A spirit body is, according to

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

(LDS Church), the organization of a spiritual element, made into the spiritual form of man, which was made in the same likeness (shape and form) of

God the Father God the Father is a title given to God in Christianity. In mainstream trinitarian Christianity, God the Father is regarded as the first Person of the Trinity, followed by the second person, Jesus Christ the Son, and the third person, God th ...

.
Online reprint
by the Biology Department of the College of Life Sciences,

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

This likeness (shape and form) apparently gave rise to the phrase and meaning of, "like father like son," which means the son is in the likeness of the father, which provides meaning to the claim that humanity was made in the likeness of God. Generally, people in the West have commonly used the word "

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

" to denote this spirit body. According to the LDS Church, when a spirit body enters a mortal body through birth, a temporary joining occurs, creating what is called a "soul." Church members believe that upon mortal death, the spirit body of a person leaves the mortal body and returns to the spiritual realm to await the resurrection. The resurrection is where God raises the mortal body the spirit personage had lost in mortal death, and converts the mortal body from flesh, bone and blood, into immortal bodies of flesh and bone, then rejoins the two, never to be separated again. This is the meaning of the scripture "...It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:" (see " incorrupt") ( 1 Corinthians 15:42 - King James / see First Epistle to the Corinthians) LDS Church members believe that all things created on earth, including humanity, had a pre-existence or pre-mortal origin. This belief of pre-mortal existence, the manner in which mankind existed before entering mortality is an important church doctrine, and is believed to support the existence of separate and distinct personages as seen within their doctrine of the Godhead (Mormonism).

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious and political leader and the founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. Publishing the Book of Mormon at the age of 24, Smith attracted tens of thou ...

, founder of the

Latter Day Saint movement The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by ...

, believed that "there is no such thing as immaterial matter. All spirit is matter, but it is more fine or pure, and can only be discerned by purer eyes; We cannot see it; but when our bodies are purified we shall see that it is all matter." This spirit matter always existed and is co-eternal with

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

. It is this spiritual matter that makes the Holy Ghost. This spiritual matter is also called "

intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. It can be described as t ...

" or the "light of truth." God the Father organized the "intelligence" to make personages or "spirit children," which includes Jesus Christ. (This shows to support the general belief of

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

that all humanity are all brothers and sisters.)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spirit Body Latter Day Saint concepts of the afterlife Latter Day Saint terms Mormon cosmology Souls

See also

References