15 And it shall come to pass that when all men shall have passed from this first death unto life, insomuch as they have become immortal, they must appear before the judgment-seat of the Holy One of Israel; and then cometh the judgment, and then must they be judged according to the holy judgment of God.
16 And assuredly, as the Lord liveth, for the Lord God hath spoken it, and it is his eternal word, which cannot pass away, that they who are righteous shall be righteous still, and they who are filthy shall be filthy still; wherefore, they who are filthy are the devil and his angels; and they shall go away into everlasting fire, prepared for them; and their torment is as a lake of fire and brimstone, whose flame ascendeth up forever and ever and has no end.
In this chapter, Jacob clarifies the sequence of events which occur after death:
- The spirits of the righteous live for a time in paradise, while the spirits of the wicked are in hell (spirit prison).
- The spirits of both the righteous and the wicked are reunited with their bodies, and they become immortal and incorruptible.
- All are judged by God.
I find Jacob’s characterization of the Final Judgment to be sobering: “they who are righteous shall be righteous still, and they who are filthy shall be filthy still.” Here’s how I interpret his statement: the decisions I make today are leading me toward the person I will be then. The Final Judgment is not so much a ruling imposed upon us as it is an illumination of what we have become. I think that’s why Alma said we are our own judges (Alma 41:7). I also think that’s one reason the Savior said “with what judgment ye judge ye shall be judged” (3 Nephi 14:2). The decisions we make each day determine the outcome of the Final Judgment for us.
Today, I will remember that, because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the grace of God, my eternal destiny is in my hands. I will remember that the decisions or judgments I make today will determine how I will be judged in the end.
I’m curious what you think about the next phrase, “Wherefore, they who are filthy are the devil and his angels; and they shall go away into everlasting fire, prepared for them;” With only two options, righteous or filthy that doesn’t leave much room for in between. Who are the filthy that they are so bad to be grouped with the devil and his angels? I’m not trying to be combative. Just a sincere question.
It’s a very good question. The outcome sounds quite binary, doesn’t it? You’re either righteous or you’re wicked, which sounds a lot more like the traditional conception of heaven and hell than our more nuanced understanding of the Final Judgment provided in section 76 of the Doctrine and Covenants. And Moroni repeats Jacob’s point in Mormon 9:14, adding that “he that is happy shall be happy still; and he that is unhappy shall be unhappy still.”
I really think that Jacob is teaching a simple principle here: We won’t miraculously change at the Final Judgment, and we probably won’t be surprised at the outcome. As I wrote in a different post: “The Final Judgment is not so much a time of receiving external feedback as it is a time of acknowledging to ourselves and to others what we have become.” I think Jacob frames the principle in terms of a stark contrast to make his point clearly, but I think that the reality will be much more nuanced. Each us will receive all of the glory which we are capable of receiving, based on what we have become by God’s grace.
I hope that helps.
Thank you for your reply. I think you are right. I have grown accustomed to reading the Old Testament with this in mind, that the authors use literary tools to get there point across. It would be useful to remember that Book of Mormon writers probably did the same.