Brent L. Top: "What is this Thing that Men Call Death?"

Brent L. Top:  "What is This Thing That Men Call Death?"  LDS Teachings about the Spirit World

Brent L. Top is the Dean of Religious Instruction at BYU

Brother Bob's notes:

Brent Top, “Better Worlds and Greater Light — Conditions of the Spirit World”

Emmanuel Swedenborg wrote ”Heaven and Hell” in 1754 about his 13 years of experience with near death experiences. He says the spirits (angels) talk of various things, but more intelligently there than they do here.

“The spirits of the just are exalted to a greater and more glorious work; hence they are blessed in their departure to the world of spirits. Enveloped in flaming fire, they are not far from us and know and understand our thoughts, feelings and emotions and are often pained therewith.” — Joseph Smith, History of the Church.

Norman Vincent Peale felt the presence of his mother while grieving over her death. He came to the realization that our departed loved ones are still here on this sphere.

“I claim that we live in their presence, they see us, they are solicitous for our welfare, they love us now more than ever,” President Joseph F. Smith said of our departed loved ones.

Brent Top, on his way to be a mission president in Illinois, was distraught over his inactive younger daughter. She went to Moscow, Russia, and was reactivated there. She wouldn’t listen to her parents, but she loved Brent’s dad., and she took his death really hard. She was later sealed in the Nauvoo Temple, and while there, Brent felt the influence of his parents in his daughter’s reactivation.

What is the spirit world like? Many things will be the same in the spirit world as here.

Brigham Young had”The three NDEs. “The brightness and glory … is indescribable.”

Flowers with 50 to 100 different colors growing upon one stalk. — Jedediah Grant

Brent Top, Attributes of spirit bodies

Spirits are enveloped in flaming fire, which is the power of God. The spirit of man is in the likeness of his person. That means similar, not identical. The body is the clothing of the spirit.

Brent’s opinion is that there is interaction between premortal and postmortal spirits. But nothing has been revealed about that.

We can look at things in the past, such as how Jerusalem looked at the time of Christ, because those things still exist spiritually. We will possess an incredibly enhanced spirit. We can move with ease, and the principle of time will change. Time will be no more. Those who have had NDEs have been able to see incredible amounts of things in a flash. We will communicate without vocal cords. Orson Pratt said that spirits have a more refined system of communicating ideas in the spirit world. Spirits can communicate spirit to spirit. With a single word they can express thing that men could not compass in a thousand words, according to Emanuel Swedenborg said in 1752.

We will learn a thousand times more in a thousand times less time, according to Brigham Young. We apparently will have much more than just five senses. Apparently we can look on the past and future. Our ability for learning will be so much enhanced. We have more friends on the other side of the veil than on this side. Some NDE accounts talk about humor still being a part of the spirit world.

Children who die young here appear as adults in the spirit world. They are as if they had been able to grow to maturity. But sometimes they have appeared as young children still to those in NDEs so they could recognize them.

Brent Top, Spirit World, Part 3

Animals in the spirit world? Nothing has been taught about that by the prophets.

There’s references to people being engaged in every activity in the spirit world. Wilford Woodruff talked about seeing so many people in a hurry. What will we do there? The work of the Lord. Both Saints and sinners all go to one place when they die, Brigham Young said.

Brent Top believes that people in the spirit world are self-segregated rather than a physical barrier between the righteous and wicked.

President Lorenzo Snow believes that the success rate of preaching in the spirit world will be far greater than in this life. “The circumstances there will be a thousand times more favorable.”

Story about woman who didn’t want to be sealed to her “poopy” husband. But then daughter has vision of both parents really happy and holding hands. “Why haven’t you sealed us?” Even though wife hadn’t wanted to be sealed, they said that things are “different” in the spirit world.

Brent Top talks about his two inactive brothers, both alcoholics. But says in some ways they are better than he is. He believes they will still have a chance in the spirit world.