Question
Gramps,
In Alma Chapter 12, it discusses temporal and spiritual death. What is a spiritual death?
Joel
Answer
Joel,
When people read Alma 12 for the first time, one phrase tends to stand out: “spiritual death.“ Alma talks about both a temporal death and a spiritual death, and it can sound a little intimidating at first. What exactly does that mean? Is it the same as physical death? Does it mean someone stops existing? And how does Jesus Christ fit into all of it?
From a Latter-day Saint perspective, spiritual death is not the end of existence. It is separation from God. Alma’s teachings in Alma 12 are deeply connected to the Fall of Adam and Eve, the purpose of mortality, and the redeeming power of Jesus Christ.
The good news in Alma 12 is that although spiritual death is real, Christ has made a way for us to overcome it.
In Alma 12, Alma is teaching Zeezrom and the people of Ammonihah about the plan of redemption. As he explains the Fall of Adam and Eve, he teaches that humanity became subject to two kinds of death.
The first is physical or temporal death, which is the separation of the spirit from the body.
The second is spiritual death.
Alma taught:
“Then cometh a death, even a second death, which is a spiritual death.” (Alma 12:16)
Latter-day Saints generally understand spiritual death in two ways. The first type of spiritual death came because of the Fall of Adam and Eve.
Before the Fall, Adam and Eve lived in God’s presence in the Garden of Eden. After they partook of the fruit, they were cast out of the Garden and separated from God’s immediate presence. That separation is called spiritual death.
The Church’s Gospel Topics entry on spiritual death explains it simply:
“Spiritual death is separation from God.”
Because all of us live in a fallen world outside of God’s presence, every person experiences this first spiritual death. In that sense, all humanity is spiritually separated from God during mortality.
Samuel the Lamanite taught:
“All mankind, by the fall of Adam being cut off from the presence of the Lord, are considered as dead, both as to things temporal and to things spiritual.” (Helaman 14:16)
That may sound discouraging, but in LDS theology, this separation is actually part of Heavenly Father’s plan. Mortality is meant to be a time of growth, learning, testing, repentance, and choosing whether we will follow Jesus Christ.
Alma explained:
“There was a time granted unto man to repent, yea, a probationary time, a time to repent and serve God.” (Alma 42:4)
In other words, mortality is not evidence that God abandoned us. It is part of His plan to help us become more like Him.
There is also another form of spiritual death discussed in scripture. This second type comes not because of Adam’s Fall, but because of our own sins and choices. When people knowingly reject God, refuse to repent, and persist in sin, they separate themselves spiritually from Him.
Alma warned:
“Whosoever dieth in his sins, as to a temporal death, shall also die a spiritual death; yea, he shall die as to things pertaining unto righteousness.” (Alma 12:16)
This is why repentance matters so much in the restored gospel. Sin distances us from God spiritually. Repentance brings us back.
President Russell M. Nelson once taught:
“The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives.” Joy and Spiritual Survival
When our focus turns away from God, spiritual darkness increases. When we turn toward Christ, spiritual life increases.
Latter-day Saints often talk about feeling “close to the Spirit” or “far from the Spirit.” That idea is connected to spiritual life and spiritual death. A person may be physically alive but spiritually disconnected from God because of sin, rebellion, or hardness of heart.
That is one reason Alma repeatedly warned the people not to harden their hearts.
One of the central messages of the Book of Mormon is that Jesus Christ overcomes both physical and spiritual death. Through His Resurrection, everyone will overcome physical death. Through His Atonement, repentance, and grace, we can overcome spiritual death and return to God’s presence.
Alma taught:
“And thus mercy can satisfy the demands of justice, and encircles them in the arms of safety.” (Alma 34:16)
The Savior does not simply rescue us from physical death. He heals our separation from God.
Elder D. Todd Christofferson explained:
“The Savior’s Redemption has two parts. First, it atones for Adam’s transgression and the consequent Fall of man by overcoming what could be called the direct effects of the Fall—physical death and spiritual death. Physical death is well understood; spiritual death is the separation of man from God.” Redemption
That is why Alma refers to the gospel as the “plan of redemption.” Redemption literally means being brought back. We are brought back from physical death through resurrection. We are brought back from spiritual death through Jesus Christ.
Sometimes the phrase “spiritual death” can sound abstract or dramatic, but in everyday life, it is actually very relatable. Anyone who has felt distant from God understands at least part of the concept.
There are moments when people feel spiritually alive—full of faith, peace, purpose, and closeness to the Holy Ghost.
There are other moments when people feel spiritually numb, disconnected, guilty, hardened, or lost.
Alma’s message is that Christ can change that.
One of the beautiful things about LDS theology is that spiritual death is not presented as hopeless. The entire purpose of the gospel is to help people return to a relationship with God.
The Book of Mormon repeatedly teaches that, because of Jesus Christ, spiritual separation need not be permanent.
President Boyd K. Packer taught:
“I repeat, save for the exception of the very few who defect to perdition, there is no habit, no addiction, no rebellion, no transgression, no apostasy, no crime exempted from the promise of complete forgiveness. That is the promise of the atonement of Christ.” The Brilliant Morning of Forgiveness
That includes spiritual wounds, spiritual distance, and spiritual death. The opposite of spiritual death is eternal life.
In LDS theology, eternal life is more than simply living forever. Everyone will live forever because of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Eternal life means living with God and becoming like Him.
That is why the scriptures describe eternal life as dwelling in God’s presence.
Spiritual death is separation from Him. Eternal life is reunion with Him. And Jesus Christ is the bridge between the two.
Alma 12 ultimately points readers toward hope in Christ. Alma warned about judgment and spiritual death, but his purpose was not to frighten people. His purpose was to invite them to repent and come unto Jesus Christ.
That invitation is still the same today.
No matter how spiritually distant someone feels, the restored gospel teaches that, through the Savior, they can return to the presence of God. That is the heart of the plan of redemption.
And that is why Alma’s teachings about spiritual death ultimately concern Jesus Christ.
Gramps
