Hebrews 9:11-14
11 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;
12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:
14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
Jesus’ shedded blood brought eternal redemption for us, redemption from physical death. Redemption over spiritual death is predicated upon our obedience and righteousness to true gospel principles and ordinances. We must follow God’s laws with exactness. Jesus was without spot for He sinned not. He has power to purge our conscience. Our conscience is an instrument that guides us in doing right or wrong. If we do right, our conscience will tell us that we are in the right because we will feel right, good, peaceful, and assured. When we do wrong or are thinking about doing wrong, our conscience will tells that it is wrong, that we should not do or say it because we will feel bad and empty, will have a stupor of thought. When we seek Jesus and His teachings, we will always feel good.
Abraham Lincoln said, “When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad.” Our conscience, the Light of Christ, is a gift from the Almighty God to show us the right way and to help us make correct decisions.
“All people are born with the capacity to distinguish between right and wrong. This ability, called conscience, is a manifestation of the Light of Christ (see Moroni 7:15–19). A person's conscience is a defense against situations that are spiritually harmful. Righteous decisions and obedience to the commandments bring peace of conscience.
When we sin, we feel remorse or guilt, just as we feel physical pain when we are wounded. This is the natural response of our conscience to sin, and it can lead us to repent.
Repentance and forgiveness renew our peace of conscience. On the other hand, if we ignore our conscience and do not repent, our conscience will be impaired as if it has been “seared with a hot iron” (1 Timothy 4:2).
We are to learn to follow our conscience. This is an important part of exercising our agency. The more we follow our conscience, the stronger it will become. A sensitive conscience is a sign of a healthy spirit.
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