What is the Mormon plan of salvation? Death brought a reversal of their conditions wherein the rich man in hell became a beggar, longing for a drop of water from the finger of Lazarus, who was now in heaven, or Abrahams bosom. In the parable Abraham explained the impossibility of receiving his request, because between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence (Luke 16:1926). 6:8). D&C 133:73 says, These shall go away into outer darkness, where there is weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth. Humans who never heard about Mormonism will not go there, as tenth President Joseph Fielding Smith said, That is a punishment that will not come to those who have never known the truth. Into the telestial kingdom will go, according to that which is written here in this revelation, the vicious, the unclean, the ungodly (Conference Reports, April 1942, p. 27). This is in contrast to the VAST MAJORITY OF PEOPLE, who will receive a kingdom of glory after the Final Judgment, and enter into one of three degrees of glory after the resurrection: celestial, terrestrial, or telestial kingdoms. In Jesus parable of the rich man and Lazarus, Jesus contrasted the afterlife state of the lowly Lazarus with that of the self-absorbed rich man. And remember you can be excommunicated for asking church leaders to give solid answers so trust the apologists who say to only trust the prophets on matters like this. So a heads up, this does not include you or any one who has ever been or will be born on Earth. lift[ed] up his eyes and saw Abraham and Lazarus across an impassable gulf (Luke 16:23). On the day of Pentecost, the apostle Peter spoke of the promise David had received that his soul would not be left in hell (Acts 2:27). We probably do not want to know how horrible it is just like in this life, some things that are so horrible that happen (especially to children) wed rather not know about it, if possible. If you want to make the point that Mormon Prophets have said some weird stuff, I am all for it. kingdoms of glory. In the parable of the wedding of the kings son, the king discovered that a guest was not properly attired in the required wedding garment, i.e., righteousness. . 13:40), cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth (Matt. Only a handful of "sons of perdition" would go. Clear as mud. They are sons of perdition because, Having denied the Holy Spirit after having received it, and having denied the Only Begotten Son of the Father, having crucified him unto themselves and put him to open shame (D. & C. 76:35). If Lucifer had not known the effects of his rebellion, how would he ever become perdition? (see Rom. 9:16; emphasis added). Rev. He cried: O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me, who am in the gall of bitterness, and am encircled about by the everlasting chains of death. This desperate cry for forgiveness through Christ brought deliverance from the pains of hell Alma had experienced because of his sins (Alma 36:1620). Now go take a nap and rest well! ( Miracle of Forgiveness 129-30) The Lord Will Judge For persons not to receive forgiveness neither in this world nor in the world to come does not mean that they will be cast into outer darkness, for the sin of murder can be pardoned even though it is unforgivable. The views expressed . Nephis commentary to his brothers concerning his fathers dream of the tree of life adds interesting insight into the possible meaning of the great gulf Jesus referred to: And I said unto them that it was an awful gulf, which separated the wicked from the tree of life, and also from the saints of God. Can someone get out of this state of Perdition once they are in it? Jesus proclaimed to Peter that the gates of hell would not prevail against the rock upon which He would build the Church (Matt. (J. Reuben Clark, Jr., Church Leaders and the Scriptures, [original title When Are the Writings or Sermons of Church Leaders Entitled to the Claim of Scripture?] Immortality and Eternal Life: Reflections from the Writings and Messages of President J. Reuben Clark, Jr., Vol, 2, (1969-70): 221; address to Seminary and Institute Teachers, BYU (7 July 1954); reproduced in Church News (31 July 1954); also reprinted in Dialogue 12/2 (Summer 1979): 6881.). 22:13) if it is also a place of perpetual fire (Matt. [3] Larry E. Dahl, The Concept of Hell, in Doctrines of the Book of Mormon (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1992), 4243. To become a son of perdition one must sin against the Holy Ghost, but before that is possible, one must receive the gift of the Holy Ghost (Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual Religion 324 and 325, 2001, p. 161). When the lights were out and we were on the verge of sleep, our camp counselor took advantage of the moment and endeavored to imprint his teachings upon the minds of his captive audience. John the Revelator heard Christ proclaim that he possessed the keys of hell and of death (Rev. That being said, I don't think it really matters at the end of the day, because if it is all real, I want to stay clear away from anyone who the Church says deserves the Celestial Kingdom. The ex-mortal sons of perdition will be resurrected, as will everyone else; but they will finally suffer the second death, the spiritual death, for they are cut off again as to things pertaining to righteousness. (Hel. That there will also be daughters of Perdition there is no doubt in the minds of the brethren. One fire certainly shall be the lot of both. [4]. Johns references to the second death testify of its existence but do not offer any explanatory information that instructs those readers who do not already understand the doctrine. So, in the Mormon view, none of these so-called polygamist marriages are valid, religiously or legally. In the Bible, the phrases lake of fire and lake of fire and brimstone, describing the fate of the wicked, are unique to the book of Revelation. There are possible characteristics of a son of perdition. According to the churchs website: The followers of Satan who will suffer with him in eternity. 4:32; 3 Ne. . . To qualify, a person would not only have to leave the Mormon church but also vehemently speak against it. 8 - 14 are for safety. After inspecting the intruder, the king instructed his servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matt. Christians have debated for centuries the nature of the hell fire of which Jesus spoke (Matt. King Benjamin defined the cause of this great torment: 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. However, sons of perdition cannot achieve forgiveness and will be completely cast outside of the light of God. It is impossible for those who never joined Mormonism to become sons of perdition. In each of the New Testament references to outer darkness, Christ declared the punishment that awaits faithless and wicked people. The Book of Mormon also makes reference to everlasting fire (2 Ne. We found these portrayals to be highly inaccurate. . If this is the case, the worst fate any former Latter-day Saint can anticipate is the telestial kingdom. While Christianity affirms that many people who were created by God will perish in hell, Mormonism also espouses this . He also said,I think I am safe in saying that no man can become a Son of Perdition until he has known the light. Think along the lines of a religious leader serving God but the opposite. Thus, the second death is taught in conjunction with the first death, which came as a consequence of the Fall of Adam and Eve, and also with the Atonement of Jesus Christ, which redeems all of humankind from the first death through resurrection and the second death through repentance. Jesus marvelled at the faith of a centurion he met in Capernaum and proclaimed that many would come from the east and west, and [would] sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. They did what they did with their eyes open, and were in rebellion against God. 10 reasons why a person ought to consider becoming a Christian. But the children of the kingdom [i.e., covenant breakers] shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matt. These men and women cannot be redeemed, and will be the only ones who will suffer the second death. (-Joseph Smith in the King Follett Discourse), There is my definition I used in my previous post. Another manual states, Baptism is the first saving ordinance of the gospel (see Articles of Faith 1:4). Meanwhile, I have known many who could be considered fighters against the church, including those who became involved in what could be considered anti-Mormon activities. So apostates from the church are clearly included in this list. (You are not one of those spirits since you have a mortal body.). He called the Pharisees and scribes vipers and questioned, How can ye escape the damnation of hell? (Matt. Also, Mormons believe in three Heavens. Is Jesus the Only Redeemer? I said: I dont know and he said, How can I find outI just called Spencer Kimball and he told me he didnt know either. Your email address will not be published. Hence, the term outer darkness. hell.. Often in the scriptures it is difficult to discern which helltemporary or permanentis being spoken of, since many references to hell in the scriptures are used in a nonspecific manner to simply designate a place or state of suffering for the wicked. 25:30). T F Once a spirit enters Outer Darkness, there will be no leaving there. Utterly turn against god. 16:18). Bad as they may suffer, and awful as their punishment may be, they are not among that group which is to suffer the eternal death and banishment from all influence concerning the power of God (Conference Reports, October 1958, 21). When the king asked, "Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment?" Lets go to modern revelation: that there would be no daughters of perdition. Joseph F. Smith Stan Larsen, ed., A Ministry of Meetings: The Diaries of Rudger Clawson, (Salt Lake City, Utah: Smith Associates and Signature Books, 1993) p. 560, Somebody called me up on the telephone and asked if there were daughters of perdition. Following this introduction will be a discussion of the usage of these termsfirst in the New Testament, then in the Book of Mormon. Mormon theology ultimately portrays Outer Darkness as heaven, and Satan as the God of that realm. Each person must reap the harvest of the seeds sown in this life. . The New Testament contains four references to the second death, all located in the Revelation of John. So I thought Id get it all out there in one simple post. It is the closest Mormon analogy to the concept of hell in most other Christian traditions. He stated that converts made by the Pharisees became twofold more the child of hell than their teachers (Matt. Smith taught: The sons of perdition are those who have had a knowledge of the truth, have known that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, have had the testimony of the Spirit of the Lord, the Holy Ghost, and these things have all been revealed so that they know they are true; and then they turn against them and fight them knowingly. This is a place very close in nature to the biblical hell. Bruce M. Metzger and Michael D. Coogan (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993), s.v. Latter-day Saints understand hell to be a literal place and/or stateeither the temporary hell in the spirit world where the unjust suffer in a state of torment until they are resurrected to a telestial glory (D&C 76:8185, 98112), or the permanent hell where the wicked (the sons of perdition) continue to suffer eternally after the resurrection (D&C 76:37, 4548). lucifer. Does this description of God make it sound as if he is just (at least according to an LDS context)? T F According to a church manual, those who never were Mormon could never be sent to Outer Darkness. No Mormon since the 1890 change has had the authority to marry any man to more than one woman. Source: https://www.lds.org/scriptures/gs/sons-of-perdition. After the millennium, after the last great battle between the forces of God and the forces of Satan, Satan and his followers will be cast into Outer Darkness. Meanwhile, sixth President Joseph F. Smith, also taught that a full knowledge of the truth is necessary, adding that not even Judas Iscariotthe betrayer of Jesuswill be destined for Outer Darkness: It is probable that only personages who have acquired similar full knowledge, who willfully and deliberately deny the truth, when they know it to be the truth, can commit the unpardonable sin and become sons of perdition. Ray L. Huntington and Terry B. Outer Darkness, I always heard, was reserved for a handful of suckers like Cain and Judas who saw God and/or Jesus and were still rebellious. The second possible sons of perdition are mortals. Here, like John and Samuel, Alma equated the second death with the lake of fire and brimstone. King Benjamin and Alma also use the word as to preface their reference to a lake of fire and brimstone (see Mosiah 3:27; Alma 12:17). Additional doctrinal truth concerning the great gulf can be found in the Doctrine and Covenants (see D&C 138:1837). Doctrine and Covenants / Pearl of Great Price, Mormon Objections to Christian Evangelism, Teachings of the Presidents of the Church, Why Practically NobodyIncluding You, Former MormonWill Ever End up In Outer Darkness, Divine Love in the Fathers Plan (Dallin H. Oaks, April 2022). the man was silent (Matt 22:12); therefore, the king said: "Bind him hand and foot, and cast him into the exterior darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. The Book of Mormon does not teach the doctrinal truth that hell will end for the majority of those who suffer in the spirit prison prior to being resurrected and entering the telestial kingdom; however, this truth is clearly taught in the Doctrine and Covenants (see D&C 76:3638, 106). 14:18.) They will not have access to the Holy Ghost or Heavenly Father or Jesus. Those who have never received the light are not to become Sons of Perdition (Conference Reports, October 1958, p. 21). Although this is an obvious scare tactic, this accusation is not true according to important LDS leaders. Mormon doctrines are often contradictory and inconsistent. As a young boy, I attended a two-week Christian camp. Are the devils before the world created sons of perdition? (Doctrines of Salvation 2:220-221). [1], Other views include those of Zane C. Hodges who controversially suggested that it represents a place for those who make it to heaven based on their faith, but have failed to perform good works during their time on the earth.[2]. Thus the Book of Mormon does seem to contain a reference to the degrees of glory and outer darkness. The followers of Satan who will suffer with him in eternity. The LDS version of the King James Bible and the Book of Mormon help us to understand that the word black is actually a Hebrew idiom, meaning gloomy, dejected, or spiritual darkness, and has nothing to do with skin tone. Many of the apostates of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire (Rev. Also, the whole thing about Daughters of Perdition. Alma the Younger contributed even more insight on the second death when he gave the wicked people of Ammonihah a detailed description of the fate of those who harden their hearts against the word of God: Then if our hearts have been hardened, yea, if we have hardened our hearts against the word, insomuch that it has not been found in us, then will our state be awful, for then we shall be condemned. 12:16), hell which hath no end (1 Ne. Serve Satan. I can give you more than plenty of examples of that. For many are called, but few are chosen." They are the celestial kingdom, the terrestrial kingdom, the telestial kingdom, and outer darkness. [3]. 11:3940; 18:13), pains of hell (Jacob 3:1112; Alma 14:6; 26:13; 36:13), chains of hell (Alma 5:7, 910; 12:11; 13:30; 26:14), child of hell (Alma 11:23; 54:11), powers of hell (Alma 48:17), everlasting hell (Hel. . According to tenth President Joseph Fielding Smith. I wonder if the language is tripping people up here. Mormons believe we existed before coming to Earth. 15:29, 35; Alma 19:29; 54:7), sleep of hell (2 Ne. You'll need to do a few things to get the most out of your ex-Mormon candle. This is serving Satan. Return to the Crash Course Mormonism Index. Publishing, 19871989), 4:227228. At the end of the twenty years, the knife would be withdrawn and again stabbed into us, with the resulting excruciating pain lasting another twenty years; this process would then be repeated for all eternity. In the rest of the article, were going to have to assume that Mormonism is true (of course, I dont think it is!) Outer Darkness. Even the wicked of the earth who never knew the power of God, after they have paid the price of their sinningfor they must suffer the excruciating torment which sins will bringshall at last come forth from the prison house. Just one rebellion. For those born in this life, the person must be a former member who knew Mormonism was true but still rebelled and went against the truth while still knowing it was true. Yea, behold, this death bringeth to pass the resurrection, and redeemeth all mankind from the first deaththat spiritual death; for all mankind, by the fall of Adam being cut off from the presence of the Lord, are considered as dead, both as to things temporal and to things spiritual. The terms spiritual death or second death, lake of fire and brimstone, and outer darkness are all synonymous with hell, and all are descriptive of both the temporary and the permanent hell. 5:22), and the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone of which the apostle John wrote (Rev. Polygamy with tons more men than women sounds ill-thought out. In this state of torment Alma remembered his fathers teachings about Jesus Christ and his redemptive mission. In harmony with this doctrinal truth that death and hell will deliver up the spirits and bodies of their captives, King David received the promise that his soul would not be left in hell (see Ps. It is simply his opinion. While John could be referring to the sons of perdition in this passage, the specific sins he identified are characteristic of those who will suffer in hell but, after experiencing their part in the lake of fire, will be released from their torment and be resurrected to a telestial glory (see D&C 76:10312). So the prophet, meeting with apostles is clear on this, there are women. Did I really have full knowledge? Sorry ladies, you cant actually apostatize from the church, I guess (Someone tell Kate Kelly her excommunication is not valid!). Mormon Doctrine Lecture, #2, Brigham Young University, 1967.). A) Never had a body B) Did evil things in this world C) Never joined the LDS Church D) All of the above are true. 21:8; cf. In the teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), "outer darkness" has two separate meanings.. Generally, the outer darkness is thought to be hell; however, many Christians associate the outer darkness more generally as a place of separation from God or from the metaphorical "wedding banquet" that Jesus is expected to have upon his Second Coming. In each New Testament passage that speaks of hell (the word hades is neutralneither a place of punishment nor reward but the place of departed spirits) the context associates it with suffering and punishment. Your generous support makes the work of MRM possible. These spirits never received a mortal body necessary to progress to a kingdom of glory. Thus, many would say I fight against the church. Thirty-three times it stands alone, without modifiers or explanation of what it means, as in And thus we see the end of him who perverteth the ways of the Lord; and thus we see that the devil will not support his children at the last day, but doth speedily drag them down to hell (Alma 30:60). to become a son of perdition? A representation of the tree degrees of glory and outer darkness. To add an RSC website shortcut to your home screen, open the website in the Safari browser. I was taught that to be condemned to outer darkness you would have to deny Christ to his very face and that could occur . That it is the most severe punishment that can be meted out to man is apparent. As soon as you define doctrine in a way that includes wikipedia, get back to me. However, I think the breakdown I have above is accurate because outer darkest is a place of permanence for the filthy. spirit prison. They place themselves beyond the power of repentance and beyond the mercies of God. Because of the resurrection, the body and spirit of the wicked are restoredthe body from the grave and the spirit from hell to be judged. (1) We believe in trimming our wicks to 1/4 between each burn. In this parable, a king arranged a wedding for his son, but the normal guests did not come; therefore, the king sent his servants to gather guests from off the street. The third use occurs in the parable of the talents: "And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Matthew 25:30). According to the Doctrine and Covenants, this will be a place that even in outer darkness, where there is weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth (Doctrine and Covenants 101:91; also see 133:73). Another name for Outer Darkness is hell. 67, LDS Church Archives. In a general conference talk, Joseph Fielding Smith further explained that. Thus, the only mortals who can possibly become sons of perdition must be Latter-day Saints who fall/fell away. Those who followed Lucifer in his rebellion in the premortal life and those who in mortality sin against the Holy Ghost are sons of perdition. From its beginnings, it taught that very few people would go to "outer darkness" the Mormon concept of hell. there are two answers, one is being cast out of the presence of God which would be a form of darkness and the other is complete darkness without even the spirit of God in a spiritual realm as far as the light has an end, if thats possible. But Mormons do not believe that just because a Prophet said it, that it makes it true. Though we have this clarity in the scriptures that we carry with us daily, few members are aware that this insight is there." It's not as simple as you make it out to be. 67, LDS Church Archives. Again Mormons think this is a very hard place to get into. He wrote: But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death (Rev. Becoming a son of Perdition is hard therefore going to outer darkness is hard. Thank you! Alma 40. He wrote. Yet I never was baptized and confirmed into this church. The term "outer darkness" refers to the place to where Satan will be banished. It is taught that, in the pre-mortal life, they chose to follow a plan proposed by Satan, rather than that presented by God the Father. And now behold, I say unto you then cometh a death, even a second death, which is a spiritual death; then is a time that 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. Severe punishment for eternity, reserved for Satan and his demons as well as the sons of perdition, those humans who once embraced Mormonism and left to fight against the faith, even though they knew Mormonism was true. Is Jesus the Only Redeemer? But behold, the resurrection of Christ redeemeth mankind, yea, even all mankind, and bringeth them back into the presence of the Lord. Yet what kind of devious person would it be who knew full well that Mormonism was trueincluding the historicity of theBook of Mormon,the authenticity of the restored churchs leadership that began withJoseph Smith,and the accuracy of theFirst Visioneventand then fight against these truths? In Christianity, the "exterior darkness" or outer darkness is a place referred to three times in the Gospel of Matthew (8:12, 22:13, and 25:30) into which a person may be "cast out", and where there is "weeping and gnashing of teeth". Matt. Whats interesting is that there are many former Mormons who still believe Jesus Christ was the Son of God and have a testimony of the Spirit of the Lord. However, their faith no longer is in the Jesus of Mormonism but the Jesus of the Bible. Samuel also confirms the relationship John spoke of between the second death and the wicked being cast into fire, but he adds this explanatory clause: For they are cut off again as to things pertaining to righteousness.. The Lord said no man knoweth So, theres probably a good reason that there is some debate and confusion on it. In the Book of Mormon the phrase lake of fire and brimstone is used as a metaphor for the suffering that awaits the wicked. Mormons believe that only a Son of Perdition will go to Outer Darkness, their version of most Christian religions understanding of Hell. Banishment from the power of God. The New Testament testifies that there is an actual place identified as hell into which people can be cast, as in the case of the wicked, and from which they can lift up their eyes, as in the case of the rich man, and from which they can be delivered, as in the case of King David. Divine Love in the Fathers Plan (Dallin H. Oaks, April 2022). This extreme punishment will not be given to any but the sons of perdition ( Doctrines of Salvation 2:220 ). Articles 1 - 7 will help your candle last longer and perform its best. However, Lucifer did not know all the purposes of the Father as we learn from the Pearl of Great Price, Moses 4:6. 23:15). So, in conclusion, I would have a hard time believing that you or billions of souls as you put will qualify for perdition even while taking Mormon beliefs into account. What is the Book of Mormons contribution to our understanding of the New Testaments teachings concerning hell, or that lake of fire John calls the second death (Rev. First of all, to become a son of perdition, you need to have been baptized into the church, then turned from the religion in order to fight against it, all the while knowing it is true. and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell (James 3:6). But as with anything, that doesnt stop prophets from talking about it like they knew. It is provided through Christ's atonement and received by personal faith in Christ as Savior and Lord. But to pass it off as a belief of an entire Church, organization and people is wrong.
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