On Stupidity and Sin by S. Kurt Neumiller In writing this I used the word "stupidity" because I felt that conveyed more of a context of deliberate action than did "ignorance". There is not a word in English which exclusively requires deliberate avoidance or rejection of knowledge or ideas. Both "ignorance" and "stupidity" have usage in reference to matters of genuine naivety. It simply seemed to me that "stupidity" was more commonly used in cases of deliberate avoidance than was "ignorance" as so I used that term. Regardless, for the purposes of this piece, by "stupidity" I mean exclusively the deliberate avoidance or rejection of knowledge and not genuine naivety. The intent is to look at the relationship between stupidity, as defined above, and sin. If stupidity precedes the violation of the commandment, then it is no sin: Moroni 8 22 For behold that all little children are alive in Christ, and also all they that are without the law. For the power of redemption cometh on all them that have no law; wherefore, he that is not condemned, or he that is under no condemnation, cannot repent; and unto such baptism availeth nothing-- Them without the law are exempted from its attendant punishment, which also precludes the immediate blessings of the law as well. 2 Nephi 9 25 Wherefore, he has given a law; and where there is no law given there is no punishment; and where there is no punishment there is no condemnation; and where there is no condemnation the mercies of the Holy One of Israel have claim upon them, because of the atonement; for they are delivered by the power of him. 26 For the atonement satisfieth the demands of his justice upon all those who have not the law given to them, that they are delivered from that awful monster, death and hell, and the devil, and the lake of fire and brimstone, which is endless torment; and they are restored to that God who gave them breath, which is the Holy One of Israel. 27 But wo unto him that has the law given, yea, that has all the commandments of God, like unto us, and that transgresseth them, and that wasteth the days of his probation, for awful is his state! Only those who have the law given them are held accountable to it. The Atonement covers those without the law. Alma 29 5 Yea, and I know that good and evil have come before all men; he that knoweth not good from evil is blameless; but he that knoweth good and evil, to him it is given according to his desires, whether he desireth good or evil, life or death, joy or remorse of conscience. Culpability goes beyond the covenantal obligations of the law to the region of the more amorphous "good and evil". Those who do not know good are exempt. However, sin can cause stupidity (both corporate and individual) as well: Matthew 13 (IV) 10 For whosoever receiveth, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance; 11 But whosoever continueth not to receive, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Those who have the gospel light and then choose to deliberately avoid receiving anymore will loose what they have. Alma 37 14 And now remember, my son, that God has entrusted you with these things, which are sacred, which he has kept sacred, and also which he will keep and preserve for a wise purpose in him, that he may show forth his power unto future generations. 15 And now behold, I tell you by the spirit of prophecy, that if ye transgress the commandments of God, behold, these things which are sacred shall be taken away from you by the power of God, and ye shall be delivered up unto Satan, that he may sift you as chaff before the wind. The scriptural records will be taken away from the individual in the event of rebellion. Helaman 13 8 Therefore, thus saith the Lord: Because of the hardness of the hearts of the people of the Nephites, except they repent I will take away my word from them, and I will withdraw my Spirit from them, and I will suffer them no longer, and I will turn the hearts of their brethren against them. The word of God will be taken away from a group of people if they reject it and the Spirit will abandon them, leaving them entirely without spiritual guidance. Alma 12 10 And therefore, he that will harden his heart, the same receiveth the lesser portion of the word; and he that will not harden his heart, to him is given the greater portion of the word, until it is given unto him to know the mysteries of God until he know them in full. 11 And they that will harden their hearts, to them is given the lesser portion of the word until they know nothing concerning his mysteries; and then they are taken captive by the devil, and led by his will down to destruction. Now this is what is meant by the chains of hell. The condition of the heart (i.e. the seat of one's desires in the Hebrew mind) affects the amount of knowledge disbursed to the individual. Those who are sinners receive less and less of the word until they are left without. This has obvious personal as well as corporate applications. Isaiah 44 (Jewish Publication Society-JPS) 18 They have no wit or judgement: Their eyes are besmeared, and they see not; Their minds, and they cannot think. 19 They do not give thought, They lack the wit and judgement to say: "Part of it I burned in a fire; I also baked bread on the coals, I roasted meat and ate it-- Should I make the rest an abhorrence? Should I bow to a block of wood?" 20 He pursues ashes! A deluded mind has led him astray, And he cannot save himself, "The thing in my hand is a fraud!" The idol worshipper is portrayed as a rebel who is so afflicted by his actions that it results in mental dullness. Isaiah establishes the NT mammon idolotry in 2:7, 31:7. Isaiah 6 (JPS) 9 And He said, "Go, say to that people: 'Hear, indeed, but do not understand; See, indeed, but do not grasp.' 10 Dull that people's mind, Stop its ears, And seal its eyes -- Lest, seeing with its eyes And hearing with its ears, It also grasp with its mind, And repent and save itself." Isaiah is commissioned to preach to the people, and their subsequent refusal to listen and heed the word of the Lord as delivered by His prophet leaves the people dull witted and spiritually "deaf" and "blind". D&C 1 1 And he that repents not, from him shall be taken even the light which he has received; for my Spirit shall not always strive with man, thus saith the Lord of Hosts. Those who fail to repent have the Spirit withdrawn from them and are therefore left to their own means. The result is their understanding of spiritual things diminishes. Moroni 8, 9 28 Pray for them, my son, that repentance may come unto them. But behold, I fear lest the Spirit hath ceased striving with them; and in this part of the land they are also seeking to put down all power and authority which cometh from God; and they are denying the Holy Ghost. 29 And after rejecting so great a knowledge, my son, they must perish soon, unto the fulfilling of the prophecies which were spoken by the prophets, as well as the words of our Savior himself....4 Behold, I am laboring with them continually; and when I speak the word of God with sharpness they tremble and anger against me; and when I use no sharpness they harden their hearts against it; wherefore, I fear lest the Spirit of the Lord hath ceased striving with them. 5 For so exceedingly do they anger that it seemeth me that they have no fear of death; and they have lost their love, one towards another; and they thirst after blood and revenge continually. Reviling against the Lord's servants, the Lord's authority and denying the Holy Ghost results in the Holy Spirit abandoning the people to their destruction. D&C 93 39 And that wicked one cometh and taketh away light and truth, through disobedience, from the children of men, and because of the tradition of their fathers. Disobedience results in a loss of "light and truth", which can occur at the individual level as well as at a corporate level via "the tradition of their fathers". How do you know if its genuine intrinsic stupidity or sin induced? Alma 11 43 The spirit and the body shall be reunited again in its perfect form; both limb and joint shall be restored to its proper frame, even as we now are at this time; and we shall be brought to stand before God, knowing even as we know now, and have a bright recollection of all our guilt. 44 Now, this restoration shall come to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, both the wicked and the righteous; and even there shall not so much as a hair of their heads be lost; but every thing shall be restored to its perfect frame, as it is now, or in the body, and shall be brought and be arraigned before the bar of Christ the Son, and God the Father, and the Holy Spirit, which is one Eternal God, to be judged according to their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil. In the resurrection the perfected union of the spirit and flesh will result in an immortal soul that has a perfect perception of all things mortal and pre-existent. The result is the individual will recognize their actions in such a way that self-delusion or rationalization will no longer be a possibility at the Judgement. 2 Nephi 2 10 And because of the intercession for all, all men come unto God; wherefore, they stand in the presence of him to be judged of him according to the truth and holiness which is in him. Wherefore, the ends of the law which the Holy One hath given, unto the inflicting of the punishment which is affixed, which punishment that is affixed is in opposition to that of the happiness which is affixed, to answer the ends of the atonement-- The Judgement after the resurrection will determine whether the violations committed were a result of deliberate action or not and punishments will be affixed accordingly if necessary.