_5. The Path of Danger:_ The "wilful sin" here condemned is, of course, the "sin unto death," not every sin that one might commit, though every sin that man commits, small as well as great, is along the path of danger, and in the direction of, and may lead to, the sin unto death. The path of safety from the sin unto death lies in the other direction; not in the way of sinful dalliance, but in a stern battle for righteousness and against sin. Headed that way, there is no danger of the "sin unto death;" but every transgression of the law of righteousness--which is sin[A]--though not a sin unto death, leads towards the death of the spirit life planted in the soul by the Holy Ghost--hence to be avoided, shunned. Man must not, even as God does not, look upon sin with the least degree of allowance in himself, always it must be abhorred and resisted. In that course and in that course alone lies safety. [Footnote A: I John iii:4.] _6. Joseph Smith on the Sin Against the Holy Ghost:_ The Prophet Joseph in a discourse at the General Conference of the Church, held at Nauvoo in 1844, upon this subject of sinning against the Holy Ghost, said: "What has Jesus said? All sins, and all blasphemies, and every transgression, except one, that man can be guilty of, may be forgiven; and there is a salvation for all men, either in this world or the world to come, who have not committed the unpardonable sin, there being a provision either in this world or the world of spirits. Hence God hath made a provision that every spirit in the eternal world can be ferreted out and saved unless he has committed that unpardonable sin which cannot be remitted to him either in this world or the world of spirits. * * * I said, no man can commit the unpardonable sin after the dissolution of the body, nor in this life, until he receives the Holy Ghost; but they must do it in this world. * * * All sins shall be forgiven, except the sin against the Holy Ghost; for Jesus will save all except the sons of perdition. What must a man do to commit the unpardonable sin? He must receive the Holy Ghost, have the heavens opened unto him, and know God, and then sin against him. After a man has sinned against the Holy Ghost, there is no repentance for him. He has got to say that the sun does not shine while he sees it; he has got to deny Jesus Christ when the heavens have been opened unto him, and to deny the plan of salvation with his eyes open to the truth of it; and from that time he begins to be an enemy. This is the case with many apostates of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."[A] [Footnote A: Improvement Era, Vol. XII, 1909, pp. 185-7.] _7. The Punishment and the Sin:_ This is in strict harmony with one of the revelations of the New Dispensation, portraying the future estates of man in the varying degrees of glory in the Kingdom of God. Elsewhere[A] I have presented the following digest:[B] [Footnote A: Outlines of Ecclesiastical History, pp. 419-421, 3rd edition.]