Truths About Eternal Punishment

by Autumn Dickson

My message this week is given through a couple of verses in Section 19, but it’s also given through a couple of quotes that are found in the institute manual. These quotes expand our understanding of the verses found in this week’s section.

The Savior has said a lot of things throughout the scriptures and to His prophets. Only when we take them all in holistically do we find the true nature of His character and gospel. Here is one instance in which He chooses to clarify some of His other words that were given to imperfect vessels for different purposes. He is describing hell and damnation.

Doctrine and Covenants 19:6-7, 10-12

6 Nevertheless, it is not written that there shall be no end to this torment, but it is written endless torment.

7 Again, it is written eternal damnation; wherefore it is more express than other scriptures, that it might work upon the hearts of the children of men, altogether for my name’s glory.

10 For, behold, the mystery of godliness, how great is it! For, behold, I am endless, and the punishment which is given from my hand is endless punishment, for Endless is my name. Wherefore—

11 Eternal punishment is God’s punishment.

12 Endless punishment is God’s punishment.

It seems to indicate here that God isn’t planning on banishing anyone to hell forever. When He says eternal or endless, He is merely naming Himself as the deliverer of these punishments. In verse seven, it sounds like He’s explaining His use of passionate language; He wants it to work in our hearts. In this same section, He warns Martin that the pain of not repenting will be exquisite. He wants us to avoid that and so He uses inflammatory language to work in our hearts. However, this is an instance where He is clarifying what He means. “Endless” might not mean exactly what we think.

Here is the related quote in the institute manual; it’s long but worthwhile.

Elder James E. Talmage taught, “To hell there is an exit as well as an entrance. Hell is no place to which a vindictive judge sends prisoners to suffer and to be punished principally for his glory; but it is a place prepared for the teaching, the disciplining of those who failed to learn here upon the earth what they should have learned. True, we read of everlasting punishment, unending suffering, eternal damnation. That is a direful expression; but in his mercy the Lord has made plain what those words mean. ‘Eternal punishment,’ he says, is God’s punishment, for he is eternal; and that condition or state or possibility will ever exist for the sinner who deserves and really needs such condemnation; but this does not mean that the individual sufferer or sinner is to be eternally and everlastingly made to endure and suffer. No man will be kept in hell longer than is necessary to bring him to a fitness for something better.”

I love this quote. It makes perfect sense to me, and it fits in perfectly with the character of the God that I know and worship. Punishment that never ends (even after it has changed the sinner) seems incongruent to me. I feel like everything God uses is to help us progress and hell is no different. It’s not really about punishing us because we disobeyed Him and He’s offended. He is trying to teach us, and sometimes we’re stubborn and will only learn the hard way.

I would be remiss if I didn’t pause here and say that there are definitely quotes given by general authorities out there that would negate this idea, the idea that there is progression after Judgment Day. The truth about progression after this life isn’t entirely clear because the Lord hasn’t chosen to make it completely clear. However, I want to talk about the gospel for a while under this kind of context, vague as it may be. I’m not perfect. I won’t express my thoughts perfectly, and heaven knows I’ve probably got some of my understanding wrong. Luckily, the Spirit is there to help us discern truth and learn. I believe that exploring these principles, even before we have a perfect knowledge, can be useful as long as we remember we haven’t been given definitives.

Let’s talk about progression

I think sometimes we picture progression towards salvation as this linear path. We start at the baptismal gate, and then the path includes ordinances, covenants, and keeping the commandments. Then, at the end of it all, Heavenly Father pats us on the head and bestows salvation. There is merit to this rendering of the path of salvation.

I have recently started to look at it a little differently. Rather than picturing a linear path, I have begun picturing all the aspects of salvation in a circle. Here is the picture in my mind:

A couple things to note. All of the sections represent an aspect of salvation; this is obviously not a comprehensive list. It’s more just to give you an idea of what I’m picturing. The sections are colored to different degrees because at different points in our lives, we are building these kinds of salvation in our lives. At any given point, we are experiencing varying degrees of salvation and damnation, heaven and hell. Note that some of the sections aren’t colored at all because there are some aspects of salvation that we will only experience on the other side. If you look at the sections, you’ll note that these are all characteristics of the Savior. He is obviously experiencing full salvation.

In my mind, repentance has expanded beyond paying for what you did wrong. Anytime we progress within any of these sections, we are repenting. Repenting is about overcoming sin, not just saying sorry but also about reaching a sense of peace within yourself. It’s about healing so that we can feel okay in difficult circumstances like the Savior feels. It’s about learning to be happy in the realities that exist around you. If you think about it, the realities that exist around our Savior and Heavenly Father are not completely different from our’s. They know what it is to be mocked, ignored, and hated. They know what it means to be patient when someone doesn’t deserve it. They know what it is to find joy in fulfilling relationships. They have mastered this whole reality thing, and They know how to glean every possible ounce of joy from it. They’re not trying to teach us that someday all of those circumstances are going to disappear. They’re trying to change us so that we can be happy in the midst of these realities.

This model makes sense for different reasons than the linear path makes sense. For one, it has helped me understand why some people feel happier after they leave the church. You can be in the church and not find freedom from sin or fulfilling relationships; we see this happen all the time. Satan loves to skew the gospel so that we’re working hard but not reaping the benefits. When someone leaves the church, maybe they shed the weight of the guilt they weren’t supposed to be carrying anyway. In this specific aspect (namely freedom from sin), they have become more like the Savior and so they’re going to experience that particular benefit. Yes, I believe we have a responsibility to keep to our covenants, and I believe that covenants are crucial to our eternal lives. Please don’t misunderstand me. What I’m trying to express is that it’s very possible to live our covenants wrong, to live them in a manner where we’re denying ourselves salvation.

So let’s talk about true progress and finding true salvation.

Finding true salvation (finding the true blessings of the gospel) comes from our hearts changing. That’s why the Lord judges us by our hearts. It is only as our hearts change that we can find these feelings that are available in eternity. As we live honestly, we find peace. As we trust and accept the Savior, we taste freedom. The list goes on and on when you explore these different aspects of salvation.

Elder Oaks taught it this way, “Many Bible and modern scriptures speak of a final judgment at which all persons will be rewarded according to their deeds or works or the desires of their hearts. But other scriptures enlarge upon this by referring to our being judged by the condition we have achieved… The Final Judgment is not just an evaluation of a sum total of good and evil acts––what we have done. It is an acknowledgment of the final effect of our acts and thoughts––what we have become. It is not enough for anyone just to go through the motions. The commandments, ordinances, and covenants of the gospel are not a list of deposits required to be made in some heavenly account. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a plan that shows us how to become what our Heavenly Father desires us to become.”

The commandments

So if the final test is who we’ve become, where do the commandments truly fit?

The commandments are the vehicles by which we grow in these sections. For example, we’re commanded to forgive. There are a lot of people who think that they feel better if they hold a grudge and that they have a right to hold a grudge. Maybe they do have a right. However, the grudge is only hurting them. Coddling that hurt and nourishing that anger only takes away from their own peace and salvation. The Savior doesn’t even have to “punish” us when we refuse to forgive. We’re punishing ourselves. It is the same for each of the commandments. They are tools that we utilize to grow in the feeling of salvation. Hopefully, we eventually realize that we’re experiencing crappy consequences from nursing grudges and we wake up and change. The commandments are vehicles for change. If they’re not allowing you to change and find salvation in greater measure, then you’re living them the way that Satan would have you live them.

We can also utilize the tools incorrectly. For example, you can hold the commandments over your head and beat yourself up with them. This greatly diminishes your feelings of freedom from sin, and it therefore diminishes the level of heaven that you’re experiencing.

Don’t use your tools incorrectly; don’t use them as Satan would have you use them. You’ll build the wrong project entirely, and you won’t find salvation. Rather, focus on developing your relationship with Christ (that was an important section I should have included) and use the commandments to pull you into the peace that He experiences. One of the commandments includes trusting Him and His ability to save. Make sure you’re utilizing that tool as well.

Back into the context of eternal punishment

Let’s talk about this perspective of progression in the context of what we were discussing from Section 19.

Have you ever met someone who didn’t know how to be happy? Maybe they kept getting married and divorced over and over again because they didn’t know that real love looks like choosing the same person through difficulty and boredom. They oftentimes found themselves confused as to why they couldn’t find real love and why it always seems to fizzle out. As another example, maybe it’s a person that just kept pushing others in damaging ways because they believed that eventually everyone abandons them; maybe they didn’t realize that it was their damaging choices that led to these abandonments.

These are varying hells. These are all aspects of hell that people have to work through in order to find heaven within themselves. These are big examples of hell, but there are smaller examples too.

Heavenly Father allows the consequences, the eternal punishment, His punishment, so that we stop acting in ways that bring hell into our lives. When we shed some of those damaging behaviors, we naturally find a little more salvation in our lives.

Let’s explore a different example, this time in the context of the next life. You know that doctrine about ministering angels? If you don’t choose to be sealed, then you’re going to end up being a ministering angel to someone who did choose to get sealed. At first glance, this sounds like some bizarre form of unending slavery. This is incongruent with the God that I know.

Rather, I believe it looks a little more like this: If you choose not to be sealed (and vehemently stand by that choice) then you get assigned a family. You’re not a slave. You don’t have to help. However, as “time” moves on throughout eternity, you realize you’re completely without purpose. There is no reason to live forever. It’s monotonous and downright awful. Slowly, you take advantage of the opportunity to serve a family. You start to learn that happiness in eternity requires losing yourself in the service of other spirits who are starting their journey of progression.

Some would describe this role of ministering servant as a form of damnation. I would agree with this assessment. You’re damned (stopped up) from experiencing a full measure of joy because you chose against a sealing that offered purpose in an endless existence. You’re trying to hold onto this false view that happiness means focusing on yourself and not adding extra “burdens” like posterity. Hopefully, you wake up one morning in the midst of your eternity and realize, “Hey, I feel a lot happier and more fulfilled when I go and help take care of others.” Hopefully, you shed the sinful notion and step more fully into salvation.

It could be easy to view this title of ministering servant as a punishment in the form of slavery. It could be easy to believe that God was mad that you didn’t choose what He wanted so He made you a servant. In truth, He offered you an opportunity to learn salvation.

And if we take those verses in Section 19 and that Talmage quote at face value, then maybe you get to progress beyond this as soon as you figure it out. Maybe there is an exit to this damnation, to this hell.

There are so many ways that this principle can be expressed. Heavenly Father utilizes the consequences we impose on ourselves to teach us. Hopefully (and I believe there is), there is an exit to these damnations and eternal consequences as soon as our eyes open to reality and we adjust our lives accordingly.

I’m not 100% sure what eternity looks like. I do know a couple of things though. I know that the God that I worship is fair and continually turned towards saving His children. I know that we are already in the midst of eternity. You don’t die, get to the other side, and all of a sudden, Voila! Eternity! You’re already living in eternity. You’re already choosing varying degrees of damnation and salvation. I testify of a Heavenly Father who teaches us what eternity looks like, and I testify that He knows what He’s doing. It’s wise to follow Him. And then, of course, I testify of a Savior who paid for the whole experience.

Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. Autumn was the recipient of FAIR’s 2024 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award.

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