Ihonestly don't know why my mind keeps coming up with queeries the answer to whioch I seem to need to come to you guys for an answer.
The creed says that Jesus Christ rose from the dead, and now sits at the right hand of God from whence he shall come to judge the quick (the living) and the dead.
However, most Christians I know (I think) believe that when we die, we are judged (at that time), and hopefully rejoin our loved ones. If that is the case, why would Jesus Christ need to judge the Dead as well as the living ? - surely tthe dead would all have been "judged" at the time of death?
Ah ha! Yes, that's "most Christians." Wouldn't you know it, though, those Mormons always have a different take on things. First off, Michel,
if the dead would have all been judged at the time of death and were in either Heaven or Hell, why does the Bible speak of a judgment when Christ returns to the Earth to begin His millennial reign? Surely God wouldn't admit someone to Heaven immediately after death and then, a few hundred or maybe even a few thousand years later, call him back to be judged. (Oops! How did you end up here? Well, that was obviously a mistake. It's off to Hell for you!)
Here's our belief: When we die (I'm talking about everybody, not just Christians, not just Mormons), our spirits leave our bodies and continue to exist as cognizant entities in a realm known to Mormons as "the Spirit World." (Meanwhile, our bodies just lie as empty shells in the ground, awaiting the resurrection.) The Bible doesn't mention the Spirit World by name, but
it does mention its two parts by name -- (1) Paradise, which is the place where Jesus told the repentent thief who hung next to Him on the cross that He'd see him later that day, and (2) Prison, which is the place Christ's spirit visited during the three days His body lay in the tomb after his death. (By the way, if the dead are conscious of nothing until the resurrection, why on earth would Jesus have spent three days talking to them?)
When a righteous person dies, his spirit will leave his body and find itself in Paradise, a state of happiness, peace and rest. When a wicked person dies, his spirit will leave his body and find itself in Prison, a state of mental anguish and despair. So there is a kind of a preliminary, broad-stroke kind of judgement immediately after death, but that's all. The wonderful thing is that the spirits consigned to Prison don't have to stay there indefinitely. When Jesus Christ preached to the ones who were already there at the time of His death, it was to teach them of His gospel and to explain His atoning sacrifice to them. Those who accepted the message were released from prison and admitted into Paradise. Jesus Christ is in neither Paradise or Prison today. As you pointed out, He is sitting at the right hand of His Father. The work of teaching his gospel continues today in the Spirit World, though. Those who have already accepted his gospel are at this very moment spreading the news to those who haven't. As they come to realize that their sins can be forgiven, and repent of the sins they commited while on earth, they too can enter Paradise. Just imagine the billions of people who spent their entire lives knowing nothing whatsoever about Jesus Christ!
God isn't going to judge them without at least giving them a chance.
After every single solitary person who has ever lived has had the opportunity to hear and understand the message of the Atonement and either accept it or reject it (some during mortality and the rest during the period of time between death and the resurrection), all will be resurrected and will stand before God to be judged, with Christ as their mediator. The bodies we had on earth will be renewed and made
absolutely perfect. They will no longer be subject to disease, decay or disfigurment but will be immortal. It is this judgment that is known as "The Last Judgment." (Obviously, there would be no need for a last judgment without a first judgment.) And when we enter Heaven, we will not only be able to feel the presence of our loved ones, but
see them, touch them and hold them in our arms again.
