Power to Get Eternal Life
Power to get eternal life
-D&C 45:8
In this verse God does not offer eternal life as a reward. He offers power to get eternal life as a reward.
That’s a big difference.
Most Christians generally get that Hell is not and should not be an arbitrary punishment . They have different theories about how and why, but the general idea is that what we call Hell is more or less a natural consequence of sin, like being thirsty is a natural consequence of wandering out into the desert without water. This general idea seems generally correct to me.
What we do not have as clear in our minds is that Heaven is also not arbitrary. It is a natural result of becoming a certain way. Heaven is what happens naturally to the greatly good. There can be different accounts of the mechanism, but what all should agree is that heaven and being heavenly isn’t something artificial that God bolts on to you. Through grace He helps you to become heavenly, and then heaven happens to you because it must, because it is inevitable. That is the difference between being given eternal life and being given power to get eternal life.
E.C.
May 17, 2021
We had a . . . spirited discussion on this in Sunday School yesterday. One of the new people started arguing all the ProgMo talking points about how marriage doesn’t actually have to be between a man and a woman, etc., etc., because their gay relative ‘is a good person’, so isn’t going to hell.
Well, no one said that the gay relative was going to hell . . . but it was pointed out that choices matter, and that everyone will eventually end up where they’re most at home. And that some people will choose such that being in God’s presence would not make them happy.
I agree completely that Heaven will be a natural consequence of who we have become. ‘There are many mansions’, and each will be suited to those who attained a certain level of righteousness.
Repentance is a choice to face God, no matter how miserable that makes us in the moment, and choose to keep turning toward Him until we DO feel joyful in His presence. That’s another way of looking at God’s commandment to endure to the end. I just realized it this morning.
G.
May 17, 2021
EC,
That last paragraph is brilliant in light of the scriptures about how the Damned are those who realize they are unworthy to be in the presence of God so they slink off