What is "sin?"

Warning: This is a personal interpretation of a fundamental Mormon doctrine and is not an official statement by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I'll leave the responsibilities that accompany such statements to living prophets. What follows is merely an attempt to explain how I understand the doctrine.

So here goes.

If you know Mormons or have heard of them, you probably have also heard that there are certain things Mormons can or can't do. Most of those rules you've heard about probably have you all scratching your head like, "WTF?"

Well, let me allay your fears and attempt to clear up your confusion by reassuring you that Mormons can do absolutely anything within the scope of human possibilities. Anything at all. Yes, Mormons can lie, cheat, steal, and kill with the best of 'em. And some do. The rub is that Mormonism attempts to persuade its followers to choose not to do such things (i.e. lie, cheat, steal, and kill). Why? Because such activities are commonly seen as sins.

I say "commonly" because sin is a concept that is often circumstantial.

But wait! So Mormons believe that sin is relative? Mormons are Relativists? Well...sorta.

Let me try to explain...

As Mormons, we believe that one of the purposes of this life is to follow Jesus Christ's example and emulate His attributes and character so we can be prepared to meet God when this life ends. So a lot of our decision making processes revolve around how we perceive our course of action relates to our aim to become more like Jesus.

This idea is found in the Book of Mormon.

"And we see that death comes upon mankind...which is temporal death; nevertheless there was a space granted unto man in which he might repent; therefore this life became a probationary state; a time to prepare to meet God; a time to prepare for that endless state...which is after the resurrection of the dead" (Alma 12:24).

So what is "sin" then?

In its simplest construction, sin is intentionally rejecting an opportunity to emulate and become more like Jesus Christ.


So is that why Mormons don't drink wine or smoke or see rated "R" movies? Well, that's why some Mormons don't do those things--they interpret those actions as harmful to their goal to become more like Jesus. On the other hand, some Mormons don't do those things purely out of habit or cultural convention. Still, others don't do those things simply because they don't have the opportunity.

So is one group of Mormons mentioned above better than the others? It's hard to say. After all, it would depend on how you define "better" and how you would determine a measurement to fit your definition. Really, the people who know best would be the people involved in the decision making process. So you'd have to ask them.

What I can say is, if you have Mormon friends who accept / decline an invitation to participate in a particular activity, feel free to ask them why. You might be surprised / confused by what they might say.