On Sin, Repentance and the Atonement:

On Sin, Repentance and the Atonement:

It is my belief that sin has an actual effect on our souls—both spiritually and to a lesser degree, physically.  It also sets a course toward eternal damnation.  By repenting, we turn our hearts back to God, stop the sin, and do our best to remedy the problems caused by it.  But we cannot undo what was done, we cannot erase the effects of our actions or the damage we have done to ourselves.  We cannot through our own effort cleanse and purify ourselves or change our course sufficiently to regain the path to God or avoid damnation.

Therefore, repentance—while necessary—is not and never will be enough.  Thus God, in his mercy and goodness, sent us a savior to redeem the effects and rewards of sin which is death and hell.  He took our sins upon him and overcame them for us.  And so when we repent and are baptized as an exercise of faith in Him accepting Him as our savior, His grace becomes sufficient for us.  He overcomes the effects of sin in us and which allows us to regain God’s presence.  The Holy Ghost comes upon us and has a cleansing and purifying effect on our soul.  He sanctifies us, so that we become clean—without spot—holy and pure even as Jesus is.  For by the blood are we sanctified and by the spirit are we justified.

Our work is to keep the commandments of God, make and keep sacred covenants and even be perfect as Jesus and his father are perfect.  But we, being weak and fallen and subject to the weakness of the flesh cannot be perfect.  Thus our works cannot save us for they are insufficient.  It is by grace that we are saved after all that we can do.  Nevertheless, we must work diligently—for our works are the demonstration of our faith.  Do we have the faith in God and Jesus Christ to keep His commandments?  Do we have faith enough to repent?  Do we have faith enough to deny the flesh and addictions?  Do we have faith enough to follow Christ, and do all that He asks of us, even if it leads to the cross and a bitter cup? We must do all that we can, repenting when we sin, and the miraculous atoning power of Jesus Christ will make up the infinite balance lacking—having already overcome the greatest obstacles of death and hell.  If we don’t give our whole selves, our full effort—our all, then our faith is not sufficient.  Christ says:  “give me everything you have, and I’ll make up the difference.”
And so we work diligently to keep the commandments and do God’s will (repenting as we go) because of our faith in Christ.  For we know that it is only in and through him that we can be saved.  We of ourselves are nothing, but in Christ we can do all things and overcome the world and be perfect in him.  This gift of salvation is only available to those who enter into the covenants of baptism and who receive the Holy Ghost as prescribed by Jesus and by legal administrators authorized by him to act on his behalf—who have lawfully received His priesthood.

Not only does the grace provided by the Atonement of Christ redeem us from the effects of sin, but it has the power to transform us into new creatures.  It lifts us to levels we could not achieve on our own.  And provides us with the inspiration and endurance to perform labors we would not otherwise be able to achieve or maintain.  We need a savior to change our nature—to fill us with charity and love for mankind.

A note on mercy and justice:  If justice sees that we get what we deserve, then mercy extends to us more than we deserve.  Even if we suffer the penalty for our sins… the penalty is paid, but we are still filthy and unholy, and our character/nature would still be contrary to the character and nature of God—thus we would be unable to withstand his presence or the celestial law and glory.

Also, God will put us in the glory or kingdom in which we will be able to stand and find the greatest joy—conducive to the natural state we attained to.  If we cannot abide a celestial law, we will not withstand a celestial glory—we won’t be able to take it and will even feel unworthy and unclean and therefore will feel more comfortable in the place we obtained to.  Blessings are predicated on obedience to the particular laws and principles required to obtain it.

I believe that the character and love of God is such that he will give us the maximum reward and minimum punishment that His justice and mercy will allow.