Ministry in the Spirit World

“So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch” (Matthew 27:66).

The Burial of Christ, by Carl Heinrich Bloch

It’s hard to imagine the anguish Jesus Christ’s followers must have felt on the day after His death. The night before, His body had been lovingly prepared and placed in a garden tomb. Now they were left to figure out how life could possibly go on without Him. Almost certainly His death had taken something from them, but what they had lost was nothing compared to all that His life had given. Whether they understood it or not, Jesus Christ had forged a new path forward for all who would follow Him, one lit by a hope that shines brighter than any darkness we may encounter.

President M. Russell Ballard invited us to study the remarkable vision of President Joseph F. Smith about the Savior’s ministry in the spirit world that took place after the Savior’s Crucifixion:

I invite you to thoroughly and thoughtfully read this revelation. As you do so, may the Lord bless you to more fully understand and appreciate God’s love and His plan of salvation and happiness for His children.

I testify that the vision President Joseph F. Smith received is true. I bear witness that every person can read it and come to know it is true. (“The Vision of the Redemption of the Dead,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2018, 173; see Doctrine and Covenants 138)

Read and Ponder

How does a knowledge of the spirit world and life after death bless you and your family?

Watch

“Jesus Is Laid in a Tomb”

3:29

Sing

“He Sent His Son,” Children’s Songbook, 34–35