In the theology of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the spirit world is understood as the realm where spirits reside between death and resurrection. A distinctive aspect of this belief is the teaching that the spirit world is not a distant or separate location but exists here on earth, in a dimension that is not visible to our mortal eyes.

Elder Parley P. Pratt, an early apostle of the Church, articulated this concept by stating that the spirit world "is here on the very planet where we were born." He explained that the earth has both a temporal, physical sphere and a spiritual sphere, with a veil separating the two, rendering the spiritual sphere invisible to those in mortality. He wrote, "The one is peopled by temporal tabernacles and the other by spirits. A veil is drawn between the one sphere and the other whereby all the objects in the spiritual sphere are rendered invisible to those in the temporal."¹⁷⁹

This perspective suggests that the spirits of the deceased are not far removed from the living but coexist on the same planet in a different state of existence. The separation between the mortal world and the spirit world is described as a "veil," indicating that while the two realms are distinct, they are closely connected.

This understanding provides comfort to believers, as it implies that deceased loved ones are near and continue to exist in a familiar realm. It also emphasizes the continuity of God's plan, with the spirit world serving as a preparatory state where spirits await resurrection and continue to progress.

Latter-day Saint theology teaches that the spirit world is not a distant or separate place but exists here on earth in a different dimension. This belief underscores the closeness of the afterlife and the ongoing connection between the living and the dead.