On November 19, 1823, a young man named Alvin Smith died. The Smith family asked a Presbyterian minister to officiate at Alvin’s funeral. “As Alvin had not been a member of the minister’s congregation, the clergyman asserted in his sermon that Alvin could not be saved. William Smith…recalled: ‘[The minister]… intimated very strongly that [Alvin] had gone to hell, for Alvin was not a church member, but he was a good boy and my father did not like it.” (Teachings: Joseph Smith, 401, 403).
On January 21, 1836, while in the temple at Kirtland, Ohio, the heavens were opened up to a still young man named Joseph Smith. It was recorded:
1 The heavens were opened upon us, and I beheld the celestial kingdom of God, and the glory thereof, whether in the body or out I cannot tell.
5 I saw Father Adam and Abraham and my father and my mother; my brother Alvin, that has long since slept;
6 And marveled how it was that he had obtained an inheritance in that kingdom, seeing that he had departed this life before the Lord had set his hand to gather Israel the second time, and had not been baptized for the remission of sins.
7 Thus came the voice of the Lord unto me, saying: All who have died without a knowledge of this gospel, who would have received it if they had been permitted to tarry, shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom of God;
8 Also all that shall die henceforth without a knowledge of it, who would have received it with all their hearts, shall be heirs of that kingdom;
9 For I, the Lord, will judge all men according to their works, according to the desire of their hearts.
10 And I also beheld that all children who die before they arrive at the years of accountability are saved in the celestial kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 7 of the Joseph Smith translation has an important clarification:
1 Now these are the words which Jesus taught his disciples that they should say unto the people.
2 Judge not unrighteously, that ye be not judged; but judge righteous judgment.
What is, righteous judgement, then? From the New Testament Student Manual:
“President Dallin H. Oaks explained these teachings and their application, basing his comments on the principle “that there are two kinds of judging: final judgments, which we are forbidden to make, and intermediate judgments, which we are directed to make, but upon righteous principles:
“First, a righteous judgment must, by definition, be intermediate. It will refrain from declaring that a person has been assured of exaltation or from dismissing a person as being irrevocably bound for hellfire. It will refrain from declaring that a person has forfeited all opportunity for exaltation or even all opportunity for a useful role in the work of the Lord. The gospel is a gospel of hope, and none of us is authorized to deny the power of the Atonement to bring about a cleansing of individual sins, forgiveness, and a reformation of life on appropriate conditions.
“Second, a righteous judgment will be guided by the Spirit of the Lord, not by anger, revenge, jealousy, or SELF-INTEREST(my emphasis added). …
“Third, to be righteous, an intermediate judgment must be within our stewardship. We should not presume to exercise and act upon judgments that are outside our personal responsibilities. …
“Fourth, we should, if possible, refrain from judging until we have adequate knowledge of the facts. …
“A fifth principle of a righteous intermediate judgment is that whenever possible we will refrain from judging people and only judge situations. … We can set and act upon high standards for ourselves or our homes without condemning those who do otherwise. …
“Sixth, forgiveness is a companion principle to [this] commandment. … In modern revelation the Lord has declared, ‘I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men’ (D&C 64:10).
“Seventh, a final ingredient or principle of a righteous judgment is that it will apply righteous standards” (“‘Judge Not’ and Judging,” Ensign, Aug. 1999, 7, 9–12).”
I will refrain from judging that minister at Alvin’s funeral who failed in almost all these points laid out by President Oaks. I will leave that judgement to God for such behavior.
What I will say is this: the hateful, vengeful God that condemns young children and the ignorant to eternal hellfire, is not my God. My God doesn’t create someone, give them a body, send them to earth, only to condemn them to eternal damnation because they never committed to a God they never heard of.
Where is the justice, mercy, and LOVE of that God? There is no love in that God. That is not my God.
My God loves all His children.
1 Peter 4:6 “For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.”
How can it be, then? How can men be judged in the flesh when their flesh has long since been laid in the ground and returned to the dust from which it was formed?
Salvation for the dead through ministering to the dead. Baptisms and ordinances for the dead. Ordinances that the dead cannot, once dead, perform for themselves. For we, without them, cannot be made perfect, as they, without us, cannot be made perfect (Hebrews 11:40, D&C 128:18).
Truth.
Pure.
Simple.
If this doesn’t make sense to you, please, re-read it. Then read it again, then read it again. New wine is difficult to fit in old bottles. Then ask me, and maybe I can explain in better. I know the missionaries can.
God doesn’t condemn you or your loved ones to hell because you haven’t met or been taught of the true Him. This is the great evil that Satan has perpetuated throughout Christianity.
THAT IS NOT GOD.
God is love. You, your father, your father’s father. He loves all of you. And you will all be able to hear the truth before any judgement is made. I love that God, and I am grateful for Him. And I am grateful for Joseph Smith for these pure, simple truths that he restored. And I am grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ, who affords me all this: forgiveness, love, peace, eternity with my family. Because He suffered for me. Again, and again and again and again I say, thank you.
To learn more about TRUTH:
No Coincidences 