Question
Gramps,
Will those who rejected God’s plan in heaven and were cast out be able to return?
Dan
Answer
Dan,
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believes that God is both infinitely loving and perfectly just. His plan for His children is universal and inclusive, designed so that—”except for the most stubbornly unwilling”—all will eventually be united and exalted in some degree of heavenly glory. As beautifully stated by Terryl and Fiona Givens,
God has the desire and the power to unite and exalt the entire human family in a kingdom of Heaven, and except for the most stubbornly unwilling, that will be our destiny…He is not predisposed to just the fast learners, the naturally inclined, or the morally gifted. The project of human advancement that God designed offers a hope to the entire human race. It is universal in its appeal and reach alike.
This doctrine contrasts with the narrower conceptions of salvation in some Christian traditions, which have often speculated that only a destined few would join God in heaven while all others would be consigned to torment.
Scriptural texts frequently cited in Church teachings affirm this broad plan of hope. For instance, Jesus declared, “This is the Father’s will…that of all which He hath given me I should lose nothing” (John 6:39), highlighting God’s intent that none be lost unnecessarily. The Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants emphasize the repeated opportunities God grants for repentance and return. The allegory of the olive tree (Jacob 5) demonstrates the Lord as a gardener who does not give up on His vineyard after a single season of bad fruit, but continually seeks to reclaim, nurture, and redeem His children.
However, this hope is not a blanket guarantee of identical results for all. Free agency—our ability to choose—is fundamental to God’s plan. We may choose to become like Him and dwell in His presence, or we may choose otherwise, and God honors those choices with integrity. The “universal reach” of the Atonement does not override the eternally binding consequences of truly informed, final rejection.
A unique aspect of the Church’s doctrine is its emphasis on the spirit world—a place of continued learning and opportunity after death. Not only will individuals have the opportunity to accept the Gospel and repent of their sins while living here on this earth, but also in the spirit world. This is made possible because, according to 1 Peter 3:19-20, Jesus Christ “went and preached unto the spirits in prison,” those who departed mortal life without hearing or accepting His gospel.
This doctrine is verifiable both from scripture and the teachings of Church leaders. President Joseph Fielding Smith explained,
“Knowing of the love the Father has for his children, we may rightfully conclude that the Father has arranged the plan of salvation so that all his children may have the fullest opportunity of salvation…Temple work is for the purpose of giving to every man and to every woman the blessings of the higher ordinances of the gospel that are essential to salvation in the kingdom of God. There is not an ordinance performed in the temple that does not pertain to this mortal life. When we go into the temple and act for somebody else, we are treating that person as though we were that person living here, doing for him just what he would have to do if he were in mortal life.”
Thus, for the masses who lived and died without knowledge of Christ or His ordinances, there is both mercy and opportunity beyond the grave. The Church’s practice of vicarious ordinances in temples is a reflection of this belief—a living person stands as proxy, so the dead might have a full, fair chance to accept or reject the gospel in the spirit world. As the Book of Mormon’s allegory teaches, the door remains open for a return to the Lord, providing no unpardonable sin has been committed.
It is essential to clarify, however, that this “second chance” is not a loophole for the willfully rebellious or those who, with full knowledge, reject Christ. There are no second chances for the Lord’s covenant people who have chosen to rebel…Our Heavenly Father…will provide every person the opportunity to receive, to accept or reject, the necessary ordinances as given by our Father in Heaven. God’s justice means we are judged according to the light and opportunity we have received, both in mortality and the spirit world.
The doctrine of the “sons of perdition”—those who, with a perfect knowledge, openly and definitively reject God and His plan—is sobering. The spirits who followed Satan in the pre-mortal Council in Heaven are a clear example of beings for whom no further opportunity for redemption exists. As explained in another answer: “To the best of my knowledge and understanding, the answer is they already had their chance, and they chose to reject it. Our understanding is that in the pre-existence, we were all given about the plan, the need for bodies, and the need for the Atonement. It was against this light and knowledge that Satan and his followers rebelled…they wanted to do it their way and not God’s way.” Their state of rebellion, in the full awareness of God’s plan, is classified as the ultimate form of rejection—an irrevocable decision.
This is not an easy state to attain. Doctrine and Covenants 76:44-46 states, “He saves all except them—they shall go away into everlasting punishment…to reign with the devil and his angels in eternity, where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched, which is their torment.” The scripture reiterates that all of God’s children—except those who deliberately and knowingly become sons of perdition—will be saved in some kingdom of glory.
The reason for this finality is the quality of rebellion involved. Unlike those who sin in ignorance or weakness, Satan and his followers acted against “great light and knowledge.” Satan possessed the same agency we all had in the pre-mortal life. While most of us used our agency to obey God…Satan and those who followed after him used their agency to fight against God. Satan planted seeds of rebellion and disobedience. Eternal Justice demands that he receive the consequences of that choice, and one of those consequences is a complete loss of an opportunity for a mortal life. Such is a permanent forfeiture, not stemming from arbitrary exclusion but as a direct result of choices knowingly made.
For mortals, the situation is both hopeful and cautionary. All who attain mortality had already chosen Christ’s plan in the pre-existence. Yet, in mortal life, men and women are on a spectrum of righteousness, with some very much under the influence of that evil one and others striving to follow the Savior. Those who err, even grievously, can still repent except in the rare case of becoming a “son of perdition”—knowingly and fully rejecting the Holy Ghost. After suffering for their sins, even the most wicked will eventually acquire a telestial glory, which “surpasses all understanding” (Doctrine and Covenants 76:89).
The only ones truly lost are those who, after receiving full light, eternally reject it. For the vast majority, God’s plan remains open at every turn, always prodding, inviting, tutoring, and, above all, loving.
Gramps
