The Spirit World- What does it look like?

Of all the many descriptions that I have read of the Spirit World I have come to understand one thing is prevalent. Light. The Spirit World is a world of Light. My favorite description is best described by an actual application.

In a safe place light a candle. Look into the flame at the brightest part of the flame. It is a soft golden glow. That is the color that permeates the world of spirits. There is a lack of light where evil exsists. We will discuss the area where light is present.

In the book: “Glimpses Beyond Death’s Door “ by: Brent L. & Wendy C. Top We have some interesting collections of various descriptions. I think it is appropriate to start with a thought from Brigham Young. He says, “I can say with regard to parting with our friends, and going ourselves, that I have been near enough to understand eternity so that I have had to excercise a great deal more faith to desire to live than I ever excercised in my whole life to live. The brightness and glory of the next apartment is inexpressible.” (In Journal of Discourses, 14:231)

Jedediah M. Grant: “I have seen good gardens on this earth, but I never saw any to compare with those that were there. I saw flowers of numerous kinds, and upon one stalk.” Brother Grant also spoke of the buildings he saw there, remarking that the Lord gave Solomon wisdom and poured gold and silver into his hands that he might display his skill and ability, and said that the temple erected by Solomon was much inferior to the most ordinary buildings he saw in the spirit world.

Brother and Sister Top further list these accounts:

The unequaled vegetation, landscape, and buildings of the spirit world are the most commonly described features. One frequently mentioned element of these is the striking color. This is color that  surpasses all earthly imagination and mortal description. “At first I became aware of beautiful colors which were all the colors of the rainbow. They were magnified in crystallized light and beamed with a brilliance in every direction…As my senses expanded I became aware of colors that were far beyond the spectrum of the rainbow known to the human eye.” ( As quoted in Heading Toward Omega)

“it seemed like, if there was any color, all the colors were their brightest…Like this is ‘the way the colors are in Utopia, perfect. Perfect to their natural color” ( As quoted in Life at Death) “Not at all like colors you see here,” and “the colors (on earth) are drab by comparison.”…the ineffable light of the spirit world, the colors are brilliant but not offensive to the eye.

More than colors, they (the various accounts in brother and sister Top’s book) seem to notice that a golden glow permeates everything there. A Florida housewife gave the following account after her cardiac arrest: “It was like a beautiful sunglow and sunset.

Please re-visit my first post to re-read Heber Q. Hale’s description.

To contine with Brother and Sister Top’s accounts:

I was in a field…and it had high golden grass that was very soft, so bright…The grass swayed. It was very peaceful, very quiet. The grass was so outstandingly beautiful that I will never forget it ( As quoted in Life at Death)

Everything was very defined, on the one hand, but it also had a blending with everything else. The flowers and the flower buds…were all like precious stones, rubies and diamonds and sapphires. One that I remember in particular had a yellow color to it and yet I would relate it to a diamond. ( As quoted in Heading Toward Omega)

The next thing I knew I’m standing at the end of a field and down the center of the field was a long path. Not wide but a well traveled path and over the fields were daisies…They were beautiful. There was not a patch anywhere that wasn’t covered with the daisy. The whole field on both sides covered.(Transcript of Experiencer’s Panel Discussion, IANDS Conference, Washington D.C., August 1990)

I was in a garden. All the colors were intense. The grass was a deep vibrant green, flowers were radiant reds, yellows, and blues, and birds of all beauty fluttered in the bushes. Everything was lit by a shadowless brilliance that was all-pervading.

This light did not cast a shadow, which I realized when I cupped my hands tightly together and the palm side was just as light as the back side. ( As quoted in Transformed by the Light)

Just about every variety of scenery is mentioned in near-death accounts- mountains, hills, valleys, meadows, woodlands, lakes, rivers, streams, waterfalls- all described as “beautiful,” “peaceful,” and in glorious hues. Flowers there seem to be active rather than passive parts of the landscape. Cattle, horses, sheep, and lions are mentioned as well.

Cities of Light

The building I went in was a catherdral. It was built like St. Mark’s or the Sistine chapel, but the bricks or blocks appeared to be made of Plexiglas. They were square, they had dimension to ‘em, except you could see through ‘em and in the center of each one of these was this gold and silver light. And you could see the building- and yet could not for the radiance…Now, this cathedral was literally built of knowledge. This was a place of learning I had come to. (As quoted in Heading Toward Omega)

And then somehow she took me…somewhere (pause) and all I could see was marble all around me; it was marble. It looked like marble, but it was very beautiful…The closest thing I could compare it to is possibly a mausoleum… It was immensely filled with light… It was very beautiful and ornate.(As quoted in Life at Death)

Here again, the colors and textures were outside my experience; and the road and the sidewalks appeared to be paved in some kind of precious metal. The buildings appeared to be constructed of translucent material.(As quoted in”Amazing Grace: The Near-Death Experiences as a Compensatory Gift)

Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772) Whenever I have talked face to face with angles I have been with them in their dwellings. Their dwellings are just like the dwellings on earth which we call homes, except that they are more beautiful. They have rooms, suites, and bedrooms, all in abundance. They have courtyards, and are surrounded by gardens, flowerbeds, and lawns…

I have seen palaces of heaven so noble as to defy description. The higher parts glowed as if they were made of pure gold, the lower as though made of precious gems; each palace was more splendid than the last. Inside, the same- the rooms were decorated with accessories such that words and arts fail to describe them.

Outside…there were parks where everything likewise glowed, with here and there leaves gleaming like silver and fruit like gold. The flowers in their plots formed virtual rainbows.( Heaven and Hell)

 

“Enormous buildings stood in a beautiful sunny park and there was a relationship between the various structures, a pattern to the way they were arranged, that reminded me somewhat fo a well-planned university. Except that to compare what I was now seeing with anything on earth was ridiculous. It was more as if all the schools and colleges in the world were only piecemeal reproductions of this reality.”

…”seemingly endless” city of light, whose “brightness seemed to shine from the very walls and streets,” (Return from Tomorrow- George Richie)

And then I walked through the door, and saw on the other side this beautiful, brilliantly lit city, reflecting what seemed to be the sun’s rays. It was all made of gold or some shiny metal with domes and steeples in beautiful array, and the streets were shining, not quite like marble but made of something I have never seen before…The air smelled so fresh. I have never smelled anything like it. (As quoted in Maurice Rawlings, Beyond Death’s Door)

Off in the distance…I could see a city. There were buildings- separate buildings. They were gleaming, bright. People were happy there. There was sparkling water, fountains…a city of light I guess would be the way to say it.(As quoted in Reflections of Life After Life)

“I saw a city… Even at tremendous distance, I realized that it was immense! It all seemed to have the same dimensions and there seemed to be nothing supporting it and no need for anything to support it…The first thing I can relate it to in this life was a look of gold, but it was clear, it was transparent…Everything there had a purity and clarity…The difference (between things here and there) was also-you think of gold as something hard and brittle; this had a smoothness and softness.” (As quoted in Heading Toward Omega)

 

From one of my favortie books, Betty J. Eadie’s Embraced By The Light, gives a great description of the difference between the mortal and the spiritual world.

“I was told by the Savior that the spirit creation could be compared to one of our photographic prints; the spirit creation would be like a sharp, brilliant print,and the earth is only a shadow of the beauty and glory of its spirit creation..”

The one book that really helped us get through Kory’s death was;

The Message, By Lance Richardson. a description of the Spirit World I like:

Immediately in front of me stretched a lush lawn of emerald hue, yet mixed with a combination of sky-blue. I had never seen such a vibrant, brilliant color. Trees could be seen in numberous places around the landscape.They, too, were much more impressive than anything I had ever seen. Leaves and sprigs carried varieties of color such as crimson, gold, blazing yellows of fire, shades of green and blue, and deep blood-red. One stem may have numerous flowers of different veriety and color. These flowers and shrubbery cast soft and deep tones of warmth and splendor, as if mixed by a master painter. I was enthralled with the beauty which encompassed me.

I have been drawn to beatiful crystals for many years. They feel like a distant memory of home for me with their prisms and rainbows and reflections of light.The first Christmas following Kory’s death I wanted to give him something that represented the beautiful abode that he now resided in. I gave the Harvest Ward a Christmas tree. The ornaments on this tree were all crystal and irredescant. The tree was at the meeting house for a few years. The crystal ornaments were not a good match for young children and we all know that LDS churches have many young children so I brought the tree home. I then purchased a 7ft pure white tree that I added crystal ornaments to each year. At Christmas it is a beautiful reminder of the beauty of the Spirit World.

I hope this gives you comfort to know of the next dwelling palce as it has comforted me. Please share your thoughts.

I would be happy to answer any questions you have.

Please share your suggestions for future posts.