Teachings on Animal Spirits

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Teachings on Animal Spirits

32 Primary Sources

a still of the 1989 movie All Dogs Go to Heaven by Latter-day Saint (Mormon) director Don Bluth, where the ghost spirit of charlie the dog meets the pink angel dog Annabelle at the gates of heaven, who looks over the deeds of his life in a large book. — The spirit of Charlie the dog meets the angel Annabelle at the pearly gates of heaven in *All Dogs Go To Heaven*, a 1989 movie directed by Latter-day Saint animator Don Bluth, which posits that all dogs go to heaven.

Do animals have spirits?

Yes. The scriptures mention animal spirits,[1] and Church leaders have taught that animals have spirits.[2] A Church magazine from 2012 also teaches this.[3]

So when animals die, are they waiting in the spirit world?

Maybe. Neither the scriptures nor Church leaders offer any information about where animal spirits go immediately after they die.[4]

Does that mean that they will be resurrected?

Yes. The scriptures reference the resurrection of animals.[5] Joseph Smith[BIO] said that animals would be “saved” and “seen in heaven.”[6] A First Presidency statement in 1909 said that “the whole animal creation will be perfected and perpetuated in the Hereafter.”[7] Joseph Fielding Smith[BIO] also taught that animals would be resurrected.[8]

Does that mean I get to be with my pets in the millennium?

Probably. The traditional interpretation of the "the lion shall lie with the lamb"[9] passage in Isaiah is that it refers to the millennium, so this may be an allusion to resurrected animals that live during that time.

Should you feel bad for eating something with a spirit?

Probably not. According to early church leaders, even vegetables have spirits.[10] Some church leaders have counseled to eat less meat, but not because of the spirits of animals.[11]

Joseph Smith once taught the brethren to not kill any animals except for the purpose of preserving themselves from hunger.[12] So while it may not be a consequence of animals having spirits that leads to counsel not to eat meat, there is still counsel to treat animals well and eat meat sparingly.[13]

If animals ate meat for food, will they eat meat in the afterlife?

Probably not. Animals are made of meat, and it's unlikely that resurrected animals will eat animals. The scriptures describe lions eating straw like an ox,[14] which supports this idea.

However, Christ eats a fish after his resurrection,[15] so it seems like a resurrected body can still eat non-resurrected meat.

So if animals don't eat meat, what will they eat?

Straw, obviously.

Does straw have a spirit?

Straw is dead grass, so probably not.[16]

Will animals be able to talk to me?

Possibly. Some scriptures include talking animals.[17] Joseph Smith taught that God understood the languages of beasts in Heaven.[18] There's also an account of Brigham Young talking to oxen in an unknown language.[19]

Are there going to be animals in all the kingdoms?

Maybe. Being in a lesser kingdom implies some kind of application of mercy and justice based on moral agency, and it's unclear how much moral agency animals have.[20]

Will there be dinosaurs?

Probably. Dinosaurs were alive, now they are dead. So, presumably, they will be resurrected and saved like all the other animals.

What about mosquitoes?

No.

The Facts

Animals have spirits.
Animals will be resurrected.
Communicating with animals in a more direct way in the afterlife may be possible.

Our Take

It’s heartening to know that animals are a very real part of God’s creation and plan. And it’s heartwarming to think about talking with your resurrected pet someday. Animals having spirits makes them more like us. Should it change the way we treat them?

Animals are just as much God’s creation as anything else, which means He loves them and cares about how they’re treated. Nature can be harsh in the animal kingdom and eating and being eaten is part of mortality. But knowing that animals have spirits should inform the respect and care we give to them.

What's Your Take?

Greg
“I'm completely surprised about how much individuals limit Our Fathers capacity. One thing to note, He has never, and will never create life in order to destroy it. Never. Everything you see has it's place with him. He knows who had what here, and will deal with it as we pass on.”
Gale H.
“This philosophy rings true to me. It confirms to me that the great Creator loves His creations. It also is comforting for those you love & care for animals. We learn about ourselves through how we treat animals. Pets become part of a family on earth so why not after mortal death?”
Clay
“My beloved friend and companion of 16 years, Odin, died tonight, and this informative site is giving me a lot of comfort in my sadness. Thanks for taking the time to create this well written site, both scholarly and humorous. The web can still be good at times. Bless you.”
Joan
“Just want to thank you about this article. I really believe it. Thanks.”
V.
“I take much needed comfort from these assertions.”

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32 Primary Sources

Footnotes

BIOJoseph Smith, Jr.
Joseph Smith (1805–1844) organized The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Born in Sharon, Vermont, he began to experience visions of deity and angels at a young age. One vision featured the Angel Moroni, who revealed the location of gold plates with an account of ancient Americans. He translated this record and published it as The Book of Mormon. He continued to receive revelations throughout his life which serve as the foundation for the Church's doctrine today. He led the Latter-day Saints across the country from New York to Illinois. In 1844, he was martyred while awaiting trial in Carthage, Illinois.
BIOJoseph Fielding Smith
Joseph Fielding Smith (1876-1972) was the tenth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He became an apostle in the Quorum of the Twelve in 1910 and served in this capacity until he became a member of the First Presidency in 1965. He was the Church Historian and Recorder from 1921 until 1970. He became president of the Church following the death of David O. McKay in 1970.
[1]↩︎
Doctrine and Covenants 77:2:
. . . the spirit of man in the likeness of his person, as also the spirit of the beast, and every other creature which God has created.
Moses 3:19:
And out of the ground I, the Lord God, formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and commanded that they should come unto Adam, to see what he would call them; and they were also living souls; for I, God, breathed into them the breath of life, and commanded that whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that should be the name thereof.
[2]↩︎
Joseph Smith, Orson Pratt, and Joseph Fielding Smith all taught that animals have spirits or souls or would be in Heaven.
[3]↩︎
In the March 2012 edition of the New Era, an article titled “To the Point” includes an answer to the question “Do animals have spirits?” It says:
Yes, animals have spirits (see D&C 77:2–3). Of course, there is a major difference between animals’ spirits and our spirits—we are begotten sons and daughters of Heavenly Father, and they are not.
- New Era article says animals have spirits.
[4]↩︎
Some accounts mention animals' salvation and their presence in heaven, but they don't describe what that entails.
[5]↩︎
Doctrine and Covenants 29:24–25:
24 For all old things shall pass away, and all things shall become new, even the heaven and the earth, and all the fulness thereof, both men and beasts, the fowls of the air, and the fishes of the sea; 25 And not one hair, neither mote, shall be lost, for it is the workmanship of mine hand.
Doctrine and Covenants 77:2–3:
2 Q. What are we to understand by the four beasts, spoken of in the same verse? A. They are figurative expressions, used by the Revelator, John, in describing heaven, the paradise of God, the happiness of man, and of beasts, and of creeping things, and of the fowls of the air; . . . 3 Q. Are the four beasts limited to individual beasts, or do they represent classes or orders? A. They are limited to four individual beasts, which were shown to John, to represent the glory of the classes of beings in their destined order or sphere of creation, in the enjoyment of their eternal felicity.
[6]↩︎
He spoke of more than just animals from Earth here too:
I suppose John saw beings there, that had been saved from ten thousand times ten thousand earths like this, strange beasts of which we have no conception <all> might be seen in heaven.
- JS speaks of animals in heaven, including those from other worlds.
[7]↩︎
Addressing the topic of evolution, the First Presidency, composed of Joseph F. Smith, John P. Winder, and Anthon H. Lund, issued a statement mentioning the salvation of animals.
- The 1909 First Presidency says animals were not created in God's image, but will be "perfected and perpetuated in the Hereafter."
[8]↩︎
Joseph Fielding Smith, then an apostle, wrote in his book Doctrines of Salvation that all animals will be resurrected:
The animals, the fishes of the sea, the fowls of the air, as well as man, are to be recreated, or renewed, through the resurrection, for they too are living souls.
- JFS teaches the resurrection of animals.
[9]↩︎
The phrase "the lion shall lie with the lamb" doesn't actually appear in the Bible, but is typically used to refer to Isaiah 11:6-8, which reads:
6. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. 7. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den.
[10]↩︎
Referring to the creation of animals and plants in Genesis 2, Orson Pratt said:
Here we learn, that every vegetable and animal, as well as man, was first created spiritually, in Heaven, and afterwards made naturally upon the earth.
- OP says that the Lord created the spirits of both animals and vegetables.
[11]↩︎
Brigham Young, in 1877, taught specifically to "adopt this rule — stop your children from eating meat, and especially fat meat."
Ezra Taft Benson, in 1979, gave this dietary counsel:
What need additional emphasis are the positive aspects—the need for vegetables, fruits, and grains, particularly wheat. In most cases, the closer these can be, when eaten, to their natural state— without overrefinement and processing—the healthier we will be. To a significant degree, we are an overfed and undernourished nation digging an early grave with our teeth, and lacking the energy that could be ours because we overindulge in junk foods.
Both of these directives are related to health rather than a consideration for the spirits of animals.
- BY counsels parents to stop children from eating meat, especially fat meat.
- ETB counsels to pay more attention to the Word of Wisdom, particularly eating more vegetables, fruits, and grains.
[12]↩︎
While on Zion's Camp, Joseph said:
I exhorted the brethren not to kill a serpent, bird, or and any animal of any kind, during our journey unless it— were necessary to preserve ourselves from hunger. . . .
- JS counsels against killing animals except to preserve from hunger.
[13]↩︎
The Word of Wisdom explains:
Flesh also of beasts & of fowls, I the Lord hath ordained for the use of man with thanksgiving— Nevertheless they are to be used sparingly & it is pleasing unto me that they should not be used only in times of winter or of famine.
George Q. Cannon also taught:
He has made us lords over [animals], and he is a coward and a tyrant who would abuse or inflict pain upon them. And remember this, God will call us to judgment for all our acts.
And the Juvenile Instructor noted:
He who treats in a brutal manner a poor, dumb animal at that moment disqualifies himself for the companionship of the Holy Spirit; for the Lord will not sanction an unrighteous act, and it is an unrighteous thing to treat any thing cruelly.
[14]↩︎
Isaiah 11:6–9 paints a very peaceful picture of the millennium:
6. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. 7. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den. 9. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the dearth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.
[15]↩︎
This was recorded in Luke 24:39–43. It's not clear whether resurrected bodies need to eat or if this instance of Christ eating was more to demonstrate the physicality of his resurrected body.
[16]↩︎
Unless dead grass is counted as a vegetable, which Orson Pratt asserts was created spiritually as well.
- OP says that the Lord created the spirits of both animals and vegetables.
[17]↩︎
For instance, the talking snake in the Garden of Eden or the donkey of Balaam.
- TS, an animal, beguiles E.
- BA speaks to Balaam.
[18]↩︎
Speaking of the book of Revelation, Joseph said:
John heard the words they said. God could understand every languag[e] they talked— the beasts were intelligent being[s] giving glory.
Joseph also said that beasts were “seen and heard by John, praising and glorifying God.”
- JS speaks on God understanding the beasts in heaven: they were intelligent beings, giving glory.
- JS speaks on the salvation of beasts.
[19]↩︎
While traveling with the twelve, the road was blocked by a company of Norwegian travelers who were stuck in the mud. They were yelling at the oxen in Norwegian and whipping them. Brigham Young approached the oxen and apparently spoke to them in a language that couldn't be understood by the Norwegians or the English-speaking travelers. The oxen seemed to understand it though, and they instantly pulled the wagon out of the mud.
- BY speaks a different, unknown language to oxen.
[20]↩︎
Joseph Smith seems to have believed that the four beasts that John saw had agency. Joseph said:
The four beasts were four of the most noble animals that had filled the measure of their creation, and had been saved from other worlds, because they were perfect; they were like angels in their sphere;
- JS speaks on the salvation of beasts.