Seriousness of Sins
- Murder most serious, followed by sexual sins.
- "It is a crime next to murder itself to destroy and abort the fetus except for extreme reasons which would endanger the life of the mother."
- Whoredoms more serious than pride.
- Kingdoms of God
- Kingdoms of God
Notes
It is frequently asserted that, in God's eyes, sins do not differ in seriousness. This has seemed patently ludicrous to me, but it is a position put forth by many. I have sought feedback from people who hold to this position and document some of what I found, with my thoughts, below.
One idea that seems to play a role in this is the idea that "no unclean thing can inherit the kingdom of God". (See: 1 Nephi 10:21, Alma 11:37, Alma 40:26, 3 Nephi 27:19, Romans 3:23-24) I generally find this argument unpersuasive. Effectively we have reduced our measurement instrument to a binary. If we force our perspective into a binary, then yes, the idea of seriousness cannot be effectively represented by a binary, and it appears that seriousness doesn't exist. That does not mean that seriousness does not actually exist. If we take a broader view of God's kingdoms, however, we see that there are 4 classes of kingdom to which we can be assigned. One of them is described as having an apparently infinitely varied substructure, and it is clear that the 4 kingdoms vary according to some kind of degree of righteousness of the kingdom's inhabitants. This has also been described as being synonymously related to the tolerance for light and truth of the inhabitants. This doesn't, of course force sins to differ in seriousness. Theoretically, the difference could be the number of sins, tolerance for sin, tendency to sin, etc. I think we have other evidences and reasoning that suggest that sins vary in seriousness, and I expect that context matters too.
This line of reasoning hints at a possible origin for the doctrine, which is the boolean (heaven or hell) system of salvation taught by modern/traditional Christian denominations. Binary thinking has led many to divide people up into black and white categories of purely good and purely evil.
It is common to hear people who believe that sins do not vary in seriousness, express the idea that, the most serious sin is the one that you are struggling with now.
Another idea that seems to play a role in this idea that sins do not vary in seriousness, is the idea that it is not right to judge others. It seems to be felt that recognizing that sins vary in seriousness is antithetical to the idea that we are not to judge others. I have elsewhere pointed out that judgment is a complex topic, and that it is both essential and detrimental at the same time. An important aspect of judging correctly, however, seems to be truth. Having a foundation other than truth will hamper our ability to conduct ourselves in righteousness. It can affect our discernment negatively.
Amusing 1
An amusing story was told in this regard:
Person A is at a very well-to-do society function. Person A asks Person B if Person B would have sex with Person C for 500 million dollars. Person B says yes. Person A then says "how about for a nickle?" Person B, offended says, "No! What kind of person do you think I am?". Person A responds, "I think we've already determined that, now we're just trying to negotiate a price."
I think the interpretation of this story gets colored by one's a-priori assumptions but remains amusing nevertheless.
Amusing 2
I was once speaking with my mother about the difference between Utah County (Utah) tumbleweeds (Salsola Kali subspecies Tragus) and Riverside County (California) tumblweeds (Salsola Kali subspecies Paulsenii) and noting that in my experience the Utah County variety was pricklier and more brittle when it dried. She responded "The prickliest tumble weed is the one you are touching at the moment."