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 counterfeit. 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, and that I did not have to pretend to be. I knew it was time that I needed the Lord's help to get prepared, to do what He had called¹ 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 and His Servants

5. His saints (those who believe His words)

========Justice of God========

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 (justice of God) 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, like me, who have desired to, and have been called of Him to thrust in their sickle and reap (D&C 11). 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, 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. Those who ascend to Sons/Daughters would be His servants.

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 are "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 ¹called 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 four 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 (marked with an X) 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 After Death

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.

For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors.

I have been thinking a lot lately about my departed friends. Except for my friend who asked for no obituary, the obituaries of my friends described them as active or faithful church members, kind and loving, having held many callings in the church. They were noted as being successful and talented, loving husbands, fathers and grandfathers or loving wives, mothers, and grandmothers. They could even be described as having joy in their works.

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. But, 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 but few of them, the critical importance of the word of God, about the Book of Mormon prophecies and about repentance. They just didn't seem to understand or desire to understand God's words. 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. They were hearers of men, rather than searchers of the scriptures. 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). Alma does not say here 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).

Don't make the mistake of substituting your own definition of evil works for Christ's definition.

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 (His Justice) 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. So the question is who are the righteous spirits and who are the wicked spirits according to the Lord? Does He tell us? Are the spirits of my deceased friends 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?

But yes, the Lord has revealed elsewhere that we can know the righteous from the wicked. He even defines the righteous and the wicked, and in doing so He includes us. 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 emphasis added).

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 84:53 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.

Because in scripture the word of God has the same meaning no matter where or by whom it is written, Alma's definition of wicked is the same as the Lord's definition of wicked in D&C 84.

We cannot assume the Lord will come through for us, insensible to the fact that His end-time “work” and “plan” are for us to fulfill. If we don’t repent of transgression and come out from the wicked, our reward is to be hewn down and cast into the fire and have our names blotted out (Alma 5:53–57). 

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 whom God describes as righteous in this life are those 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 whom God describes as wicked in this life are those not repenting or who think they need no repentance, and who rely in whole or in part on their own goodness (having not received the righteousness of Christ), are those who are wicked in the spirit world.

And it is, as with all God's contraries, either or. We are repenting or we are not repenting. 

Would this apply to my friends? They, like all the other spirits before them and after them, have chosen either Good or Evil, and are therefore defined by their choice and by their fruits. Evil in this sense is not choosing Good/Christ. It goes way beyond just believing in 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. They may have believed in Him, but they did not believe Him because they did not hear Him!

It is difficult to think that many of my friends would be described as wicked. It is almost impossible to think in terms of one or the other, righteous or wicked, with no varying degrees, but God does, and He spares no words teaching us of the difference, pleading with us to turn to Him (repent), now in this life.

But my friends are not those who died without the law, nor were they like Joseph's brother Alvin who died without hearing about the truth, but who would have accepted it if they 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 (not repenting), 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. See also Alma 41:2-7.

But there is a major difference between those who were repenting (came unto Christ) before 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. But see how varying degrees of glory come into play.

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. Did not Christ say that they will suffer even as He suffered if they did not repent? 

As Enoch said: "Behold, our father Adam taught these things, and many have believed and become the sons of God, and many have believed not, and have perished in their sins, and are looking forth with fear, in torment, for the fiery indignation of the wrath of God to be poured out upon them" (Moses 7:2 emphasis added).

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, and those who do not 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 knows 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 between Alma 40:13, which says "taken captive by the devil," and Alma 12:11 which says "being led 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.

As Alma said "whosoever dieth in his sins, as to a temporal death, shall also die a spiritual death; yea, he shall die as to things pertaining unto righteousness" (Alma 12:16 emphasis added).

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. 

Concerning those who die with the law like many of my friends, Jacob said: "But wo unto him that has the law given, yea, that has all the commandments of God, like unto us, and that transgresseth them, and that wasteth the days of his probation, for awful is his state" (2 Nephi 9:27 emphasis added)!

'...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)? And what did they not believe? They did not believe Christ when He commanded that all men everywhere must repent. And becaused they had refused to hear Him, they did not understand or were confused by what He means by repentance. 

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); His teachings on Repentance, and His parable of the Pharisee and the Publican. 

Everything, even in death, is for us, linked to repenting now! Turn to Him and pray with all the energy of your heart that you be redeemed in this life. Do not procrastinate! 

"And again 

I say, hearken 

unto my voice, 

lest death 

shall overtake you; 

in an hour 

when ye think not 

the summer 

shall be past, 

and the harvest ended, 

and your souls 

are not saved" 

(D&C 45:2 emphasis added).

Remember that for those, like some of 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).

Perhaps it is as simple as asking, did they spend their lives preparing to meet God? Did they take advantage of this "space granted unto man in which they might repent" this... "probationary state" this ...time to prepare to meet God" (Alma 12:24)? Did they, while in this life, bring forth fruit meet for repentance? Or did they waste the days of their probation? As no one will be left standing on the sidelines, what certainty have those who disregard these things? Of what part will they play?

To receive more of His words, go back and click on the red links in this post to see what else the Lord has revealed concerning our lives here, especially how He defines repentance, and why it easier than you may think to be deceived into thinking that we are righteous and that we need no repentance.

Next: Repentance: Like a Door Upon Its Hinges

40 Principles Isaiah

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.