Obedience and Repentance Lead to Salvation by Dara Farnsworth

It seems that every time I choose a gospel topic to write on, I immediately realize how little I know about it. In this case, I found myself groping for an absolute definition of “salvation,” which I was not fortunate enough to find. In my research, I discovered that there exist several salvations: There is a salvation from physical death, a salvation from sin, a salvation from ignorance, a salvation from the second death, and a salvation that is more synonymous with exaltation. Of the many salvations mentioned in the scriptures, the one that I find the most compelling and thought provoking is the salvation that means exaltation.

In the Greek and Hebrew scriptures, the root word for salvation is yeshuoth coming from the primitive root ysh, which meaning I think is significant: To be open, wide, or free. This root only came to my attention after I read a specific chapter in The Miracle of Forgiveness, written by former prophet Spencer W. Kimball, entitled “No Unclean Thing Can Enter,” a discussion on our need for the Savior’s atonement. President Kimball states: “Can we imagine the angels or the gods not being in control of themselves in any particular? The answer is of course ludicrous…And obedience always involves discipline. So does repentance, which is the way to annul the effects of a previous lack of obedience in one’s life.” [1] President Kimball’s main spool of thought is that obedience and repentance are the two key elements we as mortals need to gain eternal life and exaltation. Contrary to worldly thinking, it appears that obedience and subjection to the laws of God brings us closer to freedom, to yeshuoth, and to salvation. In order to obtain salvation, as countless prophets and Sunday school teachers have counseled, we must be obedient to the commandments and laws dictated by our loving Heavenly Father.

Theodore M. Burton follows this same thought process that salvation comes through obedience, repentance and the atonement in his talk in the 1972 Ensign, only he delineates more fully the grace of God in our exaltation: “It [salvation] is the idea of a personal atonement or reconciliation that can bring me back into the presence of God as one of his covenant sons that appeals to me. That kind of conditional salvation I call exaltation. Exaltation comes as a gift from God…only by the grace of God has this course been opened to me, but only through obedience to the laws of God can I claim my inheritance in the celestial kingdom of my Heavenly Father as a son within his family. I cannot be exalted in my sins, but must work until I overcome them.”[2]It is at this point—when we must work to overcome our sins—that the atonement is necessary, for we cannot make a full reconciliation for our sins: “For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.”[3] It is beyond our human power to pay for our sins and also gain exaltation.

One of the main reasons I love the book The Miracle of Forgiveness, even though it has a reputation of being a painful book to read, is it dictates in full detail the number and variety of sins we can commit. No man, regardless of how admirable he may be—with the Savior as the only exception—can escape this world unspotted and pollutant-free, “for the Lord cannot look upon sin with the dleast degree of allowance.”[4] Any minor infraction we perpetrate—be it one unholy Sabbath day, or one simple, slimy thought—will keep us from God and will keep us spotted if we forget to repent for it. To me and my absurdly independent soul, this fact only intensifies my need for the Savior, my need to hand over my problems to someone better qualified, a feat nearly impossible to a no-I’ll-do-it-myself girl. And what exquisite freedom comes then! Living in the presence of two perfect beings whose love is ineffable would be heaven for me, and through the atonement and grace and love and mercy, it is possible.

I have a confession to make: For the past eighteen years of my life, I have not understood, much less fathomed, the Lord’s infinite atonement. The center of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the key to salvation is the most difficult doctrine for me to comprehend. All attempts to conceptualize this immense sacrifice for me have failed rather swiftly. Why on Earth would anyone take on all of my pain, all of my family’s pain, all of my friends’ pain, and every person who has breathed on this earth? Unrestricted anguish. And how could He? And how can I ask a being who has shed blood for me for forgiveness? I don’t deserve it. Yet this impossible task of petitioning my maker to “Please excuse my stupidity,” is required for eternal life. How shall I even begin to approach Him on the subject? Until I let the true meaning of this scripture in 2 Nephi sink into my soul, which was not too long ago, I was almost entirely lost in my understanding: “He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him. Wherefore, he commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation.”[5] Even me, a foolish American girl who tells fibs, who thinks unclean and rude thoughts, who is unbelievably lazy, is commanded to partake of the Lord’s salvation by whatever means necessary. And why must I? Here’s the point, and each gospel principle always comes down to this fact, that God and Jesus Christ love us beyond any human imagination. Think about it, no being was forcing Heavenly Father to bring us from our state as intelligences to spirit bodies, nor was there any outside force coercing Him to create an earth, to sacrifice His Son, and to listen to our sometimes whiny and shallow prayers. Everything that Heavenly Father does for us is purely out of love—in other words we are His charity case. Knowing that my Father in Heaven will always love me, gives me courage to try and face my fears and take my weaknesses before Him, so that I may find the peace and joy of burdens being lifted from me. Thus I restate with the conviction of my soul that salvation is possible.

I have far too many scripture that could tie in with this discussion, but I must refrain from listing all of them because I have already written too much. I have one last scripture to end on, and it appeals to me because it compares the eternal principles of salvation with temporal experience we humans can understand: “Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath; for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment; and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner. But my salvation shall be forever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.”[6]

[1] President Spencer W. Kimball, The Miracle of Forgiveness, page 28
[2] Theodore M. Burton, “Salvation and Exaltation,” Ensign, Jul 1972, 78
[3]2 Nephi 25:23
[4]Alma 45:15
[5]2 Nephi 26:24
[6]2 Nephi 8:6