Are you referring to the LDS definition of hell, or the protestant version? Last I looked it up, there is a temporary hell in spirit prison, where sins not repented of will be paid for by the individual. DC 132 tells us that some celestial beings may even have to pay for some of their own sins in this hell. So, that does not tell me anything concerning the level of righteousness of a person. Even the murderer/adulterer King David told us he would not stay in hell. The other hell, Outer Darkness, is a permanent place for those who totally reject Christ. Although I believe that many preachers are false prophets (some are just deceived by the world), I do not believe the majority of them will enter Outer Darkness. They don't qualify.
I am not avoiding the fact of hell. I'm just not seeing your easy blanket statement as being true. Why? Because there are going to be exceptions. Little children who have never heard of Christ, but die before the age of eight are already his. Yet, they aren't baptized, nor have they really accepted any gospel, since they are too young to understand it or accept it. Both hells will be crowded, since most people sin and won't repent of all their sins (for the first), and since 1/3 the hosts of heaven already have signed up for Outer Darkness. But that still doesn't determine who is a true Christian. It only tells me who ISN'T a true Christian - those who completely rebel and sin. I can't see with God's eyes the events that have shaped, are shaping, or will shape a person's spirit. I therefore am unable to determine who is or isn't a true Christian. And I defnitely cannot make a blanket statement on it, as the commandments change for people as the Spirit teaches us higher things. Two people can be living the minimum requirements for entering the temple. One can be a very spiritual person, doing his/her very best to obey the commandments. The other could be a stake president, who has lots of gospel knowledge and knows he should be moving higher in spirituality, but has settled on his laurels. Are they both 'true Christians?' Both are worthy of the temple, yet I cannot look into their entire lives to determine which one is or isn't. What is my definition of a 'true' Christian? It is a person that is doing their best to follow the light and truth God has placed in his/her life, regardless of whether they currently are a member/Christian, or not. K'aya K'ama, Gerald/gary Smith gszion1 @juno.com http://www .geocities.com/rameumptom/index.html "No one is as hopelessly enslaved as the person who thinks he's free." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe JWR: In my view, Mark is right. And Gary is still determined to avoid that fact that hell, whatever that means, is going to be a crowded place since "few" will find the narrow way that leads to life. John W. Redelfs ________________________________________________________________ Sign Up for Juno Platinum Internet Access Today Only $9.95 per month! Visit www.juno.com ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// /// ZION LIST CHARTER: Please read it at /// /// http://www.zionsbest.com/charter.html /// ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?aaP9AU.bWix1n.YXJjaGl2 Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
