Therefore I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect. (3 Nephi 12:48)
The presence of the Lord causes the earth to tremble. The Psalmist wrote, “tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob;” (Psalm 114:7) “The earth shook, the heavens also dropped at the presence of God: even Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God, the God of Israel.” (Psalm 68:8)
The presence of God is a consuming fire. “The Lord thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.” (Deuteronomy 4:24). The wicked are tormented by fire in his presence. The Psalmist wrote that “As smoke is driven away, so drive them away: as wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God.” (Psalm 68:2) John said:
The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: (Revelation 14:10)
His presence consumes everything that is corruptible:
A fire goeth before him, and burneth up his enemies round about. His lightnings enlightened the world: the earth saw, and trembled. The hills melted like wax at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. (Psalm 97:3-5)
What endures before God’s presence? What remains after refinement? What endures through the fire?
But who may abide the day of his coming, and who shall stand when he appeareth? For he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fuller’s soap. And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. (3 Nephi 24:2-3)
Those who are pure will withstand the presence of God. When we “shall have a perfect knowledge of all our guilt, and our uncleanness, and our nakedness” it will be “the righteous [who] shall have a perfect knowledge of their enjoyment, and their righteousness, being clothed with purity, yea, even with the robe of righteousness.” (2 Nephi 9:13-14) It is only those who are clothed upon with purity—those who have reconciled themselves to God’s commandments—that can enter into God’s presence.
And he hath brought to pass the redemption of the world, whereby he that is found guiltless before him at the judgment day hath it given unto him to dwell in the presence of God in his kingdom, to sing ceaseless praises with the choirs above, unto the Father, and unto the Son, and unto the Holy Ghost, which are one God, in a state of happiness which hath no end. (Mormon 7:7)
If you are in violation of the commandments of God, as far as you know them, to any degree, you are not guiltless before God. The only way you can be guiltless before God is to be reconciled to God’s commandments. The idea that a man can be a sinner and still dwell in God’s presence is a fabrication created by men.
God does not tolerate even the least degree of sin.
We must avoid the temptation to excuse ourselves for our sins:
7 Yea, and there shall be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die; and it shall be well with us.
8 And there shall also be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry; nevertheless, fear God—he will justify in committing a little sin; yea, lie a little, take the advantage of one because of his words, dig a pit for thy neighbor; there is no harm in this; and do all these things, for tomorrow we die; and if it so be that we are guilty, God will beat us with a few stripes, and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom of God.
9 Yea, and there shall be many which shall teach after this manner, false and vain and foolish doctrines...
11 Yea, they have all gone out of the way; they have become corrupted.
14 ...they have all gone astray save it be a few, who are the humble followers of Christ; nevertheless, they are led, that in many instances they do err because they are taught by the precepts of men.
15 O the wise, and the learned, and the rich, that are puffed up in the pride of their hearts, and all those who preach false doctrines, and all those who commit whoredoms, and pervert the right way of the Lord, wo, wo, wo be unto them, saith the Lord God Almighty, for they shall be thrust down to hell! (2 Nephi 28)
Those who believe that God can tolerate sin in the least degree ignore his word; “the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance.” (Alma 45:16) Those who knowingly engage in sin are cut off from God’s presence. Even partial sin leads to complete condemnation, according to God’s word.
Therefore, thou son of man, say unto the children of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression: as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall the righteous be able to live for his righteousness in the day that he sinneth. (Ezekiel 33:12)
God cannot save sinners in their sins. He can only save sinners from their sins.
34 And Zeezrom said again: Shall he save his people in their sins? And Amulek answered and said unto him: I say unto you he shall not, for it is impossible for him to deny his word.
35 Now Zeezrom said unto the people: See that ye remember these things; for he said there is but one God; yet he saith that the Son of God shall come, but he shall not save his people— as though he had authority to command God. (Alma 11:34-35)
Salvation is not about sinning less. It is about not sinning at all . This is a bold and extreme statement, but analysis of scripture will bear it out.
It is possible to become sinless in this life.
Is it possible to keep all of God’s commandments? If you don’t think so, chances are you have adopted a theology where God permits at least some sin. Man’s failure, not God’s word, is the source of that false doctrine.
Only those who believe it is possible will ever try. In order to become sinless, it requires faith in God. It is impossible to exercise God’s power without faith, and it is impossible to have faith in a principle that you do not believe could be true. In order to describe how to become sinless, we must first show that it is possible.
That the goal of the gospel is to produce sinless men is undeniable. Paul described his mission as perfecting every man in Christ Jesus:
Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: (Colossians 1:28)
In another letter, he clarified that “perfect in Christ” meant to achieve a stature similar to that of Jesus:
Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: (Ephesians 4:13)
Mormon described the possibility of being found spotless at the great and last day:
O then ye unbelieving, turn ye unto the Lord; cry mightily unto the Father in the name of Jesus, that perhaps ye may be found spotless , pure, fair, and white, having been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb, at that great and last day. (Mormon 9:6)
John the Revelator described true disciples of God as those who purify themselves, becoming like Jesus by not sinning and keeping Jesus’ commandments:
1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
5 And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.
6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.
7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.
8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. (1 John 3)
Jesus, our example in all things, lived a sinless life. One of the reasons Jesus had to come to this earth as a man is to prove that it is within the capacity of man to perfectly obey God. If it were not so, God could not justly require full obedience to him.
It is possible to become free from sin:
...that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen. (Moroni 7:48)
It is also essential.
People who are capable of sin cannot live with God.
The Lord makes it clear that those who fail to keep his commandments cannot endure his presence:
Now my son, I would that ye should repent and forsake your sins...for except ye do this ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God. (Alma 39:9)
...inasmuch as ye will not keep the commandments of God ye shall be cut off from his presence. (Alma 38:1)
...the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance. (Alma 45:16)
[Those who] obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ...shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power... (2 Thessalonians 1:8-9)
Many mistakenly think that all that is required to dwell with God is to be forgiven of one’s sins. Forgiveness of sins covers past transgression, but does not change who you are. One who is capable of sin remains capable of sin despite having been forgiven of past sin.
21 And if the Lord shall say—Because of thine iniquities thou shalt be cut off from my presence—he will cause that it shall be so.
22 And wo unto him to whom he shall say this, for it shall be unto him _that will_ do iniquity, and he cannot be saved; therefore, for this cause, that men might be saved, hath repentance been declared. (Helaman 12)
Those who will continue in sin—even if forgiven of past sin—cannot dwell with God.
But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. (Revelation 21:8)
Jesus can temporarily admit us into his presence by forgiving us of our past sins. For example, Isaiah recoiled from God’s presence until he was told that his sins had been forgiven:
Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. (Isaiah 6:5)
However, the indescribable pain felt by those with unforgiven sin will return to such a one as soon as they sin again.
An individual capable of sin cannot dwell permanently in the presence of God, because he will soon sin again, causing him to recoil from the presence of God due to the indescribable pain of enduring his presence while in sin.
Perfect in Christ
While we are wrong to assume it is not possible to obey all of God’s commandments, we are right to recognize that Jesus was greater than any man who has lived or will live on this earth. We ought not compare ourselves to Jesus in the sense of his knowledge or power. However, we can—and are commanded to—duplicate his desire for good and perfect obedience to God.
We can be perfect as Jesus is perfect without being equal to him. This seemingly paradoxical position makes sense when one realizes that God gives different commandments to different people at different times according to their capacity. To be perfect in Christ, one must simply obey every commandment they have received from God. This is not the same as obeying all the commandments given to others. For example, the commandment you receive from God will differ from those that the Lord received from his Father. Because he was further advanced than any other mortal, he was given commandments harder to obey than any other mortal.
God has promised that we will never be commanded beyond our capacity to obey.
And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them. (1 Nephi 3:7)
There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. (1 Corinthians 10:13)
We can be confident that any commandment of which we are aware is within our capacity to obey. That is a profound truth that ought to lead to significant change in your life. You can move forward with the confidence that any trial you face has been given to you by a loving God with full confidence of your capacity to obey.
As you grow in ability, God will reveal more and different commandments to you. To be perfect in Christ is to maintain obedience to all commandments that you know. It is to be reconciled to the portion of God’s word of which you are aware.
32 Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.
33 And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins, that ye become holy, without spot. (Moroni 10)
The path to salvation, then, is to first repent, and then to keep God’s commandments with perfect obedience as they are revealed to you.
3 And it is requisite with the justice of God that men should be judged according to their works; and if their works were good in this life, and the desires of their hearts were good, that they should also, at the last day, be restored unto that which is good.
4 And if their works are evil they shall be restored unto them for evil. Therefore, all things shall be restored to their proper order, every thing to its natural frame—mortality raised to immortality, corruption to incorruption—raised to endless happiness to inherit the kingdom of God, or to endless misery to inherit the kingdom of the devil, the one on one hand, the other on the other—
5 The one raised to happiness according to his desires of happiness, or good according to his desires of good; and the other to evil according to his desires of evil; for as he has desired to do evil all the day long even so shall he have his reward of evil when the night cometh.
6 And so it is on the other hand. _If he hath repented of his sins,_ and _desired righteousness until the end of his days_, even so he shall be rewarded unto righteousness. (Alma 41)
The standard commandments found in the scriptures provide a starting point. If you want to draw closer to God, read the scriptures prayerfully and identify each commandment you are currently disobeying. Repent and fulfill the commandments. God will also give you individual commandments. These can resemble scriptural commandments in scope and form, or could be one-time instructions. Custom commandments can range from mundane to deeply profound. No matter how arbitrary it may seem, it is of utmost importance to keep any commandment God gives you or has given you, including what is contained in the scriptures.
As you obey what God has revealed, he will reveal more to you, which you are likewise obligated to obey. If you continue faithful, he will reveal more to you. God will increase the difficulty of each commandment to correspond with your increasing spiritual strength. Eventually, he will reveal to you all the laws that you need to live to be comfortable in his presence.
If we keep God’s commandments without fail, we will be able to bear his presence.
Dear friends, if we feel at ease in the presence of God, we will have the courage to come near him. He will give us whatever we ask, because we obey him and do what pleases him. (1 John 3:19-22, CEV)
There is no other way.
Righteous desire, even unto death
Because God has promised that he will never give you a commandment that you do not have the capacity to obey, you can rest assured that the one and only reason for your disobedience is a lack of desire.
We are given everything necessary to become saved. If we fail in the task after having been correctly instructed in the gospel, it can only be for lack of desire.
27 Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.
28 And now, my sons, I would that ye should look to the great Mediator, and hearken unto his great commandments; and be faithful unto his words, and choose eternal life, according to the will of his Holy Spirit;
29 And not choose eternal death, according to the will of the flesh and the evil which is therein, which giveth the spirit of the devil power to captivate, to bring you down to hell, that he may reign over you in his own kingdom. (2 Nephi 2:27-29)
Most Christians do not actually desire to obey God. They are interested in obeying God, but they allow their desire for other things to dictate their sinful behavior. Desire isn’t the same as interest!
Most people get caught up in Jesus’ godliness: the gospels are full of supernatural qualities. These qualities are wonderful, but they should not take away from his humanity. We can learn as much from Jesus’ humanity as we can his godliness. Jesus is our Lord, Savior, and the son of God. He had incredible godly power to work miracles, and even had power given him over his own life. However, while on the earth he did not have a superhuman power against sin. He was subject to all temptations of the flesh—in fact greater temptations than any other man. Yet, he was sinless. His sinlessness was not a manifestation of God, but a manifestation of righteous desire. No man will atone for the sins of the world. No man will resurrect himself. But all men can—and must—exercise the same desire to do God’s will as Jesus possessed if they will be saved.
In this world, we can either choose good or evil. Those who choose good will be saved. Those who choose evil will not.
11 Now, concerning the state of the soul between death and the resurrection—Behold, it has been made known unto me by an angel, that the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body, yea, the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave them life.
12 And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of those who are righteous are received into a state of happiness, which is called paradise, a state of rest, a state of peace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care, and sorrow.
13 And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of the wicked, yea, who are evil—for behold, they have no part nor portion of the Spirit of the Lord; for behold, _they chose evil works rather than good_ ; therefore the spirit of the devil did enter into them, and take possession of their house—and these shall be cast out into outer darkness; there shall be weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth, and this _because of their own iniquity_ , being led captive by the will of the devil.
14 Now this is the state of the souls of the wicked, yea, in darkness, and a state of awful, fearful looking for the fiery indignation of the wrath of God upon them; thus they remain in this state, as well as the righteous in paradise, until the time of their resurrection. (Alma 40)
You must choose to follow God in each choice, every time. You must deny yourself of all ungodliness, and every wordly lust, and keep all his commandments.
Therefore, if a man bringeth forth good works he hearkeneth unto the voice of the good shepard, and he doth follow him; but whosoever bringeth forth evil works, the same becometh a child of the devil, for he hearkeneth unto his voice, and doth follow him. (Alma 5:41)
We are told plainly that if we love God, we will keep his commandments:
15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. (John 14:15, 16, 21, 23)
You cannot allow yourself to choose contrary to God’s will, even if it costs you your life.
And thus we see that, when these Lamanites were brought to believe and to know the truth, they were firm, and would suffer even unto death rather than commit sin... (Alma 24:19).
And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. (Revelation 12:11)
34 ...Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
35 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it. (Mark 8:34-35)
The atonement isn't a magical thing: you really do have to change. The atonement isn’t a magic wand. It is a ladder, given to us by Christ, allowing us to climb out of the consequences of the fall. You really do have to be everything that Jesus is asking you to be. There is no other way. The idea of meeting God halfway is false doctrine.
You don’t keep the commandments because of slight discomfort. How can you inherit the same glory as one who kept the commandments even though it cost his or her life? While the sacrifice God asks is different for every person, the common element is that each recipient is willing to obey God in all things, in all circumstances, until the end of their lives.
Dying in your sins
If we do not keep his commandments, it does not matter how much we say we believe in Jesus or how often we may engage in good works, we will die in our sins and be overwhelmed with grief and torment in his presence.
And wo unto them who shall do these things away and die, for they die in their sins, and they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God; and I speak it according to the words of Christ; and I lie not. (Moroni 10:26)
But wo unto him that has the law given, yea, that has all the commandments of God, like unto us, and that transgresseth them, and that wasteth the days of his probation, for awful is his state! (2 Nephi 9:27)
The punishment that awaits those who disobey God is not vengeful or arbitrary. It is simply the unavoidable result of natural law.
7 These are they that are redeemed of the Lord; yea, these are they that are taken out, that are delivered from that endless night of darkness; and thus they stand or fall; for behold, they are their own judges, whether to do good or do evil.
8 Now, the decrees of God are unalterable; therefore, the way is prepared that whosoever will may walk therein and be saved.
9 And now behold, my son, do not risk one more offense against your God upon those points of doctrine, which ye have hitherto risked to commit sin.
10 Do not suppose, because it has been spoken concerning restoration, that ye shall be restored from sin to happiness. Behold, I say unto you, wickedness never was happiness.
11 And now, my son, all men that are in a state of nature, or I would say, in a carnal state, are in the gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity; they are without God in the world, and they have gone contrary to the nature of God; therefore, they are in a state contrary to the nature of happiness.
12 And now behold, is the meaning of the word restoration to take a thing of a natural state and place it in an unnatural state, or to place it in a state opposite to its nature?
13 O, my son, this is not the case; but the meaning of the word restoration is to bring back again evil for evil, or carnal for carnal, or devilish for devilish—good for that which is good; righteous for that which is righteous; just for that which is just; merciful for that which is merciful. (Alma 41)
Unfortunately, death does not save you from your sins. If you have not reconciled your life to the commandments God has provided to you in this life, you will not be ready to meet God when you die, and you will remain in your present state:
And he doth not dwell in unholy temples; neither can filthiness or anything which is unclean be received into the kingdom of God; therefore I say unto you the time shall come, yea, and it shall be at the last day, that he who is filthy shall remain in his filthiness. (Alma 7:21)
Dying in one’s sins relegates an individual to a state of suffering. Having rejected Jesus’ sacrifice by disobeying his commandments to them, these individuals must suffer the penalty of their own sins:
33 Wherefore, if they should die in their wickedness they must be cast off also, as to the things which are spiritual, which are pertaining to righteousness; wherefore, they must be brought to stand before God, to be judged of their works; and if their works have been filthiness they must needs be filthy; and if they be filthy it must needs be that they cannot dwell in the kingdom of God; if so, the kingdom of God must be filthy also.
34 But behold, I say unto you, the kingdom of God is not filthy, and there cannot any unclean thing enter into the kingdom of God; wherefore there must needs be a place of filthiness prepared for that which is filthy.
35 And there is a place prepared, yea, even that awful hell of which I have spoken, and the devil is the preparator of it; wherefore the final state of the souls of men is to dwell in the kingdom of God, or to be cast out because of that justice of which I have spoken.
36 Wherefore, the wicked are rejected from the righteous, and also from that tree of life, whose fruit is most precious and most desirable above all other fruits; yea, and it is the greatest of all the gifts of God. And thus I spake unto my brethren. Amen. (1 Nephi 15)
It is for this reason that God cast Adam and Eve out of the garden once they began to sin:
22 And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
23 Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life. (Genesis 3:22-24)
If Adam and Eve had eaten of the tree of life, they would have been permanently barred from God’s presence because they would not have had the opportunity to repent. Through the resurrection, all men will be as immortal as Adam and Eve would have been if they had continued to eat of the tree of life. Therefore, this life is a time to repent and become sinless, because if we carry sin into the resurrection, we bar ourselves from God’s presence forever.
Because this is the state of those who did not repent in this life, it is incredibly important for us to reconcile ourselves to God’s commandments in this life:
33 And now, as I said unto you before, as ye have had so many witnesses, therefore, I beseech of you that ye do not procrastinate the day of your repentance until the end; for after this day of life, which is given us to prepare for eternity, behold, if we do not improve our time while in this life, then cometh the night of darkness wherein there can be no labor performed.
34 Ye cannot say, when ye are brought to that awful crisis, that I will repent, that I will return to my God. Nay, ye cannot say this; for that same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world.
35 For behold, if ye have procrastinated the day of your repentance even until death, behold, ye have become subjected to the spirit of the devil, and he doth seal you his; therefore, the Spirit of the Lord hath withdrawn from you, and hath no place in you, and the devil hath all power over you; and this is the final state of the wicked.
36 And this I know, because the Lord hath said he dwelleth not in unholy temples, but in the hearts of the righteous doth he dwell; yea, and he has also said that the righteous shall sit down in his kingdom, to go no more out; but their garments should be made white through the blood of the Lamb. (Alma 34)
Keeping all of God’s commandments is the only way to dwell in his presence.
Dear friends, if we feel at ease in the presence of God, we will have the courage to come near him. He will give us whatever we ask, because we obey him and do what pleases him. (1 John 3:19-22, CEV)
20 For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.
21 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.
22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us. (1 John 3)
We must keep all of God’s commandments, or we will find ourselves cast out of his presence after this life.
Wherefore, if ye have sought to do wickedly in the days of your probation, then ye are found unclean before the judgment-seat of God; and no unclean thing can dwell with God; wherefore, ye must be cast off forever. (1 Nephi 10:21)
Conversely, by keeping his commandments, we will find ourselves brought back into his presence.