Talk:Spirit prison

What other Xtian group believes in this?
I'm inclined to remove the claim that somebody other than the mormons believes this, but I'll wait to see if anybody can suggest another group before I do so. Uucp 17:08, 16 February 2006 (UTC)
 * The Restoration Branches and other traditionalist RLDS factions also generally believe in the "prison house" doctrine. It is not put forward as a definite doctrine but is heavily implied by several mainstream Christian authors, (possibly inspired by the Latter Day Saint position though I cannot prove this) notably C. S. Lewis in The Great Divorce. It is not quite the same as Catholic Purgatory because the reason for being there and the conditions of getting out are different. I am not sure in what degree the RLDS position is similar or dissimilar to the LDS position as the afterlife is a major source of contention between the two positions. --BenMcLean (talk) 16:58, 12 January 2011 (UTC)

Whether Spirit Prison is Christian doctrine
Mormonism (the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), is considered a cult by all major Christian denominations and religions including Protestantism, Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodox Christianity. All those religions teach that there is only one God, who has always existed as God. Mormonism teaches that people can become gods and the the God of the Bible was once a man on another earth and he became a God. Christian denominations and religions teach that a person's eternal destiny of either being "saved" or "condemned" is permanently sealed at the moment of the person's physical death. Spirit Prison may be a Mormon doctrine but it is not accepted by any major Christian denomination or religion. --RickReinckens 05:57, 7 February 2006 (UTC)


 * The paragraph "other religious traditions" is cursory and without adequate citations. The paragraph reads as though it comes directly from an LDS study manual or the church-approved Topical Guide. Whoever posted this page has little understanding of what Purgatory means in Catholic teaching and practice; to cite the Early Church Fathers in such a general global manner is deceptive.  At minimum there should be a cross-reference to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), an appropriate section of which can be found at http://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p123a12.htm I Recommend deletion of the paragraph or a substantial rewrite at editors' discretion, --Genehisthome (talk) 13:40, 14 January 2010 (UTC)

If you look at the original definition of the word "cult" then all Christian religious traditions are technically cults. "Cult" was originally not a pejorative term and was originally used interchangably/synonymously with "sect" or "denomination." The definition of Christianity is to be found in the early Christian creeds: the Apostle's Creed and the Nicene Creed and if those are not clear enough, C. S. Lewis's Mere Christianity is an excellent reference on the definition of a Christian insofar as it simply restates ancient doctrine in modern language; eschewing all subjective characterizations for an objective, testable, unchanging standard. If the Mormon church doesn't meet this standard, (I think it doesn't) then the Mormon church is not a Christian church, though it may contain many members who are personally Christians in the "Mere Christianity" sense. I think the traditional RLDS church as identified by the Restoration Branches movement that I belong to, does meet this standard and does not accept those Mormon doctrines which really do violate this standard.


 * Mormonism teaches that people can become gods and the the God of the Bible was once a man on another earth and he became a God.

These doctrines do indeed violate the standard, I believe.


 * Christian denominations and religions teach that a person's eternal destiny of either being "saved" or "condemned" is permanently sealed at the moment of the person's physical death.

This may be generally true, but it is not part of the essential definition of Christianity, and indeed, there are mainstream Christian groups that do not believe this. This position is denied in the final volume of the Left Behind series for example. It is not part of the essential definition because it is not part of the creeds. The Apostle's Creed joins the Bible in saying of Jesus, "He descended into hell" (The Bible teaches this in 1 Peter 3:19) and it makes no sense for Him to do this if the fates of all the people there are sealed forever. --BenMcLean (talk) 17:09, 12 January 2011 (UTC)

Redirect?
With a word change "Prison of the spirits" there are many 100s of references, all based on 1 Pe 3:19. The two paragraphs moved out to Spirit world (Latter Day Saints) where they were more relevant.In ictu oculi (talk)
 * A comment origional made here was moved to Talk:Spirit world (Latter Day Saints) to avoid cross-thread posting. -- 208.81.184.4 (talk) 22:36, 23 November 2010 (UTC)