Salvation

Forgiveness is not always immediate

Mormons teach that forgiveness of sins is not always immediate. Here is what we read in A Study of the Articles of Faith: ‘On account of the magnitude of sins committed, repentance is not always followed by forgiveness and restoration. For instance, when Peter was preaching to the Jews who had slain Jesus and taken His blood on themselves and their children he did not say, Repent and be baptized for the remission of sins; but, Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. And [when] he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you; Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things’ (Acts 3:19-21). That is, repent now, and believe in Jesus Christ, that you may be forgiven when He whom you have slain shall come again in the days of the restitution of all things, and prescribe to you the terms on which you may be saved’ (James E. Talmage, A Study of the Articles of Faith, Salt Lake City, Utah, (U.S.A.), 42nd edition, 1968, page 481).

Confutation

The Scripture teaches that forgiveness of sins is always immediate, no matter what kind of sins or how many sins a person may have committed. Peter did not believe nor did he preach that sometimes forgiveness of sins is not immediate, for when he preached the Gospel to Cornelius and his household he said: “All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name” (Acts 10:43 – NIV). Note that Peter said ‘everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins’, therefore, even the Jews who had slain Jesus, to whom Peter preached the Gospel, had the possibility to obtain forgiveness of sins immediately through faith in Jesus Christ. The following words of Peter “everyone who believes in Him” don’t permit us to believe that those Jews could not receive forgiveness of sins immediately.

As for the words of Peter quoted by Mormons, they were mistranslated by the translators of the King James Version, for the Greek text does not say ‘Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you’ but ‘Repent therefore and be converted [or turn to God], that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before” (Acts 3:19-20 – NKJV). Therefore, the above mentioned false doctrine taught by Mormons is supported by a mistranslation.

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