Resurrection Millennium Q&A

Will we be like we were before earth?

President Joseph Fielding Smith explained that “all spirits while in the pre-existence were perfect in form, having all their faculties and mental powers unimpaired. … Deformities in body and mind are … physical.” (Answers to Gospel Questions, comp. Joseph Fielding Smith, Jr., 5 vols., Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1979, 3:19.) 

RESTORATION

Will resurrected beings have the same appearance as they did in mortality?

What a glorious thought it is, to me at least, and it must be to all who have conceived of the truth or received it in their hearts, that those from whom we have to part here, we will meet again and see as they are. We will meet the same identical being that we associated with here in the flesh—not some other soul, some other being, or the same being in some other form, but the same identity and the same form and likeness, the same person we knew and were associated with in our mortal existence, even to the wounds in the flesh. Not that a person will always be marred by scars, wounds, deformities, defects or infirmities, for these will be removed in their course, in their proper time, according to the merciful providence of God. 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... The Body will come forth as it is laid to rest, for there is no growth nor development in the grave.  As it is laid down, so will it arise, and changes to perfection will come by the Law of Restitution.” Joseph F. Smith, Gospel Doctrine, p.23 (Joseph F. Smith, Improvement Era, 7:619, June 1914)

The Term “Perfect Frame” is used 3 times in scripture

o    D&C 138:17  “Their sleeping dust was to be restored unto its perfect frame, bone to his bone, and the sinews and the flesh upon them, the spirit and the body to be united never again to be divided, that they might receive a fulness of joy.”

o   Alma 11:43  “The spirit and the body shall be reunited again in its perfect form; both limb and joint shall be restored to its proper frame, even as we now are at this time; and we shall be brought to stand before God, knowing even as we know now, and have a bright recollection of all our guilt.”

o    Alma 40:23  “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 and perfect frame.”

I bear witness of the restoration which will come. Each body and mind will be restored in perfect frame. However long and unfair mortality may seem, however long the suffering and the waiting may be, he has said:  “After that cometh the day of my power; then shall the poor, the lame, and the blind, and the deaf, come in unto the marriage of the Lamb, and partake of the supper of the Lord, prepared for the great day to come.   “Behold, I, the Lord, have spoken it.” (D&C 58:11–12.) Boyd K. Packer, “The Moving of the Water,” Ensign, May 1991, 7

As concerning the resurrection, I will merely say that all men will come from the grave as they lie down, whether old or young; there will not be "added unto their stature one cubit," neither taken from it; all will be raised by the power of God, having spirit in their bodies, and not blood.Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Section Four 1839–42, p.199

“The Body will come forth as it is laid to rest, for there is no growth nor development in the grave.  As it is laid down, so will it arise, and changes to perfection will come by the Law of Restitution.”  (Joseph F. Smith, Improvement Era, 7:619, June 1914)

"As concerning the resurrection, I will merely say that all men will come from the grave as they lie down, whether old or young; there will not be "added unto their stature one cubit," neither taken from it; all will be raised by the power of God, having spirit in their bodies, and not blood. Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Section Four 1839–42, p.199

"Every fundamental part of everybody will be restored to its proper place again in the resurrection, no matter what may become of the body in death…every fundamental part of it will be restored to its own proper place….Joseph Fielding Smith, Answers to Gospel Questions, Vol.5, p.103

WILL THE BODY CHANGE based on how one dies?

It is true that the mortal body in due time returns to the earth as the Lord predicted that it should. Much of the cremated body is carried off into the air and only a small portion of ash remains. However it is impossible to destroy a body. It makes no difference whether a body is consumed by fire, buried in the depths of the sea, or placed in the tomb, the time will come when every essential particle will be called back again to its own place, and the individual whose body was laid away, or scattered to the winds, will be reassembled with every essential part restored. Joseph Fielding Smith, Answers to Gospel Questions, Vol.2, p.100

There is no fundamental principle belonging to a human system that ever goes into another in this world or in the world to come; I care not what the theories of men are. We have the testimony that God will raise us up, and he has the power to do it. If any one supposes that any part of our bodies, that is, the fundamental parts thereof, ever goes into another body, he is mistaken. (HC, Vol. 5, p. 339)

Will those who die in old age be resurrected as elderly individuals?  And will those who die in their youth come forth from grave as children?

When we shall have the privilege to meet our mother, our aunt, our sister, this noble woman whose mortal remains lie here now, but whose immortal spirit has ascended to God from whence it came, when that spirit shall return to take up this tabernacle again, she will be Aunt Rachel in her perfection. She will not always remain just as she will appear when she is restored again to life, but she will go on to perfection. Under that law of restoration that God has provided, she will regain her perfection, the perfection of her youth, the perfection of her glory and of her being, until her resurrected body shall assume the exact stature of the spirit that possessed it here in its perfection, and thus we shall see the glorified, redeemed, exalted, perfected Aunt Rachel, mother, sister, saint and daughter of the living God, her identity being unchanged, as a child may grow to manhood or womanhood and still be the same being.

Joseph Smith taught the doctrine that the infant child that was laid away in death would come up in the resurrection as a child; and, pointing to the mother of a lifeless child, he said to her: "You will have the joy, the pleasure, and satisfaction of nurturing this child, after its resurrection, until it reaches the full stature of its spirit." There is restitution, there is growth, there is development, after the resurrection from death. I love this truth. It speaks volumes of happiness, of joy and gratitude to my soul. Thank the Lord he has revealed these principles to us. Joseph F. Smith, Gospel Doctrine, p.455

Question: "Is a person resurrected to appear at the same age as that to which he or she had attained when the body was laid down? I realize that children who die will be raised as children for there is no growth in the grave, but will some appear to be thirty years old and some eighty or one hundred, in the resurrection?"

Answer: There is no reason for any person to be concerned as to the appearance of individuals in the resurrection. Death is a purifying process as far as the body is concerned. We have reason to believe that the appearance of old age will disappear and the body will be restored with the full vigor of manhood and womanhood. Children will arise as children, for there is no growth in the grave. Children will continue to grow until they reach the full stature of their spirits. Anything contrary to this would be inconsistent. When our bodies are restored, they will appear to be in the full vigor of manhood and womanhood, for the condition of physical weakness will all be left behind in the grave….Salvation would be incomplete if individuals should arise in the resurrection with all the deformities, weaknesses, and imperfections that are found in so many of the human family in this moral existence. We have every reason to believe that the spirits of mankind and all other creatures were in a perfect form in the spirit world. It would be an awful stretch of the imagination to think that the imperfections found so frequently in mortality were defects which were designed in the creation…By the great power and faith of the Son of God, he was able to correct deformity, blindness, and give to the deaf the gift of speech, by the word of his power. The question has frequently been asked when a child has been born with some physical defect or deformity, was this a punishment or a condition which was his before he was born? No! All of these ills are ills of the flesh or defects that are due to mortal conditions which may have come upon the body even before birth, but we may be assured that these defects were not conditions which existed in the world of spirits. It is the will of the Lord that in the restoration of all things there shall come perfection. Joseph Fielding Smith, Answers to Gospel Questions, Vol.4, p.185-189

We will meet the same identical being that we associated with here in the flesh—not some other soul, some other being, or the same being in some other form, but the same identity and the same form and likeness, the same person we knew and were associated with in our mortal existence, even to the wounds in the flesh. Not that a person will always be marred by scars, wounds, deformities, defects or infirmities, for these will be removed in their course, in their proper time, according to the merciful providence of God. 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…I look for the time when our dear Brother William C. Staines, whom we all knew so well, and with whom we were familiar for years—I was familiar with him, all my life, just as I was familiar with Aunt Rachel here all my life, and do not remember the time when I did not know her—I look for the time, I say, when Brother Staines will be restored. He will not remain the crippled and deformed William C. Staines that we knew, but he will be restored to his perfect frame—every limb, every joint, every part of his physical being will be restored to its perfect frame…When that spirit shall return to take up this tabernacle again, she will be Aunt Rachel in her perfection. She will not always remain just as she will appear when she is restored again to life, but she will go on to perfection. Under that law of restoration that God has provided, she will regain her perfection, the perfection of her youth, the perfection of her glory and of her being, until her resurrected body shall assume the exact stature of the spirit that possessed it here in its perfection, and thus we shall see the glorified, redeemed, exalted, perfected Aunt Rachel, mother, sister, saint and daughter of the living God, her identity being unchanged, as a child may grow to manhood or womanhood and still be the same being.

…We know our children will not be compelled to remain as a child in stature always, for it was revealed from God, the fountain of truth, through Joseph Smith the prophet, in this dispensation, that in the resurrection of the dead the child that was buried in its infancy will come up in the form of the child that it was when it was laid down; then it will begin to develop. From the day of the resurrection, the body will develop until it reaches the full measure of the stature of its spirit, whether it be male or female. Joseph F. Smith, Gospel Doctrine, p.23-26

Will any resurrected person ever die again?

NO DEATH AFTER RESURRECTION. Will any after receiving the resurrection ever die, or have the dissolution of the spirit and body? The answer to this is obviously, no! What reason could there be in calling them forth and uniting their spirits and bodies only to cause death to intervene the second time and dissolve their souls? The words of the Prophet already quoted are to the effect that the sons of perdition, who concocted scenes of bloodshed, shall dwell in hell "worlds without end." According to the word of the Lord—and that we must accept as final, no matter what may have been, or what may be now the opinions of men—we are told:  D&C 88:35, 102 Joseph Fielding Smith Jr., Doctrines of Salvation, Vol.2, p.278

…the resurrection is literally a coming forth from the dead of the mortal body, with every part that is an essential part intact and immortalized that the body will not die again. It is true that the immortal body will be purified, and gross material that is not an essential part will be eliminated. It makes no difference whatever as to the disposal of the body, every essential part will be restored to its proper frame. Resurrected persons will appear just as they did in mortal life, only with bodies that are celestial, bodies that are terrestrial, bodies telestial, and other bodies that receive no glory whatever. But each will maintain its individual identity and will be so recognized after the resurrection. Joseph Fielding Smith, Answers to Gospel Questions, Vol.2, p.102

Are there those who are being resurrected now?

Joseph Fielding Smith Jr., Doctrines of Salvation, Vol.2, p.299

IS RESURRECTION GOING ON NOW? It is the opinion of some that the resurrection is going on all the time now, but this is purely speculation without warrant in the scriptures. It is true that the Lord has power to call forth any person or persons from the dead, as he may desire, especially if they have a mission to perform which would require their resurrection. For example, we have the cases of Peter, James, and Moroni.

We are given to understand that the first resurrection yet future, which means the coming forth of the righteous, will take place at one particular time, which is when our Savior shall appear in the clouds of heaven, when he shall return to reign. For us to speculate whether or not the Prophet Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith, Brigham Young, and others have been called forth, without any revelation from the Lord, is merely supposition. When the Lord wants any of these men, he has the power to call them, but the first resurrection, with which we have any future concern, will commence when Christ comes.

Ordinance of the resurrection

Discourses of Brigham Young, p.397 - p.398

Now a few words to the brethren and sisters upon the doctrine and ordinances of the house of God. All who have lived on the earth according to the best light they had, and would have received the fulness of the Gospel had it been preached to them, are worthy of a glorious resurrection, and will attain to this by being administered for, in the flesh, by those who have the authority. All others will have a resurrection, and receive a glory, except those who have sinned against the Holy Ghost. It is supposed by this people that we have all the ordinances in our possession for life and salvation, and exaltation, and that we are administering in these ordinances. This is not the case. We are in possession of all the ordinances that can be administered in the flesh; but there are other ordinances and administrations that must be administered beyond this world. I know you would ask what they are. I will mention one. We have not, neither can we receive here, the ordinance and the keys of the resurrection. They will be given to those who have passed off this stage of action and have received their bodies again, as many have already done and many more will. They will be ordained, by those who hold the keys of the resurrection, to go forth and resurrect the Saints just as we receive the ordinance of baptism, then the keys of authority to baptize others for the remission of their sins. This is one of the ordinances we cannot receive here, and there are many more. We hold the authority to dispose of, alter and change the elements; but we have not received authority to organize native element, to even make a spear of grass grow.

Discourses of Brigham Young, p.398

We have no such ordinance here. We organize according to men in the flesh. By combining the elements and planting the seed we cause vegetables, trees, grains, etc., to come forth. We are organizing a Kingdom here according to the pattern that the Lord has given for people in the flesh, but not for those who have received the resurrection, although it is a similitude. Another item: We have not the power in the flesh to create and bring forth or produce a spirit; but we have the power to produce a temporal body; the germ of this, God has placed within us. And when our spirits receive our bodies, and through our faithfulness we are worthy to be crowned, we will then receive authority to produce both spirit and body. But these keys we cannot receive in the flesh. Herein, brethren, you can perceive that we have not finished, and cannot finish our work, while we live here, no more than Jesus did while he was in the flesh.

Millennium and Resurrected beings 

Joseph Fielding Smith Jr., Doctrines of Salvation, Vol. 2, p. 166

MILLENNIUM: GREAT ERA OF SALVATION FOR THE DEAD. Some people may think that it is impossible for us to do this work for the dead because we have not the names of people who lived in ancient times. We have not the records, we do not know how to reach them from anything we have in this life, and there have been millions of people who no doubt were honest, and did the best they knew, but died without a knowledge of the gospel, whose names it is impossible for us to obtain. How are they going to be saved?…By the time Christ comes we are expected to have done all that is within our power to do now for our dead. That does not mean we are going to do all that is to be done, because it will go on during the millennium. The great work of the millennium will be the salvation of the dead, and those who are on the other side will help us, too, by bringing us information.

These resurrected saints and the Savior himself, shall come to give instruction and guidance; to reveal unto us the things we ought to know; to give us information concerning the work in the temples of the Lord so we may do the work which is essential to the salvation of worthy men. Joseph Fielding Smith Jr., Doctrines of Salvation, Vol. 3, p. 59

One of the main works during the millennium will be temple work. The temple work will not be completed before the Millennium begins.

That this work may be hastened so that all who believe, in the spirit world, may receive the benefit of deliverance, it is revealed that the great work of the Millennium shall be the work in the temples for the redemption of the dead; and then we hope to enjoy the benefits of revelation through the Urim and Thummim, or by such means as the Lord may reveal concerning those for whom the work shall be done, so that we may not work by chance, or by faith alone, without knowledge, but with the actual knowledge revealed unto us. Joseph F. Smith, Gospel Doctrine, p. 438

The purpose of the Millennium is to save souls. There can be no doubt about this. It is the Lord's work and his glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. This is axiomatic among us. All that he does during all the endless ages of his everlasting existence is designed to save souls. There is no aim or end or purpose in anything that comes from God, except to further the salvation of his children. Bruce R. McConkie, The Millennial Messiah, p. 660

The ordinances for the salvation of the dead are mortal ordinances, because all these ordinances pertain to this life, and immortal beings cannot perform them. Joseph Fielding Smith Jr., Doctrines of Salvation, Vol. 2, p. 166

 Christ and resurrected beings will be permitted to come and go as needed but will probably not dwell permanently upon the earth during the millennium.

All those who have died in Christ shall come forth from the dead at his coming and shall dwell upon the earth as Christ shall be upon the earth during this millennium. They shall not remain here all the time during the thousand years, but they will mingle with those who are still here in mortal life. Joseph Fielding Smith Jr., Doctrines of Salvation, Vol. 3, p. 59

As the revelations unfolded during the early years of the Church, it was learned that Christ and those raised in the first resurrection at the beginning of the Millennium "will not probably dwell upon the earth, but will visit it when they please, or when it is necessary to govern it" (TPJS, p. 268). Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Vol. 2, MILLENARIANISM