There is a difference between the sins that are unforgivable but pardonable and those that are forgivable. Hence there are sins for which repentance does not operate, sins that the atoning blood of Christ will not wash away, sins for which the sinner must suffer and pay the full penalty personally ( New Witness 231). There are sins which utterly and completely preclude the sinner from gaining eternal life. There are sins for which there is no forgiveness, neither in this world nor in the world to come. McConkie wrote that the death John referred to meant “spiritual death”: and there is a sin not unto death” (I John 5:16–17). The Apostle John taught that “There is a sin unto death. All other sins are apparently forgivable or pardonable because the demands of justice can be met through the atonement of Jesus Christ or through personal payment by the sinner (see D&C 19:1518).
The only sin that falls into this category is denying the Holy Ghost “when it once has had place in you, and you know that you deny it” (Alma 39:6). A sin that is unpardonable cannot be paid for either by the atoning blood of Christ or by the personal suffering of the sinner. To fully grasp the seriousness of his sin, Corianton needed to understand its relationship to the two most abominable sins, thus allowing him to realize the possibilities of repentance and forgiveness.Īlma distinguished between unpardonable and pardonable sins. Adultery was third to murder and the sin against the Holy Ghost as abominable sins. With this declaration, Alma identified for Corianton the three most abominable sins in the sight of God: (1) denying the Holy Ghost, (2) shedding innocent blood, and (3) committing sexual sin. Alma informed him: “These things are an abomination in the sight of the Lord, yea, most abominable above all sins save it be the shedding of innocent blood or denying the Holy Ghost” (Alma 39:5). As Alma counseled with him concerning his mission, Corianton’s rationalizations prevented him from fully realizing the enormity of his sin and his precarious current spiritual status. Alma experienced a great teaching moment when he interviewed his son, Corianton, who while serving as a missionary to the Zoramites had become involved with the harlot, Isabel (Alma 39:4).
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