We have here one of the clearest explanations in all of the holy writings as to the first resurrection, or what the scriptures designate as the resurrection of the just, the resurrection of the celestial. We must keep in mind, however, that Abinadi’s is a definition delivered a century and a half before the coming of Christ into the world.
From Abinadi’s perspective (and that of all who lived before the meridian of time), the first resurrection consisted of the resurrection of all celestial persons from the days of Adam to the time of Christ’s rise from the tomb. In Abinadi’s words, it was the resurrection of “those that have been, and who are, and who shall be, even until the resurrection of Christ.”
This first resurrection of which Abinadi spoke “is not to be confused with the first resurrection spoken of in the Doctrine and Covenants, which has reference to the coming forth from the grave of the faithful Saints from the time of Christ to the time of his second coming (see D&C 88:96-98). Those living in the Millennium are also spoken of as coming forth in a first resurrection, for they too obtain an exaltation (see D&C 132:19). ” (The Life Beyond, p. 124.)