The Doctrine of Universal Opportunity for Salvation

Acts 10:34 says: “Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons”
How can this be true if, to be saved, we must make covenants and perform certain ordinances? Most of the world has had no opportunity to perform these ordinances. The answer is in section 137 of the Doctrine and Covenants. When Joseph is surprised by seeing a vision of his brother, who died before he was able to be baptized, in the celestial kingdom, God says: “all who have died without a knowledge of this gospel, who would have received it if they had been permitted to tarry, shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom of God; also all that shall die henceforth without a knowledge of it, who would have received it with all their hearts, shall be heirs of that kingdom”(D&C 137:7-8). This is really an amazing and radical doctrine. In most religions, only this life decides the final judgment. Only those few blessed to know “the truth” during their lives are saved. Would a God who is “no respecter of persons” condemn someone for not having knowledge that it would be impossible for them to have, considering the circumstances that God placed them in? That is very hard for me to believe. God loves all of His children, and will give each one of his children equal chances to be exalted. We will not be punished for something that is in no way in our control. This is a subject that I have spent a lot of time thinking about. There are many people that I love who, if they were given a chance to understand the gospel as I do I believe they would accept it. It is our responsibility to do our best to help these people have this understanding. I wish I were better in this area.

In verse 10 of this section, it says that “all children who die before they arrive at the years of accountability are saved in the celestial kingdom of heaven”. I have been taught that parents of these children are able to raise their children in the millennium. I have often wondered what happens when parents, for whatever reason, are not able to raise their children for reasons other than the child's death. One such situation would be if the parents died. I know that the parents will be compensated for not being able to raise their child, and the child will have as much of a chance at celestial glory as if they had been raised by their true parents, but I'm not God, and I don't know how he will resolve that. However, I have absolute faith that He will make everything work out, and that He knows what he's doing. Like Nephi, I can say: “I know that He loveth His children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things”