Book of Mormmon Butt

Original

President Dallin H. Oaks said "THE BOOK OF MORMON TEACHES that “this life is the time for [us] to prepare to meet God.” BUT that challenging limitation to “this life” was given a hopeful context (at least to some extent for some persons) by what the Lord revealed to President Joseph F. Smith, now recorded in Doctrine and Covenants section 138". Who is correct, the Book of Mormon or Dallin Oaks?

The Book of Mormon, as Oaks points out, teaches that this life is the period of probation wherein we need to repent and prepare to meet God.

Alma 34

31. ....behold, now is the time and the day of your salvation; and therefore, if ye will repent and harden not your hearts, immediately shall the great plan of redemption be brought about unto you.
32. For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors.
33. And now, as I said unto you before, as ye have had so many witnesses, therefore, I beseech of you that ye do not procrastinate the day of your repentance until the end; for after this day of life, which is given us to prepare for eternity, behold, if we do not improve our time while in this life, then cometh the night of darkness wherein there can be no labor performed.
34. Ye cannot say, when ye are brought to that awful crisis, that I will repent, that I will return to my God. Nay, ye cannot say this; for that same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world.
35. For behold, if ye have procrastinated the day of your repentance even until death, behold, ye have become subjected to the spirit of the devil, and he doth seal you his; therefore, the Spirit of the Lord hath withdrawn from you, and hath no place in you, and the devil hath all power over you; and this is the final state of the wicked.

Although the above citation serves of a summary of the teachings of the Book of Mormon, the doctrine of "this life is the probation" is consistent throughout the Book of Mormon. Repeatedly believers in the Book of Mormon are taught that if we die in our sins, we remain in our sins.

2 Nephi 9:38 And, in fine, wo unto all those who die in their sins; for they shall return to God, and behold his face, and remain in their sins.

Mosiah 2:33 For behold, there is a wo pronounced upon him who listeth to obey that spirit; for if he listeth to obey him, and remaineth and dieth in his sins, the same drinketh damnation to his own soul; for he receiveth for his wages an everlasting punishment, having transgressed the law of God contrary to his own knowledge.

Alma 12:16. And now behold, I say unto you then cometh a death, even a second death, which is a spiritual death; then is a time that whosoever dieth in his sins, as to a temporal death, shall also die a spiritual death; yea, he shall die as to things pertaining unto righteousness.....
18. Then, I say unto you, they shall be as though there had been no redemption made; for they cannot be redeemed according to God's justice; and they cannot die, seeing there is no more corruption.

These are just a few of the Verses that teach the consequences of not repenting in this day of probation. But so the point, "Ye cannot say, when ye are brought to that awful crisis, that I will repent, that I will return to my God. Nay, ye cannot say this".

There is a reason given why one cannot repent and be converted after death.

Conversion

Humble missionaries and those that feign to be so will tell you that they can't convert anyone. They will tell you that it is only the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of God, that converts anyone. This is as true as can be. Anyone who actually believes this knows that this is true.

The problem, of course, is that if one does not repent and is not converted in this day of probation, if they have spent their days in rebellion against God and the "still small voice", they will not have the benefit of the converting spirit in the eternal period after death. If the Holy Ghost is required in the conversion of souls, than, absent the Holy Ghost, there will be no converts!

Mosiah 2:36. And now, I say unto you, my brethren, that after ye have known and have been taught all these things, if ye should transgress and go contrary to that which has been spoken, that ye do withdraw yourselves from the Spirit of the Lord, that it may have no place in you to guide you in wisdom's paths that ye may be blessed, prospered, and preserved--
37. I say unto you, that the man that doeth this, the same cometh out in open rebellion against God; therefore he listeth to obey the evil spirit, and becometh an enemy to all righteousness; therefore, the Lord has no place in him, for he dwelleth not in unholy temples.

Alma 34:35 For behold, if ye have procrastinated the day of your repentance even until death, behold, ye have become subjected to the spirit of the devil, and he doth seal you his; therefore, the Spirit of the Lord hath withdrawn from you, and hath no place in you, and the devil hath all power over you; and this is the final state of the wicked.

This is why, "THE BOOK OF MORMON TEACHES that 'this life is the time for [us] to prepare to meet God'".

Dallin Oaks and anyone who teaches there is repentance after mortal death is wrong.

Moroni 10:26 And wo unto them who….die in their sins, and they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God; and I speak it according to the words of Christ; and I lie not.

John 8:21 Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come.

Book of Mormmon Butt

SAYS YOU: "Section 138....explains that the gospel is preached to the deceased who did not have the opportunity to receive it while on earth, providing them the chance to accept it and make sacred covenants. Peter alluded to this in 1 Peter 3:18–19; 4:6."

ME: Serious? For someone who ushes Section 138 as the exaination of so much LDS doctrine, you seem to not have read it with much attention.

You know that Jesus did not go to "the deceased who did not have the opportunity to receive it while on earth". Your Section specifies the group Peter refered.

12. And there were gathered together in one place an innumerable company of the spirits of the just, who had been faithful in the testimony of Jesus while they lived in mortality;
13. And who had offered sacrifice in the similitude of the great sacrifice of the Son of God, and had suffered tribulation in their Redeemer's name.
14. All these had departed the mortal life, firm in the hope of a glorious resurrection, through the grace of God the Father and his Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ.

If we were to believe Joseh F. Smith, The above group described were the ones in the spirits in prison!

18. For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
19. By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;

These "waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing". That is, if Jesus is is symbolized as the ark, we see that those Jesus went to are holy people, His seed, who died in "Old Testament times. I know how you reard the Book of Mormon, But I will quote it anyway.

Mosiah 15

10. ....And who shall be his seed?
11. Behold I say unto you, that whosoever has heard the words of the prophets, yea, all the holy prophets who have prophesied concerning the coming of the Lord--I say unto you, that all those who have hearkened unto their words, and believed that the Lord would redeem his people, and have looked forward to that day for a remission of their sins, I say unto you, that these are his seed, or they are the heirs of the kingdom of God.
12. For these are they whose sins he has borne; these are they for whom he has died, to redeem them from their transgressions. And now, are they not his seed?

According to your Section 138, everyonen else was not preached to.

20. But unto the wicked he did not go, and among the ungodly and the unrepentant who had defiled themselves while in the flesh, his voice was not raised;
21. Neither did the rebellious who rejected the testimonies and the warnings of the ancient prophets behold his presence, nor look upon his face.
22. Where these were, darkness reigned, but among the righteous there was peace;

Again, The Book of Mormon tells us the same thing about the wicked in the Old Testament days.

26. But behold, and fear, and tremble before God, for ye ought to tremble; for the Lord redeemeth none such that rebel against him and die in their sins; yea, even all those that have perished in their sins ever since the world began, that have wilfully rebelled against God, that have known the commandments of God, and would not keep them; these are they that have no part in the first resurrection.
27. Therefore ought ye not to tremble? For salvation cometh to none such; for the Lord hath redeemed none such; yea, neither can the Lord redeem such; for he cannot deny himself; for he cannot deny justice when it has its claim.

SAYS YOU: "[Section] explains that the gospel is preached to the deceased who did not have the opportunity to receive it while on earth, providing them the chance to accept it and make sacred covenants"

ME: We will forgo discussions on "sacred covenants" and cover who are those who did not have the opportunity to recieve the Gospel on earth.

Clearly, Old Testament peoples had the oppourtunity because, according to Abinadi, many took advantage of it. Many lived in ignorance, to be sure, however:

Acts 17:30. And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:

King Benjamin speaks of these.

Mosiah 3:11 For behold, and also his blood atoneth for the sins of those who have fallen by the transgression of Adam, who have died not knowing the will of God concerning them, or who have ignorantly sinned.

Of course all of that changed after the life and death of Jesus.

To summerize, Alma and Amulek were correct when they taught that "...this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God.... the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors....this day of life....our time while in this life....this life....the day of your repentance.

Furthermore, They speak of when "this day" ends. "....the night of darkness wherein there can be no labor performed....that awful crisis....at the time that ye go out of this life....even until death".

This is confirmed over and over in scriptures.

2 Nephi 9:38 And, in fine, wo unto all those who die in their sins; for they shall return to God, and behold his face, and remain in their sins.

Mosiah 2:33 For behold, there is a wo pronounced upon him who listeth to obey that spirit [evil one]; for if he listeth to obey him, and remaineth and dieth in his sins, the same drinketh damnation to his own soul; for he receiveth for his wages an everlasting punishment, having transgressed the law of God contrary to his own knowledge.

SAYS YOU: ".....Doctrine and Covenants Section 138, adds to our understanding by revealing more about the post-mortal spirit world."

ME: Sadly, Section 138 doesn't add to our understanding. Rather, it contradicts the "understanding" that the Book of Mormon provides.

Alma 40:14 Now this is the state of the souls of the wicked, yea, in darkness, and a state of awful, fearful looking for the fiery indignation of the wrath of God upon them; thus they remain in this state, as well as the righteous in paradise, until the time of their resurrection.

Alma 40:21 But whether it be at his resurrection or after, I do not say; but this much I say, that there is a space between death and the resurrection of the body, and a state of the soul in happiness or in misery until the time which is appointed of God that the dead shall come forth, and be reunited, both soul and body, and be brought to stand before God, and be judged according to their works.

Alma explains that, rather than a wondeerful school where wicked spirits exereince a loving learning enviornment, Alma dipicts yjsy these find themselves "in darkness, and a state of awful, fearful looking for the fiery indignation of the wrath of God...in misery". often, the feature of this period is one of weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Alma 40:13 And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of the wicked, yea, who are evil--for behold, they have no part nor portion of the Spirit of the Lord; for behold, they chose evil works rather than good; therefore the spirit of the devil did enter into them, and take possession of their house--and these shall be cast out into outer darkness; there shall be weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth, and this because of their own iniquity, being led captive by the will of the devil.

Again, the book of Mormon understanding is not added to when we learn that those in your spirit school can move from prison to paradise upon accepting the Gospel. Alma Says The wicked dead will remain where they are UNTIL the resurrection.

Alma 40:21 ....there is a space between death and the resurrection of the body, and a state of the soul in happiness or in misery until the time which is appointed of God that the dead shall come forth, and be reunited, both soul and body, and be brought to stand before God, and be judged according to their works.