Apostles Given Power to Remit Sins

John 20:23; God only can forgive sins; Jesus exercised this power during his ministry to show he was God. Priesthood is the power and authority of God delegated to man on earth to act in all things for the salvation of men. And so we now find Jesus authorizing the apostles to use their priesthood, which is the power of God, to remain and remit sins. Obviously they cannot do so except in those cases where Christ himself would have so acted had he been present performing this ministerial service.

John 20:23; Revelation from the Lord is always required to retain or remit sins. Since God is the one who must cleanse and purify a human soul, the use of his priestly powers to do so must be authorized and approved by him, and this approval comes by revelation from his Holy Spirit. In many cases in this dispensation the Lord by revelation announced that the sins of certain persons were forgiven. (D&C 60:7; D&C 61:2; D&C 62:3; D&C 64:3.) Accordingly, if by revelation he should tell his apostles to act for him, using his power which is priesthood, and to thus retain or remit sins, they would do so, and their acts would in effect be his. See Matthew 16:13-20; Matthew 17:1-9; Matthew 18:18.

John 20:23; This same apostolic power is always found in the true Church, and hence we find the Lord saying to Joseph Smith: "I have conferred upon you the keys and power of the priesthood, and whosesoever sins you remit on earth shall be remitted eternally in the heavens; and whosesoever sins you retain on earth shall be retained in heaven." (D&C 132:45-46.)

John 20:23; There is another sense in which the apostles and all of the elders of the Church have power to remit or retain sins. These legal administrators have been authorized to baptize for the remission of sins. Thus if a man repents and qualifies for the remission of sins, and is baptized by a legal administrator who has power to perform the ordinance so that it will be binding on earth and sealed eternally in the heavens, such repentant person has his sins remitted. If, however, he refuses to heed the warning voice and does not repent and be baptized, his sins are retained, and he does not become pure and spotless so he can qualify to go where God and Christ are.

John 20:23; Forgiveness of sins committed after baptism comes also by following the established order of the Church, which includes full repentance and the renewal through the sacramental ordinance of the covenants made in the waters of baptism. See Matthew 10:32-33 and the related scriptures considered under the heading, "How Forgiveness and Pardoning Grace Operate."