Get Life!

Because it has become a swear word, most of us avoid not only saying, but thinking about the word “damned.” But it appears throughout the scriptures hundreds of times, and it is instructive to understand what is meant by the word. The dictionary definition of the words is “to condemn to a punishment or fate.” But what is the punishment? The punishment is that you stop in your progress.

In Moses 5:15, we are told that in the beginning God taught that “as many as believed in the Son, and repented of their sins, should be saved; and as many as believed not and repented not, should be damned.” To be saved means that you go on in your progression. To be damned means that your progression stops. That is the punishment. You don’t grow any closer to your Father in Heaven. You don’t become more like Him. You don’t gain more faith or hope or love or anything that is good. You stop where you are and remain like that.

Each of us chooses whether or not we will be damned and those who are damned choose the moment they will stop growing and remain like that. It is the moment they sin and refuse to repent. However, for those who recognize when a mistake has been made and repent, the damning barrier is lifted and they go on progressing to Eternal Life. So the choice is be damned or repent and progress. I like the idea of progressing!