Continuing from post of March 20, 2021, words of Elder Henry B. Eyring (a member of the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) wrote in 1997:
“A third reason to risk sin would be to believe that the Atonement makes correcting the effects of sin, even of the most terrible kind, a simple matter. There seem to be more and more people who act as though they believe that. They believe the “eat, drink, and be merry” promise. They must think that easy forgiveness can come from their Bishop in this life in the same way the deceivers in 2 Nephi said it would come from God in the next life. Here is the lie, which the Book of Mormon prophesied would be told by many. I feel it is being believed by many: “And there shall also be many which shall say: Eat, drink and be merry; nevertheless, fear God—he will justify in committing a little sin’ yea, lie a little, take the advantage of one because of his words, dig a pit for thy neighbor; there is no harm in this; and do all these things, for tomorrow we die; and if it so be that we are guilty, God will beat us with a few stripes, and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom of God.” (2 Nephi 28:8.)
My testimony is that the facts are contrary to each of those assumptions. First, there is a God. I testify to you that the Prophet Joseph Smith was accurately describing God and sin with these words. . . (see yesterday’s post for the link to Doctrine and covenants 76:22-26). Continuing. . .
And then these chilling words (in verse Doctrine and Covenants 76:29): “Wherefore, he maketh war with the saints of God, and emcompasseth them round about.”
I further testify that even God with all His power, and with all His love cannot take us home to live with him again if we are unclean. You and I and all of our Father’s children will someday know that being with God is being home—and that everywhere else, however beautiful it may be, will be a place where you long for home. Here is a description of the terrible fact that our Father in Heaven cannot let us be with him again without our being washed clean:
33 Wherefore, if they should die in their wickedness they must be cast off also, as to the things which are spiritual, which are pertaining to righteousness; wherefore, they must be brought to stand before God, to be judged of their works; and if their works have been filthiness they must needs be filthy; and if they be filthy it must needs be that they cannot dwell in the kingdom of God; if so, the kingdom of God must be filthy also. 34 But behold, I say unto you, the kingdom of God is not filthy, and there cannot any unclean thing enter into the kingdom of God; wherefore there must needs be a place of filthiness prepared for that which is filthy. (1 Nephi 15:33-34.)
This is my warning to you today. It is a bad estimate of your personal costs to believe that to commit sin is made so free by the power of the Atonement that we can have painless forgiveness. Henry B. Eyring, To Draw Closer to God (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1997)p. 62-64 (In the next post of this group we will see why. . .)
