Repenting in heaven

[Anonymous]

Quote:

Establishing clear cut, eternal, Mormon doctrine is like trying to nail Jello to the wall. I love that, but it drives some people nuts.

I agree that it gives freedom, and that it’s liberating for sure. I hope I’m not being too negative, but it doesn’t seem worth $x,000 per year in tithing to me, or the hassles it places on my life.

And frankly, it wasn’t what I signed up for 33 years ago — I signed up for answers, and thought I had them. Only to find there weren’t any solid answers but a lot of cultural “shoulds” and expectations, which, if not abided by, led to ostracization and hardship.

Right now I feel that if I hadn’t met a man that helped me get into a Masters degree program (he was a professor) which led to a long and satisfying career, my church experience would be a massive net loss to me personally. I am glad some of my family members seem to be getting peace from it…

Anyway, back to the topic — repenting in heaven. Not clear cut when you look at the totality of the scriptures. Cut and dried if you ask any TBM or hear talks in testimony meeting though. That’s the other problem, you can believe the doctrine is jello you can’t nail to the wall, but the majority of membership believes the Book of Mormon is the nail that pins down the ambiguity of the Bible. I heard that analogy over and over again when I was investigating the church.

[Anonymous]

Quote:

Alma 34:33

Book of Mormon

…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.

Some Christian religions (such as the SDA and JW’s) teach the doctrine of “Soul Sleep”. This holds that the consciousness of an individual is not self aware and is based primarily on the following scriptures:

Quote:

No one remembers you when he is dead. Who praises you from the grave? (Psalm 6:5).

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom (Ecclesiastes 9:10).

The dead do not praise the LORD, nor any who go down into silence (Psalm 115:17).

[Anonymous]

The question of repenting in heaven only works if you are chasing a reward. If we are playing a mortal game with both winners and losers then I NEED to understand the rules of the game in order to maximize my performance. Is it a sprint or a marathon!?!?!?! I would employ different strategies for different circumstances.

If on the other hand there is no reward or the journey IS the reward or the type of person you become during the journey is the reward then it quickly distills down to what Ray said.

Quote:

I try to focus on love, charity, and movement toward perfection (completion, wholeness, full development).

These things, for me, are all about what makes life better (more joy and quality filled) today and not about chasing the potential rewards of a potential afterlife that may never come.

[Anonymous]

Roy wrote:

If on the other hand there is no reward or the journey IS the reward or the type of person you become during the journey is the reward then it quickly distills down to what Ray said.

Love this! Thanks. “The journey IS the reward.” Beautiful.

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