38 Therefore if that man repenteth not, and remaineth and
dieth an enemy to God, the demands of divine justice do awaken his immortal
soul to a lively sense of his own guilt, which doth cause him to shrink from
the presence of the Lord, and doth fill his breast with guilt, and pain, and
anguish, which is like an unquenchable fire, whose flame ascendeth up forever
and ever.
39 And now I say unto you, that mercy hath no claim on
that man; therefore his final doom is to endure a never-ending torment.
40 O, all ye old men, and also ye young men, and you
little children who can understand my words, for I have spoken plainly unto you
that ye might understand, I pray that ye should awake to a remembrance of the
awful situation of those that have fallen into transgression.
41 And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider
on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For
behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if
they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby
they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember,
remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it. (Mosiah
2:38-41)
King Benjamin continues teaching the consequences of sin and
what will happen should that person not repent.
If the sinner does not repent, he will die an enemy of God.
The demands of justice will awaken his soul to sense his guilt. “Wherefore, we
shall have a perfect knowledge of all our guilt, and our uncleanness, and our
nakedness; and the righteous shall have a perfect knowledge of their enjoyment,
and their righteousness, being clothed with purity, yea, even with the robe of
righteousness” (2 Nephi 9:14).
“Behold, will ye reject these words? Will ye reject the
words of the prophets; and will ye reject all the words which have been spoken
concerning Christ, after so many have spoken concerning him; and deny the good
word of Christ, and the power of God, and the gift of the Holy Ghost, and
quench the Holy Spirit, and make a mock of the great plan of redemption, which
hath been laid for you?
“Know ye not that if ye will do these things, that the power
of the redemption and the resurrection, which is in Christ, will bring you to
stand with shame and awful guilt before the bar of God” (Jacob 6:8-9).
The guilt will cause him to withdraw from the Lord’s
presence. “Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them also that hate
him flee before him.
“As smoke is driven away, so drive them away: as wax melteth
before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God” (Psalm
68:1-2).
“Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said,
They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways.
“So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)”
(Hebrews 3:10-11).
“Wherefore teach it unto your children, that all men,
everywhere, must repent, or they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God, for
no unclean thing can dwell there, or dwell in his presence; for, in the
language of Adam, Man of Holiness is his name, and the name of his Only
Begotten is the Son of Man, even Jesus Christ, a righteous Judge, who shall
come in the meridian of time” (Moses 6:57).
He will be filled with guilt, pain, and anguish. “O my
brethren, hearken unto my words; arouse the faculties of your souls; shake
yourselves that ye may awake from the slumber of death; and loose yourselves
from the pains of hell that ye may not become angels to the devil, to be cast
into that lake of fire and brimstone which is the second death” (Jacob 3:11).
“Many sorrows shall be to the wicked” (Psalm 32:10).
“[T]heir sorrowing was not unto repentance, because of the
goodness of God; but it was rather the sorrowing of the damned, because the
Lord would not always suffer them to take happiness in sin” (Mormon 2:13).
“And the rebellious shall be pierced with much sorrow; for
their iniquities shall be spoken upon the housetops, and their secret acts
shall be revealed” (D&C 1:3).
“And now cometh the day of their calamity, even the days of
sorrow, like a woman that is taken in travail; and their sorrow shall be great
unless they speedily repent, yea, very speedily” (D&C 136:35).
This guilt will be like an unquenchable fire. “And they
shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed
against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched;
and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh” (Isaiah 66:24).
“Wherefore, he saves all except them—they shall go away into
everlasting punishment, which is endless punishment, which is eternal
punishment, to reign with the devil and his angels in eternity, where their
worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched, which is their torment” (D&C
76:44).
“And the wicked shall go away into unquenchable fire, and
their end no man knoweth on earth, nor ever shall know, until they come before
me in judgment” (D&C 43:33).
“Those who refuse to repent during probation (die in their
sins) suffer the second spiritual death or hell after probation ends, as required
by justice (2 Nephi 9:10, 12, 19, 26; Jacob 3:11 , Mosiah 2:38- 39; Mosiah
3:25-27; Alma 12:13-17, 31-37; Alma 40:13-14; Helaman 14:15-18). This second
death or hell consists of being completely withdrawn (cast out) from the
presence of God into outer darkness, of being taken captive by the evil, and of
suffering currently incomprehensible spiritual anguish for unrepented sins (described
metaphorically as a lake of fire and brimstone).”[1]
“Recently I talked with several groups of young men and
women in Utah and Idaho. They told me that some of our youth feel that they can
be immoral during their teen years and then repent when they decide to go on a
mission or be married in the temple. Some young men talk about a mission as a
time when they will be forgiven from their past sins. They have the notion that
a few transgressions now are no big deal because they can repent quickly, go on
a mission, and then live happily ever after.
“[P]lease believe me when
I tell you that this scenario is a gross deception by Satan; it is a fairy
tale. Sin will always, always, result in suffering. It may come
sooner, or it may come later, but it will come. The scriptures state that you
will ‘stand with shame and awful guilt before the bar of God’ and that you
will experience “a lively sense of … guilt, and pain, and anguish.’”[2]
Mercy will have no claim on the sinner. The Guide to the
Scriptures defines mercy as “[t]he spirit of compassion, tenderness, and
forgiveness. Mercy is one of the attributes of God. Jesus Christ offers mercy
to us through His atoning sacrifice.”
“For behold, justice exerciseth all his demands, and also
mercy claimeth all which is her own; and thus, none but the truly penitent are
saved.
“What, do ye suppose that mercy can rob justice? I say unto
you, Nay; not one whit. If so, God would cease to be God…
“Therefore, O my son, whosoever will come may come and
partake of the waters of life freely; and whosoever will not come the same is
not compelled to come; but in the last day it shall be restored unto him
according to his deeds.
“If he has desired to do evil, and has not repented in his
days, behold, evil shall be done unto him, according to the restoration of God”
(Alma 42:24-25; 27-28).
The fate of the wicked is they will endure never ending
torment.
“Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which
all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
“And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the
resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of
damnation” (John 5:28-29).
“And if they will not repent and believe in his name, and be
baptized in his name, and endure to the end, they must be damned; for the Lord
God, the Holy One of Israel, has spoken it” (2 Nephi 9:24).
“And I would that all men might be saved. But we read that
in the great and last day there are some who shall be cast out, yea, who shall
be cast off from the presence of the Lord;
“Yea, who shall be consigned to a state of endless misery,
fulfilling the words which say: They that have done good shall have everlasting
life; and they that have done evil shall have everlasting damnation” (Helaman
12:25-26).
King Benjamin has spoken plainly to them. He prays they will
remember the awful situation of
“[D]o ye imagine to yourselves that ye can lie unto the Lord
in that day, and say—Lord, our works have been righteous works upon the face of
the earth—and that he will save you?
“Or otherwise, can ye imagine yourselves brought before the
tribunal of God with your souls filled with guilt and remorse, having a
remembrance of all your guilt, yea, a perfect remembrance of all your
wickedness, yea, a remembrance that ye have set at defiance the commandments of
God” (Alma 5:17-18).
They should consider the blessed and happy state of those who
keep God’s commandments.
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I
will give you rest.
“Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek [GR gentle
and humble] and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
“For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew
11:28-30).
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his
righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33).[3]
“And thus we see that the commandments of God must be
fulfilled. And if it so be that the children of men keep the commandments of
God he doth nourish them, and strengthen them, and provide means whereby they
can accomplish the thing which he has commanded them; wherefore, he did provide
means for us while we did sojourn in the wilderness” (1 Nephi 17:3).
, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of
never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for
the Lord God hath spoken it.
They are blessed in all things, both temporal and
spiritual. If they remain faithful to
the end, they are received into heaven.
“O love the Lord, all ye his saints: for the Lord preserveth
the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer” (Psalm 31:23).
“And blessed is he that is found faithful unto my name at
the last day, for he shall be lifted up to dwell in the kingdom prepared for
him from the foundation of the world” (Ether 4:19).
“If thou wilt do good, yea, and hold out faithful to the
end, thou shalt be saved in the kingdom of God, which is the greatest of all
the gifts of God; for there is no gift greater than the gift of salvation”
(D&C 6:13).
“He that is faithful and endureth shall overcome the world”
(D&C 63:47).
41 And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on
the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For
behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if
they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven
The righteous will dwell in God’s presence in never-ending
happiness.
He closes his comments by testifying the truthfulness of his
words, “for the Lord God hath spoken it” (Mosiah 2:41).
[1] Review
of Doctrines of the Book of Mormon: The 1991 Sperry Symposium
(1992), edited by Bruce A. Van Orden and Brent L. Top, Mack C. Stirling, Review
of Books on the Book of Mormon 5/1 (1993): 303-304.
[2] Purity
Precedes Power, President M. Russell Ballard, October 1990 General Conference.
[3] “Wherefore, seek not the things of this world
but seek ye first to build up the kingdom of God, and to
establish his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto
you” (JST Matthew 6:33).
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