315. Perdition is a permanent place of hell where there is no forgiveness and no redemption.
313. In the postmortal spirit world, the spirits of the wicked live in a state of unhappiness or misery, called hell, until the day of redemption and final judgment.
I have thought sometimes that some of our people are inclined to think there is no hell and that nobody is going to hell. I tell you there will be a large number of people go to hell; they will suffer torment and will go where there is weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth; they will be in outer darkness and suffer far beyond anything we can conceive of. Latter-day Saints especially who commit sin, if they die in their sin, will go to hell, and they will suffer torment there until the day of redemption. But think of the length of time during which they will be in this torment (Gospel Truth, 1:85) TLDP:639
All liars, and sorcerers, and adulterers and all who love and make a lie, shall not receive the resurrection at this time, but for a thousand years shall be thrust down into hell where they shall suffer the wrath of God until they pay the price of their sinning, if it is possible, by the things which they shall suffer. [See Church News, April 23, 1932, p.
6.]
These are the "Spirits of men who are to be judged and are found under condemnation; And these are the rest of the dead; and they live not again until the thousand years are ended, neither again, until the end of the earth." [D&C 88: 100-01]. . . .
These are the hosts of the telestial world who are commanded to "suffer the wrath of God on earth;" and who are "cast down to hell and suffer the wrath of Almighty God, until the fulness of times, when Christ shall have subdued all enemies under his feet, and shall have perfected his work" [Era, vol 45, p. 781; D&C 76:104-06. . . .
This suffering will be a means of cleansing, or purifying, and through it the wicked shall be brought to a condition whereby they may, through the redemption of Jesus Christ, obtain immortality. Their spirits and bodies shall be again united, and they shall dwell in the telestial kingdom. But this resurrection will not come until the end of the world. (Doctrines of Salvation, 2:295-98) TLDP:564-65
[T]o those who deserve it [The spirit world after mortality] . . . is a place of punishment, a purgatory or hell, where spirits are buffeted till the day of redemption. (Key to the Science of Theology, pp. 132-33) TLDP:637
For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; . . . (Peter says the Lord knows how to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgement; letter to members of the Church, about A.D. 60-64) 2 Peter 2:4
quoted by Mormon
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.
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 speaks to his son Corianton, concerning the resurrection of the dead, about 73 B.C.) Alma 40:13-14
That righteous and unrighteous dwell apart during the interval between death and resurrection is clear. Paradise, or as the Jews like to designate that blessed abode, "Abraham's bosom," [See parable of Lazarus and the Rich man in Luke 16:19-31.] is not the place of final glory, any more than the hell to which the rich man's spirit was consigned is the final habitation of the condemned. To that preliminary or intermediate state, however, men's works do follow them; and the dead shall surely find that their abode is that for which they have qualified themselves while in the flesh. JTC:468
These are they who are liars, and sorcerers, and adulterers, and whoremongers, and whosoever loves and makes a lie. 104. These are they who suffer the wrath of God on earth. 105. These are they who suffer the vengeance of eternal fire. 106. These are they who are cast down to hell and suffer the wrath of Almighty God, until the fulness of times, when Christ shall have subdued all enemies under his feet, and shall have perfected his work; (Vision to Joseph and Sidney Rigdon, Feb. 16, 1832) D&C 76:103-106
quoted by Nephi
O how great the goodness of our God, who prepareth a way 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.
11. And because of the way of deliverance of our God, the Holy One of Israel, this death, of which I have spoken, which is the temporal, shall deliver up its dead; which death is the grave.
12. And this death of which I have spoken, which is the spiritual death, shall deliver up its dead; which spiritual death is hell; wherefore, death and hell must deliver up their dead, and hell must deliver up its captive spirits, and the grave must deliver up its captive bodies, and the bodies and the spirits of men will be restored one to the other; and it is by the power of the resurrection of the Holy One of Israel. (Jacob teaches the doctrine of the atonement to the people of Nephi, 559-545 B.C.) 2 Nephi 9:10-12
Those who enter into the telestial kingdom . . . are the ungodly, the filthy who suffer the wrath of God on earth, who are thrust down to hell where they will be required to pay the uttermost farthing before their redemption comes. These are they who receive not the gospel of Christ and consequently could not deny the Holy Spirit while living on the earth.
They have no part in the first resurrection and are not redeemed from the devil and his angels until the last resurrection, because of their wicked lives and their evil deeds. Nevertheless, even these are heirs of salvation, but before they are redeemed and enter the kingdom, they must repent of their sins, and receive the gospel, and bow the knee, and acknowledge that Jesus is the Christ, the Redeemer of the world. (Doctrines of Salvation, 2:22) DGSM:93
Related Witnesses:
Upon all who reject the word of God in this life will fall the penalties provided; but after the debt has been paid the prison doors shall be opened, and the spirits once confined in suffering, then chastened and clean, shall come forth to partake of the glory provided for their class. AF:134
There is no pain so awful as that of suspense. This is the punishment of the wicked; their doubt, anxiety and suspense cause weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth. (General conference, Nauvoo, April 1843) HC5:340
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. (At the Stand in Nauvoo, Ill., June 11, 1843) HC5:425
The false assumption, based upon sectarian dogma, that in the hereafter there shall be but two places, states or conditions for the souls of mankind—heaven or hell, with the same glory in all parts of the one and the same terrors throughout the other—is untenable in the light of divine revelation. AF:82-83
And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
13. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. (John sees the judgment of man at the end of the Millennium) Revelation 20:12-13
Author's Note: Bruce R. McConkie explains why the word "hell" is used by prophets: "Messianic prophecies . . . describe in a most graphic way how the Lord saves men from the direful fate that would be theirs if he had not atoned for their sins. It is known as freeing the hosts of men from prison—from the prison of death, of hell, of the devil, and of endless torment. And how apt and pointed the illustration is, for the prisons of ancient times were hell holes of death, disease, and despair. They were dungeons of filth, corruption, and creeping denizens. Sheol itself was known as the pit, the dungeon of despair, the nether realms of torment, the Hades of hell. To be in prison was worse than a living hell, and to be freed therefrom was to arise from death to life. It is no wonder that the prophetic mind seized upon this illustration to teach what the Redeemer would do to ransom men from the fate that would be theirs if there were no atonement." (The Promised Messiah, pp. 238-39)
314. Hell is not endless; there is an exit to hell as well as an entrance—there is an end to the torment of the damned.
Even to hell there is an exit as well as an entrance; and when sentence has been served, commuted perhaps by repentance and its attendant works, the prison doors shall open and the penitent captive be afforded opportunity to comply with the law, which he aforetime violated. . . .
The inhabitants of the telestial world—the lowest of the kingdoms of glory prepared for resurrected souls, shall include those "who are thrust down to hell" and "who shall not be redeemed from the devil until the last resurrection." (D&C 76:82-85And though these may be delivered from hell and attain to a measure of glory with possibilities of progression, yet their lot shall be that of "servants of the Most High, but where God and Christ dwell they cannot come, worlds without end." (v.112)
Deliverance from hell is not admittance to heaven. (The Vitality of Mormonism, pp. 255-56) DGSM:93
receiving the Word of the Lord
And surely every man must repent or suffer, for I, God, am endless.
5. Wherefore, I revoke not the judgments which I shall pass, but woes shall go forth, weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth, yea, to those who are found on my left hand.
6. Nevertheless, it is not written that there shall be no end to this torment, but it is written endless torment.
7. Again, it is written eternal damnation; wherefore it is more express than other scriptures, that it might work upon the hearts of the children of men, altogether for my name's glory.
8. Wherefore, I will explain unto you this mystery, for it is meet unto you to know even as mine apostles.
9. I speak unto you that are chosen in this thing, even as one, that you may enter into my rest.
10. For, behold, the mystery of godliness, how great is it For, behold, I am endless, and the punishment which is given from my hand is endless punishment, for Endless is my name. Wherefore—
11. Eternal punishment is God's punishment.
12. Endless punishment is God's punishment. (A commandment of God for Martin Harris, March 1830) D&C 19:4-12
Those who enter into the telestial kingdom . . . are the ungodly, the filthy who suffer the wrath of God on earth, who are thrust down to hell where they will be required to pay the uttermost farthing before their redemption comes. These are they who receive not the gospel of Christ and consequently could not deny the Holy Spirit while living on the earth.
They have no part in the first resurrection and are not redeemed from the devil and his angels until the last resurrection, because of their wicked lives and their evil deeds. Nevertheless, even these are heirs of salvation, but before they are redeemed and enter the kingdom, they must repent of their sins, and receive the gospel, and bow the knee, and acknowledge that Jesus is the Christ, the Redeemer of the world. (Doctrines of Salvation, 2:22) DGSM:93
What is it to be damned? Does it mean that all who come under that sentence shall be cast into hell, there to dwell forever and forever? The light of the century, given by the Lord, declares the falsity of that construction.
Salvation is graded ever upward until it culminates in the glorious condition of exaltation. . . . [S]o [also] damnation is graded; else what did the Lord mean as recorded in the twelfth chapter of Mark . . . . "These shall receive greater damnation?" Well, if there be a greater damnation there are lesser degrees of damnation and the term is used in the sense of deprivation and forfeiture. That man enters into a degree of damnation who has forfeited his opportunities and therefore has rendered himself incapable of the advancement that would otherwise be possible. . . .
[E]xcept for those few . . . who have betrayed their trust and who have forfeited the very ability to repent—and they are few—every soul that has ever been tabernacled in flesh upon the earth shall be redeemed and shall be saved in his degree of worthiness and desert.
During this hundred years [since 1830 when the gospel was restored to earth] many other great truths not known before, have been declared to the people, and one of the greatest is that to hell there is an exit as well as an entrance. Hell is no place to which a vindictive judge sends prisoners to suffer and to be punished principally for his glory; but it is a place prepared for the teaching, the disciplining of those who failed to learn here upon the earth what they should have learned. True, we read of everlasting punishment, unending suffering, eternal damnation. That is a direful expression; but in his mercy the Lord has made plain what those words mean. "Eternal punishment," he says, is God's punishment, for he is eternal; and that condition or state or possibility will ever exist for the sinner who deserves and really needs such condemnation; but this does not mean that the individual sufferer or sinner is to be eternally and everlastingly made to endure and suffer. No man will be kept in hell longer than is necessary to bring him to a fitness for something better. When he reaches that stage the prison doors will open and there will be rejoicing among the hosts who welcome him into a better state. CR1930Apr:95-97
also quoting Joseph Smith
So general were the ill effects of the commonly accepted doctrine, unscriptural and untrue though it was, regarding the endless torment awaiting every sinner, that even before the Church had been formally organized in the present dispensation, the Lord gave a revelation through the Prophet Joseph Smith touching this matter, in which we read: "And surely every man must repent or suffer; for I, God, am endless. Wherefore, I revoke not the judgments which I shall pass, but woes shall go forth, weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth, yea, to those who are found on my left hand. Nevertheless, it is not written that there shall be no end to this torment, but it is written endless torment. Again, it is written eternal damnation. . . . For behold, I am endless, and the punishment which is given from my hand is endless punishment, for Endless is my name. Wherefore, Eternal punishment is God's punishment. Endless punishment is God's punishment." (D&C 19:4-10AF:56
Author's Note: "There is an exit to hell as well as an entrance—there is an end to the torment of the damned," except for the sons of perdition. In the words of Bruce R. McConkie, "for those who are heirs of some salvation, which includes all except the sons of perdition (D&C 76:44), hell has an end, but for those who have wholly given themselves over for satanic purposes there is no redemption from the consuming fires and torment of conscience. They go on forever in the hell that is prepared for them." (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 3:578-79)
315. Perdition is a permanent place of hell where there is no forgiveness and no redemption.
[A place has been prepared for the punishment of the wicked, it is a] place where those who cannot be redeemed and who are called sons of Perdition will go into outer darkness. This is the real hell where those who once knew the truth and had the testimony of it and then turned away and blasphemed the name of Jesus Christ, will go. These are they who have sinned against the Holy Ghost. For them there is no forgiveness, and the Lord said he had prepared a place for them. (Answers to Gospel Questions, 2:208-10) TLDP:127
quoted by Elder Joseph Fielding Smith
[T]here have been remarks made concerning all men being redeemed from hell; but I say that those who sin against the Holy Ghost cannot be forgiven in this world or in the world to come; they shall die the second death. Those who commit the unpardonable sin are doomed to Gnolom—to dwell in hell, worlds without end. As they concoct scenes of bloodshed in this world, so they shall rise to that resurrection which is as the lake of fire and brimstone. Some shall rise to the everlasting burnings of God; for God dwells in everlasting burnings, and some shall rise to the damnation of their own filthiness, which is as exquisite a torment as the lake of fire and brimstone. (To the Church in general conference—to a congregation of 20,000—,"King Follett Sermon" April 7, 1844) (See HC6:302-317, also see The Words of Joseph Smith, pp. 340-62.) TPJS:361
God will not condemn any man to utter destruction, neither shall any man be thrust down to hell irredeemably, until he has been brought to the possession of the greater light that comes through repentance and obedience to the laws and commandments of God; but if, after he has received light and knowledge, he shall sin against the light and will not repent, then, indeed, he becomes a lost soul, a son of perdition. ("I Know That My Redeemer Lives," IE1908Mar:381) TLDP:634
receiving the Word of the Lord
Thus saith the Lord concerning all those who know my power, and have been made partakers thereof, and suffered themselves through the power of the devil to be overcome, and to deny the truth and defy my power—
32. They are they who are the sons of perdition, of whom I say that it had been better for them never to have been born;
33. For they are vessels of wrath, doomed to suffer the wrath of God, with the devil and his angels in eternity;
34. Concerning whom I have said there is no forgiveness in this world nor in the world to come—
35. Having denied the Holy Spirit after having received it, and having denied the Only Begotten Son of the Father, having crucified him unto themselves and put him to an open shame.
36. These are they who shall go away into the lake of fire and brimstone, with the devil and his angels—
37. And the only ones on whom the second death shall have any power. . . .
44. Wherefore, he saves all except them—they shall go away into everlasting punishment, which is endless punishment, which is eternal punishment, to reign with the devil and his angels in eternity, where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched, which is their torment—
45. And the end thereof, neither the place thereof, nor their torment, no man knows;
46. Neither was it revealed, neither is, neither will be revealed unto man, except to them who are made partakers thereof;
47. Nevertheless, I, the Lord, show it by vision unto many, but straightway shut it up again;
48. Wherefore, the end, the width, the height, the depth, and the misery thereof, they understand not, neither any man except those who are ordained unto this condemnation. (Vision to Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon, Feb. 16, 1832) D&C 76:31-37,44-48
receiving the Word of the Lord
[F]or, behold, the devil was before Adam, for he rebelled against me, saying, Give me thine honor, which is my power; and also a third part of the hosts of heaven turned he away from me because of their agency;
37. And they were thrust down, and thus came the devil and his angels;
38. And, behold, there is a place prepared for them from the beginning, which place is hell. (Revelation received Sept. 1830) D&C 29:36-38
