Based upon revelation given him by an angel (See Alma 40:11), Alma taught his son Corianton what occurs between mortal death and the resurrection of the physical body.

The spirits of the righteous, he said, are received into a state of happiness, peace and rest, called paradise. (See verse 12.) On the other hand, the spirits of the wicked find themselves in a state of darkness "and of awful, fearful looking for the fiery indignation of the wrath of God upon them . . . ." (See verses 13 and 14.)More detail is added to this concept in later scripture, both ancient and modern. From 1 Peter 3:18-20 and 4:6, one learns that Christ, after His death, went among the spirits of those who had died and preached the gospel to them, "that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit."

While pondering these New Testament verses on Oct. 3, 1918, President Joseph F. Smith received the revelation now recorded as Section 138 of the Doctrine and Covenants. This section clarifies the doctrine concerning the spirit world with the following important points:

Christ preached the everlasting gospel to "the spirits of the just, who had been faithful in the testimony of Jesus while they lived in mortality. . . ." (See verses 12 and 19.)

The Savior did not visit or preach personally to those who were in spirit prison, that is "the ungodly and the unrepentant who had defiled themselves while in the flesh. . . ." (See verses 20 and 29.)

From among the righteous spirits, the Savior "organized his forces and appointed messengers, clothed with power and authority, and commissioned them to go forth and carry the light of the gospel to them that were in darkness, even to all the spirits of men; and thus was the gospel preached to the dead." (See verse 30.)

The revelation received by President Smith was unanimously accepted by the First Presidency, Council of the Twelve and the Patriarch on Oct. 31, 1918. On April 3, 1976, a general conference unanimously accepted it and Joseph Smith's vision of the celestial kingdom (D&C 137) as part of the Church's scriptural canon.

Significantly, the 1976 event foreshadowed a period of excitement in the world about genealogical research and of accelerated temple building in the Church that continues today. Thus, the work has been hastened whereby the dead who receive and accept the gospel are provided with the ordinances necessary for salvation.

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