Death is a Part of Heavenly Father's Plan of Happiness

We have come to earth to learn, to live, to progress in our eternal journey toward perfection. Some remain on earth for a moment, while others live long upon the land. The measure is not how long we live, but how well we live. Then comes death and the beginning of a new chapter in life. This new chapter leads to that glorious day of resurrection, when spirit and body will be reunited, never again to be separated.

Christ said to the grieving Martha, "I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die." (John 11:25-26)

"Now, concerning the state of the soul between death and the resurrection—Behold, it has been made known unto me by an angel, that the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body, yea, the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave them life. And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of those who are righteous are received into a state of happiness, which is called paradise, a state of rest, a state of peace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care, and sorrow." (Alma 40:11-12)

taken from April 2010 Ensign Magazine