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Okay, let's unpack this. We've got quite a stack of material in front of us today. All thanks to you, our listener. And it's focused on well, one core topic, repentance. It really is. Yeah. And it's a word, you know, we hear a lot, but it can mean such different things depending on where you're coming from. The sources you've shared really dive deep. They do. Offering a perspective that uh might challenge some common assumptions out there. Definitely. So, our mission for this deep dive is basically to cut through the noise, right? pull out the key ideas and really understand what this material says is essential about repentance, sin, and righteousness. Exactly. And these sources, they present these concepts not just as like abstract religious ideas. No, more as fundamental realities that shape our everyday lives or potential. It's a view that seems to move beyond, you know, simple checklists or easy outs. Okay, so let's jump right in. What do these sources actually say repentance is? Where's the starting point? Well, the definition they give is very specific. Repentance is fully reconciling your ideas, desires, and actions to your sincere understanding of what is best. Okay, hold on. Fully reconciling ideas, desires, and actions to your sincere understanding of what is best. So, it's not just feeling bad or saying sorry. Not just that. No. Yeah. It's about lining up everything, what you think, what you want, what you do, what you genuinely understand to be the ideal. Wow. Okay. a holistic alignment then. Exactly. And that leads right into the next key definition. What is what is best according to these sources? That's righteousness. But here's where it pushes back against a common idea. Righteousness, they say, is not just a static list of rules dictated from on high, not even from God. That's what the material argues. He says even God doesn't just dictate it. He uh reasons with you person to person. So it really hinges on your individual understanding, your conscience heavily. Yes. Shaped by learning from others obviously, but ultimately it's deeply personal, your sincere understanding. That's that's a really interesting foundation. So righteousness is your highest personal grasp of the ideal. Then sin, where does that fit? Sin in this framework is defined quite simply as deviation from what is best. Deviation from your own understanding of best. Right? More specifically, it's willingly doing less than your best. Willingly doing less. Okay. So, recognizing and correcting sin under this definition, it feels very practical then like course correcting back to your own internal compass. Precisely. It reorients you to what you sincerely understand as best. And these sources, they're quite sharp in their critique of other viewpoints. Oh, yeah. Yeah. And they mentioned what they call modern Judeo-Christians and also atheists, saying both can fall into a similar trap, which is mistakenly believing that just, you know, professing a belief or even disbelief somehow frees them from the guilt of doing less than their own best. That's a strong claim. And they go further, don't they? Saying many churches replaced righteousness with religiousness. Yes, exactly. Arguing that people are sometimes taught they can be saved through like church membership or rituals even while still breaking fundamental commandments. Hm. The material really emphasizes and incites scriptural passages to back this up that God cares about doing his will, not just checking boxes or performing ceremonies. So, how does Jesus's sacrifice fit into this picture then if it's all about doing God's will? The sources say it wasn't meant to help people like bypass justice. That's a really critical point in this material. They argue Christ's sacrifice made it possible for justice to actually bring blessing. How? but only through your choice to faithfully learn and live his instructions. It's conditional. So salvation isn't automatic. It requires living according to your sincere understanding and actively trying to learn more. That's the idea. Living what you know and trying to know more. They cite several verses supporting this need for active participation. Okay. So sin is willingly doing less than your best guided by your personal understanding of righteousness. Let's dig a bit deeper into sin itself because the sources are emphatic that it's not just a simple list, right? They might mention biblical lists as examples, but then they immediately point out that you just cannot list all possible sins. Why not? What's the reasoning? Well, because reality is just too complex, too varied for any complete static rule book. Ah, okay. Rules are specific to situations, but reality throws infinite situations at you. You'd need an infinite list. And even if you had one, people would still argue about whether an action actually fits the description. Exactly. The sources point to how Jesus himself was falsely accused of all sorts of things. Blasphemy, being a glutton, sedition, h according to his accusers's interpretation of the rules. Precisely. So sin isn't just confined to a few big obvious actions. It can happen when? Anytime, any place, in anything. The the phrase used actions, thoughts, desires. It sounds like a constant momentby-moment calibration. That's a good way to put it. A continuous process of either conforming to or deviating from your own internal model of the ideal, right? And the sources also tackle the idea of original sin head on. What do they say about that? I know that's a big concept for many. They call it a distortion, something used, they argue, to avoid personal responsibility. Okay. They state very clearly, we are accountable only for our own sins. When the scriptures say all have sinned, it means everyone personally falls short, not that we inherit guilt. So Adam's sin set the stage, created the environment. Yes, the environment for our choices and brought physical death which Christ overcomes. But it does make us accountable for his specific choice. That's the argument. And they also say children can't actually sin until they develop enough understanding to know value and then choose less than that understanding. Interesting. And there's no wiggle room for little sins or secret sins either in this view. None. The sources are really uncompromising here. Any deviation from your sincere understanding of what's best, no matter how small or how private it seems, it separates you from God. They even mention that great things can come from small things, implying even tiny deviations have significant spiritual weight. Wow. Okay. And they also push back hard against the idea of just trying not to sin. This is another really challenging point they make. Too many think that repentance is just trying not to sin. It isn't. That's a direct quote. So, what does God expect then? Obedience. According to this material, God expects obedience even, they say, unto death. That sounds absolute. It does. But they clarify. Being sinless doesn't mean doing things beyond your capacity. It means not making excuses for yourself when you're capable of doing what's best, but you choose not to anyway. Okay. This view of sin being so pervasive, so momentto moment, it really leads into what seems like a central maybe unique concept in these sources, the role of our conscience. Absolutely fundamental. They state it very plainly. Your conscience is God's voice to you. Not just a metaphor, like literally God's voice. That's how it's presented. Not just a feeling of guilt or some vague moral compass, but as authoritative, accurate, and real as if God were speaking audibly. Wow, that's significant. So, how does it work? What is the conscience in this view? It's described as your internal model of God, essentially built up from every instance of ideal human behavior you've ever witnessed or learned about or even imagined. Okay. And the sources critique how we normally use it. Yeah. They say, "We often treat it like a compass we only pull out when we're already completely lost. They're just too late, which leads to disaster, they argue. Instead, they describe it as a constant guidance system. A guidance system showing you the way towards God as far as you currently understand him. It represents what God would do in your specific situation right now. It's articulating your ideal potential self in that moment. So, you can actively engage with it like ask it questions. Yes. Query it as they put it. Ask what could I do better here? And the answer comes through your own honest reception which they say is God answering. And here's another powerful idea. They bring up your perception that you could do better. That awareness from your conscience. They say it's both God's invitation to improve and his certification that you are capable. Capable. Meaning meaning if your conscience shows you a better way, that very awareness proves you can achieve it. They link it to the idea that God won't command something impossible. Your perception is the evidence of your capacity for that next step. So if your conscience pricks you about something, it means you can do it. That's the claim. And the consequences follow logically. Hating it brings peace, clarity, and ignoring it harms you, blinds you, makes you less discerning over time. They're very direct. The price of a clear conscience is obeying it all the time. All the time. No excuses. Making excuses, doing less than your conscience dictates, prevents that peace, and they argue prevents forgiveness. This demanding view of conscience as a momentto- moment guide, it flows right into the active path presented. Obedience, repentance, and the covenant of baptism. Right. Obedience is framed as well non-negotiable, total submission to God. Described with terms like broken heart and contrite spirit. Exactly. Which requires, they say, fearing and loving God above absolutely everything else. Your reputation, your possessions, even your life. And it sounds like this submission, this obedience, yeah, it's not something you can do halfway according to these sources. No, it's binary. You're either fully submitted in that moment, aligning your life with your understanding of God's will, or you're not at all times, in all places. Okay. So, where does repentance fit? If the demand is total obedience, isn't repentance about fixing failures? Repentance is the process. It's how you become righteous. It starts with that perception of improvement from your conscience and then it's the active work of reconciling your desires and actions to that higher understanding you just received. Repentance fundamentally means improvement. And this improvement involves more than just you know asking God to forgive you. Oh much more. The sources stress you must confess them and forsake them. Actually stop doing the wrong thing and change your ways. The Christ sacrifice makes forgiveness possible. Yes, possible. but on the condition that you actually repent and change. Yeah, God cares about what you will do now, not just what you did before. Okay, that makes sense. God's looking forward. And there's another condition they stress for repentance, which is you must forgive others. Holding on to unforgiveness, they argue, brings condemnation on yourself. It blocks your own path. Okay. And baptism, how is that presented? as an essential part of repentance. It's described as a formal covenant, a serious commitment to be obedient right to the very end. And there are qualifications mentioned. Yes, it requires a willing conscious decision to follow God no matter the cost and enough maturity to actually understand and make that independent lifelong commitment. Which is why they argue infant baptism doesn't fit this model. Right? And the sources even talk about rebaptism, which might sound unusual to some. It might. They state that if you knowingly break that baptismal covenant by willingly sinning after making it, yeah, you need to repent fully and then be rebaptized to formally renew that commitment. And they anticipate push back on that, that it seems excessive. They do, but they argue that view reveals a misunderstanding of how serious the covenant is, how high the stakes are, maybe valuing pride over the necessary sacrifice. They suggest this whole path, rigorous obedience, deep repentance, covenant-making, it culminates in a state the sources call being born again. Yes. And they're careful to explain. It's not like a magic trick. Not instantaneous. Not usually. No. It's presented as a result of consciously choosing to fully submit to God in everything. A mighty change of heart, as scripture puts it. And this change involves two key elements. Justification and sanctification. Exactly. Justification is described as the forgiveness of your past sins through Christ. That's like being wiped clean. Yeah. If you never sinned before that point. Okay. And sanctification. That's the ongoing process. Becoming holy, purified, perfected. How? By receiving and integrating knowledge and direction from God primarily through the Holy Ghost. Yes. The Holy Ghost is presented as God's information channel. Information channel teaching you about God yourself. Reality. Repentance and baptism are what restore or enable that crucial connection. They also mention something called the baptism of fire. What's that described as a sudden exposure to increased divine intelligence, purging ignorance, a more intense infusion of light and understanding. So being born again fundamentally changes your motivation. That's the core of it. You adopt Christ as your primary motive, seeking the world's benefit, not just your own. And the sources claim someone in this state has no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually. That's the description given. Yes. A complete shift in desire and inclination. Wow. That sounds like a state of well perfection almost. Is it permanent once you reach it? Ah, no. That's a crucial point the sources hammer home. No. No. It requires continued perfect obedience. Receiving the Holy Ghost doesn't make obedience automatic or easier. In fact, it gives you more instruction, more light to live up to. So if you willfully disobey after reaching this state, the Holy Ghost withdraws. That connection is broken. Being born again, they argue, is only permanent if you continue in that state of complete obedience to the light you have. And this leads directly to a very serious consequence discussed in the sources. The cost of turning away what's often called the unpardonable sin. Yes. Identified as blasphemy against the Holy Ghost. How do these sources define that specifically? It sounds very final. It's defined as turning away from our understanding of what is right after you've received the Holy Ghost. So, it's not just any sin. It's knowingly, willfully deviating from what you fully believe God wants you to do in that moment after you've received that higher light. Exactly. Because it's a willing rejection of the highest light you have, it violates the very condition upon which forgiveness is offered, which is turning towards the light. And that's why it's unpardonable in this framework because you're cutting yourself off from the source. Precisely. Yeah. You're cutting yourself off from the Holy Ghost. The very channel of forgiveness and further progression. It's framed as open rebellion against God's known will. The material suggests this state. Being alienated from God by doing less than your best is actually quite common. Yes, they cite scripture suggesting almost everyone falls short and is thus alienated to some degree. But the unpardonable sin has a much steeper penalty for those who had received more. Far more severe. For those who have received the Holy Ghost and then choose to turn away, the sources say it would have been better for them never to have known that level of light. They actually lose even the light and sensitivity they previously had. That's chilling. And the sources make a very stark claim about who might be living in this state. They state it explicitly. Anyone who receives the Holy Ghost and then lives in less than complete reconciliation to their own highest understanding of the ideal, yes, is by definition living in the unpardonable sin in that moment because they are willingly violating the terms of their connection to that spirit. Wow. And they even link it to the phrase shedding innocent blood. Yes. The explanation given is that willingly sinning after making that covenant and receiving that light is seen as symbolically asenting to Christ's death again, betraying the sacrifice made for you. It's a very heavy concept, but is there still hope presented? Can you come back from that? Yes. The path back, they say, is always open as long as you're alive. It requires turning back fully with all your heart, might, mind, and strength. A complete recommmitment. Okay. This entire demanding framework, sin, obedience, conscience, the Holy Ghost, it all leads inevitably towards the end, judgment, right? And the preparation for standing before God is described consistently. Repentance, baptism, and enduring in that path of obedience to the end. Judgment is based on your works, your actions, your character, and the experience of judgment itself. It sounds terrifying, but maybe not like a courtroom scene. Less like a courtroom, more like ultimate self-awareness. Standing in God's perfect presence means seeing yourself perfectly, your true character, thoughts, desires all laid bare to God and to yourself. Exactly. The judgment in this view isn't really God handing down a sentence. It's your own undeniable painful realization of the gap between your imperfection and God's perfection. Man becomes his own tormentor, the sources say. So those who repented, who changed, they can stand it because of Christ's help. Yes. But those who didn't change are just overwhelmed by their own guilt and shame. They shrink away. Correct. Consigned to a torment that comes from their own unreconciled state. And they reiterate, just asking for forgiveness isn't the whole story. Because forgiveness might cover the past, but it doesn't change who you are. Exactly. If you haven't fundamentally changed your character, your desires, you'll just sin again when faced with God's perfection, and you won't be able to endure his presence. So, the core reason an unclean thing can't dwell with God isn't arbitrary. It's presented as fundamental incompatibility. If you are still capable of choosing less than your best, you will eventually do so in that perfect environment and thus you cannot stay there permanently. Only those who through this whole process become incapable of sin, truly changed, sanctified, can dwell permanently with God. That really shifts the focus from just following rules to deep internal transformation. Which brings us back to the relationship between commandments and that inner guide, the conscience. Where do written commandments fit if conscience is God's direct voice? They're described as essential training tools like situational snapshots of God's character and will. They help structure our understanding, show us where we fall short, train the conscious. No. Okay. training tools. But you mentioned earlier the sources say conscience is actually superior to the written commandments. Did I get that right? You did. That's a key point. While rules train the conscience, conscience is presented as the superior guide for navigating the infinite complexities of real life that go beyond any specific rule. Okay, the live feed versus the training manual. That's a good analogy. But here's where it gets really uh challenging potentially. The sources claim your conscience can actually contradict a specific commandment. you know, and if that happens, the instruction given is incredibly stark, which is always go with your conscience. While they caution exercising extreme vigilance against just making excuses for yourself, but they argue this is sometimes necessary to break free from the limitations of fixed rules and find a higher, better way in a unique situation. So if your highest, clearest, most sincere understanding in a complex moment tells you the right thing seems to bend or break a known rule, these sources say follow the conscience. That is the challenging position they take. And they strongly critique those who rigly follow rules while ignoring their conscience when it prompts them towards something more or different, saying they're actually worse off, opposing God's internal voice. Yes. Actively opposing God's voice to him. And they cite Jesus saying he doesn't know those who call him Lord but don't do what he says which in this view includes listening to conscience. This really highlights the dynamic nature of progression described in these sources. It's not static. Not at all. Progression requires constant diligence in learning more about God, seeking more light. It's sequential line upon line building on your current understanding and the choices you make based on it. And you have to be willing to let go of what you thought was good for something genuinely better when new truth comes along. Absolutely. They use the rich young ruler as an example of someone who couldn't do that. He kept the rules but couldn't follow the higher personal instruction from Christ. Truth is like a wedge they say. Yes. Exposing the contradictions between your current reality and the ideal. Accepting that wedge, that new truth leads towards good. Resisting it, trying to ignore the contradiction leads towards evil. So your ability to receive more light, more understanding from God depends entirely on your willingness to notice, accept, and act on the light you currently have through conscience, through instruction. Precisely. As you learn more and align with it, you start to understand God's underlying reasons. You act more like him, not just following rules, but understanding the principles. And this connects back to willful sin again, right? which stems from desiring something contrary to God more than you desire God or his way. And overcoming temptation isn't just willpower. Not solely. No, it requires trusting God to reveal a deeper truth that actually changes your desires. Shows you that the sinful choice is genuinely suboptimal, not truly fulfilling. Sin, they argue, is ultimately based on false beliefs about cause and effect. Believing something harmful is actually good for you. Exactly. And a lack of trust in God limits his ability to show you the truly optimal path. Seeking God then means seeking his instruction on the choices and actions needed to reach that better reality. We certainly covered a lot of ground today. Really taking a deep dive into the material you shared. Moving from those core definitions, repentance, righteousness, sin, exploring sin's nature, the critical role of conscience, walking through that demanding path of obedience, repentance, baptism, understanding that transformation of being born again, the seriousness of turning away, grappling with judgment, and finally seeing how commandments and conscience interact for ongoing progression. It's quite a framework. It is a dense, challenging, and intensely personal framework presented in these sources really emphasizing that momentto- moment reconciliation with your highest internal understanding of the ideal. And just to reiterate, every concept, every definition, every interpretation we discussed comes directly from the text you provided for this exploration. Absolutely. We've aimed to faithfully represent what's in this material. So maybe a final thought from these sources to leave you, our listener, with they propose that God's voice isn't distant or rare. It's speaking constantly right now through your conscience, guiding you towards your highest potential in every single moment. If that's true, how often might we be receiving crucial direction for our path, maybe even life-changing direction, and just not hearing it? Or maybe hearing it faintly, but choosing to ignore it? What could it actually mean for your daily life today, tomorrow to truly try and listen for that voice in all things big and small? Something to ponder. But we hope this deep dive gives you plenty to think about and perhaps spurs your own further reflection on these profound