Death-bed repentance is the ultimate denial of one's character, and is usually motivated by fear or regret. Both of those are self-centered emotions. They imply that one is only concerned with repentance for the sake of removing guilt, or in order to avoid the inevitable suffering for a life of self-indulgence.
Death-bed repentance assumes that the one "repenting" is doing so based on knowledge and understanding of truths acquired earlier in life, but consciously neglected throughout that life. Jacob's words help us understand that it is not what we have done in life that will condemn or justify us, but what we have become:
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O how great the plan of our God! For on the other hand, the paradise of God must deliver up the spirits of the righteous, and the grave deliver up the body of the righteous; and the spirit and the body is restored to itself again, and all men become incorruptible, and immortal, and they are living souls, having a perfect knowledge like unto us in the flesh, save it be that our knowledge shall be perfect.  Wherefore, we shall have a perfect knowledge of all our guilt, and our uncleanness, and our nakedness; and the righteous shall have a perfect knowledge of their enjoyment, and their righteousness, being clothed with purity, yea, even with the robe of righteousness.  And it shall come to pass that when all men shall have passed from this first death unto life, insomuch as they have become immortal, they must appear before the judgment-seat of the Holy One of Israel; and then cometh the judgment, and then must they be judged according to the holy judgment of God.  And assuredly, as the Lord liveth, for the Lord God hath spoken it, and it is his eternal word, which cannot pass away, that they who are righteous shall be righteous still, and they who are filthy shall be filthy still; wherefore, they who are filthy are the devil and his angels; and they shall go away into everlasting fire, prepared for them; and their torment is as a lake of fire and brimstone, whose flame ascendeth up forever and ever and has no end. 2 Ne. 9:13-16(emphasis added) |
Name: Lane
Comments: I think the prodigal son has application here. The one son lived it up and then repented. He was accepted back into his father home. The repentance was real and he was forgiven. I think this applies to the death bed. If the repentance is real they will be forgiven. By real I mean an intention to change and accept Christ beyond some temporary fear. The prodigal son truly came to himself and changed.
This does not make the death bed repentance equal with continual faithfulness. Remember that the faithful son was told by his father that all that I have is thine! That promise should sound very familiar to LDS folks. There are differing degrees of salvation. Only in one degree of salvation does God share all - all that I have is thine.
An important clause should be noted here. Remember the parable of the servants who all ended up being paid a penny. All who labored were paid the same. To merit the penny - some level of salvation - you must serve the Lord. It does not have to be the whole day, but service must be done. This is perhaps another level of salvation between the two mentioned above.