Where is my brother now and what is he doing? (5-6 Minute Read)

Where are the spirits of those who have left this life? What do they do for the rest of time? Those are some of the most natural questions we ask ourselves when a loved one dies. A couple weeks ago, I drove by the mortuary where we were able to see my brother shortly before the funeral. As I drove by, my heart dropped. 

I remembered how awful I felt being there that day. When Sam died, my sister and her husband were on vacation in India across the world. My twin brothers, who are closest in age to Sam, were both serving missions for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Mexico. That was the first time they had seen Sam's body since his spirit had departed. I hated it. I saw Sam just hours before and then not long after he died.. But there in the mortuary... the lifelessness of his physical body was so painfully obvious. My siblings handled it surprisingly well. Why? I think because it was just so clear that this was not our Sam. Like an empty glove, we were seeing an empty body that had simply housed his spirit while he was with us. 

So then where is his spirit? Where is Sam really? Gone forever? No, not at all! Death is not the end! In the Bible, Peter explained that when Christ died on the cross, His spirit "preached unto the spirits in prison" (1 Peter 3:19).  I personally believe that God has called modern Prophets who have helped us better understand how that preaching in the spirit world happens (Doctrine and Covenants 138). However, even if you don't believe the Doctrine and Covenants is scripture, it's clear from the New Testament that there is a place where these spirits who leave us go to be taught and develop. 

I am confident that my brother is in, what we call, the Spirit World. It's location is here on Earth and it exists all around us, but our ability to see those spirits is severely limited by our imperfect, mortal bodies. President Joseph F Smith, a Prophet who had previously lost multiple family members, taught, 

“We move and have our being in the presence of heavenly messengers and of heavenly beings. We are not separate from them. … We are closely related to our kindred, to our ancestors … who have preceded us into the spirit world. We can not forget them; we do not cease to love them; we always hold them in our hearts, in memory, and thus we are associated and united to them by ties that we can not break. … If this is the case with us in our finite condition, surrounded by our mortal weaknesses, … how much more certain it is … to believe that those who have been faithful, who have gone beyond … can see us better than we can see them; that they know us better than we know them. … We live in their presence, they see us, they are solicitous for our welfare, they love us now more than ever. For now they see the dangers that beset us; … their love for us and their desire for our well being must be greater than that which we feel for ourselves" (Conference Report, April 1916)

I am so grateful to know that Sam can be our angel - "united to (us) by ties that we can not break" and “solicitous for our welfare.” I believe that he is allowed to and led by God to minister to us at certain times in ways we cannot fully comprehend physically. However, they are very real ministrations. Many have felt Sam's love in the past 6 months. Some have even shared with us that Sam has visited them in incredible, spiritual dreams urging them to choose to stay when they were feeling drawn to self-destruction. I personally have felt his love in ways that are especially sacred to me. I keep those experiences close to my heart. 

Like the rest of us, Sam still has a lot of growth to prepare for Eternal Life in God's kingdom. I think he still probably has a good amount of work to do before qualifying for that exaltation. Eventually, Sam, and all of us, will be resurrected and stand before God to be judged for our works and the desires of our hearts. So what is Sam doing now? In the spirit world, Sam is still repenting. We often view repentance as a negative thing that we HAVE to do. But in reality, "repentance is always positive" (Elder Stephen Owen, 2017) Simply put, to repent is to change one’s actions and desires. Like all of us, Sam is still striving to become more holy in desire and action so he may, with Christ’s help, grow and become worthy for God’s Kingdom. Therefore, Sam and all those who have gone before, are still changing and growing. The process of purification he began here continues in the world of Spirits. Plus, God still has work for Sam to do.  

While awaiting the promised resurrection, Sam is using his smile and natural ability to connect with other spirits and bless their lives. Sam loves Jesus Christ. It's so clear in how he lived the last year of his life. Now, he is helping others to learn of Jesus Christ and the salvation and peace He offers. Like Christ, he is teaching those spirits in prison of the glorious freedom that comes through accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior and being baptized in His name for the remission of sins. He is assisting others in becoming free from their past mistakes and the guilt that holds them back from their eternal potential. Needless to say, he is very, very busy in this spirit world helping others until that day when he will be resurrected with a perfect, immortal body.

I know through the witness of the Holy Ghost, who is the Messenger of God’s words to our hearts and minds, that the promise of the resurrection will be fulfilled. We will one day see Sam, his spirit and body reunited, restored to his "proper and perfect frame" (Alma 40:23). 

How awesome it will be when I get to meet all the people who have and will be impacted by Sam's smile and light. That's something I hope for!