What is the unpardonable sin?
The Lord taught that “blasphemy against the Holy Ghost” is a sin that can’t be forgiven:
30 He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.
31 Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.
32 And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come. (Matthew 12)
The unpardonable sin is called “blasphemy against the Holy Ghost” because it is the act of turning away from our understanding of what is right.
The Lord forgives your past sins on the condition that you forsake them and remain reconciled to him as he teaches you more about himself, the Father, and all of creation. If you violate this condition by knowingly deviating from what you believe he would do in your situation, your previous sins once again become unforgiven.
Whenever you knowingly do anything less than the best you can imagine, you commit the unpardonable sin.
Why is it unpardonable?
There is a difference between forgivable sins, pardonable sins, and unpardonable sin.
Forgivable sins consist of past sins that you have committed where you have knowingly rebelled against the best you understood. To this point in this book, we have confined our definition of sin to these actions.
Another definition of sin is anything less than the perfection of God. This definition includes our former definition, but proceeds beyond the limits of your understanding to include everything that deviates from God’s perfection.
There is a difference between sins committed knowingly and sins committed ignorantly. Conscientious sins must be forsaken in order to be forgiven. Sins committed in ignorance can be pardoned, meaning they do not require change in order to be forgiven. The vast difference between our best idea about God and how he actually is comprises the space of “pardonable” sin.
The sacrifice of Jesus Christ makes it possible to become like he is through living the best we know and remaining reconciled to each additional increment of knowledge he gives us, line upon line. It gives us a way to be saved through living the best we know, rather than the best there is.
When we obey all that we presently know about God, the Lord forgives us of our previous sins committed knowingly, but he does not give us permission to commit future sins with knowledge. If we commit additional sin knowingly, we separate ourselves from his forgiveness and from any progress, as we will have cut ourselves off from the Holy Ghost:
8 ...men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. 9 ...shall proceed no further.... (2 Timothy 3)
Our repentance qualifies us for the Lord’s forgiveness of not only all our known sins, but also all sins of ignorance: past, present, and future.
When Jesus said to be perfect like he is and like the Father is, he did not say “be as perfect as you understand us to be.” The commandment is for all of us to be exactly as they are. However, because we cannot become like them beyond the limit of our present knowledge, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ provides a pathway where we can become like they are, line upon line, as the Lord teaches us more about himself and the Father (see the previous chapter).
The unpardonable sin is unpardonable because it violates the condition that makes possible the forgiveness of both past sins of which we know and past, present, and future sins of which we don’t know:
But whoso breaketh this covenant after he hath received it, and altogether turneth therefrom, shall not have forgiveness of sins in this world nor in the world to come. (D&C 84:41)
When you commit the unpardonable sin, you are in open rebellion against God because you are violating his will as far as you understand it by doing differently than you believe he would in your situation. This makes it impossible for him to forgive you, because it violates the conditions he has declared for that forgiveness to occur.
There is a difference between forgivable sins (past conscientious sins), pardonable sins (past, present, and future sins of ignorance) and unpardonable sin (knowingly rebelling against God).
How common is the unpardonable sin?
Anyone living in less than complete reconciliation to their understanding of the human ideal lives in alienation from God and will have to bear the penalty of their sins until or unless they repent. This is the situation of almost every single person on the earth today:
1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
2 The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.
3 They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
4 Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread, and call not upon the Lord. (Psalm 14)[^15]
However, for those who have been baptized by water and received the Holy Ghost, the penalty for turning away is more severe. For them, it would be better if they were never born:
But, behold, my beloved brethren, thus came the voice of the Son unto me, saying: After ye have repented of your sins, and witnessed unto the Father that ye are willing to keep my commandments, by the baptism of water, and have received the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost, and can speak with a new tongue, yea, even with the tongue of angels, and after this should deny me, it would have been better for you that ye had not known me. (2 Nephi 31:14)
The reason for this is that while those who have never received the Holy Ghost will not leave this world with more understanding than they arrived with, those who turn away from the Holy Ghost will lose even that which they have.
And it shall come to pass, if they are not more faithful unto me, it shall be taken away, even that which they have. (D&C 60:3)
And now behold, I tell you by the spirit of prophecy, that if ye transgress the commandments of God, behold, these things which are sacred shall be taken away from you by the power of God, and ye shall be delivered up unto Satan, that he may sift you as chaff before the wind. (Alma 37:15)
For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. (Matthew 25:29)
Every single person who receives the Holy Ghost is living in the unpardonable sin unless they live in complete reconciliation to their understanding of the human ideal:
For behold, if ye deny the Holy Ghost when it once has had place in you, and ye know that ye deny it, behold, this is a sin which is unpardonable; yea, and whosoever murdereth against the light and knowledge of God, it is not easy for him to obtain forgiveness; yea, I say unto you, my son, that it is not easy for him to obtain a forgiveness. (Alma 39:6)
36 And now, I say unto you, my brethren, that after ye have known and have been taught all these things, if ye should transgress and go contrary to that which has been spoken, that ye do withdraw yourselves from the Spirit of the Lord, that it may have no place in you to guide you in wisdom’s paths that ye may be blessed, prospered, and preserved—
37 I say unto you, that the man that doeth this, the same cometh out in open rebellion against God; therefore he listeth to obey the evil spirit, and becometh an enemy to all righteousness; therefore, the Lord has no place in him, for he dwelleth not in unholy temples. (Mosiah 2)
Abiding in the covenant
The new and everlasting covenant is to become like God is through the unconditional resurrection of all mankind and, on the condition of complete adherence to the ideal as far as we understand it, forgiveness of past sins, pardon for all sins of ignorance, and continual additional teaching about the ideal through the Holy Ghost. These blessings were purchased with the blood of Christ, who came here and sacrificed himself to fulfill the requirements of the justice of God.
When you are in the state of open rebellion against God, after receiving the Holy Ghost, you are consenting to the death of Christ:
4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.
7 For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God: (Hebrews 6)
The unpardonable sin is referred to as shedding innocent blood because to willingly sin is to consent to the death of the only man that ever lived without sinning—Jesus Christ.
The blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, which shall not be forgiven in the world nor out of the world, is in that ye commit murder wherein ye shed innocent blood, and assent unto my death, after ye have received my new and everlasting covenant, saith the Lord God; and he that abideth not this law can in nowise enter into my glory, but shall be damned, saith the Lord. (D&C 132:27)
You must avoid this condition at all costs. If you find yourself in it, there is nothing more important for you to do than repent.
Stop committing the unpardonable sin
The unpardonable sin cannot be overlooked, but it can be stopped. As long as you reconcile your life entirely to your sincere understanding of what is best in all things, you will remain free from the unpardonable sin.
If you have willingly sinned, you can escape the penalties of doing so by once again turning to the Lord with all your heart, might, mind, and strength.