Resurrection affirmed; detailed LDS afterlife tiers not emphasized
Community of Christ affirms the resurrection and eternal life as core Christian hopes, but has distanced itself from the elaborate three-degree afterlife theology of Utah Mormonism. The celestial/terrestrial/telestial framework, baptism for the dead, and the doctrine of exaltation to godhood are either de-emphasized or regarded as less central in contemporary Community of Christ teaching.
The church's theological diversity and its progressive trajectory mean that individual members may hold various views about the afterlife. The resurrection hope is affirmed, and eternal life with God is the promised future of the faithful, but the specifics are held with less dogmatic certainty than in LDS theology.
Key Distinctions
- Intermediate state:
- conscious with God; moving away from LDS spirit world doctrine
- Immortality type:
- inherent immortality; resurrection
- Bodily resurrection:
- bodily resurrection affirmed
Scripture References
Sources
- Community of Christ Basic Beliefs
- Community of Christ Enduring Principles