The Greatest Gift

 This is a talk given by us in Sacrament Meeting in our ward in Metz, France on December 14, 2025. It is also written so that we could share it with you this Christmas. Annie has translated it into French, which you can read here.

"For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it" (Hebrews 4:2 emphasis added). Hopefully His words will profit you, being mixed with your faith.

At this Christmas time, we want to share with you the greatest gift we have ever received. But in order to do so, we must lay the foundation of God's plan of redemption. Nothing that you hear today is our opinion or the teachings of men. This is a story told and written by our Savior. Those who hear today, will hear His voice, will rejoice in what they hear--that sweet sound of joy and glad tidings, to the living and the dead!

We have been warned not to put our trust in the arm of flesh, not in humans, any human, but only in God. We are told to look to God and live. He does this to protect us, because our tendency is to put our trust in things and people more immediately at hand.

This reveals an important characteristic of God. If we are to put our trust in Him, we must be able to rely on every word that comes from Him. Which means that when God says something, He cannot later say something different. In order to trust Him we must know that whatever He says is not only true, but can be relied upon. He must be unchangeable. Otherwise we would not be able to put our trust in Him. But because He will never say one thing and do another, we can put our trust in Him to save us. 

This brings us to what God says about His justice, which was introduced to us when God said to Adam and Eve that if they partook of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, they would surely die. He could not later change His mind and say that's OK, you will not surely die. Otherwise He would cease to be God.

And die they would. Why? Because God said so, and all who came after Adam and Eve, became subject to God's justice. We are, each of us, subject to the justice of God. But, nevertheless we all shouted for joy upon hearing the news that this earth had been prepared for us. We willingly and gladly came here, to be tested and to receive more.

Let's examine a little more about His justice. It is unforgiving. It puts us under His law, and punishes anyone who breaks His law. We also experience the effects of the fall of Adam and Eve. We all die. We suffer. Satan is allowed to be among us and we become carnal, sensual and devilish, and are shut off from the presence of God.

Martin Luther described his profound struggle with his sins and his inability to satisfy God's perfect standard of righteousness, which led him to an intense alienation from God.

He said:

"Though I lived as a monk without reproach, I felt that I was a sinner before God with an extremely disturbed conscience. I could not believe that he was placated by my satisfaction [his acts of penance]. I did not love…, I hated the righteous God who punishes sinners…I was angry with God…”

Is it not enough, that miserable sinners, eternally lost because of the fall, must be crushed by His justice for every single sin? And then be threatened by God's wrath and anger? No matter how hard we try to be righteous or to confess all our sins, we can never meet the demands of God's perfect law. Believe us when we say you do not want God's justice!

Because His justice must be satisfied, God had a choice to make. He could either punish each of us for every single sin, no matter how small, or He could send His Son to suffer for every single sin for everyone, no matter how bad! God decided on the latter. Why? Because He loves us. Christ tells us He is the gospel, the good news, sent by His Father. And good news He is indeed!

Christ willingly agreed to take upon Himself the sins of all of us which caused Him unimaginable suffering. He said: “Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink — Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men” (D&C 19:18-19).

And in doing so Christ met the demands of God's justice for everyone who will receive it. It's done! This justice of God that is so unforgiving and so demanding has been satisfied!

But that is only the beginning of the story. There is a condition, but given as a gift to us. Only those who are repenting, who have turned to Christ, have put their faith in Christ, who are relying 100% on His merits, and not their own, will not suffer God's justice. Otherwise, as He tells us: “For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I…” (D&C 19:16-17).

Let us explain. Or better yet, let Christ explain. He does so in the Parable of the Pharisee and the Publican. This parable is about the futility of religion and our good works. 

"Jesus also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised everybody else. Two men went up to the temple to pray: one, a Pharisee, the other, a tax collector. The Pharisee stood apart by himself and prayed thus: `God, I thank thee that I am not like others are, greedy, unjust, adulterers - and I thank thee especially that I am not like this tax collector. I fast two days every week and I give thee a tenth of all my income. But the tax collector stood a long way off and would not even raise his eyes to heaven. Instead, he beat on his breast and said, `O God, be merciful to me, a sinner.' I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other…” (Luke 18:9-13).

Do you see what Jesus is saying in this parable? He is saying that as far as the Pharisee's ability to win a game of justification with God is concerned, he is no better off than the publican. As a matter of fact, the Pharisee is worse off; because while they're both losers, the publican at least has the sense to recognize the fact and trust God's offer of redemption and eventually, perfection. 

The point of the parable is that they are both dead in their sins, and their only hope is someone who can raise the dead. "Ah but," you say, "is there no distinction to be made? Isn't the Pharisee somehow further along in his progression than the publican? Isn't there some sense in which we can give him credit for the real goodness he has, for living his religion?" 

To which we answer, don't make the same miscalculation as the Pharisee did. Spiritual death is death. Given enough room to maneuver, it eventually produces forever spiritual death. 

The Pharisee did live his religion as he said. He was a good man and would be considered a faithful member of the Church. But he could never meet the demands of God's justice no matter how religious he is, or how good his behavior. Only those who rely on the merits of Christ, and do not take strength unto themselves, can He work with.

So this is the gift: “I have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they repent.” If you repent. If you understand His doctrine of repentance. If you do not rely on the teachings of men concerning repentance. If you repent, you will stand guiltless, even spotless, at the judgment. His righteousness will save you. Mercy will claim you. He will save you from your sins. What He will not do is save you in your sins. But you must turn to Him and receive His gift. What greater gift can you receive than from God!

His words (another gift) increase our faith and our trust in Him. He is the reason He has said to feast upon His words, to search them, and to enjoy His words of eternal life in this world. His words tell us what repentance really means. Even watering down His definition of repentance by just 5% turns it into a lie. Remember that His words matter because He has spoken them and caused them to be written. It is not enough to be close! And that is precisely why He has made it so simple. We can never claim that we did not understand. But do not be slothful because the way is easy. In other words do not harden your hearts in unbelief.

Repentance means to turn to Christ and to rely (Nephi says wholly, Moroni says alone) upon the merits of Christ. Quit being burdened by thinking you have to justify yourself by your works. Can you experience Him lifting that burden from you? Accept His gift to you. “For what doth it profit a man if a gift is bestowed upon him, and he receive not the gift? Behold, he rejoices not in that which is given unto him, neither rejoices in him who is the giver of the gift” (D&C 88:33).

And He is the gift that keeps on giving. Once we are baptized and are continually repenting, we are no longer under the bondage of sin, no longer under the law, but are under grace¹, and we continually receive more grace. He recreates us. We will be reborn over and over again as we receive more grace. He changes us from our lost and fallen state to a state of righteousness. We begin to take on the attributes of God, and when He exalts us to His sons and daughters², we minister spiritually and temporarily to others. We become the saviors of men. We will continue to receive grace for grace until, as He did, we receive of His fulness. 

But there is even more! If we were to guess how many of you will go home, fall on your knees, experience your nothingness in comparison to His goodness, desire to repent or turn to Him, begin feasting upon His words, based on our experience, only a few will. Why? Because you may prefer religion, or your hearts are set upon the things of the world, or you may not believe Him, or you will refuse His gift because it seems to simple. But imagine Christ saying to you, “Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world” (3 Nephi 11:14).

This Christmas, our hope is that this will be your best Christmas ever, because you will have received, or desire to receive from Him the greatest gift that you will ever receive--His gift of Mercy! His gift of Love--His Son. We hope that you turn to Christ, who

 “Having ascended into heaven, having the bowels of mercy; being filled with compassion towards the children of men; standing betwixt them and justice; having broken the bands of death, taken upon himself their iniquity (the effects of your sins on others) and their transgressions, having redeemed them, and satisfied the demands of justice” (Mosiah 15:9).

“Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.” (1 John 4:10-11).

¹Saved by Grace

²Sons and Daughters

Ask Wally

Wally,

I sat through a combined Priesthood / Relief Society class held on the 5th Sunday. It was taught by a member of the Bishopric. It was about all that we must do to obtain the highest degree in the Celestial Kingdom. Class members added what they thought, and when finished the instructor had created on the whiteboard a ramp of sorts with checkpoints marking the way to the Celestial Kingdom.

Why did I feel so put off by this lesson? 

Roger

Hi Roger,

What you witnessed was the fare of church instruction, which I sum up with Nephi's statement concerning us, "...they shall teach with their learning, and deny the Holy Ghost, which giveth utterance. And they deny the power of God" (2 Nephi 28:4-5). Nephi further says, "Yea, and there shall be many which shall teach after this manner, false and vain and foolish doctrines, and shall be puffed up in their hearts, and shall seek deep to hide their counsels from the Lord; and their works shall be in the dark. ...Because of pride, and because of false teachers, and false doctrine, their churches have become corrupted..." (2 Nephi 28:9-12).

It was good that you felt, as you say, put off, because you felt the truth being corrupted as Nephi said. If you thought this was a good lesson, then I would be worried for you. You are the one who must discern whether or not you are being taught the word of God, which puts the onus on you to know the word of God. So I ask you what has the Lord revealed to us concerning the way to the Celestial Kingdom?

Best to you, Wally

Wally

When Nephi says that "After ye have repented of your sins, and witnessed unto the Father that ye are willing to keep my commandments, by the baptism of water, and have received the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost, and can speak with a new tongue, yea, even with the tongue of angels..." What does he mean when he says that we can speak with a new tongue even the tongue of angels?

Annette 

Hi Annette,

This is often overlooked, so I am glad that this reference has caught your attention. First consider why this new tongue is overlooked. Have you ever met anyone who claims to speak with the tongue of angels? Probably not.

Because we are to be able to speak, hear and write this new tongue, it is a language, understood only by those who speak and hear it. Now, Nephi tells us that this language is the language of angels who speak by the power of the Holy Ghost, wherefore they speak the words of Christ (2 Nephi 32:3). This means that this new language are the words of Christ or the words of God (because Christ only teaches His Father's words). 

Similar to any language, a person may know some words, but is not able to put together complete sentences, phrases or ideas. They hear but don’t hear because they don't understand. This is why Nephi mourns that we do not search His words, and therefore do not know His words. Only a few will learn to speak and hear the language of God spoken by those who speak with the tongue of angels. 

Best to you, Wally 

Core Values? No!

Mitch Romney's talk on Core Values given to the Wheatly Institute at the BYU Marriott School of Business on November 12, 2025, has to have been celebrated--but not by angels! I believe that Satan rejoices when we focus on values rather than on choosing Good or Evil!*

What? Blasphemy you say! How can Satan celebrate a talk on values, especially one given by a prominent politician, who is also a prominent member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? 

For several reasons. First and foremost values deflect us from the Lord's plan of redemption. And it comes from someone who should know better. 

Where does the idea of American values come from if not from God? From philosophy, German philosophy to be exact; from Nietzsche and Max Weber mostly, and adopted without question by America. 

"Value creation is the activity that writes a table of laws by which a people is constituted and lives, and which justifies the lives they live. This is, as Nietzsche tells us, the nut in the shell of existence" (The Closing of the American Mind, Allan Bloom).

Weber is of particular interest to us because he was the chosen apostle for the American promised land, creator of the work ethic. 

After Hitler, everybody scurried back under the protective cover of morality, but practically no one turned to serious thought about Good and Evil. Otherwise we would not be talking about values. Values replaced Good and Evil. The doctrine of the Two Ways was dead. So Nietzsche was right when he said "God is dead". Values not only replaced the choice between Good and Evil, but also made God, who is the ultimate Good, of no account because values would override the choice of Good, or substitute values and call them good.

These philosophers understood what “value” really means. It had taken the softening of all convictions and the blurring of all distinctions, for sacred values to be thought of as good, or not so good, or not so bad, or bad, and to come into its own here, not only in American, but in Mormon culture as well. 

And given the fact that God "established the Constitution in this land" so "that every man may act in doctrine and principle pertaining to futurity, according to the moral agency which I have given unto him, that every man may be accountable for his own sins in the day of judgment" (D&C 101:78), the adoption of values is now, not only dividing us, but is eroding that freedom to choose.

This philosophy is so ingrained in American culture, and gives rise to slogans and terms such as:

We have nothing to fear but fear itself.

I'm OK. You're OK.

Lifestyle and worldview 

Be yourself!

Be original!

Let go!

I have my values and you have yours.

Family values

Business values

Ethical behavior

Core values or those really important values. 

As Romney said:

“We face right now some real challenges, and are highly divided,” said Romney.

“If we share those values and live by those values, then we can bring ourselves back together.”

Values are relative on a scale that we carefully maintain in order to protect our appearance and our worldview. They are also designed to disrespect others' worldviews, so when we speak of choice, we mean there are no necessary consequences, except maybe disapproval. But they are my choices, so respect them, and I will respect yours!

We have no-fault insurance, no-fault divorce and now no-fault choices. Whatever values we embrace, there are no consequences as long as they do not disrupt our chosen lifestyle. 

Values justify what a person choses as opposed to what he could have chosen.

Values take the place of Good and Evil, but the irony is that by replacing the choice between Good and Evil, we have chosen Evil.

Since values are not rational and not grounded in the natures of those subject to them, they must be imposed. They must defeat opposing values. Producing values and believing in them are acts of the will.

Commitment values the values and makes them valuable. Not love of truth, but intellectual honesty characterizes the proper state of mind. There is no truth in values,

It is not the truth of thought that distinguishes them, but its capacity to generate culture. A value is only a value if it is life-preserving and life-enhancing. And I would also say, they preserve one's self identity.

Cultures fight wars with one another. They must do so because values can only be asserted or posited by overcoming others, not by reasoning with them.

The very idea of culture carries with it a value: men and organizations need cultures and must do what is necessary to create and maintain them.

To adapt a formula of Plato about the gods, we do not love a thing because it is good, it is good because we love it. It is our decision to esteem that makes something estimable. We substitute His Goodness with ours.

The physicist wants to save his atoms; the historian, his events; the moralist, his values. But they are all equally relative. Rationality is only the activity of providing good reasons for what has no reason or is unreasonable.

Men’s “worldviews” or “values” determine their history, their present and their future. They are trapped by their culture. Plato's Cave warns that the culture we are born into—its beliefs, media, and social systems (its values)—can become a prison that makes us mistake mere appearances for reality, and I would add, for truth. For example, we more often than not mistake church values and culture as being Christ's gospel.

Those interested in the business of making money do not seem to recognize, when they use this language, that they are admitting that their “rational” system needs a moral supplement in order to work, hence the creation of ethics and values, or as Romney says 'core values' to make it even more desirable, more special and more accepting. 

A religion must, it seems, be invented for the sole purpose of defending capitalism. Hence the 'Protestant' work ethic.

Compare what God has revealed about only having two choices, or the  doctrine of the “Two Ways.” 

No teaching was more frequently taught, nor more emphatically brought home in the earliest Christian literature, than the famous doctrine of the “Two Ways,” which proclaims that there lies before every human being and before the church itself only two roads between which a choice must be made. The one is the road of darkness, the way of Evil; the other, the way of Light. 

Every man must chose between the two every day of his life; that choosing is the most important thing he does, and the two ways, Good and Evil, are absolutely essential to God’s plan. 

There is nothing weak or vicious in the arrangement, for every man is clearly given to understand that as he chooses so he will be judged. He will be judged by God in the proper time and place. Meantime he must be free, perfectly free, to choose his own way.

"Say unto this people: Choose ye this day, to serve the Lord God who made you" (Moses 6:33).

"And the Lord spake unto Adam, saying: Inasmuch as thy children are conceived in sin, even so when they begin to grow up, sin conceiveth in their hearts, and they taste the bitter, that they may know to prize the Good.

And it is given unto them to know Good from Evil; wherefore they are agents unto themselves, and I have given unto you another law and commandment" (Moses 6:55-56 emphasis added).

"How long will ye halt between two opinions" (1 Kings 18-21)?

"Choose you this day whom you will serve" (Joshua 24:15).

There is no reference to values or culture in the scriptures, but I did find this from Elder Gong where he quoted President Oaks (from a talk given in 2021) as saying, “There is a unique gospel culture, a set of values and expectations and practices common to all [the] members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Gospel culture includes chastity, weekly attendance at church, abstaining from alcohol, tobacco, tea, and coffee. It includes honesty and integrity, understanding we move forward, not upward or downward, in Church positions" (No One Sits Alone, Elder Gerrit W. Gong, October 2025 General Conference).

And yet God has given us our agency is to see whether we will choose either Good (God) or Evil (Satan). That is our test here, our only test. Other choices may impact our lives here, they may even align with our culture, but they have nothing to do with His plan of redemption. 

See more on only two choices.

*Good and Evil are capitalized as a reminder that God defines who is Good and who is Evil, and that we are revealing to God every day, every minute, every second, which one we choose.

Ask Wally

Wally,

I am having a difficult time with the church, and I don't know how to reconcile what I have been taught, and what I read in the scriptures, particularly concerning being nourished continually by the word of God in Moroni 6:4, and not a watered down version of His words.

I read in the Book of Mormon that the "churches met together so that they could "hear the word of God" (Mosiah 25:20). And there "was nothing preached in all the churches except it were repentance and faith in God" (Mosiah 25:22).

I do not understand why we are, it seems to me, required to use General Conference talks in Priesthood and Relief Society classes, and even in Sacrament meetings, when we have the written records which we are taught contain the word of God. It concerns me a great deal and is starting to make me wonder why we even have a General Conference. It is as if General Conference is justified just so the talks can be published and used as our learning curriculum. And it changes every six months. 

Abigail

Hi Abigail,

I have often wondered the same thing. While it is possible to hear the word of God spoken at General Conference, it is best if we believe Christ when He tells us to rely on the written records. In fact He always emphasizes the scriptures (the written records) over the teachings of men mingled with scriptures. Moroni’s admonition to nourish members with the word of God is the Lord's teaching. 

This said, there is a major gap between what is supposed to be taught, and what is actually taught in our meetings. If you are not being nourished by the word of God in your meetings, my advice is to search the scriptures while attending your meetings. While this may seem rude, you are at least being fed. That being said, you should not rely alone on others to teach you. It is up to you to seek and know the word of God. If you know or think someone has the gift of knowledge, you should seek that person out and asked to be taught. More

Best to you, Wally

Wally,

I have two questions, but they are related. First, my grandson lost his Church membership at a disciplinary council. Second, my cousin asked that her name be removed from the Church records. 

Questions: 

Are their baptisms still valid, even though neither is a member of record? or

Do they need to be re-baptized, and be members of record of the Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day Saints in order to repent, so as not to be under the bondage of sin?

Mindy

Hi Mindy,

When an adult person is baptized by proper authority, and the baptism was the first fruits of their repentance, then they are baptized unto repentance, or baptized so they can continue to repent. They kept the commandment of their Father to be baptized, and in order to keep the commandment to repent, they must be baptized. 

Let's compare your son's and cousin's experiences, to someone who has not had records removed, but simply has gone inactive. In the latter case, it seems there is no question but that the person was born of the water, baptized unto repentance, and if he decides to turn and repent, there is no need to be baptized again. 

While the Church's position will differ, the baptism in both cases is still a born of the water experience, and both of them, if they decide, can continue to repent without having to be baptized again. But if they want to be in full fellowship with the organized Church, the Church will require a new baptism, which is the Church's right to do so. But according to D&C 10:67-70, only those who repent are of His church, regardless of Church membership.

But, according to the Church, re-baptism is the ordinance required to restore the full blessings and covenant status within the established structure of the Church.

I would say to your Son and Cousin, however, that if they decide to repent, to ask God what is best for them, just repentance, or repentance and church membership. As the fruits of their repentance will include saying nothing but repentance to others, there is no better place to do so than among active Church members.

Best to you, Wally

Sons & Daughters of God

"Marvel not that all mankind, yea, men and women, all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, must be born again; yea, born of God, changed from their carnal and fallen state, to a state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming his sons and daughters... (Mosiah 27:25 emphasis added).

Becoming "his sons and daughters" is an exalted state, and is not the same as being God's children, as all of the family of Adam are God's children. Let me explain. According to Isaiah, there is an ascension into heaven whereby we move either up this ladder or down. The higher we ascend, the closer we get to God and the more like Him we become. Conversely, the lower we descend, the farther away we get from God and the less like Him we become. I do not like the term ascend as it may imply that it is through our own efforts, but it is definitely a movement upward as we receive and become more. Each rebirth on a higher level is like an awakening from sleep to a deeper awareness, as in more intelligence or more light and truth as we become more like Him. 

The levels he describes are:

Seraphs

Sons-Daughters/Servants

Zion/Jerusalem

Jacob/Israel 

Babylon 

These are listed in order with Babylon being the lowest, keeping in mind that at the endtime, Babylon and everything and everyone in it will be destroyed. Over time we grow ignorant of anything but Babylon, and by choosing falsely or by aborting life's tests, we forfeit being reborn on higher levels. Isaiah characterizes Babylon as saying: "I exist, and other than I there is nothing!" 

People just can't imagine that the end of their world draws near. They have lost touch with the source of salvation, and they put themselves out of reach of deliverance. By rejecting the true God, who gave us the ability to choose for ourselves, in the end they fall into the hands of a false God, or one who wants to be God, who will speak to them in a foreign tongue, the King of Assyria / Babylon.

Jacob/Israel is a beginning point on Isaiah’s ladder to heaven. Ancient Israel's exile from the Promised Land sets the stage for modern Israel's return. In an endtime setting Jacob/Israel comprises people of all nations whom God seeks to reclaim. For us the Ephramite Gentiles who have been gathered, most still remain in the Jacob/Israel category, having entered into the covenant, but who, while religious, are not repenting, and while giving lip service, are not coming to Christ. We will, however, have to move, in one direction or the other, from the Jacob/Israel category. We will either receive more and ascend to the Zion/ Jerusalem level, or receive less and be captured in Babylon. It is better to be ascending now than to wait for the endtime. "I will not spare any that remain in Babylon" (D&C 64:24).

In the endtime, the Jacob/Israel category ceases to exist. These make up those who believe in God, but who have not yet turned to Christ, are not yet repenting. God challenges Jacob/Israel to cease clinging to the false idea of him, to do more than merely believe that He exists. They must choose between the true God--the Savior--and the false gods who cannot save. They must choose between Christ and Babylon. 

Even the earth will ascend to the Zion/Jerusalem level as it enters the millennial age, where it will rest for a 1000 years before becoming celestial. At the end of the world, God destroys Babylon and delivers Zion/Jerusalem. Jacob/Israel disappears into the categories above or below.

According to Isaiah, "Israel" represents those who have entered into the covenant but who are not repenting. "Jacob" represents those who believe in God but who have not yet entered into the covenant or have not yet been baptized. Both groups can, however, ascend to the next level by keeping God's commandment to be baptized and repent (Jacob), or by keeping God's commandment to repent (Israel).

Simply calling ourselves God's covenant people will not decide our destiny at the end of the world. A person may confess that he is committed to God but at the same time pursues antichrist activities, while not even recognizing these activities as being antichrist. These activities can even be fun, stimulating and rewarding activities.

Zion/Jerusalem consists of those who are repenting, who do more than just believe. These have passed the test and recognize that whatever invites them to love God--to covenant with Him to keep His law and word (are repenting)--is of God, and whatever entices them away from God, to break faith with Him, is evil. But these have chosen God.

When we reach the Zion/Jerusalem awareness, we have received His grace, and He has lifted us up through His power beyond the Jacob/Israel stage. We have repented, and continue to repent, and can now accept God's covenant because we come to know that He only covenants with those who are repenting. We are returning to God, relying wholly upon His merits, putting our faith in Him. Having entered into His covenant, we can find forgiveness of sins and the beginning of a spiritual journey (grace to grace) that eventually brings us into God's presence.

Being in a state of grace and not under the bondage of sin, these move from grace to grace as they ascend to a higher level (D&C 93). In an endtime scenario these are they who are gathered out of the world in an endtime exodus to their lands of inheritance where Zion will eventually be established. 

According to Isaiah only a tenth of all the people in the world will make this exodus, even though there will be others who will later desire to return, even though the time will be short. 

Because these being gathered, as opposed to the Ephramite Gentiles who have already been gathered, are just babes, the Lord's Servant will act as their Lord to gather them from throughout the earth to their lands of inheritance, either to the old or new Jerusalem. For us who should not be babes, having been given the word of God, and who should know better, being still at the Jacob/Israel level is precarious at best.

The Lord says it best:

"Behold, here is the agency of man, and here is the condemnation of man; because that which was from the beginning is plainly manifest unto them, and they receive not the light. And every man whose spirit receiveth not the light is under condemnation" (D&C 93:31-32 emphasis added).

Sons-Daughters/Servants are those who choose to serve God by serving their fellow human beings. They minister spiritually to levels below their own, while they are ministered to by those above. God makes a covenant with his 'Sons' and 'Daughters' individually, not just collectively as He does with those of Zion/Jerusalem. That individual covenant is first conditional--dependent on the person's accepting completely the terms of the covenant--then unconditional. When it becomes unconditional, God himself ministers to his 'Sons' and 'Daughters.' This means that these levels are not static as we continue to receive more grace and intelligence. It is actually God who does the creating. What we become when we are reborn and ascend is His doing, not ours.

As we have seen, people who are ascending to Zion/Jerusalem are primarily concerned with repenting of their sins and returning to God. By passing tests of loyalty, which tests God orchestrates for them, they show their allegiance to Him. Persons who receive grace for grace to ascend to the Sons-Daughters/Servants level, are primarily concerned with things beyond the forgiveness of their sins. By tending to the spiritual and material needs of others, they follow God's example, developing His attributes and character traits as they receive more grace.

They become examples of righteousness by serving as God's agents of 'deliverance' and 'salvation' to those who are still in need of deliverance. They are willing to be in the world to bring others out of the world. They are in the process of 'sanctifying' their lives in the service of God. God's will is becoming their will. God's Sons-Daughters/Servants, both now and in the endtime, are those who do/will fulfill the role of deliverers and saviors to God's people. These include all those who thrust in their sickles and reap, being concerned for the welfare of the soul for all mankind, and especially for the souls of their friends and family.

These have been born again and changed from their lost, fallen and carnal state, to a state of righteousness, and become His sons and daughters. Christ promises those who thrust in their sickle and reap while the day lasts, that He will give them power to become 'the sons [and daughters] of God" (D&C 11:30). 

God cannot refuse His sons' and daughters' desire to deliver others as they prove loyal and comply with His will, His will being what is best for all. 

As they become more like God, by learning to love and serve others, by receiving His love for others, they fulfill the role of deliverers and saviors to God's people. God's sons and daughters are not only no longer under the bondage of sin, but under grace, and eventually He will also overcome the effects of their iniquities. Because our iniquities impact others, they need to be reversed. Iniquities are the after-effects of sin. This will be done as we become more like God, and God responds to our prayers to turn the effect of our iniquities on others into good, as He has promised those who love Him and keep his commandments, for through repentance God rebuilds all that which was ruined.

Those who make this transition in their lives completely change their thought processes. As they open themselves to the influence of God’s Spirit, God enlightens them to his truth, to things as they really are, different from their former, imperfect perception of the truth. They become aware of, and discard, fixed beliefs about themselves and others that have bound them to patterns of living below their potential. The gap between their beliefs and the truth is being eliminated.

Isaiah is a perfect example of ascent to the son/servant level. When he saw the God of Israel, the seraph who ministered to him declared, “Your iniquities are taken away and your sins atoned for.” (Isaiah 6:7.) Isaiah had rejected the ways of his people and accepted God’s ways. (Isaiah 8:11–18.)

Isaiah introduces seraphim in Isaiah 6 and parallels their role with his own in Isaiah 40. Isaiah ascends, through grace to grace, from Son/Servant to Seraph, and Isaiah, through his words, continues to minister to those below.

Like God’s Sons-Daughters / Servants, seraphs “justify” those to whom they minister by “bearing” their sins and iniquities so that they may escape destruction at the hands of the king of Assyria/Babylon. Seraphs, however, take covenant keeping to the next level. They bring many of God’s people out of the path of destruction in the “last days” when God cleanses the earth of the wicked.

When Jesus said, “He will send his angels…and they will gather together his elect from the four winds,” he surely meant those who would reach the Seraph level. (Matthew 24:31; emphasis added.) In Isaiah’s endtime scenario, gathering the elect is precisely the mission of God’s servant and his seraph-associates. They bring God’s “sons” and “daughters” to the place Zion or Jerusalem in a new exodus from the four directions of the earth.

Although their role resembles that of angels, it is more than that of “messengers.” As kings and priests to God—as proxy saviors on the Seraph level—they are more effective in their ministry than all others of God’s children. Their earthly missions are central to the fulfillment of God’s redemption of his people in the “last days.” Together with God’s servant, they labor in the world against evils greater than God’s people can overcome on their own. God has kept Seraphs in reserve as a power for good to all who rely on him. The “deliverance” and “salvation” they secure for others is second only to Jehovah’s.

Seraphim overcome death and see the end from the beginning. Their worldwide ministry is characterized by divine intervention. They gather God’s elect from throughout the earth. John’s 144,000 servants of God correspond with Isaiah’s seraphs/saviors.

Of course there is so much more in terms of scriptural types of each of these levels as identified by Isaiah. This very short version is given as both an incentive and a warning to the Ephramite Gentiles. You cannot and will not stay where you are. You will either be receiving grace for grace as you come closer to God, or you will find yourself remaining and being de-created in Babylon. 

We differ from God and angels only with respect to the light and truth we have received, or better said, only with respect to the light and truth we have become and are becoming. 

In effect, “rebirth” on every level constitutes “re-creation,” as the person who is reborn assumes a new identity. God re-creates, or rather “de-creates” even those who descend, because they are now no longer what they used to be. God continues to “create” us spiritually, some male and others female, until we become like him—until we grow into his image and likeness.

As John bore record, 

"And I, John, saw that he (Christ) received not of the fulness at the first, but received grace for grace; And he received not of the fulness at first, but continued from grace to grace, until he received a fulness" (D&C 93:12-13 emphasis added).

This same promise is given to us;

"For if you keep my commandments* you shall receive of his fulness, and be glorified in me as I am in the Father; therefore, I say unto you, you shall receive grace for grace" (D&C 93:20 emphasis added).

And no time to wait! We should begin to receive more and to become more, even now!

*"Now this is the commandment: Repent, all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and be baptized in my name, that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand spotless before me at the last day" (3 Nephi 27:20).

For a more complete picture see Isaiah Decoded: Ascending The Ladder To Heaven, by Avraham Gileadi. 

Good Guys vs Bad Guys

I am not sure where the idea came from, but when I was quite young I had this idea that there were good guys and bad guys in almost every perceived area of my life. There were good kids at school and in our neighborhood, and bad kids as well. There were good neighbors and bad neighbors. People in the church were usually perceived as being good, even though there seemed to be some bad ones as well. Bible stories had good guys and bad guys, and of course the Nephites were the good guys and the Lamanites were the bad guys. There were good girls and bad girls. The good guys always were players on the teams I liked, and the bad guys played for the teams that were trying to beat the good guys. People who smoked were bad, and were really bad if they smoked cigars.

This idea kept me from venturing too far from home, as it seemed to me that there could be more and even worse bad guys in the neighborhoods further from my house.

No one that I can remember ever said any of this to me. It just seemed to be there, perhaps as a custom or a tradition. Perhaps I just liked it that way so I could identify with the good guys.

Neighbors came in different varieties to me. Some were members of the Church, some not. Some were friendly to me, some not quite so friendly, and others that I was afraid of. There were three known (at least to the neighbor boys) pedofiles in our neighborhood, one just down the street from me. I didn't know that term, and strange as it may seem, I didn't really think of the one who molested me as being a really bad guy. I just learned to avoid him. I am sure, however, that my perspective about sex was altered by several experiences with Bob McKendrick.*

As I got older, there was still a good guy/bad guy perspective, but it was changing. In high school, there were still good guys and bad guys. I was a good boy because I didn't do some of the things some of the other boys did. I didn't drink, smoke or hang out late at night. And I avoided those who did. I was curious about girls, attracted by them, and heard many stories, but had no ideas about sex or petting. Even the few times that I did 'make out' never led to anything more. I didn't even know what more was, at least not until I got married. 

Then, I believe that my being molested started to manifest in me. I mistakenly thought that something was wrong with me. This baggage that I brought into our marriage caused a division that was difficult to bridge. But because of my ideas about good and bad, this did not lead to anything more than just being disappointed. I just learned to accept it.

I was the classic example of a boy who was sheltered. I was not ready for the world. So how could someone like me, a boy who feared venturing into unknown neighborhoods, be living in France, so far away from what I had known? 

I eventually learned that no one is really good and no one is really evil. We are all in between. There are no good guys except how the world defines good guys, and I certainly was not a good guy.

My experience in the Marine Corps really broadened my perspective in many ways. I met many who were not LDS, but who were religious and loved their wives and children. I saw sacrifices made that I am not sure I could have made. I saw people, I think, for the first time, with no labels, and I liked them and enjoyed our differences. I realized that there were a lot more people better and braver than I was.

But I still did not feel comfortable in their world. Nor did I feel comfortable in the world as I experienced it on my mission in what was then the Central States mission, but I caught a glimpse of being in the world to help bring others out of the world.

But, I learned, the world is a dangerous place, not just because of crime, disease, war, corrupt people, and natural disasters, but because it is so inviting. It entices us with its glamor, its things, its music and its activities. And not only that, it captures us with its systems and the values those systems represent. 

I thank my Heavenly Father for Hugh Nibley because of his gifts of teaching the word of God. As I wanted more and bigger, his writings always brought me back to the real world--God's real World, not the one we live in, which is Satan's. It was a conflict for me. Because of my desires, I tried to ignore what I was coming to know as God's will for me, but I couldn't. He wouldn't let me.

The danger for me wasn't what I had thought it was in my early and formative years. It wasn't those bad guys. The danger for me was becoming too comfortable in Satan's world, putting my trust in the economy, ignoring what I knew to be true, and thinking of myself as one of the good guys.

"What is it, then, of Babylon that has such a stranglehold on its people? Why are we tempted to commit ourselves to things of pure human fabrication rather than to what is of God? Even when the Jews had an opportunity to return to Jerusalem, most did not, but stayed in Babylon, even though they had been taken captive by this great world power. This was because it is so easy to assume the value of Babylon's systems, her way of doing things, because Babylon was so successful. They failed to realize that they had been taken captive by Babylon--again!" (The Stranglehold of Babylon, Fingerofgod.blogspot.com)

I succumbed to this temptation when I got caught up in the Nu Skin frenzy in the early 1990s. The first meeting I went to was in a house that blew me away with its size and decor. And to hear of people making twenty, fifty, one-hundred, even five-hundred thousand dollars a month! The theme of financial freedom was enticing, and I eventually left a senior partnership in my law firm to chase the dream. I didn't achieve it though. And how grateful I am now that I didn't. I learned just how easy it is to be enticed by the world. This also put a terrible strain on my marriage.

And it would not be the last time that I sought for riches and not for wisdom. Satan has great power, unto the stirring up of the people to do all manner of iniquity, and to the puffing them up with pride, tempting them to seek for power, and authority, and riches, and the vain things of the world" (3 Nephi 6:15). No, my friends, the Book of Mormon does not exaggerate either the relentless efficiency or the speed with which wealth corrupts all those who "set their hearts upon riches and the things of the world."

You can imagine the pain, sorrow and relief when I finally found out that I was not one of the good guys. I knew it was time that I needed the Lord's help to get prepared to do what He had called me to do when I was released as a bishop in the 1980s.

Christ in John Chapters 14, 15 and 17, identifies seven categories of persons or people. These seven categories include everyone--all, in the drama which is our lives on this earth.

1. His Father

2. Himself, Jesus Christ, as the Son of God

3. The Holy Ghost 

4. His apostles

5. His saints

6. The world, and

7. The Prince of the world

The summary of all our relationships to other beings is given in these chapters from the lips of the Savior.

The five levels at the top form an unbroken continuum, a single universe of discourse, which does not embrace the two lowest levels: the world and the prince of the world operate on their own principles on the other side of a great gulf as in Lehi's dream.

I think what I mistakenly thought were bad guys, was really a sense that I was in a dangerous place, a world that was inviting me with open arms. I resisted even when I was young, but it was so persistent that as I got older, I succumbed to those areas where I could still maintain my status as one of the good guys by not participating in its more lurid activities, but becoming captive nevertheless. 

The tenet we hear often--being in the world but not of the world--is a fiction we have created to make us feel comfortable in the world while we see ourselves as good guys who are living the gospel. When we are in the world we are in it, subject to all its allures and temptations. 

But Christ makes a different distinction. He said, "If ye were of the world, the world would love his own . . . but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you" (John 15:19).

When we go into the world to bring people out of the world, we are still in the world, but He prays for us, while he does not pray for the world. 

"I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me" (John 17:9).

He has given us the tools necessary to navigate our way in the world as we work "To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God" (Acts 26:18).

"I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world" (John 17:14 emphasis added).

In short, the saints must be in the world to do their dangerous work of recruiting other would be saints out of the world. And saints does not mean in name and membership only. It is not a club. It includes those who have desired to, and been called of Him to thrust in their sickle and reap. The saints are those who are repenting, have been born again, changed from their carnal state to a state of righteousness, and are becoming sons and daughters of God.

In Isaiah's context those who have moved or are moving from Jacob/Israel to Zion/Jerusalem to Sons-Daughters/Servants, would be considered saints. To ascend to the Zion/Jerusalem level, people on the Jacob/Israel level must repent of transgressions until they obtain a remission of their sins. In that manner, they become heirs of salvation but not yet of “glory” or exaltation. Those who do not repent are of the world or as Isaiah says, they will remain in Babylon. 

To ascend to an exalted category, persons must become holy or “sanctified.” At that point, they are reborn or re-created as God’s “sons” and “daughters,” elsewhere called “just men made perfect” and God’s “elect.” Their perfection, however, pertains only to Isaiah’s son/servant category, as the higher a person ascends the greater the degree of perfection. Seraphs, for example, keep an even higher covenantal law and attain a higher level of holiness, resulting in their inheriting a greater glory.

Jacob adds, “But, behold, the righteous, the saints of the Holy One of Israel, they who have believed in the Holy One of Israel, they who have endured the crosses of the world, and despised the shame of it, they shall inherit the kingdom of God, which was prepared for them from the foundation of the world, and their joy shall be full forever (2 Nephi 9:18 emphasis added).

Another help He has given His Saints is the Holy Ghost, whose purpose is to comfort those who have been called and bring to their remembrance all the words which Christ has spoken. [When the Comforter comes in his place], "the world cannot receive [him], because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him" (John 14:16-17).

Here visitors from above are not welcome; they are treated as trespassers and offenders--despised, rejected, and persecuted wherever they go. But the Lord leaves His peace with His saints but "not as the world giveth, give I unto you (John 14:13). To those He says, "I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit" (John 15:16).

All these things may seem perfectly obvious once they are pointed out, but we tend to forget them and identify with the world by the simple process of following the way of least resistance. Once in the world, even the angels are tempted. The posture of "sheep among wolves" is a difficult one to maintain: in fact, in most cases the sheep were "turned into wolves." Almost invariably the easy way, offering "the flesh-pots of Egypt" or "the precious things" at Jerusalem is the winner against the hard way of life in the wilderness.

"When anyone heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart.... He that received the seed in stony places...he hath not root in himself, but dureth for awhile: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. He also that received seed among the thorns,..the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful" (Matthew 13:19-22).

The world's answer to John 14, 15 and 17 is a hierarchy of fear and compulsion, both historically and presently, and it is becoming more evident to those who have been shielded from this for most of their lives.

The whole world has been engaged in a counterfeit version of the combat between good and evil (like I was) in which Shiz and Coriantumr, Lamanites and Nephites, destroy each other in the illusion that it is the good guys fighting the bad guys.

So yes, in France, a world so far removed from the world I grew up in, I feel the Lord's peace. I am comfortable with and love the French people that I have met and associate with. But I am never comfortable in the world because I have experienced how easy it is to be drawn in and partake of its delights and false comforts. Worldly activities divert a worshiper’s attention from the true God and His law, to a counterfeit. I must constantly partake of His words and pray to Him, but I still want to stay in the world to bring others out of the world where the Prince of this world reigns. 

He has called me out of the world to say nothing but repentance unto this generation, and I do so knowing that there may come a time when those of the world will hate me for doing so. 

See Sons-Daughters/Servants for more on Isaiah’s ladder. 

*Bob McKendrick lived three houses south of me. He abused several boys on our street, including at least one of my brothers. The neighbor next door to him, whose boys Bob had also abused, bought Bob's house after he died, tore it down, and to this day it is a vacant lot on the 1300 block of Lincoln Street in Salt Lake City, Utah, a memorial to those of us who had to avoid walking past Bob's house whenever he was around.

Whom Shall He Give Instruction?

This is a slide presentation on Isaiah 28, with prophecies concerning Ephraim, both as a nation (America) and a people (specifically the Ephraimite Gentiles--us), prior to the Lord’s Day of Judgment. It concerns Ephraim's political leaders, its religious leaders, and its people. It is the failure of the Lord's people to hear the voice of God and repent, that is the catalyst for these events. Since the Lord's people refuse to receive instruction directly from the Lord, He will speak to them in a foreign tongue.

Whom Shall The Lord Give Instruction? 

Inside the Ossuaire at Duamont, home of an estimated 130,000 soldiers' bones gathered after the Battle of Verdun

The *audio on this presentation "Dancing on Green Grass" is a reminder that at one time during the Battle of Verdun there was not a single blade of green grass growing, but the battlefields are now beautiful, green and peaceful. As Christ reminded us, "great are the words of Isaiah" reminding us of of both 1) arrogance and humiliation and 2) ruin and rebirth!

Repentance: Bondage of Sin

These posts on Repentance are best read in order beginning with Repentance: Introduction. At the bottom of each post is a link to the next post. This is another postscript on repentance.

I have been thinking a lot lately about some of my departed friends. Their obituaries described them as active church members, kind and loving, having held many callings in the church. They were noted as being loving husbands, fathers and grandfathers or loving wives, mothers, and grandmothers. 

I would describe them as good friends whom I loved and enjoyed. Each was the kind of person we would describe in the church as nice people or good people. And I wonder in what category¹ are they in the spirit world?

Knowing them very well, and having spent many hours with them over the years, I knew most were not very familiar with the words of God, and were not desirous of searching them. Each had been raised in the church and had remained active and involved. They were good neighbors and thought highly of by others. We spent many enjoyable years together, reminiscing, laughing, talking, traveling and sharing. 

But try as best I could, I was not able to teach them much about the word of God, about the Book of Mormon prophecies and about repentance. They just didn't seem to understand or desire to understand the word of God. Like with any language, the tongue of angels requires that both participants know or are learning the language, in order to communicate even a little. And, with a few  exceptions, they did not seem to desire to learn what the Lord had to say. 

I think they believed they knew, and could recite 'church talk' and the traditional gospel, but the word of God seemed to have very little impact in their lives, except perhaps what they believed and gave lip service to. Most figured they were good people, and while they had made mistakes, because the Lord loved them, they would be welcomed into His presence.

What happens to these good and decent friends, and all the others like them, in the spirit world? I wanted to know, and so I asked the Lord. He did answer me by directing me to what He has already revealed (a lot), and based on what He has revealed the answer was quite clear. There are many scriptures, each adding something to what we know about the world of spirits.

Alma inquired of the Lord about the space between death and the resurrection. He describes his answer in Alma Chapter 40. He said that "concerning this space of time, what becometh of the souls of men is the thing which I have inquired diligently of the Lord to know; and this is the thing of which I do know" (Alma 40:9). 

He further states "Behold, it has been made known unto me by an angel, that the ¹spirits 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" (Alma 40:11).

This is what we normally hear and hope for, in addition to meeting departed loved ones and reuniting with others. But then Alma says "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). He does not define who the righteous are. 

Nor does he define the wicked when he says, "that the spirits of the wicked, yea, who are evil--for behold, they have no part nor portion of the Spirit of the Lord; for behold they chose evil works rather than good; therefore the spirit of the devil did enter into them, and take possession of their house--and they shall be cast out into outer darkness; there shall be weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth, and this because of their own iniquity, being led captive by the will of the devil" (Alma 40:13 emphasis added).

Alma further says that he learned that "the state of the souls of the wicked, yea, in darkness, and a state of awful, fearful looking for the fiery indignation of the wrath of God upon them; thus they remain in this state, as well as the righteous in paradise, until the time of their resurrection" (Alma 40:14).

Except perhaps for those spirits who have a portion of the Spirit of the Lord, there seems to be no middle ground in what was revealed to Alma. It is either the righteous or the wicked. Who are righteous spirits and who are wicked spirits according to the Lord? Does He tell us? Are my deceased friends' spirits righteous, in a state of happiness, or wicked and in outer darkness where there is wailing and gnashing of teeth? In which camp¹ are my friends?

He has revealed elsewhere that we can know the righteous from the wicked. He even defines the righteous and the wicked. This He does in many scriptures, but one in particular is quite clear.

"And the whole world lieth in sin, and groaneth under darkness and under the bondage of sin.

And by this you may know they are under the bondage of sin, because they come not unto me.

For whoso cometh not unto me is under the bondage of sin.

And whoso receiveth not my voice is not acquainted with my voice, and is not of me" (D&C 84:49-52).

And by this you may know the righteous from the wicked, and that the whole world groaneth under sin and darkness even now" (D&C 84:49-53 emphasis added).

The righteous He describes as those 

1) who are acquainted with and receive His voice, 

2) who come unto Him, and

3) who are not under the bondage of sin.

The wicked He describes as those

1) who receiveth not His voice, because they are not acquainted with His voice, 

2) who come not unto Him, and

3) who are under the bondage of sin and are in darkness.

Remember Amulek telling us to not procrastinate the day of our repentance (turn to and come unto our Savior), because "that same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world" (Alma 34:34).

Those who are righteous in this life (repenting and relying wholly upon Christ's merits, having received the righteousness of Christ) are those who are righteous in the spirit world. 

And those who are wicked in this life (not repenting and relying on their own goodness, having not received the righteousness of Christ) are those who are wicked in the spirit world.

Would this apply to my friends? They have chosen either Good or Evil, and are therefore defined by their choice. Evil in this sense is not choosing good/Christ. They cannot say they didn't know or that they were not taught, because they had all that God had chosen to reveal, and treated it lightly. Or in other words, they did not hear His voice because they were not acquainted with His voice. 

My friends are not those who died without the law, or were not like Joseph's brother Alvin who died without hearing about the truth, but who would have accepted it if he had heard (D&C 137:5-8). They had revealed to God their works according to the "desires of their hearts" for their entire lives (D&C 137:9). The standard for them is higher because they had the Book of Mormon and they treated it lightly. 

But there is more. Joseph F. Smith's vision of spirits kept in prison at the time of Noah, which is recorded as D&C 138, adds more to the picture. In this revelation we learn that there are, like Alma saw, two ¹categories of spirits, the righteous and the wicked, but in this vision President Smith saw that the righteous spirits were teaching Christ's Gospel to the spirits kept in prison, who were willing to be taught, "who died in their sins, without a knowledge of the truth, or in transgression, having rejected the prophets."

In this vision, the righteous are the teachers, and the wicked are those who have the opportunity to be taught. I would include here those who may have a portion of the Lord's Spirit. We learn that many of these spirits were taught and repented of their sins, were baptized vicariously and received their reward.

But there is a major difference between those who were repenting (came unto Christ) when they died, and those who were not repenting (came not unto Christ) when they died, but did repent in the world of spirits.

For those who are righteous when they die, Christ paid the demands of justice for them, and they will be found guiltless at the judgment following their resurrection (3 Nephi 27:13-21).

For those who die in their sins, who die under the bondage of sin, but who repent, pay the demands of justice themselves. Read this carefully:

"The dead who repent will be redeemed, 

through obedience to the ordinances of the house of God, 

And after they have paid the penalty of their transgressions, 

and are washed clean, 

shall receive a reward 

according to their works, 

for they are heirs of salvation" (D&C 138:58-59 emphasis added).

Heirs of salvation are all those except Sons of Perdition. See D&C Sections 76 and 88. We also know that ..."the heathen nations [will] be redeemed, and they that knew no law shall have part in the first resurrection; and it shall be tolerable for them" (D&C 45:54). Keep in mind, however, that all will be redeemed except Sons of Perdition. 

For those who were under the law, like my friends, could they repent in the spirit world, and if so would they have to pay "the penalty for their transgressions" while those who were repenting and not under the bondage of sin, when they died, be found guiltless because Christ would pay the penalty for them? From what has been revealed, I would answer yes. 

Amulek was right by admonishing us to not procrastinate the day of our repentance!

Many other scriptures add to the picture, but Alma's description of the chains of hell is worth noting because it adds to what the Lord means by those who hear His voice. He says:

"And now Alma began to expound these things unto him, saying: It is given unto many to know the mysteries of God; 

nevertheless they are laid under a strict command that they shall not impart only according to the portion of his word which he doth grant unto the children of men, 

according to the heed and diligence which they give unto him. 

And therefore, he that will harden his heart, the same receiveth the lesser portion of the word; 

and he that will not harden his heart, to him is given the greater portion of the word, 

until it is given unto him to know the mysteries of God until he know them in full. 

And they that will harden their hearts, to them is given the lesser portion of the word 

until they know nothing concerning his mysteries; and 

then they are taken captive by the devil, and led by his will down to destruction. 

Now this is what is meant by the chains of hell" (Alma 12:9-11 emphasis added). Note the link in Alma 40:13 to "lead captive" by the will of the devil. Alma again, it seems, describes no middle ground--it is more or nothing.

If they die in this state, they die under the bondage of sin, they die in their sins, and would be described as wicked. These both Alma and Joseph F. Smith saw in the spirit world and described them as wicked.

Concerning those who die without the law and the spirits kept in prison at the time of Noah, the Lord has revealed:

"And again, we saw the terrestrial world, and behold and lo, these are they who are of the terrestrial, whose glory differs from that of the church of the Firstborn who have received the fulness of the Father, even as that of the moon differs from the sun in the firmament. 

Behold, these are they who died without law; 

And also they who are the spirits of men kept in prison, whom the Son visited, and preached the gospel unto them, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh; 

Who received not the testimony of Jesus in the flesh, but afterwards received it"

...These are they who are not valiant in the testimony of Jesus (D&C 76:71-74;79 emphasis added).

The phrase 'bondage of sin' coupled with being "saved from our sins" link to help understand what being under the bondage of sins means. Again Alma adds more.

"For, said he, I have repented of my sins, and 

have been redeemed of the Lord; 

behold I am born of the Spirit. 

And the Lord said unto me: 

Marvel not that all mankind, yea, men and women, all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, must be born again; yea, 

born of God, changed from their carnal and fallen state, to a state of righteousness, 

being redeemed of God, becoming his sons and daughters; 

And thus they become new creatures; and 

unless they do this, they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God" (Mosiah 27:24-26 emphasis added).

These are the "righteous" and they are called righteous because they have been changed by God from their lost and fallen and carnal state to a state of His righteousness. 

'...our awful, sinful and polluted state,' is a state of being under the law and not under grace. Hence the need to be born again and become new creatures, a state where we find ourselves under His righteousness. Not under the law, but under grace.

"For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit" (Romans 8:3-4).

"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain" (Galations 2:20-21).

Could I say of my friends that because of their unbelief they "remained so ever after, even in their carnal and sinful state" (Mosiah 26:4)?

Everything He teaches leads to this conclusion. His Gospel (3 Nephi 27:13-21); His teachings on Justice and Mercy (Alma 42); His teachings on Death and Hell (2 Nephi 2); and His teachings on repentance. Everything, even in death, is for us, linked to repenting now! 

Remember that for those like my friends who should know better, "he that exercises no faith unto repentance (in this life) is exposed to the whole law of the demands of justice; therefore only unto him that has faith unto repentance is brought about the great and eternal plan of redemption" (Alma 34:16 emphasis added; see also Alma 12:29-35). 

40 Principles Isaiah

This is so good I had to share it.

Forty principles drawn from the Book of Isaiah and supported by the Standard Works, offer clarity, discernment, and spiritual grounding for individuals navigating stress, uncertainty, and modern life. 

Jessica Coroles and Avraham Gileadi

I have linked each scripture for easy reference.

They represent a spiritual framework for leaving Babylon and walking toward Zion. Treasure them. Share them. 

1. God Loves You and Wants You Back—Isaiah 44:22; 54:8 

2. God Is Worthy of Your Trust—Isaiah 12:2–5; 55:8–11 

3. Seeking God Leads to Him—Isaiah 26:7–9; 30:19–21 

4. God Tests to Refine, Not Destroy—Isaiah 38:16; 48:10 

5. Your Agency Is to Use for Good—Isaiah 1:17–19; 5:20 

6. Obeying God Generates Peace—Isaiah 32:17; 48:17–18 

7. God Hides to Provoke Seeking Him—Isaiah 8:17; 45:15 

8. Afflictions Are to Endure with Faith—Isaiah 26:2–3; 33:6 

9. God Prepares You for Greater Things—Isaiah 4:2–3; 60:21 

10. Arrogance Inevitably Begets Failure—Isaiah 2:12; 13:11

11. With God, Enemies Cannot Prevail—Isaiah 41:11–12; 54:17 

12. God Lifts the Humble, Lowers the Proud—Isaiah 13:11; 57:15 

13. God Fights for Those Who Are His—Isaiah 42:13; 59:17–18 

14. False Teachers Outnumber the True—Isaiah 3:12; 9:15–16 

15. Your Idols Can Never Save You—Isaiah 44:9–10; 46:6–7 

16. God Supports His Holy Remnant—Isaiah 1:9; 37:31–32 

17. God Faithfully Keeps His Promises—Isaiah 25:1; 54:10 

18. God Honors Those Who Wait for Him—Isaiah 33:3; 64:4 

19. God Works Through Your Faith in Him—Isaiah 43:10; 50:10 

20. God Abhors People’s Oppression—Isaiah 1:17; 49:26

21. Light Always Conquers Darkness—Isaiah 9:2; 42:16 

22. You Are Engraved on His Palms—Isaiah 49:16; 53:5 

23. God Warns Us Before He Acts—Isaiah 42:9; 62:6–7 

24. God Sends You Before He Saves You—Isaiah 6:8; 48:15–16 

25. God Replaces Weakness With Strength—Isaiah 40:31; 41:10 

26. God Delivers You His Way, Not Your Own—Isaiah 30:18; 55:9 

27. God Mourns with You Before He Delivers You—Isaiah 63:9; 66:9 

28. God Redeems Even Your Wasted Years—Isaiah 52:2–3; 54:6–8 

29. Those Who Are God’s Fear No Man—Isaiah 8:12–14; 51:12–13 

30. Peace Comes Through Righteousness—Isaiah 32:17; 54:13–14

31. God’s Justice Isn’t Delayed, It Is Precise—Isaiah 5:16; 42:1–4 

32. Repentance Rebuilds What Is Ruined—Isaiah 58:10–12; 61:4 

33. God Reveals All Things to His Elect—Isaiah 33:17, 20; 52:8 

34. God’s Faithful Remnant Builds Zion—Isaiah 14:32; 51:2–3 

35. God Shakes the World to Awaken It—Isaiah 24:18; 54:10 

36. God Gathers His Elect to Zion—Isaiah 11:11–12; 57:1 

37. God Makes All Things New—Isaiah 48:6–7; 65:17 

38. The Word of God Never Fails—Isaiah 40:8; 59:21 

39. God Is a God of Order—Isaiah 26:7–8; 40:3–4 

40. Joy Is God’s Promised Gift—Isaiah 9:3; 25:9

We can say with certainty that Jesus’ commandment to the Nephites to “search diligently” the words of Isaiah (3 Nephi 23:1) is more relevant to Latter-day Saints today than it has ever been to people in the past. Not only are we closer to the time Isaiah predicts (see 2 Nephi 25:8–9), but the “good news” he teaches (Isaiah 40:9; 41:27; 52:7; 61:1)—the gospel of Messiah—enlightens our generation on many key points of doctrine. 

Indeed, by “good news” Isaiah doesn’t mean the “preparatory gospel” that prevailed under the Law of Moses. Rather, the same gospel Jesus taught that came down from the days of Adam, whose knowledge was had by prophets. Jesus’ saying that Isaiah spoke of “all things” concerning God’s people (3 Nephi 23:2) means that Isaiah teaches not only that same higher law Israel rejected at Sinai, but that he does so from ancient Israel’s peculiar perspective. It is that frame of reference we must recapture if we would comprehend Isaiah’s message in all its richness and understand fully the restored gospel itself. 

The words of Isaiah, which Jesus calls “great” (3 Nephi 23:1) reveal the ancient covenantal context in which the gospel of Jesus Christ originated and in which it is grounded. That is why Book of Mormon prophets draw on Isaiah for their frame of reference when teaching God’s plan of salvation or when predicting end-time events. 

But most Latter-day Saints haven’t drunk deeply enough from the well of the Hebrew prophets to comprehend their own roots, falling woefully short in their conception of Isaiah’s words and of many key underpinnings of their religion.

Latter-day Saints fail to realize that the words of Isaiah represent a deliberate spiritual challenge, not a topic of casual interest. When fully met, that challenge rewards a person with a comprehension of the scriptures unequaled through the study of any other book. When not met, it leaves God’s people “in Zion” clinging to “precepts of men” (2 Nephi 28:21, 24, 26), popular ideas lacking a genuine scriptural basis of fact. 

In the end, such distortions will prove at least as divisive as sectarian Christian notions, leaving the many who believe them vulnerable to fighting against God because of the untimeliness of their unfounded assumptions (see 2 Nephi 28:28; 29:14).

The words of Isaiah are life-giving, grounding a person in a divine reality that empowers him for the contest between the powers of light and darkness that precedes the coming of Messiah to reign on the earth.

The words of Isaiah indeed account for every soul God has created, past and future, living and dead, showing their relationship to one another and to their Maker.

Moreover, as every passage of Isaiah is inextricably linked to others in his writings, they—taken together, not separately—paint an entire picture of the time preceding our Lord and Savior’s coming to reign on the earth.

Indeed, the words of Isaiah enlighten us across the entire spectrum of spiritual truths. They divide the doers—those who pay the price of understanding Isaiah by searching his words until they understand them—from the judges, those who fall back on their own preconceived ideas and take issue with people who differ. 

By taking lightly Isaiah’s words, they take lightly the Book of Mormon (compare 1 Nephi 19:7; 2 Nephi 33:2–3, 14; 3 Nephi 26:9–10; D&C 84:54–59), unaware that Isaiah’s words constitute the core fabric around which the Book of Mormon and many scriptures are woven—that the quintessential concepts and imagery other scriptures share originate with Isaiah.

Today, we clearly discern many parts of the picture that Isaiah presents, so near are we to the time. Much of that picture deals with political and spiritual realities existing in our world. Much of it condemns evil practices among God’s people. But amid so much that is condemnatory in tone, we always sense that Isaiah holds out hope for those who repent. His book serves as a call to such repentance.

There must be a good reason why we are told that the prophecies of Isaiah are important for us to know. One reason may be that those who understand Isaiah will be spared the agony of learning too late the need for us all to repent and to obtain God’s Spirit.

Whenever Book of Mormon prophets draw on Isaiah’s prophecies to portray God’s people who come under condemnation in Isaiah’s endtime scenario they are speaking of the Mormon Gentiles, not of someone else.

I make no apology that Isaiah’s prophecies address us. Isaiah has seen our day and describes it perfectly. That, to me, would be all the more cause for us to familiarize ourselves with his words and repent!

See more.