Last-Minute Blog Post - Hope Vs Hell

Some days, I know what I want to blog about before I even wake up and I get my blogging done in about an hour, tops. Other days, I have no idea what I want to blog about, so I search around for anything inspirational, sometimes get distracted by whatever else I find, and eventually get very close to my self-imposed blogging deadline (I try to blog each morning, which "morning" meaning any time before noon), still having no inspiration about what to blog about.

At that point, I typically pull out an image that I thought had some blogging potential, but which didn't really grab me, like this one:

This is a great quote and all, but it leaves something out: REPENTANCE. Sure, thanks to the Lord's Atonement, we can have any sin or transgression wiped off of our permanent record and forgotten about, and yes, that's a wonderful, inspiring, and hope-full thing, but there is a cost and there are conditions. I suppose that as long as we know that forgiveness only comes with sincere repentance, this quote can give hope to those who feel that they're beyond saving, but while people sometimes need messages of hope that any sin can be forgiven, sometimes people need messages of warning that all sins need to be repented of or there will be serious consequences.

Some people believe that because God is merciful, we don't have to worry about repenting of our sins because God will just forgive us anyway, but I don't think that's true. Yes, God is merciful, and He offers us much more mercy than any of us deserve, but He is also just, and if we don't meet the conditions of repentance, the consequences of our sins will fall on us. Some people need to hear about hope, but some people need to hear about hell.

A large part of the goal of this life is for us to progress spiritually and become better people. We can't do that if we give up because we think we're hopeless, but we also can't do that if we're not motivated because we think we'll be okay whether we try to make progress or not. The truth is that there's hope for all of us, but there is hell, too. Any sin can be forgiven if we repent, but if we don't repent, there will be consequences.