RICHARD - Obviously there are all kinds of shapes and sizes of
all of gods children for example, Dwarfs, obese, tall,
skinny etc. Will there be an opportunity for us to
change our shapes and sizes during the mellenium or
when we are resurrected?
JOEL - The scriptures say:
"The spirit and the body shall be reunited again in
its perfect form; both limb and joint shall be
restored to its proper frame, even as we now are at
this time; and even there shall not so much as a hair
of their heads be lost; but every thing shall be
restored to its perfect frame, as it is now,"(Alma
11:41-)
The resurrection process will eventually cause our
bodies to return to a condition resembling the prime
of our life, without disease or imperfections.
According to some church leaders this change could
happen immediately or over the course of time
according to the providence of God. I know
of no scriptures or doctrines that suggest that we will
have any control of what our bodies will look like after
the resurrection.
Children will rise as they were laid away, but after the resurrection
their bodies will grow to the full stature of their spirits.
Joseph Smith said, pointing to the mother of a
lifeless child, “You will have the joy, the pleasure,
and satisfaction of nurturing this child, after its
resurrection, until it reaches the full stature of its
spirit.” (Gospel Doctrine, 455-56)
According to Joseph Fielding Smith:
"In the resurrection from the dead, the bodies which
were laid down natural bodies shall come forth
spiritual bodies. That is to say, in mortality the
life of the body is in the blood, but the body when
raised to immortality shall be quickened by the spirit
and not the blood. Hence, it becomes spiritual, but it
will be composed of flesh and bones, just as the body
of Jesus was, who is the prototype. Bodies will come
up, of course, as they were laid down, but will be
restored to their proper,
perfect frame immediately. Old people will not look
old when they come forth from the grave. Scars will be
removed. No one will be bent or wrinkled. How
foolish it would be for a man to come forth in the
resurrection who had lost a leg and have to wait for
it to grow again. Each body will come forth with its
perfect frame. If there has been some deformity or
physical impairment in this life, it will be removed."
He also said that the resurrected person will "be the
same person we knew... in our mortal existence, even
to the wounds in the flesh. Not that a person will
always be marred by scars, wounds, deformities,
defects, or infirmities, for these will be removed in
their course, in the proper time. Defects will be
eliminated and men and women shall attain to that
perfection of their spirits, to the perfection that
God designed in the beginning." (Doctrines of Salvation, 1954-1956)
I am not sure how far reaching this concept of having
a "perfect frame" is or what would be included in
"deformity or physical impairment". I only know that
when we are resurrected we will obtain a form
comparable to what our spirits look like and that we
will be recognized by those who know us. So I guess if
in the prime of our life we naturally had a short
stature or tall stature we will still look that way
when resurrected. But if for example our obesity(or
any other deformity) was caused by some disease or
defect in our metabalism or DNA, that will be
corrected at resurrection and we will no longer have
that deformity.
Joseph Fielding Smith also said:
"The question has frequently been asked when a child
has been born with some physical defect or deformity,
was this a punishment or a condition which was his
before he was born? No! All of these ills are ills of
the flesh or defects that are due to mortal conditions
which may have come upon the body even before birth,
but we may be assured that these defects were not
conditions which existed in the world of spirits."
(Answers to Gospel Questions, vol. 4, p. 185)
Our bodies will also look different depending on which
level of heaven we are to abide in after the judgment.
In the book, "Doctrines of Salvation" we read:
"In every species of animals and plants, there are
many resemblances in the general outlines and many
specific differences characterizing the individuals of
each species. So in the resurrection. There will be
several classes of resurrected bodies; some celestial,
some terrestrial, some telestial, and some sons of
perdition. Each of these classes will differ from the
others by prominent and marked distinctions; yet, in
each, considered by itself, there will be found many
resemblances as well as distinctions. There will be
some physical peculiarity by which each individual in
every class can be identified." (Doctrines of
Salvation Vol. 2, p. 287)
The fact is we only worry about things like our size
and shape in our mortal existance. In the next life
there will be no more vanity, ego, or pride so noone
will really care what they look like and won't want to
change their appearance. I think God will be in
control of what our bodies finally look like. The
most important thing is to be resurrected with a body
so we can become like our Father in heaven and obtain
exaltation.