God Bless you, Brother!

This is not Joel's youtube page. I recommend checking with your seller as Joel's books all go through Amazon.

Kevin, thanks for writing. The question is not what you believe is true, but rather the question ought to be, "What do your scriptures teach?" And, "What did President Kimball teach?" If he is telling the truth--and I would hope for your sake he was explaining authentic Mormonism since he was an apostle when he wrote the book and a prophet a few years later--then "perfection is an achievable goal" (p. 209). But he starts out the book accurately quoting from Alma 34 in chapter 1, "This life is the time." He makes this point over and over again. He writes on page 8, "One Church member of my acquaintance said, as she drank her coffee: 'The Lord knows my heart is right and that I have good intentions, and that I will somedayget the strength to quit.' But will one receive eternal life of the basis of good intensions? Can one enter a country, receive a scholastic degree, and so on, on the strength of good intent unsupported by approrpriate action?" On the next page, he adds, "It is true tha many Latter-day Saints, having been bapized and confirmed members of the Church, and some even having received their endowments and having been married and sealed in the holy temple, have felt they were thus guaranteed the blessings of exaltaton and eternal life. But this is not so. There are two basic requirements every soul must fulfill or he cannot attain to the great blessings offered. He must receive the ordinances and he must be faithful, overcoming his weaknesses. Hence, not all who claim to be Latter-day Saints will be exalted." You admit that you are not yet worthy because you still sin. I fully get that. And that's the point. In chapter 11 titled "Abandonment of sins," Kimball accurately quotes from D&C 58:43, which says you must not only forsake your sins but you must forsake them. You may say, well, Eric said that "straving is not enough." No, that's not me. That's Kimball. Since "striving" = "trying," listen to what Kimball says on pages 164-5: "Trying is not sufficient. Nor is repentance comples when one merely tries to abandon sin. To 'try' is weak. To 'do the best I can' is not strong. We must always do better than we can. This is true in every walk of life." On page 168 he says "we should not wait for the life beyond but should abandon evil habits and weaknesses while in this flesh on the earth." But here's the kicker. Once you think you have arrived and have done everything he said on page 25, he continues on page 169: "Forgiveness cancelled on reversion to son. Old sins return, says the Lord in his modern revelation. Many people either do not know this or they convenientlyforget ti. 'Go your ways and sin no more,' the Lord warned. And again, 'Unto that soul who sinneth shall the former sins return, saith the Lord your God' (D&C 82:7)." It's by "keeping God' Commandments [that] brings forgiveness" his chapter 15 is title, as he accurately cites D&C 1:32. Listen, Kevin, I'm not trying to judge you. But I think the teaching of Kimball certainly does. I was not out there yesterday condemning you. But the teachings of your churches have done so. There is hope. According to the Bible, we are saved by grace through faith. This is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. Not by works, lest any man should boast" (Eph. 2:8-9). You can choose Kimball's teaching, who writes on page 249 how "many in the world, and even some in the Church, seem to think that eventually the Lord will be merciful and give them the unearned blessing. But the Lord cannot be merciful at the expense of justice." Or you can choose the biblical message that "we are justified by faith apart from works of the law" (Rom. 3:28) and that it is through faith (and faith only) that can clease a sinner from his sins. The good works that are then done are not to somehow attain God's favor but rather are a response to what He has done. I wish we would have had time to talk yesterday at conference. I'd be happy to talk to you further. I offer to take you to lunch, if you would like. My email is [email protected]. As I hope you saw, I am not an angry person or trying to force myself on people. I just would love to share my story of how Jesus turned my life upside down and I want to share it with other people. Thanks for reading.

I am quite aware of what's taught in the scriptures and what Pres. Kimble taught. LDS doctrine (not my interpretation) teaches a pursuit of perfection through our acts, deeds, and thoughts - all in and through Jesus Christ. This life is the life to do the work toward such perfection. Yet, because Christ was and is the only One to be Perfect (making Him the only who could Atone for us), we understand the difference between living on the path to perfection vs attaining perfection in this life. We are close to perfect as humanly possibly as we come out of the waters of baptism and after receiving the Holy Ghost - along with worthily partaking the Sacrament as covenants are renewed. Also after the washing and anointing in the temple. This isn't a doctrine teaching is to settle for imperfection. Not one of "Eat, drink, and be merry for" on Sunday we can repent or in the next life we can repent. The path of perfection in Christ is one of constant striving and daily, earnest repentance. Yes, repeated sins bring back the weight of that same sin committed previously. Yet, that weight can be removed through repentance. If one never revisits the same prior sins, they've achieved a form of perfection in overcoming that one thing. But, other imperfections will remain until Christ judges us. For those judged into the Celestial Kingdom, the perfection we're admonished to become will be realized. This is the life to live and do those things that would lead us to be perfect like Him and like the Father. We - who knows of Christ - are expected and admonished to follow Him and keep God's commandments. Thousands of verses and statements about perfection do exist. However, the strong invitations to pursue perfection cannot contradict the absolute reality that only He was perfect. Your interpretation defies the reality of our humanity. It goes even further than what is considered to be the highest attainable status of perfection within the LDS Faith: the Calling and Election Made Sure. Even with that designation, there is no illusion of having achieved perfection. Rather, an acknowledgement that those few who receive this blessing have lived a repentant life and would repent of transgressions. Yet, it was taught even this Second Anointing is conditional on living faithfully. What you claim may come from statements made by LDS Apostles and Prophets and from some verses in the scriptures, however, it does not align with what was actually being taught. Living a life of perfection is filled with hurdles and pitfalls, followed by repentance. Perfection at the level you're conflating to is our potential existence in the Celestial Kingdom. I am aware of my weaknesses and strive to repent daily as I continue to come short. I thank God for sending His Son, who made this path possible that I can ask for forgiveness and even have a chance to live more perfectly and eventually (potentially) be perfect with God and Him in the Celestial Kingdom.