Addressing
(and refuting) whether those in the spirit world are in a more privileged
position vis-à-vis knowledge of the truth of the gospel and whether they are in
a better position than those in mortality to accept the gospel, Melvin J.
Ballard, in a sermon given at the Ogden Tabernacle, said:
I declare unto you that when a man and woman
are dead they will not know the truth any more than we do. They will not be
given a flood of light that will make them see everything. You will see in the
spirit world every phase of religion. They will be free to do as they please,
each following his will-o’-the-wisp. And along comes the authority of God, and
there is an honest soul that hears that and declares that it is the truth. “My
sheep” know the Saviour’s voice in the spirit world or upon the earth, and men
in the spirit world will be tested in exactly the same conditions as if here
upon the earth. They will have to manifest the same courage and the same faith.
And there are thousands of them, hundreds of thousands and millions of them in
the spirit world who long to receive this Gospel and have been waiting hundreds
of years for their deliverance. They are waiting on you. They are praying that
the Lord will awaken your hearts in their interest. They know where their
records are, and I testify to you that the spirit and influence of your dead
will guide those who are interested in finding those records. If there is
anywhere on the earth anything concerning them, you will find it. This is my
promise to you. (“God’s Plan for Redemption” in Melvin J. Ballard: Crusader for Righteousness [Salt Lake City:
Bookcraft Publishers, 1966], 203)