Under the laws of man those guilty of the most serious sins can be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Under the laws of God, even those who have committed the most serious soon can be forgiven through repentance.
This is at least the second apostle this conference to say that no matter what we may have been convinced of, we are not being the reach of forgiveness through the application of the Atonement.
In mortality we are subject to the laws of man and the laws of God. I have had the unusual experience of judging serious misbehavior under both of these laws—earlier as a justice of the Utah Supreme Court and now as a member of the First Presidency. The contrast I have experienced between the laws of man and the laws of God has increased my appreciation for the reality and power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Under the laws of man, a person guilty of the most serious crimes can be sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole. But it is different under the merciful plan of a loving Heavenly Father. I have witnessed that these same serious sins can be forgiven in mortality because of our Savior’s atoning sacrifice for the sins of “all those who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit.” Christ redeems, and His Atonement is real.
The only way to be sentenced to an absence of mercy is to knowingly reject Divine help.
Repentance begins with our Savior, and it is a joy, not a burden. In last December’s Christmas devotional, President Nelson taught: “True repentance is not an event. It is a never-ending privilege. It is fundamental to progression and having peace of mind, comfort, and joy.”
I wonder what Laura believes about repentance currently.
To be cleansed by repentance, we must forsake our sins and confess them to the Lord and to His mortal judge where required. Alma taught that we must also “bring forth works of righteousness.” All of this is part of the frequent scriptural invitation to come unto Christ.
We need to partake of the sacrament each Sabbath day. In that ordinance we make covenants and receive blessings that help us overcome all acts and desires that block us from the perfection our Savior invites us to achieve. As we “deny [ourselves] of all ungodliness, and love God with all [our] might, mind and strength,” then we may “be perfect in Christ” and be “sanctified” through the shedding of His blood, to “become holy, without spot.” What a promise! What a miracle! What a blessing!
In the Lord’s Church, mortal judgments for members or prospective members are administered by leaders who seek divine direction. It is their responsibility to judge persons who are seeking to come unto Christ to receive the power of His Atonement on the covenant path to eternal life. Mortal judgments determine whether a person is ready for baptism. Is a person worthy of a recommend to attend the temple? Has a person whose name was removed from the records of the Church repented sufficiently through the Atonement of Jesus Christ to be readmitted by baptism?
When a mortal judge called of God approves a person for further progress, such as temple privileges, he is not signifying that person as perfect, and he is not forgiving any sins. Elder Spencer W. Kimball taught that after what he called the mortal “waiving [of] penalties,” a person “must also seek and secure from the God of heaven a final repentance, and only he can absolve.” And if sinful acts and desires remain unrepented until the Final Judgment, an unrepentant person will remain unclean. The ultimate accountability, including the final cleansing effect of repentance, is between each of us and God.
The judgment most commonly described in the scriptures is the Final Judgment that follows the Resurrection. …
The purpose of this Final Judgment is to determine whether we have achieved what Alma described as a “mighty change of heart,” where we have become new creatures, with “no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually.” The judge of this is our Savior, Jesus Christ. After His judgment we will all confess “that his judgments are just,” because His omniscience has given Him a perfect knowledge of all of our acts and desires, both those righteous or repented and those unrepented or unchanged.
I like that distinction between mortal and final judgement.
To assure that we will be clean before God, we must repent before the Final Judgment. As Alma told his sinful son, we cannot hide our sins before God, “and except ye repent they will stand as a testimony against you at the last day.” The Atonement of Jesus Christ gives us the only way to achieve the needed cleansing through repentance, and this mortal life is the time to do it. Although we are taught that some repentance can occur in the spirit world, that is not as certain. Elder Melvin J. Ballard taught: “It is much easier to overcome and serve the Lord when both flesh and spirit are combined as one. This is the time when men are more pliable and susceptible. … This life is the time to repent.”
It isn’t arbitrary that we are told to repent in this life. Regardless of mercy the truth is that this life is designed to facilitate repentance. The next life has proposes that are higher.
As another part of God’s “plan of restoration,” the Resurrection will restore “all things … to their proper and perfect frame.” This includes the perfection of all of our physical deficiencies and deformities acquired in mortality, including at birth or by trauma or disease.
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