Transferring Accountability/Sin

There is only one condition or way that the responsibility and therefore the accountability of sin can be transferred from one person to another. When the responsibility for sin is transferred, so too is the punishment owed by the law transferred.

Justice cannot be robbed. When we repent of our sins, we can be forgiven and the responsibility of sin can be removed from our head and placed on the head of another, but justice cannot be robbed in the process and that responsibility cannot be transferred to the innocent.

“What, do ye suppose that mercy can rob justice? I say unto you, Nay; not one whit. If so, God would cease to be God.” – Alma 42:25

“O the greatness and the justice of our God! For he executeth all his words, and they have gone forth out of his mouth, and his law must be fulfilled.” – 2 Ne. 9:17

What does it mean that justice cannot be robbed? It means that if a law is broken then the punishment attributed for breaking the law must be given. If a punishment is not given, or if it is given to the wrong person, then the law remains unfulfilled and justice has been robbed. The guilty must be punished for the law to be fulfilled and justice to be satisfied.

But, we are told that if we repent we can be forgiven and avoid the punishment of the law.

How can justice be fulfilled if a person repents and is offered mercy thereby avoiding the punishment of a broken law?

There is only one way sin can be transferred from one person to another. The person who committed the sin directly must be able to show that they were and are innocent of the sin or responsibility of the broken law, and not accountable for their actions. If we are not accountable for our actions, then the sin must be transferred to the person or being that is truly accountable and therefore guilty. The person that is truly guilty or at fault for the sin is then punished and the innocent person is found not guilty of the sin and therefore not punished.

That sounds pretty complex, but it isn’t. The concept is simply taught and clearly understood in the following scripture that gives us an example of sin being transferred from the person that committed the sin to the person responsible for the sin.

“And again, inasmuch as parents have children in Zion, or in any of her stakes which are organized, that teach them not to understand the doctrine of repentance, faith in Christ the Son of the living God, and of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of the hands, when eight years old, the sin be upon the heads of the parents.

26 For this shall be a law unto the inhabitants of Zion, or in any of her stakes which are organized.” – D&C 68:25-26

This is a perfect example of how one person can be responsible for the sins committed by another person. The concept is simple enough. If a parent teaches a child to steal, then the parent is responsible for the child stealing and therefore guilty of the child’s actions. In this way, the child who actually committed the sin is found innocent and the sin is placed on the head of the parent who is guilty and therefore responsible.

How does this then tie into the concept of Azazel and place the sins of all the repentant on the head of Azazel?

The answer is found in the Apocryphal Book of Enoch. 

NOTE: If you are unfamiliar with the Apocrypha, it is a compilation of books which were considered by some to be inspired but didn’t make it into the Bible through the canonical process used by the Roman Catholic Church. This does not mean that they were not inspired, only that when the Roman Catholic Church decided which books it recognized as scripture they didn’t include the books of the Apocrypha. Many of the Apocryphal books are mentioned in the bible by other prophets whose writings were accepted, like the Book of Enoch. (Some parts of the Book of Enoch are quoted in the Epistle of Jude and the Book of Moses.) When Joseph Smith asked the Lord about the Apocryphal books known to him, the Lord responded saying,

“Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you concerning the Apocrypha—There are many things contained therein that are true, and it is mostly translated correctly;

2 There are many things contained therein that are not true, which are interpolations by the hands of men.

3 Verily, I say unto you, that it is not needful that the Apocrypha should be translated.

4 Therefore, whoso readeth it, let him understand, for the Spirit manifesteth truth;

5 And whoso is enlightened by the Spirit shall obtain benefit therefrom;

6 And whoso receiveth not by the Spirit, cannot be benefited. Therefore it is not needful that it should be translated. Amen.” – D&C 91:1-6

There have since been other books discovered that are considered books of the Apacrypha.

The Book of Enoch tells us that, (for the same reason that parents are guilty of the sins of their children if they teach them incorrectly), Azazel/Satan is guilty of the sins of the whole world for teaching and inspiring all manner of sins.

“And then Michael, Uriel, Raphael, and Gabriel looked down from heaven and saw much blood being shed upon the earth, and all lawlessness being wrought upon the earth. 

…

And they said to the Lord of the ages: ‘Lord of lords, God of gods, King of kings, and God of the ages, … Thou seest what Azazel hath done, who hath taught all unrighteousness on earth and revealed the eternal secrets which were (preserved) in heaven, which men were striving to learn:

…

Then said the Most High, the Holy and Great One spake, “… the whole earth has been corrupted through the works that were taught by Azazel: to him ascribe all sin.” – The Book of Enoch, Chapters 9-10

Definition – “ascribe”

Refer to a supposed cause, source, or author : to say or think that (something) is caused by, comes from, or is associated with a particular person or thing. Accredit, attribute or impute.

Definition – “Scapegoat”

The Hebrew word “Azazel” is translated to the English word “Scapegoat” which means,  “a person who is blamed for the wrongdoings, mistakes, or faults of others.”

“And behold, it is he, (Satan), who is the author of all sin. And behold, he doth carry on his works of darkness and secret murder, and doth hand down their plots, and their oaths, and their covenants, and their plans of awful wickedness, from generation to generation according as he can get hold upon the hearts of the children of men.” – Hel. 6:30

There is a condition to this transfer of sin or accountability from one person to another. The condition is that we must be innocent of the sin and therefore not responsible for the sin.

The way we become innocent is by repenting and showing that when we know good from evil for ourselves and are able to act according to our own desires, we choose good and reject evil.

As discussed previously, sin is not about actions or inactions. Sin is when we are willing to live contrary to our present knowledge of moral truth in order to gain some benefit for ourselves or others. Repentance then cannot be about correcting actions but changing our heart and intent to live in accordance with our present knowledge of moral truth even when doing so does not benefit us.

Repentance requires a broken heart and a contrite spirit which is the seed that brings about the mighty change of heart wherein we no longer desire to do evil but to do good continually. The broken heart and contrite spirit is what makes us committed to follow Christ, (the truth), to the end. If we do not have a broken heart and a contrite spirit, then we have not truly repented no matter how we change our actions and we remain accountable for the sin.

If we have the broken heart and a contrite spirit, then we have truly repented of ALL of our sins because we changed the desire of our heart which is the cause of all sin. Through the mighty change of heart, all of our sins become transgressions. Because our true desire is to do good continually, all our errors are considered transgressions and not sins.

How does repentance return us to innocence?

Remember that a transgression means that you lack knowledge or will. If you are learning and trying to do better, but err, and then learning some more, and trying again… then you do not have enough knowledge to sin, you are transgressing. Transgressions are covered by the atonement without conditions of repentance, because the person’s desire is to improve and repent already. The condition was already met before the transgression was committed.

Sin on the other hand requires repentance. Repentance is the change of heart that creates in us the desire to do good. Repentance is not simply the obedient change of actions. An evil person can obediently pray, but that prayer is not counted to them for good and they are still evil after they change their actions because they lack the broken heart and contrite spirit required for true repentance.

Nearly everyone gets stuck on the change of actions and ignores the change of heart which is far more important. Change the heart and the person will learn and err, (transgress), and learn some more and err some more, (transgress), again and again until the person has eventually overcome all their errors and become a pillar of moral truth themselves. But if the heart is not changed, then the person is counted as evil no matter what they do. They might be obedient, but not righteous. 

An evil person does not have the broken heart and contrite spirit of a righteous person. They will obey when commanded, but not attempt to learn for themselves, (motivated by their love for others and their love of truth), to do what is morally right and good. They will at best do the bare minimum and attempt to justify and excuse themselves when causing harm to others.

Sin means that you desire evil and have a hard heart. Repentance means that you have the mighty change of heart, (broken heart and contrite spirit), so that you no longer desire evil but to do good continually. Before sin can be passed from us back to Satan, we must stop being guilty of our sins by repenting or having the mighty change of heart.  Until we repent and offer up a broken heart and a contrite spirit, we remain guilty or responsible for our sins. 

When we have the mighty change of heart, our sins become transgressions and the accountability for them passes from us back to their source. This doesn’t change what we have done, but it changes our accountability for what we have done. Our sins were as scarlet when we were responsible for them, but through our repentance and the atonement of Jesus Christ, our sins become transgressions and we become as innocent of our actions as a little child.

“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” –  Isaiah 1:18

Sins remain red as scarlet while we remain accountable for them. They don’t go away or disappear when we repent, but through repentance our sins become counted to us as transgressions because our desire has changed.

Sin means that we knowingly and willing do evil. Transgression means that we unknowingly or unwillingly do evil. We can’t change our knowledge once we’ve gained it and pretend to not know something is evil after we have learned it is. The only way to change a sin to a transgression and thereby be forgiven of it is to change our will or desire. Repentance is how we change our will or desire and when we repent, our sins which were red as scarlet become transgressions which are white as snow.

If it is truly a sin, you have the knowledge and power to change but lack the desire to change. If you truly have the desire to change but struggle to do so, then it must be a transgression. If a transgression, then you are innocent and covered by the atonement through his grace and not by your works while struggling through the learning, growing process required to overcome all things by faith, (see D&C 76:53 & 60).

Additionally, the very purpose of the punishment affixed to the law is to bring about a remorse of conscience to men.

“Now, how could a man repent except he should sin? How could he sin if there was no law? How could there be a law save there was a punishment?

18 Now, there was a punishment affixed, and a just law given, which brought remorse of conscience unto man.” – Alma 42:17-18

If a person does not have a remorse of conscience, the punishment must be given in order to create it. If you have not repented, then your desire is still for sin and the punishment of the law is required to create in you a remorse of conscience. 

However, if you have already experienced the broken heart and contrite spirit, without the punishment of the law, then you already have a remorse of conscience which is far greater than any punishment the law could create in you. The punishment of the law becomes obsolete and irrelevant. Mercy can only be extended to those who have a natural remorse of conscience without the punishment of the law. 

Forgiveness brings joy and can only be experienced by those with a broken heart and a contrite spirit. This means that ultimately we are given according to our desires and the choice we make between good or evil is really the choice between joy through forgiveness or remorse of conscience by the punishment resulting from our sins.

“I ought not to harrow up in my desires the firm decree of a just God, for I know that he granteth unto men according to their desire, whether it be unto death or unto life; yea, I know that he allotteth unto men, yea, decreeth unto them decrees which are unalterable, according to their wills, whether they be unto salvation or unto destruction.

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.” – Alma 29:4-5

Sins bring remorse of conscience through punishment for sins. Transgressions bring joy through Mercy and forgiveness because of the remorse of conscience brought on by the broken heart and contrite spirit which are the requirements of true repentance. For these reasons repentance is not optional to receive the remission of sins. 

Let’s look at the example of a parent and a child again to see how this works.

The parent teaches the child to steal. The child doesn’t know that stealing is wrong and in their ignorance they steal in obedience to the parent. The sin is on the head of the parent, and the child is innocent and sinless. Eventually the child grows up and learns that it is wrong to steal. At this point, they have a choice. They can steal even though they know it is wrong or they can repent and stop stealing because it is wrong.

If the child grows up and learns for themselves that stealing is wrong but continues to steal, then the sin becomes their own. They cannot cast the blame on their parents because they have chosen to steal knowing it is wrong. At this point they become guilty of the sin independent of the parent and the sin is no longer on the head of the parent. Unless the child has a broken heart and a contrite spirit which causes them to repent, they will need to be punished by the law to create an unnatural remorse of conscience which will prevent them from stealing in the future.

If the child grows up and learns that stealing is wrong and repents with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, then the sin remains on the head of the parent and the grown child was never accountable for their transgressions.

Of course, this depends on the understanding of the child. The only way to be innocent for past wrongs is repentance. When we repent, we show with our own actions that the sinful life is not and was not according to our desire and will. 

To truly repent and therefore become innocent of our actions, we must:

1. Have the desire to do good.
2. Understand why what we’ve been doing is wrong.
3. Understand what we should be doing instead.
4. Understand how to do what we should be doing.
5. Have the will and power to do what we should be doing.
6. Not be influenced or motivated by anything other than our own desire for good.

Point 1 is the motivation that drives all the rest. If you can’t do all of points 2-6 then you are transgressing, not sinning. 

Change can be challenging. The atonement accounts for all of that by looking at our hearts and desires rather than our actions. To see this clearly, read “The Path to Eternal Life – Part 1” available free on Elliaison.org.

In the same way, we are all growing up in a world where Satan/Azazel teaches and temps us to do evil. If we learn good from evil for ourselves and choose to repent and give up Satan’s ways, then we are found innocent and the sin is placed on the head of Azazel/Satan.

In this way, Justice is fulfilled on the wicked and not robbed while mercy is extended to the righteous but only on condition of repentance. This essentially means that repentance is a requirement for mercy and not simply a request from Christ. If we don’t repent, then God is honor-bound to uphold justice against us. God did not set the requirement of repentance, justice did. 

“And now, there was no means to reclaim men from this fallen state, which man had brought upon himself because of his own disobedience;

13 Therefore, according to justice, the plan of redemption could not be brought about, only on conditions of repentance of men in this probationary state, yea, this preparatory state; for except it were for these conditions, mercy could not take effect except it should destroy the work of justice. Now the work of justice could not be destroyed; if so, God would cease to be God.” – Alma 42:12-13

“And thus mercy can satisfy the demands of justice, and encircles them in the arms of safety, while he that exercises no faith unto repentance is exposed to the whole law of the demands of justice; therefore only unto him that has faith unto repentance is brought about the great and eternal plan of redemption.” – Alma 34:16

“And remember also the words which Amulek spake unto Zeezrom, in the city of Ammonihah; for he said unto him that the Lord surely should come to redeem his people, but that he should not come to redeem them in their sins, but to redeem them from their sins.

11 And he hath power given unto him from the Father to redeem them from their sins because of repentance; therefore he hath sent his angels to declare the tidings of the conditions of repentance, which bringeth unto the power of the Redeemer, unto the salvation of their souls.” – Hel. 5:10-11

It is a requirement of justice that God must uphold or God will cease to be God.

This then explains the role of Azazel in the atonement; Azazel fulfills the demands of justice, only for those who repent. 

The Law of Azazel

Notice how the Lord is merciful and forgiving of both transgression and sins but points out that even though the Lord forgives, “that will by no means clear the guilty:

“6 And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,

7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.” – Ex. 34:5-7

Even when mercy is offered, justice cannot be robbed and the guilty must be held accountable.

We would like to point out that Azazel has done us no favor and deserves no thanks in taking on and suffering for the demands of justice so that we can receive mercy. Like the parent that teaches their child to steal, he has caused the issue we are trying to resolve and ultimately brought this upon himself by leading us astray and tempting us to do evil.

We have the veil of forgetfulness, he has no such veil. Because of his knowledge, he has no “scapegoat”. He cannot claim innocence through ignorance. He is therefore knowingly and willingly leading people to do all manner of evil and thus attempting to lead them to hell. His punishment is just and if we don’t repent, our punishment will be equally just. Therefore, Azazel is suffering the consequences of his own actions because he has to and NOT because he has any true desire to bless or help us.

The Sins of the Parents

The scriptures tell us that the sins of the parents can be passed down from parent to child for many generations. 

When this happens, the child is considered innocent and the responsibility for their sins will be passed back to their parents and grandparents until it finds the original source of the sin who was truly accountable. The accountability for some sins or transgressions will be passed back through the ages all the way back to Adam and Eve. Because Satan/Azazel is responsible for knowingly and willingly leading Adam and Eve to do evil, the accountability for these sins will roll up through the generations back through Adam and Eve to Satan/Azazel and he will be judged accountable for several millennia of sins committed by mankind.   

Azazel/Satan is ultimately the original source of countless sins and transgressions that we commit today. He truly has corrupted us all. For this reason, the punishments for Adam and Eve’s transgressions that brought about the fall are rightly and squarely placed on Azazel. 

There is an important correlation here that we need to stop and discuss. 

So much of our lives we have leaned on the story of Adam and Eve to teach us so many things, about the condition of our earth, our own lives, and the entire plan of salvation. We know that “as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive”, but how that works has been a mystery of much debate and confusion. With this new understanding of Azazel, we can see that the responsibility of original sin goes back to the originator of all sin, Satan. From the beginning he was responsible for tempting Adam and Eve, and all mankind from that time forward. 

Those who repent will be found clean of their own sins as well as the blood and sins of their generation. The responsibility of all sin committed by the repentant will eventually be wrapped up and returned back to those who will not repent, (Satan included). This is why the scriptures and endowment instruction tell us we need to repent or we too will be responsible for the blood and sins of our generation.

“And I give unto you, who are the first laborers in this last kingdom, a commandment that you assemble yourselves together, and organize yourselves, and prepare yourselves, and sanctify yourselves; yea, purify your hearts, and cleanse your hands and your feet before me, that I may make you clean;

75 That I may testify unto your Father, and your God, and my God, that you are clean from the blood of this wicked generation; that I may fulfil this promise, this great and last promise, which I have made unto you, when I will. – D&C 88:74-75

“Verily I say unto you, behold how great is your calling. Cleanse your hearts and your garments, lest the blood of this generation be required at your hands.” – D&C 112:33

Those who will not repent will be found responsible for the blood and sins of their generation who do repent.

All those who repent are forgiven. Satan is the originator of all sin and because he acted knowingly and willingly to cause the fall and to teach all manner of sin to mankind, all accountability for it returns to him and undoes the effects of the fall. This fulfills justice while extending mercy.

“The Law of Azazel” summarizes this entire concept of the guilty, (who are responsible but did not personally commit the crime or sin), suffering the punishment in place of the innocent, (who are not responsible but actually carried out the crime or sin). “The Law of Azazel” calls to mind that at times there is a difference between the person committing the crime or sin and the person responsible for the crime or sin.

Children for example, and those without the law, are found innocent of their transgressions according to the Law of Azazel, (see Moro. 8:10, 22-24). Parents may be guilty of the sins of the children according to the Law of Azazel, (see D&C 68:25). We are all guilty of the blood and sins of this generation according to the Law of Azazel, unless we repent, (see Luke 11:50-51, D&C 88:75, 85, 138 & 112:33).

********

 Now, understanding the role of Azazel in the atonement, we expect that the role of Jehovah is now surrounded with questions. 

Some will ask, “But didn’t Jesus suffer for our sins so that he could give us mercy?”

To this we respond, “Yes, Jesus did suffer for our sins. But that doesn’t mean that he suffered the punishment that we deserve as a result of our sins. These are two different things entirely and the scriptures teach that Jesus suffered for our sins and not that he suffered the punishments of the law on our behalf the way we have been taught. We expect that few will understand the difference between suffering for our sins and suffering the punishment of our sins, so we will explain the difference in detail later.” 

We have shown how Azazel will suffer the punishment of our sins because he is responsible for them if we repent, but we have not yet shown why Jehovah/Jesus suffered and died and why his sacrifice gave him the ability to offer mercy to the repentant. We have also not shown how his suffering and death placed judgement into his hands. Let’s now look at the role of Jehovah and why he “suffered for our sins”…