How many
become sons of perdition? Even though the number who can commit the unpardonable sin on
earth is restricted . . . it is an
erroneous notion that men who become sons of perdition will be so few that they
can be counted on the fingers of one hand. After explaining what is
involved in committing the unpardonable sin and something about the fate of
those who do so, the Prophet Joseph Smith concluded: “This is the case with many apostates of The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints” (History of
the Church 6:314). This number is still relatively small when compared with
the billions who have inhabited the earth. Furthermore, not all who leave the
Church could possibly become sons of perdition, but only those with the required
knowledge through the Spirit. (Messages
for Exaltation: Eternal Insights from the Book of Mormon For the Sunday Schools
of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints [Salt Lake City: Deseret
Sunday School Union, 1967], 354, emphasis in bold added)