We envision an afterlife in which we think we would prefer heaven. Given the choice, we suppose every one of us would decide to go to the highest heaven and dwell with God in a hypothetical state of bliss. This perception is nothing more than envy based on our desire for upward mobility in this life. We expect to carry this with us into the next life. As a result, we mistakenly apply this expectation to eternity. This verse suggests a completely different picture.
In the afterlife, we will see perfectly our strengths and weaknesses. As a result, we will know what we might have accomplished in this life, but did not. This clear recognition causes both torment and a desire to withdraw from God’s holy presence. This form of torment is internal to all those who have not prepared to dwell there. It is not inflicted externally by an angry God. Joseph Smith put it this way: “The great misery of departed spirits in the world of spirits, where they go after death is to know that they come short of the glory that others enjoy and that they might have enjoyed themselves, and they are their own accusers.” (DHC 5: 425.) Moroni suggests when people are able to see perfectly, they will recognize just how imperfectly they lived this life.
Moroni’s verse in this Chapter, and Joseph Smith’s teachings, are in agreement on the internal nature of the punishment. It is “consciousness of your filthiness” which torments, not something God, or the Devil, inflict.
In the coming afterlife, we can expect to recognize “that holy Being” for what He really is: just and holy. We will recognize Him because, as John put it: “when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” (1 John 3: 2.) Joseph Smith explained: “When the Savior shall appear we shall see him as he is. We shall see that he is a man like ourselves.” (D&C 130: 1.) The great debate over God’s nature will finally be resolved. Unlike our Trinitarian Christian brothers, we conceive of Him this way now. In the afterlife, all will see Him as He is, and realize we are of the same species, possessing the same potential with a family connection to Him. However, unless we have qualified ourselves by the way we lived here, we will forfeit the right to be a continuing and comfortable part of His eternal family.
He is the embodiment of holiness and virtue even though his form is that of a man. As He has explained to us: “Behold, I am God; Man of Holiness is my name; Man of Counsel is my name; and Endless and Eternal is my name, also.” (Moses 7: 35.) So, while He appears to be a man like us, He differs from us in “Holiness” and “Counsel” as well as His “Endless and Eternal” nature.
Moroni is warning us when we behold these attributes of virtue and cleanliness, we will have a basis from which to compare ourselves. We will realize we might have been more fully like Him because we were afforded that opportunity in mortality. We could have cooperated with Him and developed those same characteristics by following His teachings in our second estate. However, to the extent we resisted His teachings, failed to follow His counsel, and failed to obey His commandments, we forfeited what we might have become. As a consequence, when we behold what He is, and what we failed to become, our awareness of failure will make us miserable. Moroni tells us we won’t want to stay with Him.
We are living at this moment in the very process God gives us as the great opportunity for development. The event is upon us. For the most part, we are failing in the opportunity. Joseph explained we are living a foreordained plan filled with everything we need to develop as God would have us develop. He tells us what God offers us with these words:
The first principles of man are self-existent with God. God himself, finding he was in the midst of spirits and glory, because he was more intelligent, saw proper to institute laws whereby the rest could have a privilege to advance like himself. The relationship we have with God places us in a situation to advance in knowledge. He has power to institute laws to instruct the weaker intelligences, that they may be exalted with Himself, so that they might have one glory upon another, and all that knowledge, power, glory, and intelligence, which is requisite in order to save them in the world of spirits. (DHC 6: 312.)
These explanations shed more light than two millennia of theological ruminations. God is more intelligent than man. However, He does not covet His own advancement nor resent ours. Rather, He is willing to share it with us. Seeing we could not advance without His help, God chose to create or ordain a plan through which we are given an opportunity to advance. He wants us to be like Him! And He has made it possible for us to have the required experiences and challenges to do so. However, it is entirely voluntary. No one is compelled to become like Him. Everyone is invited to do so, but no one is forced to accept that invitation.
The way we use our freedom to choose is critical to what we get out of this profound mortal opportunity. We can elect to follow His path, do His deeds, submit to His plan, and receive the advancement associated with such experiences. But we do not need to do any of this. Most of us refuse the opportunities to follow, and thereby reject what might have been gained in understanding. It is explained in modern revelation as follows: “Behold, here is the agency of man, and here is the condemnation of man; because that which was from the beginning is plainly manifest unto them, and they receive not the light. And every man whose spirit receiveth not the light is under condemnation.” (D&C 93: 31–32.)
Light and truth are offered to us all. Whatever part we are willing to receive will bring us light, thereby making us more intelligent. Intelligence is the “glory of God.” We are required to gain intelligence in this life to avoid falling short in the next life. Joseph explained it in these words:
…All the minds and spirits that God ever sent into the world are susceptible of enlargement. …He has power to institute laws to instruct the weaker intelligences, that they may be exalted with Himself, so that they might have one glory upon another, and all that knowledge, power, glory, and intelligence, which is requisite in order to save them in the world of spirits. (DHC 6: 312.)
He understood these relationships because of what he had experienced in his life. He was anxious to pass along teachings for the rest of us to see the relationship between Christ’s Gospel and gaining light and truth. Without gathering in our mortal lives sufficient light and truth, or intelligence, we will fall into captivity in the afterlife. We will be under a burden of darkness and wish we had done more with our lives.
The antidote for darkness reigning over us is obedience to the Gospel while in mortality. The Gospel is the lifeline given us in this life by which we can advance in light and truth to become more like God. We are literally gathering light and truth, or acquiring intelligence, by what we obey here. The greater the obedience to Christ, or the more faithfully we follow Him, the more intelligence we gain. “And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come.” (D&C 130: 19.) This is a solitary endeavor. Everyone determines for themselves what degree of intelligence they are willing to receive. We don’t gather it by just listening to others talk about it, but by living the principles of the Gospel as an internal part of our personality. We have to live like Him to understand Him. As we understand Him, we become like Him.
In a Nauvoo gathering, Joseph Smith made a comment on just how solitary a matter this is. He commented about the Saints’ attempts to place the duty on him to be the one doing all the work:
President Joseph Smith read the 14 chapter of Ezekiel -said the Lord had declared by the Prophet, that the people should each one stand for himself, and depend on no man or men in that state of corruption of the Jewish church-that righteous persons could only deliver their own souls-applied it to the present state of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints-said if the people departed from the Lord, they must fall-that they were depending on the Prophet, hence were darkened in their minds, in consequence of neglecting the duties devolving upon themselves, envious towards the innocent, while they afflict the virtuous with their shafts of envy. (DHC 5: 19.)
The Prophet won’t save us. Depending upon the Prophet for all your guidance will “darken your mind” while you “neglect of the duty devolving upon yourself.” President Hinckley has admonished all the Church to “speak with the Lord in prayer.” (Priesthood Session, April, 2007 talk: I am Clean.) If President Hinckley were the only one speaking with the Lord in prayer, then all other Latter-day Saints would be damned. In that same Conference, Elder Richard G. Scott taught about prayer, and speaking of Heavenly Father said: “you and I can talk with Him personally, and He will ever answer.” (Saturday Morning Session; Using the Supernal Gift of Prayer.) There has not been a single conference, and probably never will be a single conference of the Church in which the Saints are not taught by the General Authorities to go to Heavenly Father, directly, in prayer. Having prophets and apostles among us will never relieve the Saints of “the duty devolving upon themselves” to gain personal, continual revelation in their lives.
The opposite of light is darkness. So Joseph’s use of the words “darkened in their minds” is an apt description of the effects of depending on someone else, even the Prophet, for duties which they have for themselves.
Christ taught an ironic parable which relates to the feelings of unworthiness before the Lord. His parable juxtaposes our mistaken ideas of who is worthy (the religious), and unworthy (the sinners) to a correct view of the truly worthy (the penitent humble despite their past sin). He taught:
Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. (Luke 18: 10–14.)
This is a remarkable parallel to Moroni’s verse. In his verse, the post-mortal reality of the great gulf between our personal preparation and God’s holiness is overwhelming. When we finally see the gulf correctly, we will want to hide from God’s presence. We will expect relief from fleeing God’s presence. However, relief comes from God making us clean. We can’t do it, but He can. He holds the keys of forgiveness, and has the power to make us clean. “Then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God.” (D&C 121: 45.)
In the above parable two men have attitudes which are remarkably different. One, a religious soul, is eager to fast twice weekly and pay tithes. Further, this particular paragon considers himself above reproach because he has not cheated, committed adultery or been “unjust” to his fellow man. He does, however, look down on the next fellow, because the other man is a “publican” or tax collector. He is filled with pride over his religiosity and willing to judge others; so his religion does not amount to much.
As to the publican, his sense of unworthiness before God is clear. He is afraid to even lift his unworthy eyes up to heaven. He strikes his breast, confessing his unworthiness. He knows he is unworthy, and with a broken heart seeks mercy. “God be merciful to me a sinner” is his plea. There is no attempt to portray himself as better than he is. No excuses are offered. No rationalizations are made. He judges no one else inferior to himself, but sees himself as the least. Importantly, he has faith in God and is willing to approach Him for relief. His religion is earnest, humble, and does not involve judgment of others. His faith seeks only to improve himself, not to justify himself. He looks down on no one; only up to God.
Christ’s reaction to these two is interesting. The more religiously “devout” of the two is condemned. It isn’t “religion” which brings a person closer to God. Such proximity defies outward measurement, therefore it cannot be contained in mere organized religious activity. We are mistaken when we confuse outward acts for inner humility. When we raise the bar for determining someone else’s worthiness, we are misusing religion to judge others.
Worse still, we find we have chosen poorly in deciding who meets the raised bar. We include the proud, who stand tall, and exclude the humble, who kneel beneath the bar. Instead of the sinful and repentant, we choose the self-righteous and arrogant. It is a wise parable, filled with irony. It was intended to make us more careful about how we view others; and particularly how we define and judge worthiness. It is perplexing, but vital, to consider the “worthy’s” unworthiness, and the “unworthy’s” worthiness.
The incorrect view of worthiness we entertain is replaced in Christ’s parable by a correct view. Moroni’s verse similarly informs us the afterlife will give us a correct sense of our condition before God. In that future state, we will not be fooled by our statistical conformity to some list. Nor will we be able to use a Church leader’s written recommend of us to claim we are more than we are. We will then see ourselves as God sees us. For the repentant, who recognize their failings and seek mercy, God will make them “justified.” For the proud and judgmental, who see only failings in others, God will show them what worthiness really looks like (and it will not look much like them).
Christ’s parable is a delightful and engaging story by the Master Teacher. In a few words, we find our vanity laid bare and our foolish presumptions challenged. It is a profound, precautionary warning with which He intended to provoke us to reflect carefully on the matter of our standing before God. It also serves as a warning about presuming the worthiness of recognized religious leaders. It was not only in Christ’s generation when religious people were confused about what justifies a person before God. Today there are still folks who call attention to themselves using their religious credentials as a way of “proving” they are good. Religion is always used by the unscrupulous as a covering. Wolves still dress as sheep because it is a useful disguise. The challenge is to make no pretenses. Show others what you really are, and let them see you without pretense or deceit. If you are confused about the way God sees you, ask Him. He will tell you. Although it requires revelation, it is one of the things He willingly tells us, if we ask. Joseph’s encounter with Moroni came as a result of Joseph’s inquiry about his standing before God. Great things happen when you are humble enough to allow the Lord to reveal your real status to you.
It isn’t your “worthiness” that matters. It is your humility and willingness to look up to God. Christ’s rebuke of the scribes and Pharisees is a stark reminder of what matters most, and what matters least. He said: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.” (Matt 23: 23.) Pay tithe. Keep the commandments. But keep them as a way to understand God’s will and your own limitations. Do not keep them to become proud of yourself. Private devotion matters more than public notice. Occupying the “chief seats” is always a hindrance to the occupant. Deceitfulness is not confined to riches, but extends to any worldly power, fame, praise or authority. We have learned by sad experience that it is almost inevitable that when men get a little authority they will be tempted to exercise unrighteous dominion over others. When people in your ward or stake tell you you are spiritually superior, you can be fooled into agreeing with them.
We should not wait until the next life to see things correctly. Moroni’s verse is intended to forewarn us. He wants us to know now, what we will face then. We can prepare. We can do better.
In another forewarning Alma wrote about how clearly we will see in the afterlife our own unrepentant sins. He taught:
For our words will condemn us, yea, all our works will condemn us; we shall not be found spotless; and our thoughts will also condemn us; and in this awful state we shall not dare to look up to our God; and we would fain be glad if we could command the rocks and the mountains to fall upon us to hide us from his presence. (Alma 12: 14.)
We should be on our guard. Our “words” and our “works” and our “thoughts” need to be cleansed here. It seems we have a choice. We can either realize it here and dare not look up to God, but beg for His forgiveness and mercy; or presume it here, and find out later we’ve forfeited our opportunities. This is because if you wait till the afterlife to “dare not look up to our God” it is too late.
President Ezra Taft Benson gave us profound warning years ago which remain wise counsel for today:
One of Satan’s greatest tools is pride: to cause a man or a woman to center so much attention on self that he or she becomes insensitive to his Creator or fellow beings. It is a cause for discontent, divorce, teenage rebellion, family indebtedness, and most other problems we face. (CR April 1979, Ensign 9 [May 1979]: 34.)
In the scriptures there is no such thing as righteous pride. It is always considered as a sin. We are not speaking of a wholesome view of self-worth, which is best established by a close relationship with God. But we are speaking of pride as the universal sin, as someone has described it. Mormon writes that “the pride of this nation, or the people of the Nephites, hath proven their destruction” (Moroni 8: 27). The Lord says in the Doctrine and Covenants, “Beware of pride, lest ye become as the Nephites of old” (D&C 38: 39). Essentially, pride is a “my will” rather than “thy will” approach to life. The opposite of pride is humbleness, meekness, submissiveness, or ‘teachableness’ (see Alma 13: 28). (CR April 1986, Ensign 16 [May 1986]: 6.)
Pride does not look up to God and care about what is right. It looks sideways to man and argues who is right. Pride is manifest in the spirit of contention. Was it not through pride that the devil became the devil? Christ wanted to serve. The devil wanted to rule. Christ wanted to bring men to where He was. The devil wanted to be above men. Christ removed self as the force in His perfect life. It was not my will, but thine be done (see Mark 14: 36; Luke 22: 42).
Pride is characterized by “What do I want out of life?” rather than by “What would God have me do with my life?” It is self-will as opposed to God’s will. It is the fear of man over the fear of God. (CR April 1986, Ensign 16 [May 1986]: 6–7.)
Many of us have a tendency to forget the Gracious Hand which has preserved our nation, enriched it, strengthened it. Many of us imagine in the foolishness of pride, that our manifold blessings are due not to God’s goodness, but to our own wisdom and virtue. Too many of us have been so drunk with self-sufficiency as no longer to feel the need of prayer. (Title of Liberty, p. 156.)
Humility responds to God’s will-to the fear of His judgments and to the needs of those around us. To the proud, the applause of the world rings in their ears; to the humble, the applause of heaven warms their hearts. Someone has said, “Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man.” Of one brother, the Lord said, “I, the Lord, am not well pleased with him, for he seeketh to excel, and he is not sufficiently meek before me” (D&C 58: 41). (CR April 1986, Ensign 16 [May 1986]: 7.)
As we cleanse the inner vessel, there will have to be changes made in our own personal lives, in our families, and in the Church. The proud do not change to improve, but defend their position by rationalizing. Repentance means change, and it takes a humble person to change. But we can do it. (CR April 1986, Ensign 16 [May 1986]: 7.)
(Benson, Ezra Taft. The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson. Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1988, pp. 435–436; citations in original.)
We have no reason for pride. We’ve never had reason for pride. Somehow, that doesn’t stop us. Moroni’s warning should be reason - enough to reconsider whatever pride we have, and leave it here. When we arrive in the next life, it will be too late. It will lead to our everlasting shame there.
It is not enough to entertain the fantasy of going to be with God in the afterlife. Anyone who actually does so will need preparation. Otherwise, as Moroni warns us, it would be punishment to dwell with Him.