(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.). Hell - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Following this introduction will be a discussion of the usage of these termsfirst in the New Testament, then in the Book of Mormon. Publishing, 19871989), 4:227228. Circumcision. Jesus of Mormonism but the Jesus of the Bible. Mormon doctrines are often contradictory and inconsistent. The first three are referred to as the three degrees of glory, often compared to the sun, the moon, and the stars (D&C 76:70 . The use of the term exterior darkness is in Jesus' parable of the wedding feast (also known as the parable of the marriage of the king's son). They believe that they are mortal men capable of mistakes just like the rest of us. While many Latter-day Saints bristle at the doctrine of hell (i.e., How could a loving God send His children to such a place?), they may have not considered the fact that these spirits were never given the chance to have a physical body because of the wrong choice they made in the preexistence. You dont believe it is true, which is the reason why you left. One of these guests, however, appeared without the proper wedding attire. That Satan rebelled against Christ and God the Father and was cast out with all of Satans followers and will not receive a body. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, The. Its just Scary bad. In the Latter Day Saint movement, "outer darkness" can refer to hell (the place where the spirits of the wicked reside after death but before the resurrection)[3] or to the place where the sons of perdition will reside. It's not as simple as you make it out to be. Serve Satan. [2]. 11:23). According to Smith: It is very clear in the Doctrine and Covenants Section 76:30-37, that the only persons who will be completely overcome by this dreadful fate are the sons of perdition who go with the devil and his angels into outer darkness. (Answers to Gospel Questions 5:107-108). Mormon Wiki, for example has a pretty specific definition of who doesnt go there but lacks any citations: Sons of Perdition as those few souls who have been born on this earth who have been made partakers of Gods power, yet suffered themselves through the power of the devil to be overcome, and to deny the truth and defy God by denying the Holy Spirit after having received it, denying the Only Begotten Son and put him to an open shame. They openly and knowingly fight against God and Christ, having sided with Satan even though they had once tasted of full gospel knowledge by the power of the Holy Ghost.There are those who fear that they have committed the unpardonable sin, because they have not been faithful members of the Church. They once held membership in the church (through baptism/confirmation); They had full knowledge of their apostasy from the true and restored church of Jesus Christ; They continue to fight against the LDS Church despite their knowledge. Who goes to Outer Darkness, a handy guide - Exploring Mormonism 3:12), the tares are gathered and burned in the fire (Matt. 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. Another name for Outer Darkness is hell. If this is the case, the worst fate any former Latter-day Saint can anticipate is the telestial kingdom. Are the devils before the world created sons of perdition? What is Outer Darkness? In this realm, as the name implies, there will be no light, and consequently no heat. So a heads up, this does not include you or any one who has ever been or will be born on Earth. 20:14). outer darkness - LDS Thought These men and women cannot be redeemed, and will be the only ones who will suffer the second death. To add an RSC website shortcut to your home screen, open the website in the Safari browser. Only a handful of "sons of perdition" would go. They go too far, and the Spirit leaves themYou cant renew them to repentancyou cannot save them. (Joseph Smith Jr., King Follett Discourse). As a young boy, I attended a two-week Christian camp. Hell is a state of suffering, both temporary and permanent. In addition, Alma defined the second death as dying as to things pertaining unto righteousness. These individuals are chained down to an everlasting destruction and are subject to the will of Satan. Can you explain what Outer Darkness is and who will spend eternity there? 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. 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 I was Mormon, I was taught that in order to be sent to Outer Darkness (I'm a woman, that will be relevant in a second) you had to have an UNMISTAKABLE KnOwLeDgE of Christ, and then turn your back on God and deny him. Over the 30 years in Christian ministry, I have met many former Mormons who once believed in Mormonism, but none has ever confessed that they still believe Mormonism to be true. Additionally it provides helpful commentary on New Testament passages concerning hell. 1. As with anything in Mormon doctrine, theres a lot of confusion, contradictory information and just all around ignoring a topic that should be as simple as asking a question and getting an answer. . 2:8-10) Jesus' atonement provided immortality for all people. The punishment which is given from my hand is endless punishment, D&C 19:10-12. Those mortals who never join the LDS Church (through baptism) cannot become sons of perdition. It is doubtful if even Judas, who betrayed Jesus, was sufficiently enlightened to become a son of perdition (Gospel Doctrine,p. 545). 4:32; 3 Ne. 15:29, 35; Alma 19:29; 54:7), sleep of hell (2 Ne. Jacob identified death and hell as temporal and spiritual death. A Vision, Times and Seasons 4 (1 Feb 1843) 6:82-5. If he were ignorant, he could not have become perdition. Hell is a place prepared for the devil and his angels, D&C 29:37-38. This website is not owned by or affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes called the Mormon or LDS Church). 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. It is impossible for those who never joined Mormonism to become sons of perdition. So lets turn to that bastion of all wisdom that Jeremy Runnells was blamed for not believing and turning to with questions: FAIRMormon: The church has no official position on this issue. 22:13-14, D-R.). 20:6). This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Again Mormons think this is a very hard place to get into. There are three references to outer darkness in the New Testament, all contained in the Gospel of Matthew. The conclusion: You (former Mormon), despite being baptized into this church, are not a son of perdition! Italics in original). Bruce R. McConkie, 3 vols., (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 195456), 31.; Bruce R. McConkie, Seven Deadly Heresies, 1 June 1980, BYU Marriot Center.). Clearly you dont know what is and is not doctrine, and are trying to throw shade. To look closer at this possibility, lets break humans into two categories: 1) Those who have never been Mormon; 2) Those who are or once were Mormon. Outer Darkness - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints What is the Mormon plan of salvation? So we can clearly state no women are Sons of Perdition in outer darkness. I can give you more than plenty of examples of that. Then, I say unto you, they shall be as though there had been no redemption made; for they cannot be redeemed according to Gods justice; and they cannot die, seeing there is no more corruption (Alma 12:13,1618). The Prophet Joseph Smith would not countenance the teaching of this doctrine, and sanctioned the decision of the bishop that any who taught it should be barred from communion (The Miracle of Forgiveness, p. 125). (see Rom. 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. Is Jesus the Only Redeemer? That last part of the previous sentence is very important. (To see the differences between the three kingdoms of glory, click here.) That it is the most severe punishment that can be meted out to man is apparent. So the prophet, meeting with apostles is clear on this, there are women. He once said that a person. Delving into the interesting bits about any religion to stem from Joseph Smith Jr. Joseph F. Smith,The Second Death,inBrian H. Stuy (editor). But behold, the resurrection of Christ redeemeth mankind, yea, even all mankind, and bringeth them back into the presence of the Lord. Articles 1 - 7 will help your candle last longer and perform its best. Each person must reap the harvest of the seeds sown in this life. Requirements for Outer Darkness : r/exmormon - reddit.com And I said unto them that it was a representation of that awful hell, which the angel said unto me was prepared for the wicked. First, it is another name for spirit prison, a temporary place in the postmortal world for those who died without a knowledge of the truth or those who were disobedient in mortality. 15:2830). Joseph restated that anyone who apostatized from the church was a son of perdition in a poem for W.W. Phelps, Sons of Perdition as those who are ever lost, and can never return to the presence of God, the poem declared that such is the torment apostates receive. (Joseph Smith, The Answer to W.W. Phelps, Esq. Brigham Young University Jesus warned that those who mocked their brothers by saying Thou fool were in danger of hell fire (Matt. Wilford Woodruff in a meeting with the apostles, 1893 D. Michael Quinn, The Mormon Hierarchy: Extensions of Power (Salt Lake City, Utah: Signature Books, 1997) p. 795. I did cite sources spoken from the pulpit by a prophet. 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. Through baptism and confirmation by priesthood authority, you became a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (True to the Faith: A Gospel Reference, 2004, p. 21, So, even if you attended LDS Church services, sang the hymns, and even partook of the weekly sacrament, yet you were never baptized and confirmed into the faith, you can never become a son of perdition. However, I think the breakdown I have above is accurate because outer darkest is a place of permanence for the filthy. 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. 6:28), hell fire (3 Ne. [1] The pains of hell can also be experienced in mortality (Jacob 3:11). This extreme punishment will not be given to any but the sons of perdition ( Doctrines of Salvation 2:220 ). He stated that converts made by the Pharisees became twofold more the child of hell than their teachers (Matt. [1] See also Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 2nd ed. The first three are referred to as the three degrees of glory, often compared to the sun, the moon, and the stars ( D&C 76:70, 78, 98 ). 20:14), or the outer darkness (Matt. This isnt something like going out and breaking their rule of no drinking. Banishment from the power of God. 5:22), as were those who failed to cast away their sins (JSM 5:34; cf. Second, it is the permanent location of Satan and his followers and the sons of perdition, who are not redeemed by the Atonement of Jesus Christ. (Elder Bruce R. McConkie Mormon Doctrine Lecture, #2, Brigham Young University, 1967.). They will not have access to the Holy Ghost or Heavenly Father or Jesus. It also adds insight that, when blended with other essential doctrines, offers a more complete understanding of the plan of salvation. https://www.mormonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Outer_Darkness&oldid=27067. 67, LDS Church Archives. They must have had a fullness of knowledge; a testimony which cannot be destroyed. Marcus Dods (New York: Random House, 1950), 781. ABCs of Science and Mormonism now available in Print from Amazon! The term "outer darkness" refers to the place to where Satan will be banished. Discourse delivered October 8, 1861, pp. Although this is an obvious scare tactic, this accusation is not true according to important LDS leaders. ). Yet I never was baptized and confirmed into this church.