11 May 2019
amended 18 May 2019
The core of living the Gospel of Jesus Christ is to act always in faith in Jesus Christ. Faith in Jesus Christ is to trust Jesus Christ in all things and willingly and gladly obey the instructions that He gives us as attested by the Holy Ghost. Trust is essential, the same trust we give as we cross the bridge spanning a deep canyon. Obedience is not enough, for the devils also obey Christ, but not willingly. It must be done gladly for a grudgingly given gift is not given for the right reason. And one does not pick and choose among the instructions given, pleasing only oneself, for that is opportunism, not faith.
The core act of living by faith in Jesus Christ is repentance. Repentance is changing our actions from whatever we have been doing to act in faith in Jesus Christ. Repentance is complete when one acts only in faith in Christ. It involves changing motives and actions until faith in Christ only becomes our deeply ingrained habit of action. It is not done in a day, but may be done rapidly if one tries with all of one’s heart, might, mind, and strength. The goal of repentance is to become a new creature, transformed into the same character and actions as Christ Himself. Our character is our habits. We form habits each time we choose a thought, a feeling, an action. As we choose the same way repeatedly, the choice becomes a habit. Most of our daily actions are performed out of habit. Our habits are our character, who and what we have chosen to be.
Two factors are of special importance in relation to repentance. The first is sanctification. The word “sanctification” means to make whole, or holy. It is a gift from God to those who sincerely repent and it happens when we have the gift of the Holy Ghost as our companion after baptism and confirmation. It is in essence the forgiveness for past sins we have committed. A sin can be forgiven only if there is a firm determination never to commit that sin again accompanied by recompense for the damage caused by that sin in the past. If an individual makes recompense for having damaged another person or thing, they must restore at least one for one: eye for eye and tooth for tooth. But if the person making restitution for a sin really wants to do it a celestial way, they will restore four-fold. We human beings cannot make restitution for some sins, but it is important that we do so where we can, and the sooner the better. Full restitution for sins is possible only through the mercy of Jesus Christ, He making restitution for us where we cannot.
Our Savior can and will and does make recompense to each individual for every sin committed against them whether we repent or not. That restitution counts for our sins only if we are faithful covenant servants of Christ. Thus sanctification is real and complete only in Christ and only for His faithful servants. Those who will not put their trust in Christ and thus be forgiven of their sins must personally pay the debt of justice which thy have incurred in each of the sinful acts of their mortal lives. They do this by going to hell, the place of suffering for sin, and there personally receive the same amount of suffering that they have caused others to suffer by their sins. Thus going to hell and suffering for the sins one has committed is a blessing and a privilege, for then one can become clean and inherit glory from God. But those who do it this way will never be trusted like those who have repented in Christ.
The second factor of special importance to repentance is justification. The word means “to make just.” There are two kinds of justification: human and divine. Human justification is doing wrong and then finding a good reason for having done that wrong. It is pretending to be just. Divine justification is replacing the character flaws that cause us to sin. It comes as we repeatedly act in faith in Christ to gain the habits and character of Christ. Living the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the indispensable key to both sanctification and divine justification. Knowing the Gospel lays out the path one must follow to gain each of them, and the temples of Jesus Christ give the specific knowledge and power to obtain divine justification.
Sanctification normally comes at the time of baptism by water and the spirit. It leaves whenever we sin after baptism and can be regained only by partaking worthily of the sacrament. Being in a state of sanctification and having the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost are the same thing. And that companionship, sanctification, is necessary for any of the process of justification to take place. Complete justification normally consumes a lifetime of strict and conscientious endeavor to come into the measure of the stature of the fulness of the character of Jesus Christ. But only those humans who use their probation time to acquire full justification can ever be fully trusted. These are they who are just men made perfect, the only heirs of exaltation through Christ.
Some members of this Church think that justification is something Christ will bless a person with if they give keeping their covenants a good try but can’t really keep all of His commandments. I think that idea is whistling in the dark, hoping for something that is impossible. That makes God a liar, saying someone is just when they are not. The point of justification is to become perfect, completely like Christ so that we can be trusted always to do the right thing with no one looking over our shoulder to mop up for any mistakes we make. Only such a person can be exalted. Real justification is to make righteousness our unshakable character through step by step repentance, changing ourselves from a natural man into the likeness of Christ Himself. We cannot do this by ourselves, no matter how hard we might try. But the power and grace of God assisting us make it possible if we will love and obey God with all of our heart, might, mind and strength. We are saved to exaltation by grace, but only after we have done all we can do.
Every person in every kingdom of glory is there because they do keep some of the law of God. Some keep a lesser law, and the good they produce is like starlight. Some keep a greater law, and good they produce is like moonlight. Some keep most of God’s law, and the good they produce is like sunlight. Those who keep all of God’s law produce a good and light that is brighter than the noonday sun, for they are exalted, and their course is one eternal round of creating and blessing. Sanctification is all or nothing, but justification is a matter of degree.
The capstone question is, does one have to keep all of God’s law in mortality to receive exaltation? The answer is no. But what one does have to do is to give everything they have to God. This is to learn to love Him with all of our heart, might, mind and strength. One does not have to become exactly like Christ in mortality to be exalted, except in one regard: To give ourselves completely to God in that we always do His will and not our own.
Thus every human has an equal opportunity to be exalted. What each must do is to obey God, live His law, until one can finally deliver all of one’s will to God. Those of lower gifts or quickness of mind are thus on the same footing as those having great gifts and great intelligence. They may not be equal in earthly attainments, but they can be equal in giving all they have to God. Giving all they have to keep God’s law makes them just persons. Then in eternity God can add upon them until they are perfect, complete in all the abilities, powers, and dispositions of a god. Thus we have just men made perfect. And only just men made perfect can be trusted with exaltation.