Latter-day Saints revere the Book of Mormon as sacred scripture, and as the “most correct book of any on the earth.” They view it as the “keystone” of their religion. But there’s a significant problem. The Book of Mormon does not teach key LDS doctrines, such as temple ordinances, postmortem repentance, or the three degrees of glory, and indeed at some points directly refutes them.
Modern LDS Teaching Regarding the Spirit World and Post-Mortem Repentance
In D&C 138, a canonized vision of President Joseph F. Smith (1838-1918), claims that Jesus commissioned missionaries in the spirit world and sent them out. This section makes it clear that this work proceeds both among those who “died in their sins, without a knowledge of the truth” as well as those who were “in transgression, having rejected the prophets.” In other words, both those who were ignorant of the gospel message, and those who knew and rejected it are given a chance to have the gospel preached to them:
“Thus was the gospel preached to those who had died in their sins, without a knowledge of the truth, or in transgression, having rejected the prophets.
“These were taught faith in God, repentance from sin, vicarious baptism for the remission of sins, the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands,
“And all other principles of the gospel that were necessary for them to know in order to qualify themselves that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit” (D&C 138:32–34)
This message goes “unto all the dead” including those who were in “rebellion and transgression,” (D&C 138:37) as well as “among those who are in darkness and under the bondage of sin.” (D&C 138:57). Those among them who repent “will be redeemed, through obedience to the ordinances of the house of God, And after they have paid the penalty of their transgressions, and are washed clean, shall receive a reward according to their works, for they are heirs of salvation.” (D&C 138:58-59).
Therefore this vision teaches that even those who were in rebellion or under the bondage of sin will have the opportunity to repent and that they will receive an inheritance in one of the three degrees of glory.
And LDS leaders have emphasized that many people will accept this postmortem opportunity. Indeed, LDS leaders have taught over the pulpit that most people who hear this message in the spirit world will embrace it:
““The great bulk of those who are in the spirit world for whom the work has been done will receive the truth. The conditions for the spirits of the dead receiving the testimony of Jesus in the spirit world are a thousand times more favorable than they are here in this life” (President Lorenzo Snow, October 1893 General Conference, as reported in Millennial Star, Oct. 6, 1893, 718).
Having laid all of this out, let’s turn to the Book of Mormon and see if it is compatible with this vision of a post-mortem opportunity to repent and be redeemed.
The Book of Mormon’s Teaching on the State of the Wicked
Alma 34 records the words of Amulek, Alma’s missionary companion, preaching to the Zoramites about the necessity of repentance and faith in Christ’s atonement. He speaks to them about the eternal state of the wicked in order to urge them to repent.
“Yea, I would that ye would come forth and harden not your hearts any longer; for behold, now is the time and the day of your salvation; and therefore, if ye will repent and harden not your hearts, immediately shall the great plan of redemption be brought about unto you. For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors.” (31-32)
Amulek emphasizes that this life is the time that God has appointed for us to “prepare to meet God.” This is “the time” this is “the day of salvation.”
He warns that if we “procrastinate the day” of our “repentance until the end” and wait until “ then “cometh the night of darkness, wherein there can be no labor performed.” Amulek is therefore explicit that “after this day or life” there will “be no labor performed.”
We “cannot say” that when we “are brought to that awful crisis” that we “will repent and “return to [] God.” That is not possible because “that same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world.”
But Amulek goes even further. Those who have “procrastinated the day of [their] repentance even until death “have become subjected to the spirit of the devil, and he doth seal you his.” In other words, they belong wholly to the devil and are sealed to him.
But its gets even more dire. Amulek emphasized that “the Spirit of the Lord hath withdrawn from you and hath no place in you.” As a result, “the devil hath all power over you.”
To ensure that no one thinks that they can escape from this horrible fate, Amulek emphasized that “this is the final state of the wicked.” There is no opportunity to escape. There is no hope.
There are other verses in the Book of Mormon that also support this bleak vision of the eternal fate of those who die in wickedness. Nephi’s brother Jacob emphasized that “they who are righteous shall be righteous still, and they who are filthy shall be filthy still” (2 Nephi 9:16) denying the possibility of those who are wicked repenting and changing in this state.
Alma warns his son Corianton of the fate of spirits of the wicked “as soon as they are departed from this mortal body.” The “spirits of the wicked” are “cast out into outer darkness” where they will await “the fiery indication of the wrath of God upon them.” ”[T]his is the state of the souls of the wicked” and they will “remain in this state … until the time of their resurrection.” (Alma 40: 13-14). Again, there is no possibility of respite or escape for thise souls.
Indeed, Alma expressly forecloses any such possibility. He explains to his son that the one who “desired to do evil all the day long even so shall he have his reward of evil when the night cometh.” He warns his son that it would be an “offense” against God to believe that anyone “shall be restored from sin to happiness” or for someone who has “gone contrary to the nature of God” to be restored to righteousness. (Alma 41: 5, 9-14)
Can the Book of Mormon and LDS Temple Practices be Reconciled?
These two sets of teachings appear to me to be incompatible.
When I’ve asked Latter-day Saints about this, I’ve been told that the Book of Mormon’s grave warnings apply only to those who rejected the gospel during this life, and that others will be able to repent.
But Alma 34 makes no such distinction between those who had an opportunity in this life and those who didn’t.. It does not say, ‘this warning applies only to those who knowingly rejected the gospel.’ Instead, Amulek states in absolute terms that ‘this life is the time’ and ‘after this day of life… there can be no labor performed.’ If LDS theology is correct, we should expect Alma or Amulek to clarify that only certain people are beyond repentance. But they don’t.”
Indeed, the Book of Mormon forecloses the possibility of any post-mortem repentence. Not only can there “be no labor performed,” but As Amulek explains, these souls are “subjected to the devil” and indeed are “sealed” his. Even more dramatically, the spirit of the lord has “withdrawn” from them completely and the devil has all power over them. In such a state, how could they possibly repent and be changed.
A second counter argument might be that even if Alma 34 teaches a final state of the wicked, that doesn’t contradict LDS doctrine, because even the most wicked still inherit Telestial glory after paying for their own sins. But the Book of Mormon appears to also foreclose that possibility. These spirits will “remain in this state … until the time of their resurrection” and indeed they will remain “filthy still” in the resurrection.” Indeed, it would be an offense against God to suggest otherwise. Furthermore, this is described as “the final state of the wicked.” This does not sound like someone awaiting eventual glory. It describes a state of complete and permanent separation from God. There is no indication that these souls will ever receive grace or glory—only ongoing spiritual ruin.
Finally, Latter-day Saints argue for progressive revelation and claim that God revealed more truth to Joseph Smith than to Alma and Amulek. They argue that just as Christ brought a higher law than Moses, Joseph Smith received doctrines—like temple ordinances and postmortem repentance—that go beyond what’s in the Book of Mormon.
But there’s a fundamental problem with this claim. Progressive revelation builds on previous truth. It doesn’t reverse it.
Alma 34 doesn’t just omit postmortem repentance—it flatly denies it. Amulek warns that “this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God” and that after death, “there can be no labor performed.” That’s not ignorance. That’s an absolute statement
If LDS theology were truly progressive revelation, we’d expect Joseph Smith and subsequent LDS leaders to expand on Alma’s teaching—not contradict it. Instead, Doctrine & Covenants 138 teaches the exact opposite—that people can repent, receive ordinances, and move toward salvation after death.
This isn’t more revelation. This is a reversal.
If the Book of Mormon is from God, then all of this is incredibly odd. Why would God preserve a book for more than a thousand years, and call a prophet to translate it, only to give revelations directly contradicting it only a few years later.
But if the Book of Mormon is the work of Joseph Smith, the answer is obvious—his theology evolved over time. The Book of Mormon represents Joseph Smith’s earliest theology that sounds like Protestant Christianity, while his later teachings introduce completely new ideas—ideas foreign to the Book of Mormon.
These contradictions should not be. God is a God of order, not confusion (1 Cor. 14:33). God does not contradict Himselfor change his mind (Malachi 3:6, Hebrews 13:8). His word is truth (John 17:17), and truth does not contradict itself. If the Book of Mormon were truly from God, we would expect consistency—not later revelations that directly contradict its core teachings.
Please ask yourself how the Book of Mormon can be the “most correct” book on earth if it contradicts the LDS Church today.
But here’s the deeper question: What foundation can you trust?
LDS doctrine has changed repeatedly as what was once taught has eternal truth has been redefined or abandoned. If the Book of Mormon’s teachings contradict the church’s teachings, how can you be sure that today’s LDS teachings won’t also be rewritten tomorrow?
By contrast, the Bible has remained consistent for thousands of years. Unlike LDS doctrine, which changes with time, the gospel of Jesus Christ revealed in Scripture has never wavered.
Jesus promised that His words will never pass away (Matthew 24:35). The gospel Paul preached was “once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3)—not something that needed later corrections or additions.
If you’ve trusted the teachings of the LDS Church, I encourage you to test them against the unchanging truth of God’s Word. Does the gospel you believe today match the one Jesus and His apostles taught? God invites you to seek Him in His perfect, unchanging Word.