Righteous Still

At the end of the book of Revelation, an angel gives a rather surprising instruction to John. Referencing the coming day of judgment, he says:

He that is unjust, let him be unjust still:
and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still:
and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still:
and he that is holy, let him be holy still.

Revelation 22:11

It sounds almost like he is telling people not to change, to stay exactly as they are. But that can’t be the meaning, since the Savior’s whole purpose is to help us become righteous and holy.

Two similar passages in the Book of Mormon shed some light on this verse. First, Nephi’s brother Jacob describes the Final Judgment in these words:

They who are righteous shall be righteous still,
and they who are filthy shall be filthy still.

2 Nephi 9:16

So, it’s not that God wants us to remain filthy or that He is unwilling to help us become holy. But by the time we reach the Final Judgment, we will be the person we are now becoming. As President Dallin H. Oaks taught, “The Final Judgment is not just an evaluation of a sum total of good and evil acts—what we have done. It is an acknowledgment of the final effect of our acts and thoughts—what we have become” (“The Challenge to Become,” General Conference, October 2000, italics in original).

The last author in the Book of Mormon, Moroni, adds another dimension to this principle:

Then cometh the time
that he that is filthy shall be filthy still;
and he that is righteous shall be righteous still;
he that is happy shall be happy still;
and he that is unhappy shall be unhappy still.

Mormon 9:14

This equating of happiness with righteousness and misery with wickedness is not a new concept. Both Lehi and Alma taught that wickedness and happiness are incompatible. (See 2 Nephi 2:11, Alma 41:10.) But the way Moroni describes the Final Judgment adds a sobering element to our preparations. Are you happy now? Are you making decisions which will lead to greater happiness in the future? If not, what do you need to change, and what help do you need? Now is the time to take action, knowing that your joy in the next life will be an extension of your happiness here. As President Russell M. Nelson taught, “The very things that will make your mortal life the best it can be are exactly the same things that will make your life throughout all eternity the best it can be!” (“Think Celestial,” General Conference, October 2023, italics in original).

Today, I will consider my goals and my habits in terms of what I am becoming. I will remember that the decisions I’m making today will ultimately determine how I will be judged, because they will determine what I will become.