Aaron’s Debate Notes

1. The woman caught in adultery

Spencer Kimball wrote in the The Miracle of Forgiveness (Bookcraft, 1969):

“In my childhood, Sunday School lessons were given to us on the 8th chapter of John wherein we learned of the woman thrown at the feet of the Redeemer for judgment. My sweet Sunday School teacher lauded the Lord for having forgiven the woman. She did not understand the impossibility of such an act. In my years since then I have repeatedly heard people praise the Lord for his mercy in having forgiven the adulteress. This example has been used numerous times to show how easily one can be forgiven for gross sin. (165)

“But did the Lord forgive the woman? Could he forgive her? There seems to be no evidence of forgiveness. His command to her was, “Go, and sin no more.” He was directing the sinful woman to go her way, abandon her evil life, commit no more sin, transform her life… (165)

2. The thief on the cross

Kimball goes on:

Another mistaken idea is that the thief on the cross was forgiven of his sins when the dying Christ answered: “Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.” ( Luke 23:43.) These men on the cross were thieves. How could the Lord forgive a malefactor? They had broken laws. There was no doubt of the guilt of the two men, for the one voluntarily confessed their guilt.

The Lord cannot save men in their sins but only from their sins, and that only when they have shown true repentance. The one thief did show some compassion, whether selfishly with hope we are not sure. He was confessing, but how could he abandon his evil practices when dungeon walls made evil deeds impossible? How could he restore the stolen goods when hanging on the cross? How could he, as John the Baptist required, “bring forth fruits meet for repentance” ? How could he live the Lord’s commands, attend his meetings, pay his tithing, serve his fellowmen? All these take time. Time was the one thing he was running out of very rapidly. “No unclean thing can enter the kingdom of heaven.” (166)

“The thief’s show of repentance on the cross was all to his advantage, but his few words did not nullify a life of sin. The world should know that since the Lord himself cannot save men in their sins, no man on earth can administer any sacrament which will do that impossible thing.” (166)

3. King David

Kimball writes,

“For his dreadful crime, all his life afterward he sought forgiveness. Some of the Psalms portray the anguish of his soul, yet David is still paying for his sin… The Prophet Joseph Smith underlined the seriousness of the sin of murder for David as for all men, and the fact that there is no forgiveness for it. ‘A murderer, for instance, one that sheds innocent blood, cannot have forgiveness.’” (128)

He reasons later,

“[A] life is gone and the restitution of it in full is impossible. Repentance in the ordinary sense seems futile.” (195)

Kimball also writes:

“Occasionally people who have murdered come to the Church requesting baptism, having come to some partial realization of the enormity of the crime. Missionaries do not knowingly baptize such people.” (130)

4. Those who killed Jesus

Kimball then quotes Joseph Smith on Peter’s sermon at the Day of Pentecost:

“He did not say to them, ‘Repent and be baptized for the remission of your sins’ ; but he said,’Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out…’ This is the case with murderers. ‘They could not be baptized for the remission of sins, for they had shed innocent blood.’” (131)

Why did Kimball believe that these four were not forgiven?

• The woman caught in adultery (“Neither do I condemn you”): not forgiven.
• The thief on the cross (““Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”): not forgiven.
• King David (quote Psalm 51): not forgiven.
• Those who killed Jesus (“You killed the author of life! Repent that your sins may be blotted out”): not forgiven.

[The issue here is not a few isolated statements of hyperbole or exaggeration or intentional overstatement from Kimball. The issue is the structure of his argument, his developed reasons, his standard for the unrealistic or even impossible standard repentance that brings forgiveness.]

There are two main reasons why Spencer Kimball believed this.

1. Kimball believed that one’s repentance must merit forgiveness.

Likening repentance, Kimball writes, “One cannot receive salary without having met satisfactorily the conditions of his employment.” (7) And, “One cannot expect a degree from any college without having paid his tuition and fees…” (7) “If we measure up fully we are guaranteed limitless blessings!” (124) A murderer may not be forgiven, but they may “[build] up a credit balance in [his] favor” (131) Church activity helps us “pile up credits against the accumulated errors and transgressions.” (206) “We must not “[fail] to do the right things to earn [our] exaltation” (212). Kimball says that the Lord cannot give us an “unearned blessing” (249). We must “measure up to the celestial” (315). “We have time to pay off our debts before that awesome day of judgment arrives.” (321). That we must have ”the repentance which merits forgiveness” (354). The peace that comes with forgiveness “must be earned” (363).

2. Kimball believed God only forgives when repentance reaches totality and completion.

“Incomplete repentance never brought complete forgiveness” (212). Of the woman caught in adultery Kimball explains: “Note that the Lord did not forgive the woman of her serious sin… The woman had neither time nor opportunity to repent totally. When her preparation and repentance were complete she could hope for forgiveness, but not before then” (68). Quoting Joseph F. Smith:

“True repentance is not only sorrow for sins, and humble penitence and contrition before God, but it involves the necessity of turning away from them, a discontinuance of all evil practices and deeds, a thorough reformation of life, a vital change from evil to good, from vice to virtue, from darkness to light. Not only so, but to make restitution, so far as it is possible, for all the wrongs we have done, to pay our debts, and restore to God and man their rights-that which is due them from us. This is true repentance, and the exercise of the will and all the powers of body and mind is demanded, to complete this glorious work of repentance—[then God will accept it.]” (Joseph F. Smith. Quoted in Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, (2011), 59–66)

Here are the Biblical alternatives:

We are justified and forgiven on the basis of another’s righteousness, not our own.

“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Only incomplete repentance brings forgiveness.

Immature, incomplete, fledgling, incipient, yet genuine, sincere repentance brings forgiveness.

• The Pharisee and the Tax Collector (Luke 18:9-14)
• Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10)
• Jesus Heals a Paralytic (Mark 2:1-12)
• The Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32)

God justifies and forgives the ungodly.

“Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.” (Romans 4:4-8)

Questions

• Should David be used as a role model of forgiveness?
  • Romans 4:4-8
• If I repeat a sin, is my previous forgiveness for it cancelled?
  • “Forgiveness [is] Cancelled on Reversion to Sin… Those who feel that they can sin and be forgiven and then return to sin and be forgiven again and again must straighten out their thinking. Each previously forgiven sin is added to the new one and the whole gets to be a heavy load.” (169, 170)
• Can a person repent and be forgiven over and over for the same sinful habit?
  • “Even though forgiveness is so abundantly promised there is no promise nor indication of forgiveness to any soul who does not totally repent. … We can hardly be too forceful in reminding people that they cannot sin and be forgiven and then sin again and again and expect repeated forgiveness” (353, 360, quoted in chapter 39 of Gospel Principles).
  • “The forsaking of sin must be a permanent one. True repentance does not permit making the same mistake again.” (Repentance Brings Forgiveness, by Spencer W. Kimball, LDS Church, 1984, center page of pamphlet, #2.)
• According to Kimball, what guarantees total forgiveness of sin?
  • “The repentant life, the life which constantly reaches for perfection, must rely on works as well as on faith. The gospel is a program of action–of doing things. Man’s immortality and eternal life are God’s goals. (Moses 1:39.) Immortality has been accomplished by the Savior’s sacrifice. Eternal life hangs in the balance awaiting the works of men. This progress toward eternal life is a matter of achieving perfection. Living all the commandments guarantees total forgiveness of sins and assures one of exaltation through that perfection which comes by complying with the formula the Lord gave us.” (208-209)
  • “He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy” (Titus 3:5)
  • “… who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace…” (2 Timothy 1:9)
• What was the point of the Prodigal Son?
  • The older son’s being ever with his father is significant. If this parable is a reminder of life’s journey, we remember that for the faithful who live the commandments there is a great promise of seeing the Lord and being with him always in exaltation. On the other hand, the younger son could hope for no more than salvation as a servant, since he “despised his birthright,” and dissipated “all” of his inheritance, leaving nothing to develop and accumulate toward eternal heirship again. (310)
• How much time does Kimball think one needs to perfect their life?
  • “One cannot delay repentance until the next life… It must be remembered that vicarious work for the dead is for those who could not do the work for themselves. Men and women who live in mortality and who have heard the gospel here have had their day, their seventy years to put their lives in harmony, to perform the ordinances, to repent and to perfect their lives.” (313-314)
• Can one repent in the spirit world for that which should have been done on earth?
  • “But spirit world repentance cannot recompense for that which could and should have been done on earth.” (315)
• If I have a broken heart, and I trust the Lord, and I ask him for forgiveness, will he then immediately forgive me?
  • “Your Heavenly Father has promised forgiveness upon total repentance and meeting all the requirements, but that forgiveness is not granted merely for the asking. There must be works–many works–and an all-out, total surrender, with a great humility and “a broken heart and a contrite spirit.” It depends upon you whether or not you are forgiven, and when. It could be weeks, it could he years, it could be centuries before that happy day when you have the positive assurance that the Lord has forgiven you. That depends on your humility your sincerity, your works, your attitudes.” (324-325)
• Do you still have any desire to sin?
  • “This passage indicates an attitude which is basic to the sanctification we should all be seeking, and thus to the repentance which merits forgiveness. It is that the former transgressor must have reached a “point of no return” to sin wherein there is not merely a renunciation but also a deep abhorrence of the sin where the sin becomes most distasteful to him and where the desire or urge to sin is cleared out of his life.” (354-355)
• Was it irresponsible for LDS leaders to recommend the book from the Conference Pulpit?
  • “When needed, full repentance will require action on your part. If you are not familiar with the classic steps to repentance, such as confession and abandonment of sin, restitution, obedience, and seeking forgiveness, talk to a bishop or study a source such as President Spencer W. Kimball’s masterly work The Miracle of Forgiveness.” (Ensign (Conference Edition), November 2004, p.16).
• Is it right to use perfectionism to stir people to action?
  • 1. It is pastoral malpractice to use perfectionism to motivate people to repentance, or to overstate the requirements for forgiveness to provoke a person to pursue holiness. This is like severely threatening a dog or a child with fiction and exaggeration to stir them to action.
  • 2. This is unbelief. It distrusts the power of the gospel to change a forgiven person. It says, “I can’t trust God to radically change a forgiven person from the inside out, therefore I need to threaten him with burden him with guilt and condemnation so that he will perform as I want him to.”
• Should we hide our weaknesses from other church members?
  • “If you have your weaknesses, keep them hid from your brethren as much as you can.” (Brigham Young, quoted in 186)
  • “If you have sinned against your God, or against yourselves, confess to God, and keep the matter to yourselves, for I do not want to know anything about it.” (JoD, vol 8, p. 362)
  • James 5:16: “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”

LDS Accolades for Miracle of Forgiveness

• “President Spencer W. Kimball has always been a prolific worker. He spent several summers working on a book which he later entitled The Miracle of Forgiveness. As one reads the book, particularly the first portion, one wonders if anyone will make it to the Celestial Kingdom. However, in reading the final portion, it is apparent that, with effort, all can qualify” (Thomas S. Monson, On the Lord’s Errand: The Memoirs of Thomas S. Monson, 1985, p. 342).
• Apostle Richard L. Evans (the year after its publication): “Many of you would be familiar with President Spencer Kimball’s wonderful work on the miracle of forgiveness. I witness to you that God is a loving Father who will forgive and help us find peace and self-respect as we repent and show our sincerity by the lives we live. And there is nothing he asks of us that we cannot do; there is no requirement we cannot keep-if we are willing, if we want to. Repentance is a miracle, if it is sincere” (Confer­ence Reports, April 1970, p. 16).
• Seventy Bruce C. Hafen: “Some of us make repentance too easy, and others make it too hard. Those who make it too easy don’t see any big sins in their lives, or they believe that breezy apologies alone are enough. These people should read President Spencer W. Kimball’s The Miracle of Forgiveness, which reviews many sins of both commission and omis­sion. And while forgiveness is a miracle, it is not won without peni­tent and strenuous effort” (“Beauty for Ashes: The Atonement of Jesus Christ,” Liahona, April 1997, p. 41).
• Apostle Richard G. Scott: “In The Miracle of Forgiveness, Spencer W. Kimball gives a superb guide to forgiveness through repentance. It has helped many find their way back” (“Finding Forgiveness,” Ensign (Conference Edition), May 1995, p. 76).
• Apostle Boyd K. Packer: “President Kimball taught extensively the principle of repentance. His teachings have positively influenced many. Elder Boyd K. Packer recognized this great influence and wrote the following: ‘President Kimball himself is an experienced surgeon of sorts. Not a doctor of medicine, but a doctor of spiritual well-being. Many a moral cancer has been excised, many a blemish of character has been removed, many a spiritual illness of one kind or another has been cured through his efforts. Some on the verge of spiritual oblivion have been rescued by him. He has written a book—literally years in preparation—The Miracle of Forgiveness. Many have been protected by the counsel he has written. Countless others have been inspired to set their lives in order and have experienced that miracle’ (Ensign, Mar. 1974, 5)” (Presidents of the Church Student Manual Religion 345, p. 209).
• An LDS Church manual: “If available, hold up a copy of The Miracle of Forgiveness, and tell students that reading it has helped many people feel the merciful forgiveness of the Lord” (Presidents of the Church Teacher Manual Religion 345, p. 172).