Wilful persistency in sin may lead to the loss and forfeiture of the ability to repent; and for man to procrastinate the day of repentance is to invite and eventually to insure such forfeiture. The Divine word through the mouth of a modern prophet is thus explicit:
"For I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance;
"Nevertheless, he that repents and does the commandments of the Lord shall be forgiven;
"And he that repents not, from him shall be taken even the light which he has received, for my Spirit shall not always strive with man, saith the Lord of Hosts."[[6]]
The Latter-day Saints believe and teach that repentance will be possible, and indeed required to the yet unrepentant, even after death; and they affirm that this doctrine is supported by scripture both ancient and modern. We read that while the body of our Lord lay in the tomb, between the evening of the day of crucifixion and the glorious resurrection morn, He was engaged in ministerial labor in the world of disembodied spirits. Peter specifically declares that our Lord "went and preached unto the spirits in prison; which sometime were disobedient, when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah."[[7]] The context with which appear these words of the inspired apostle, shows that the event referred to occurred prior to the Savior's resurrection. Furthermore, it will be remembered that one of the condemned malefactors, whose cross of death stood alongside that of Jesus, manifested faith and even some degree of repentance, and received from the suffering Christ the benediction and assurance "Today shalt thou be with me in Paradise."[[8]] It cannot be maintained that this promise implied the passing of the repentant sinner directly from the cross into Heaven—the abode of the redeemed in the presence of God; for surely there had been no opportunity for the suffering penitent to put his repentance into effect by complying with the established laws and ordinances of the Gospel, and without such compliance, even as to the single requirement of water-baptism alone, the man could neither enter nor see the Kingdom of God, or the word of Christ would have been proven false.[[9]] Moreover, as conclusive proof of the fact that between the time of Christ's death and resurrection, neither He nor the contrite sinner had gone to the abode of God, we have the words of the Risen Lord to the sorrowing Magdalene: "I am not yet ascended to my Father."[[10]]
In view of scriptural affirmation that the disembodied Christ did visit and minister among the spirits who had been disobedient, and who, because of unpardoned sin were still held in duress, it is pertinent to inquire as to the scope and object of our Savior's ministry among them. His preaching must have been purposeful and positive; moreover, it is not to be assumed that His message was other than one of relief and mercy. Those to whom He went were already in prison, and had been there long. To them came the Redeemer, to preach, not to further condemn, to open the way that led to light, not to intensify the darkness of despair in which they languished. Had not that visit of deliverance been long predicted? Centuries before that fateful time Isaiah had prophesied of proud and wicked spirits: "And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited."[[11]] And again, referring to the appointed ministry of the Christ, the same inspired voice of prophecy declared part of that work to be "to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house."[[12]] David, filled with the emotions of contrition and hope, sang in measures of mingled sadness and joy: "Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell."[[13]]
From these and other scriptures we learn that the ministry of Christ was not confined to the few who lived in mortality during the short period of His earthly life, nor to them and the generations then future; but to all, dead, living, and yet unborn. It cannot be denied that myriads had lived and died before the meridian of time, and of these multitudes, as of the many since born, unnumbered hosts have died without a knowledge of the Gospel and its prescribed plan of salvation. What is their condition, as indeed what shall be the state of the present inhabitants of earth, and of the multitudes yet future, who shall die in ignorance and without the faith that saves? Let us ask again, how can those who know not Christ have faith in Him, and how, while lacking both knowledge and faith can they avail themselves of the provision made for their salvation?
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints affirms that the plan of salvation is not bounded by the grave; but that the Gospel is deathless and everlasting, reaching back into the ages that have gone, and forward into the eternities of the future. The ministry of the Savior among the dead doubtless included the revelation of His own atoning death, the inculcation of faith in Himself and in the divinely-appointed plan He represented, and the necessity of a repentance acceptable unto God. It is reasonable to believe that the other essential requirements comprised within the laws and ordinances of the Gospel were made known.
To the less thoughtful reader it may appear that to teach the possibility of repentance beyond the grave may tend to weaken belief in the absolute necessity of repentance and reformation in this life. A careful consideration of the matter, however, will show that this doctrine affords no reason for such objection. To reject or ignore in any degree a gift of God is to forfeit to the corresponding extent one's claim upon that gift. To the soul that has wilfully neglected the opportunities for repentance here offered, repentance in the hereafter may be, and indeed it is reasonable to believe will be, so difficult as to be long unattainable. This conception is justified by scripture, as witness the words of Amulek, a Nephite prophet, who thus admonished the Church on the western continent four score years before the birth of Christ:
"For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; * * * therefore, I beseech of you, that ye do not procrastinate the day of your repentance until the end; * * * 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. 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."[[14]]
Baptism by water is taught by the Church in this dispensation as an essential ordinance of the Gospel. Baptism is the gateway leading into the fold of Christ, the portal to the Church, the established rite of naturalization in the Kingdom of God. The candidate for admission into the Church, having obtained and professed faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and having sincerely repented of his sins, is properly required to give evidence of this spiritual sanctification by some outward ordinance, prescribed by authority as the sign or symbol of the new profession. The initiatory ordinance is baptism by water, to be followed by the higher baptism of the Holy Spirit; and, as a result of this act of obedience, remission of sins is granted.[[15]]
That baptism is essential to salvation is attested by many specific scriptures; yet even without such its essentiality appears in view of the unconditional requirement of repentance, and the evident fact that to be of value and effect repentance must imply obedience to the Divine requirements, which include baptism by water. Be it remembered that Jesus, the Christ, though untouched by the taint of sin, submitted in person to this ordinance, which was administered by the Baptist in the waters of Jordan. The burden of John's teaching was "Repent ye; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand," and to such as came to him professing repentance he administered baptism by water immersion. Then came Jesus unto John, to be baptized of him; and the Baptist, regarding Him as one without sin, demurred, saying: