as offered,
not alone for the few who lived upon the earth while He was in the
flesh, nor for those who were to be born in mortality after His death,
but for all inhabitants of earth then past, present, and future. He was
ordained of the Father to be a judge of both quick and dead;[1352] He is
Lord alike of living and dead,[1353] as men speak of dead and living,
though all are to be placed in the same position before Him; there will
be but a single class, for all live unto Him.[1354] While His body
reposed in the tomb, Christ was actively engaged in the further
accomplishment of the Father's purposes, by offering the boon of
salvation to the dead, both in paradise and in hell.

NOTES TO CHAPTER 36.

1. Paradise.--The scriptures prove that at the time of the final
judgment every man will stand before the bar of God, clothed in his
resurrected body, and this, irrespective of his condition of
righteousness or guilt. While awaiting resurrection, disembodied spirits
exist in an intermediate state, of happiness and rest or of suffering
and suspense, according to the course they have elected to follow in
mortality. Reference to paradise as the abode of righteous spirits
between the time of death and that of the resurrection is made by the
prophet Nephi (2 Nephi 9:13), by a later prophet of the same name (4
Nephi 14), by Moroni (Moroni 10:34); as also by Alma whose words are
quoted in the text (Alma 40:12, 14). New Testament scripture is of
analogous import (Luke 23:43; 2 Cor. 12:4; Rev. 2:7). The word
"paradise" by its derivation through the Greek from the Persian,
signifies a pleasant place, or a place of restful enjoyment. (See _The
Articles of Faith_, xxi, note 5). By many the terms "hades" and "sheol"
are understood to designate the place of departed spirits, comprizing
both paradise and the prison realm; by others the terms are applied only
to the latter, the place of the wicked, which is apart from paradise,
the abode of the just.

The assumption that the gracious assurance given by Christ to the
penitent sinner on the cross was a remission of the man's sins, and a
passport into heaven, is wholly contrary to both the letter and spirit
of scripture, reason, and justice. Confidence in the efficacy of
death-bed professions and confessions on the basis of this incident is
of the most insecure foundation. The crucified malefactor manifested
both faith and repentance; his promised blessing was that he should that
day hea