The Serpent

SAYS YOU: "I look forward to your personal views on heaven and hell. Please don’t quote the Book of Mormon. You’ve already done that. "

ME: I am delighted that you perceive that I quote the Book of Mormon. However, I simply cannot not quote the Bible and Book of Mormon.

Doctrine and Covenants 42:12 And again, the elders, priests and teachers of this church shall teach the principles of my gospel, which are in the Bible and the Book of Mormon, in the which is the fulness of the gospel.

SAYS YOU: "I want your summary of how a heaven-hell dichotomy is a loving doctrine."

ME: First, you twist my belief. You seem to think I would agree with the proposition that, "the unevangelized go to hell". But the Book of Mormon cleary states that those without the law do not go to hell. I refrain from supplying quotes. But you know they are there in abundance.

SAYS YOU: " I want your summary of how a heaven-hell dichotomy is a loving doctrine."

ME: Everyone who has attended a football game is familiar (evangelized) with a portion of the loving plan that Jesus taught Nicodemus. But let me include the whole plan.

John 3

14. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
15. That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
16. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
17. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
18. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

People seem to stop reading at verse 16. They never get to the rest.

"That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life...he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed"

So here we see that the "loving Plan" does not exclude condemnation. "Condemnation" is the second death (Helaman 14:19) In context of the citation, those under condemnation are those that perish. Eternal Life or Perish, being condemned. There is the dicotomy in the Loving Plan as taught by Jesus.

LDSaints seem to be troubled like Corianton.

Alma 42:1 And now, my son, I perceive there is somewhat more which doth worry your mind, which ye cannot understand--which is concerning the justice of God in the punishment of the sinner; for ye do try to suppose that it is injustice that the sinner should be consigned to a state of misery.

You may modify at will to make it say, "ye do try to suppose that it is UNLOVING that the sinner should be consigned to a state of misery”. This may worry your mind to the point where you create a Loving Plan to suit your idea of how it should be. The world has always tried to knock off the eternal punishment sharp edges by making the narrow way wider and wider and the door broader it include “all the works of His hands” until the body of Holy Words must mean nothing to it if they were to follow the teaching of their worldly. yet loving, prophets.

The root of your problem is that your considerations must view the Loving Plan as between Loving/Not loving. An unbiased reader of the scriptures will clearly see that the cosmic tension is rather between Justice and Mercy. God is good and loving. Because of His goodness, He must be just.

Alma 12:32 Therefore God gave unto them commandments, after having made known unto them the plan of redemption, that they should not do evil, the penalty thereof being a second death, which was an everlasting death as to things pertaining unto righteousness; for on such the plan of redemption could have no power, for THE WORKS OF JUSTICE COULD NOT BE DESTROYED, ACCORDING TO THE SUPREME GOODNESS OF GOD.

Alma 42:22 But there is a law given, and a punishment affixed, and a repentance granted; which repentance, mercy claimeth; otherwise, justice claimeth the creature and executeth the law, and the law inflicteth the punishment; if not so, the works of justice would be destroyed, and God would cease to be God.

Because God is good, "justice claimeth the creature and executeth the law, and the law inflicteth the punishment". This is a major feature of God's Loving Plan.

In this day of probation, the day of this life, this time given us to prepare to meet God, we, like the children of Israel in the desert, must behold the serpent raised in the wilderness, having been bitten by the serpent. The Loving Plan is that "he prepared a way that they might be healed; and the labor which they had to perform was to look". That is it! Seems to easy, and sadly, "because of the simpleness of the way, or the easiness of it, there were many who perished". And many perish today.

Imagine if Aaron thought the beholding of the serpent was simply not enough. Suppose he built a temple to surround it so that it could not be easily viewed except by undergoing a worthiness interview. Suppose he hid it with banners and shrouds because he thought the serpent was too sacred for anyone to gaze unprepared. Suppose he made it obscure with the smoke of incense that those bitten could not see it. That is what false prophets do. The becloud the view and hedge up the way with laws, rules, policies, ordinances, commandments, covenants and all kinds of requirements that must be met before looking upon the serpent to be healed. They would have Jesus say, “I have come to save the righteous”.

The Loving plan is summarized in 2 Nephi 9:10 O, how great the goodness of our God, who prepareth a way [a loving plan] for our escape from the grasp of this awful monster; yea, that monster, death and hell, which I call the death of the body, and also the death of the spirit.

The Loving plan is not “saving all the works of His hands”. The plan is the Plan of Mercy which offers an escape for fallen man. And the way is clear.

John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: [despite Him being a God of Love] no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Helaman 8

13. .... Moses....given unto him, yea, the words which he hath spoken concerning the coming of the Messiah.
14. Yea, did he not bear record that the Son of God should come? And as he lifted up the brazen serpent in the wilderness, even so shall he be lifted up who should come.
15. And as many as should look upon that serpent should live, even so as many as should look upon the Son of God with faith, having a contrite spirit, might live, even unto that life which is eternal.

In summery, The tension in the universe is not between Loving and Not Loving. God is Love. It is between Mercy and Justice. All are under condemnation and are in the “grasp of Justice”, that "monster".

Alma 42:14

And thus we see that all mankind were fallen, and they were in the grasp of justice; yea, the justice of God, which consigned them forever to be cut off from his presence.

If God was not Just, if His love could overcome Justice (which is a part of His goodness), He would cease to be God. The Loving Plan offers Mercy to all who come unto Christ.

Joseph Fielding Smith said "It makes no difference what is written or what anyone has said, if what has been said is in conflict with what the Lord has revealed, we can set it aside".

This is my practice.

Oh yeah. I searched Quora with the words "Hickenbotham Loving Bednar" and stopped counting at around 60 links. Are you going to make the said corrections to these answers?