The Good News You’re Not Hearing Anymore: A Message to My Mormon Brothers and Sisters
If you’ve spent time in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recently, you’ve probably heard the same repeated message: you must accept the gospel here and now, or risk losing eternal blessings. It creates urgency. It creates pressure. And it can create fear.
But did you know that one of the early prophets of the Restoration taught something very different? Something more merciful, more beautiful — and far more like the loving character of Christ?
Wilford Woodruff, the fourth president of the LDS Church, once taught openly that the vast majority of people who don’t accept the gospel in this life will accept it joyfully in the spirit world — and it will actually be easier for them to do so there than it was here.
In his words:
“There will be very few, if any, who will not accept the Gospel. It is better to teach men and women the Gospel here and save them, than to wait until they go into the spirit world… Nevertheless, when they hear the gospel there, it will be easier for them to repent than here.”
(Deseret Weekly, 1894)
In contrast, the Church today teaches a much harsher view.
Modern LDS doctrine heavily emphasizes that the spirit world is mostly a holding place — a division between those who accepted the gospel and those who rejected it — and that unless people accept, repent, and complete ordinances like baptism in mortality (or by immediate proxy afterward), their eternal future is in jeopardy. The idea has been repeatedly taught that death “locks in” our choices, and the opportunity for real repentance shrinks or disappears.
This has created enormous pressure on members and missionaries alike. It sends the message that this life is the only real chance — and if people die without embracing the Church’s specific teachings, even good and sincere souls could lose their eternal rewards.
But honestly, ask yourself: Does that sound like the work of a loving, patient God who is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance”? (2 Peter 3:9)
Or does it sound like a man-made system built to create urgency and compliance now, at the cost of the bigger picture of God’s infinite love?
Wilford Woodruff’s teaching offers a much more Christlike view.
Instead of seeing God’s mercy as running on a tight human schedule, it reveals a Father who works tirelessly with His children, even beyond death — a Savior who patiently opens eyes that were blinded by mortal traditions, who lovingly calls to every lost sheep in the spirit world just as He did in mortality.
It simply makes more sense that a loving God would continue His redemptive work after death — not slam the door shut forever based on the accidents, confusions, or circumstances of mortality.
It’s not about God giving us less opportunity. It’s about God giving us every possible chance to come home.
Yes, we should follow Christ now. Yes, living by His Spirit now brings greater joy and light. But let’s not erase the profound hope Woodruff bore witness of: God’s work is not bound by death. His mercy is not limited by mortality. His redemption stretches into the next life, where countless souls will find their chance — and embrace it.
This isn’t just wishful thinking.
This was prophetic teaching.
And it reminds us of the true good news of the gospel: Jesus Christ really will leave the ninety-nine to find the one — no matter how long it takes.
