What do we take with us when we die?

Question

Gramps,

What characteristics and knowledge do we take with us when we die?

Norma

Answer

Norma,

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe that growth does not end with death; rather, the next stage of existence is characterized by continued development, learning, and the expansion of intelligence. Church teachings affirm that there is progression beyond the grave in mental, spiritual, and physical respects. When we are resurrected, we are brought forth as we are laid down. The infant who dies will be resurrected as an infant, and the old man as an old man. Both will grow toward their ideal form and stature.

This concept means that mental abilities—intelligence, memory, capacity for learning—are not static nor fully realized in mortality. Instead, the soul continues to progress.

An important aspect of intelligence involves the restoration and enhancement of memory. It is taught that the memories of our pre-earth life will be restored, but apart from that, we will have to learn line upon line and precept upon precept the truths of eternity that we do not now know. This restoration presents a profound opportunity for both reconciliation and enlightenment.

People often wonder about the limitations they experience in mortality—be they intellectual, emotional, or physical. Will these persist after death? The Church teaches that, although our limitations are part of the mortal experience, they do not define us eternally. For example, those with cognitive or intellectual challenges will be blessed with a renewed capacity: We will continue to learn and progress… and we will never cease to learn and progress within the sphere to which we will be assigned as a result of righteousness and obedience to God that we have achieved during mortality.

Many who feel held back by learning disabilities, memory loss, or other challenges in life feel comforted by this.  A question often asked is whether those who struggle to remember or comprehend spiritual things will ‘lose’ knowledge after death. In response, it is clarified that “the knowledge we are to take with us in the next life is saving knowledge. It is light and truth. It is not facts and scriptures we have memorized throughout the course of our lives. It is the divinity and scripture we have lived in our godly walk. God cares little whether you can tell Him what the two great commandments are compared to showing Him that you love Him and your neighbor.” The focus, therefore, is on lived experience and character, not mere memorization.

Another key area of curiosity is the nature of memory, particularly in relation to addictions, personal weaknesses, and the imperfections of life. The physical body and its appetites are intimately tied to mortality, but the root of desire and character persists after death.

An example I read about comes from the account of Dr. George Ritchie. In his near-death experience, Dr. Ritchie witnessed spirits who, after passing from mortality, “tried desperately and in vain to get a drink or to control the sailors’ alcoholic behavior” and spirits who sought to satisfy their cravings for cigarettes but were unable to interact with the mortal world physically. These accounts highlight that death is like taking off a coat–the coat being our body. When we ‘take off our body’ we are the same person we were before. The mind does not die.

Church scripture powerfully asserts that after physical death, the loss of memory we experience in mortality no longer exists. We will be able to recall all the things we have ever done or ever thought. Alma the Younger, a great prophet in the Book of Mormon, describes an after-death state where there is “a perfect remembrance of all your wickedness,” reinforcing the doctrine that the soul’s essential attributes, character, and core knowledge carry on.

Church scripture, particularly Doctrine and Covenants 130:6-9, teaches that “in the spirit world and post-resurrection, we will have total recall. Not only that, but if we return to our Heavenly Father, all the knowledge in the universe will be available to us.”

How great it will be to have the knowledge of things that we knew before, and so much more that we didn’t know?

Gramps