Unheld Babies
Our Future Spirit Children
(LDS Article)
by Cherie Logan

I was once asked if we will be able to feel our spirit babies.   The thought that the children who come to us once we are resurrected might not be held because they are not physical is a painful one.  Logic intervenes here and insists that we will be able to cuddle and feel our precious little ones.

First: In order to have a spirit baby we need to have a Celestialized Resurrected Body.  We know that the resurrected body is a perfect blending of the spirit body and the physical body.  Right now the spirit body is separate from the physical body and like water and oil cannot be mixed.  Therefore it can be separated at the time of death.

The resurrected body is unable to be separated again through something as simple as death.  Although I reserve the possibility that a resurrected person sent to outer darkness might just disintegrate eventually based upon the principle that no living thing can exist indefinitely without some form of light.  That aside, the resurrected body is a perfect blend of the spirit and the physical, never to be destroyed, separated, or harmed again.

This blending of physical and spiritual would enhance rather than limit the senses of the resurrected being.  Spirit is matter that is finer than physical matter.  While our senses are dull to the delicate sensation of the spirit at this time, we can fully expect to be completely aware of it feel when we are perfected.

Second:  The blueprint for the husband and wife relationship is set.  It won't change.  The blueprint for the mother and child relationship is also set.  There is no reason to expect that it would be different in the eternity's.  We shall be excellent mothers, gentle of voice and joyful of countenance.  We shall be all that is good and comforting to our little ones.  The stresses of mortality will be behind us and our perfected nature will rule our interaction with our children.  With our own perfection will come an increase in our relationship with our children, not an increase in distance.

The belief that love and 'higher' interaction is without physical contact is Eastern in philosophy.  Remember that many Eastern religions believe that the highest level a person can obtain is to become one with some force out there somewhere.  The focus is to become oblivious of all things physical. This is contrary to what we know of the union of husband and wife representing the greatest power of God.  The oneness that we believe Heavenly Father and Christ share isn't one void of physical uniqueness but one that glorifies uniqueness.

The physical needs we have as mothers to cuddle our little ones will be heightened along with increased perception and loss of erroneous distractions.  It would be beyond comprehension to reach such a point of development and discover that physical contact is to be between resurrected beings only, regulating us to the position only a teacher to our spirit children and not nurturers as well.

Consider also that we are promised that no blessing is lost because of death.  Now, if a child dies he will be resurrected and have the chance to marry before judgment.  Being a resurrected individual he will only be able to father spirit children.  If there was no physical contact with those children, he would have been denied blessings that could only have come to mortals.  This is unthinkable.  There is nothing that is a blessing in mortality that doesn't continue to be blessing in the eternities.

Lastly, from the spirit child's perspective, can they feel?  Yes.  Can they feel the same as when they become physical?  We are taught no.  One of the reasons they come to earth is to get a body like their Heavenly Parents.  That means that while they can feel the spirit interaction, they are fully aware that there is a difference between what they feel and what they will feel in the future.  They must be fully aware because that perception is needed to make choices that are binding, choices such as following or rejecting the Lord's plan.  The consequence of rejection was losing the first estate, such a consequence couldn't have been delivered to ignorance.  There had to be awareness of what the future would hold.

How could they have longed for something that they had no knowledge of?  If they felt nothing as spirit children, would they have enough concept of what they are missing to be able to be condemned or glorified for choosing yes or no?  I don't think so.  One is accountable for the knowledge that one has.  I believe that our spirit babies will indeed feel us and our loving arms.  They will grow in the knowledge of what a comfort and joy that is.  They will want more as we teach them about what lies ahead of them if they are faithful.

We feel the Holy Ghost.  We know it is a tangible feeling most often inside of us although there are those who have external sensations such as chills, etc.  Our spirit recognizes the feeling of the Holy Ghost even when our physical brain may deny it.  Because of this, we are accountable for what has been revealed to us, even if we refuse to look or acknowledge it.  The day will come when the spirit body and the physical body will be blended into a perfect whole.  That is when we will truly become one with our Father in Heaven, our Savior, and our eternal companion as we are able to feel on all levels at the same time.