In his book God Is Not a Respecter of Persons, Jim Boud explores doctrinal questions that many members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints wrestle with. Some of those questions center on what happens between death and final judgment.
The chapter titled “Who are the Righteous who are the Wicked” addresses many confusing issues for Latter-day Saints, including:
- What is the “final state” of the devil, his angels, and the sons of perdition?
- Do most of those who suffer in spirit prison/hell in the spirit world become cleansed of sin by their suffering or are they cleansed through the atonement of Jesus Christ?
- Does the “probationary state” spoken of in the scriptures include mortality and the time spent in the spirit world?
- Even though many suffer in “hell” or “spirit prison” in the spirit world, is “hell” redemptive, and is it part of the plan of salvation?
- Are the scriptures consistent by teaching “no unclean thing can enter the kingdom of God,” if all three degrees of glory are part of the kingdom of God?
- Do temple ordinances also relate to those who may receive salvation, as opposed to exaltation, in any of the degrees of glory in the kingdom of God?
- Are those who inherit the telestial kingdom after their resurrection and judgment wicked people?
- Is “Spirit prison” or “hell” in the spirit world, for most, a “temporary condition” or state of mind according to “God’s time”?
- Is it God that punishes the wicked or is a person “his own tormenter and his own condemner”?
- When a person physically dies and goes to the spirit word, does that person regain all the knowledge the person gained in his or her premortal life?
- Does God and our Savior require a person, other than the sons of perdition, to go through a process in the spirit word to qualify to be resurrected and then judged? If so, how does a person qualify for the resurrection and judgment?
What Answers Does Boud Find?
Follow Boud’s scriptural reasoning and see how he reaches his conclusions.
Each of the above questions, and many more, are clearly answered in the scriptures as set forth in the above chapter. The conclusions may challenge your assumptions—and leave you with more reason for hope than you expected.
Which of these questions would you most like answered? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Holly Wallace is a writer and storyteller drawn to meaningful questions and overlooked details. Her work explores Latter-day Saint life and culture through faithful inquiry, inviting readers to pause, consider, and engage more deeply with what matters most.
Is this book something the leaders would sanction?