1/10/2018 - Section 76:36-53

January 10, 2018

Section 76:36-53

Sons of Perdition, Christ as our Savior, Earth Purpose Of, Resurrection, Resurrection of the Just, Millennium, Perfection

It is interesting to me, after many verses concerning the rare number of people who will become Sons of Perdition-- thus forever be excluded from redemption-- the scriptures plainly state what acts people must perform to become Sons of Perdition. The must deny Christ AFTER have been given a SURE knowledge of Him. Even with all this information concerning the Sons of Perdition (that’s not many people), but the scriptures still leave room for several questions. Just as I started to form those questions in my mind, I read verse 40 which, after speaking of the sad state of the Sons of Perdision, reminds us of the entire purpose for this earth and the results of this endeavor for the rest of us: “And this is the gospel, the glad tiding, which the voice out of heavens bore record unto us” and then the following verses speak of Christ and his atonement and that He “bears the sins of the world”, and that He sanctifies and cleanses the world from all unrighteousness, and (42)“that through him all might be saved…”  That is the gospel—the good news-- and that is the total purpose for this world and our experiences and actions here! We will never be perfect while on this earth, but when we leave this earth we are able—through Christ’s efforts—to be sanctified which is to become more perfect. And then, I hope, that sanctification for us will be a continual progression for us in the eternities. These are my hopes, and I’m willing to bet that the Lord’s plan is far greater than anything my small earthly mind can even imagine.

Reading on through v 50 brings more information that is applicable to the vast majority of those of us who have, and will, come to the earth. V 50 speaks of the’ resurrection of the just’. V’s 51 - 53 carefully describe the ‘just’: they who received the testimony of Jesus, believed on his name, were baptized by immersion, kept the commandments, received the Holy Ghost, and who overcome by faith. P 163 gives a great quote from President Joseph Fielding Smith on this subject: “In modern revelation given to the Church, the Lord has made known more in relation to this glorious even, there shall be at least two classes which shall have the privilege of the resurrection at this time: ‘First, those who shall dwell in the presence of God and his Christ forever and ever’; and second honorable me, those who belong to the terrestrial kingdom as well as those of the celestial kingdom.     At the time of the coming of Christ, ’They who have slept in their graves shall come forth, for their graves shall be opened; and they also shall be caught up to meet him in the midst of the pillar of heaven. They are Christ’s, the first fruits, they who shall descend with him first, and they who are first caught up to meet him; and all this by the voice of the sounding of the trump of the angel of God.’ These are the just, ‘whose names are written in heaven, where God and Christ are the judge of all Thee are they who are just men made perfect through Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, who wrought out this perfect atonement through the shedding of his own blood.’   “Following this great event, and after the Lord and the righteous who are caught up to meet him have descended upon the earth, there will come to pass another resurrection. This may be considered as a part of the first, although it comes later. In this resurrection will come forth those of terrestrial order, who were not worthy to be caught up to meet him, but who are worth to come forth to enjoy the millennial reign.” (Doctrines of Salvation, 2:296) Then the manual continues with: The first resurrection will extend into the Millennium and include all those worthy of the celestial kingdom who live and die during the thousand years.

7/6/2021 – D&C 76:31-61

After He enlightened the saints as to the reality of Satan, and the fact that he does “maketh a war with the saints of God” and he works to “emcompasseth them round about” (v 29), Christ continues on to explain who the ‘sons of perdition are’. They are the few for which there will be no forgiveness ever. He explains what is involved in becoming a ‘son of perdition’. He tells us they are “those who know my power, and have been made partakers thereof”.  

Joseph Smith gave this definition of the sons of perdition: “All sins shall be forgiven except the sin against the Holy Ghost; for Jesus will save all except the sons of perdition. What must a man do to commit the unpardonable sin? He must receive the Holy Ghost, have the heavens opened unto him, and know God, and then sin against Him. After a man has sinned against the Holy Ghost, there is no repentance for him. He has got to say that the sun does not shine while he sees it; he has got to deny Jesus Christ when the heavens have been opened unto him, and to deny the plan of salvation with his eyes open to the truth of it.” 

and suffered themselves through the power of the devil to be overcome, and to deny the truth and defy my power.” I read this and come to the conclusion that all of us common people have no need to worry about coming back to Heavenly Father without his loving forgiveness. “Yea, verily the only ones who shall not be redeemed in the due time of the Lord, after the sufferings of his wrath. For all the rest shall be brought forth by the resurrection of the dead through the triumph and the glory of the Lamb, who was slain, who was in the bosom of the Father before the worlds were made.” (v’s 38-39)

And that is when the Lord returns to discussing His ‘glad tidings: “And this is the gospel, the glad tidings, which the voice out of the heavens bore record unto us--.”) v 40 And then the Lord speaks to us of the amazing gift of the atonement: “That through him all might be saved, whom the Father had put unto his power and made by him. Who glorifies the Father, and saves all the works of his hands; except those sons of perdition who deny the Son after the Father has revealed him.” (v’s 42-43) This earthly experience is given to us to learn and to grow. Our Heavenly Father has given us the basic things we need to do to come back to Him after we have completed our learning. He also lets us know that if we fall short here on earth, He will help us to go back over the things we were to learn, and then we will be able to go forward and achieve our original goals. 

He tells us all that we must do, if we want to come back to Him having achieved our original goals and having no need of remedial teachings and studies: “They are they who received the testimony of Jesus, and believed on his name and were baptized after the manner of his burial, being buried in the water in his name, and this according to the commandment which he has given.” (v 51) And then in v’s 59-61 He explains what our results will be if we just follow His plan: “Wherefore, all things are theirs whether life or death, or things present, or things to come, all are theirs and they are Christ’s and Christ is God’s. And they shall overcome all things. Wherefore, let no man glory in man, but rather let him glory in God, who shall subdue all enemies under his feet.”

The prophet Brigham Young also taught that doctrine when he said “every person who does not sin away the day of grace, and become an angel to the Devil, will be brought forth to inherit a kingdom of glory”

And Boyd K Packer taught “Since every living thing follows the pattern of its parentage, are we to suppose that God had some other strange pattern in mind for His offspring? Surely we, His children, are not, in the language of science, a different species than He is?… We may now be young in our progression—juvenile, even infantile, compared with Him. Nevertheless, in the eternities to come, if we are worthy, we may be like unto Him, enter His presence, ‘see as [we] are seen, and know as [we] are known,’ and receive a ‘fulness.” (v 94)