We may also console ourselves that those loved ones who have passed on are happily resting in the paradise of God. But the nature of the spirit world was a relatively new doctrine for the Nephites. It was Helaman’s father Alma who had inquired as to the state of the soul between death and resurrection. He learned by revelation 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 40:12).
To see those that are in the prime of life suffer tragedy and death is particularly harrowing. It often raises the question, “how could a loving God allow something like this to happen?” Yet, a loving God knows that for the righteous, the tragedy doesn’t begin at death—it ends at death. Accordingly, the spiritually-minded members of Antipus’ army may have realized that while they wearily struggled to maintain their lands, their fallen comrades were resting in the paradise of God.
“To you whose lives may be taken in war and to you who may mourn the loss of loved ones so taken, may I bring you again the comfort of the words of Moroni, the captain of the guard; ’For the Lord suffereth the righteous to be slain that his justice and judgment may come upon the wicked; therefore ye need not suppose that the righteous are lost because they are slain; but behold, they do enter into the rest of the Lord.’ (Alma 60:13)” (Book of Mormon Student Manual, p. 339)