Will hell be "an endless wo"? Alma 28:11

Will hell be "an endless woe"? Alma 28:11

The Lamanites are defeated in a huge battle with lots of casualties on both sides. The Nephites describe the scene as many thousands of bodies laid in piles on the earth, with many thousands of people mourning for their lost loved ones and family, because they fear that their dead loved ones are in a miserable state of endless wo that God has promised to the wicked. Some are also mourning the loss of their loved ones and also rejoicing because they hope that they will be raised up to live with God.

Latter-day revelation discusses what happens to the souls of people who die before they are resurrected. If you were righteous, you live in a state of paradise. If you were wicked, you live in what traditional Christianity thinks of when it talks about "hell." It's a waiting room. It's agony. It's called "spirit prison." You can get out of it through repentance and accepting the ordinances of the temple performed for you on earth by proxy. It is very similar to the Catholic doctrine of purgatory, actually.

After final judgment, we all go to "heaven" (except for a very small handful of people who will be sent to outer darkness, but it is so minimal it's hardly even worth mentioning; vile sinners will still go to heaven). Heaven is more like a city with many mansions. If you did wicked deeds during this life, and remained unrepentant, your "mansion" will be a lot smaller. Your opportunities to progress will be limited. But it will still be more glorious and better than anything we get here on earth during mortality. You will need to "pay" somehow for the sins you've committed and didn't repent of. I don't know how that works. 

Honestly, I don't know how much of it works. I do know that it makes some sense to me. The idea of an endless wo, a pit of fire and brimstone, devils with pitchforks - that doesn't really fit with the concept of a loving God, to me. The fact that this "wo" that is often called "hell" is really just spirit prison - a temporary state - makes a lot more sense.

Answer:

It depends on what you mean by "hell."