Have you ever tried to use the redemption story about the thief on the cross to show your Mormon friends that sins can be fully and freely forgiven without good works—and that we don’t have to earn our way into eternal life with God?
If so, you’ve probably heard this response:
“Yes, but ‘paradise’ just means the spirit world. It’s not exaltation. It’s a place where people go to wait, learn more, and still have the opportunity to make progress toward the Celestial Kingdom.”
Don’t be thrown off by that answer.
Don’t shut down.
Don’t get discouraged.
Instead—get curious.
This is a perfect opportunity to invite your friend to slow down and think through what Jesus was actually offering. You don’t need to debate. Just ask honest, thoughtful questions that gently draw out the beauty of what Jesus said.
First, What Do Mormons Believe About the Spirit World?
In LDS teaching, everyone goes to a spirit world after death—a temporary place before final judgment. This spirit world is divided into spirit paradise and spirit prison.
According to LDS belief, those who lived faithfully—were baptized by proper authority and followed the teachings of the LDS Church—are allowed into spirit paradise. There, they enjoy peace and rest and may serve as missionaries to those in spirit prison—a place for souls who rejected the gospel or didn’t have the chance to accept it during mortality. In the spirit prison, these souls can be taught the LDS gospel, and through vicarious temple ordinances performed by the living, they are offered the opportunity to progress.
So, in LDS interpretation, when Jesus says, “Today you will be with me in paradise,” he’s referring to this spirit paradise—a temporary resting place for the worthy—not the final dwelling place with God.
But that interpretation raises some fascinating questions…
Get Curious, Not Confrontational
Ask them: Why do you think the thief got to go to spirit paradise?
He wasn’t baptized. He didn’t do any ordinances. He had no time to prove himself worthy. So what made him eligible?
Then ask: Do you believe Jesus was in spirit paradise too?
If so—why? Was Jesus just in the waiting room? Or was he returning to the presence of the Father?
Remember what Jesus said at the moment of his death:
“Father, into your hands I commit my spirit”
Luke 23:46
If Jesus was going to the Father—and he promised the thief would be with him—then doesn’t that mean the thief was going to the Father too?
That doesn’t sound like a temporary holding place.
That doesn’t sound like a second chance to make progress.
That sounds like paradise—God’s presence.
What If Jesus Meant Exactly What He Said?
Jesus didn’t say, “You’ll get your chance.”
He didn’t say, “You’ll have time to make things right.”
He said, “Today you will be with me in paradise.”
And the rest of the Bible helps us understand what kind of place Jesus meant.
In Revelation 2:7, Jesus says that the tree of life is “in the paradise of God.”
Then in Revelation 22:1–2, we see the tree of life located before “the throne of God and of the Lamb.”
So when Jesus says “paradise,” he’s not talking about a spiritual pit stop.
He’s talking about the very place where God dwells.
He’s offering this dying criminal eternal life with God—only because he knew him.
Witnessing Tip for Good Friday
Don’t use this account to trap your LDS friends. Use it to open up deeper conversations about who Jesus really is.
What if Jesus isn’t just our older brother or a perfect example?
What if he’s actually God?
What if he has the authority to forgive sins and the power to give eternal life with God—not eventually, but immediately?
What if this moment on the cross is one more place where Jesus is showing us the kind of Savior he truly is?
As You Head into Good Friday…
Remember what Jesus did for that dying man.
He gave him certainty, not conditions.
He gave him relationship, not a religious checklist.
He gave him eternal life with himself, not a path to prove himself.
Let that shape how you talk to your Mormon friends.
Let it shape your own confidence in the gospel.
And let it drive you to worship Jesus, the crucified King, who still says:
“Today, you will be with me in paradise.”
