when a young man pleaded for truth and, from the Book of Mormon, heard the answer to his question” (Thomas S. Monson, “Precious Promises of the Book of Mormon,” 4).
“These words of Alma [Alma 40:11–14] as I understand them, do not intend to convey the thought that all spirits [immediately] go back into the presence of God. … ‘Taken home to God’ [compare Ecclesiastes 12:7], simply means that their mortal existence has come to an end, and they have returned to the world of spirits, where they are assigned to a place according to their works with the just or with the unjust, there to await the resurrection” (Joseph Fielding Smith, Answers to Gospel Questions, comp. Joseph Fielding Smith Jr. [1958], 2:85).
“Where is the spirit world? It is right here. … Do they [the spirits of those who have died] go beyond the boundaries of the organized earth? No, they do not” (Discourses of Brigham Young, sel. John A. Widtsoe [1954], 376).
“When the physical body dies, the spirit continues to live. In the spirit world, the spirits of the 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’ (Alma 40:12). A place called spirit prison is reserved for ‘those who [have] died in their sins, without a knowledge of the truth, or in transgression, having rejected the prophets’ (D&C 138:32). The spirits in prison are ‘taught faith in God, repentance from sin, vicarious baptism for the remission of sins, the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, and all other principles of the gospel that [are] necessary for them to know’ (D&C 138:33–34). If they accept the principles of the gospel, repent of their sins, and accept ordinances performed in their behalf in temples, they will be welcomed into paradise” (True to the Faith: A Gospel Reference [2004], 46–47).
President Joseph Fielding Smith taught that the phrase “the spirits of those who are righteous” in Alma 40:12 refers to individuals who have been baptized and have lived according to the covenants they have made (see Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, comp. Bruce R. McConkie [1955], 2:230).
“Resurrection makes it possible for a person’s spirit and body to be united again, only this time that body will be immortal and perfect—not subject to pain, disease, or other problems [see Alma 11:43]. …
“Each of us has physical, mental, and emotional limitations and weaknesses. … None of these problems will plague us after we are resurrected. …
“… [Jesus Christ] can make us whole no matter what is broken in us” (Paul V. Johnson, “And There Shall Be No More Death,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2016, 121–22, 123).