Salvation According to Mormonism

Overview

For Mormons, "the mortal existence is seen in the context of a great sweep of history" ("Plan of Salvation", LDS Newsroom). Salvation in Mormonism should be considered as it relates to the larger worldview, which includes things like the nature of God, the nature of man, the purpose of our mortal experience, and the afterlife. A popular phrase describing traditional Mormon theology is the Lorenzo Snow couplet, which says, "As man is God once was, and as God is man may be." Mormonism teaches that God and man are of the very same nature and species, and that God's purpose is to help humans progress to the level of development he has achieved and enjoy family and godhood. God "knows that only those who are worthy will be able to live with him" ("For the Strength of Youth", official LDS pamphlet). Mormon leaders speak ambivalently of the prerequisite "repentance" which brings forgiveness, sometimes giving the impression that it is a simple broken heart and contrite spirit, and other times speaking of it as a process which includes the successful and permanent abandonment of sin and keeping all the commandments.

Mormon language on salvation can be confusing and difficult to parse. Leaders speak of "salvation by grace" and relying upon the "merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah" (2 Nephi 2:8), but these phrases mean something in Mormonism that still tragically make it a false gospel. Mormonism teaches of a general salvation and an individual salvation. General salvation refers to the unconditional, universal gift of resurrection to all. Individual salvation refers to the process one must go through to receive exaltation in the highest heavenly kingdom of the afterlife, the Celestial Kingdom, where one may eternally enjoy family and become a God over his own spirit children. While Mormonism teaches that this process is made possible by the necessary merits of Christ and blessings of his atonement, and that gracious guidance, encouragement, and strengthening is granted throughout the journey, it nevertheless teaches that the decisive factor which determines one's final destination is one's personal, meritorious righteousness and worthiness. According to Mormon apostle Robert D. Hales, "Each of us has been sent to earth by our Heavenly Father to merit eternal life" ("Personal Revelation: The Teachings and Examples of the Prophets", General Conference, October 2007).

For the Christian, the ultimate purpose of life is a relationship with the only true God of all worlds, universes, dominions and reality. Eternal life is to know God. Salvation was designed so that God gets all the glory and man would enjoy giving him all the credit. In Ephesians, Paul wrote, "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." (2:8-9) In probably the starkest passage on grace in the Bible, Paul wrote in Romans, "Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness" (4:4-5). The Gospel of John puts it simply, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." (3:16) Jesus said that, "he who is forgiven little, loves little" (Luke 7:47). For those who want to most enjoy and love God and neighbors, receive immediate forgiveness of sins, and have assurance of present and permanent eternal life, salvation may be received through Christ alone, by grace alone, and by faith alone. Personal works serve as evidence of the genuineness of one's faith and relationship with Christ, but do not in an way (even partially) merit, earn, or prove one's worthiness of eternal life. Christians work hard and strive for holiness because they have a relationship with Christ built on the foundation of already having been justified, forgiven, and assured of eternal life. We can say, "by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain" (1 Corinthians 15:10). "Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God" (Romans 5:1-2).

The Fall

Mormonism teaches that The Fall was a wonderful and fortunate event, empowering man with more liberty to choose (now "knowing good and evil"), with the ability to procreate, and with the opportunity to prove one's worthiness through a learning process unto personal exaltation and full potential (godhood). This is connected to other Mormon doctrines like the purpose of life and eternal progression. The curses that followed the fall of Adam and Eve are considered blessings, and the action that Adam and Even committed is considered righteous, intelligent, and worth imitating. To rationalize this, Mormons make a distinction between "transgression" and "sin", and argue from the premise that Adam and Eve could not have obeyed the command to "be fruitful and multiply" without first eating of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Read more »

The Impossible Gospel

The “impossible gospel” is an evangelistic presentation that attempts to remove the complacency and lack of urgency that Mormons have toward their plight before God and their own religion's teachings on the gospel. As part of the biblical model of “law before gospel”—helping someone understand their sin and deserved penalty before expressing to them the simplicity of the gospel of grace—it challenges them with the highest standards set forth by the Book of Mormon and other authoritative Mormon sources. These high standards can be summarized as follows: God has enabled us to do our best, and our best is not simply to try hard, but is to keep all of the commandments all of the time. This is perfection, and is the culmination of completing the six steps of repentance, all of which are prerequisites for receiving the forgiveness of sins. Mormon Apostle Dallin H. Oaks reminds Mormons that the assurance of forgiveness “comes when a person has completed all the steps of repentance” (BYU devotional address, 1981). Read more »

LDS Repentance Quiz

Assurance of Salvation

To many, the idea of assurance is presumptuous and even conceited. They consider those who express that assurance as thinking themselves better than others. The notion is that no one can be sure, during this life, of having obtained eternal life. The Mormon cannot be sure because eternal life (known in Mormonism as exaltation or godhood) is based on the individual's personal righteousness. In the words of twelfth LDS President Spencer W. Kimball, "... however powerful the saving grace of Christ, it brings exaltation to no man who does not comply with the works of the gospel" (The Miracle of Forgiveness, pg. 207). Read more »

2 Nephi 25:23

2 Nephi 25:23 is a key text by which Mormons identify and distinguish their view of grace, repentance, works, and merit. It has consistently functioned in Mormonism as a text speaking of the prerequisite conditions for receiving forgiveness, eternal life, and exaltation, although some neo-orthodox Mormon revisionists are attempting to recast it as being about receiving grace in spite of all the conditions that we can't fulfill. Mormon leaders and correlated literature continue to perpetuate the traditional interpretation of this passage. Read more »

Celestial Law

According to Mormonism, each of three heavenly kingdoms has a set of laws. Those who live a telestial law while in mortality will be assigned to a telestial glory; those who live a terrestrial law will be assigned a terrestrial glory. Likewise, a person who abides by what is known as celestial law will be assigned a place in the celestial kingdom. Doctrine and Covenants 88:22 states, "For he who is not able to abide the law of a celestial kingdom cannot abide a celestial glory." If a Mormon hopes to reach the celestial kingdom, he must abide by the celestial law. What exactly is celestial law? Apostle Orson Whitney said, "It does not mean any one thing; it means all things. It is the fullness of obedience: it is living by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God" (Conference Report, October 1910, p.53). Read more »

Law of Sacrifice

Many scriptures remind us that our salvation has been purchased by the final, perfect sacrifice of Christ. However, in the article The Law of Sacrifice (Ensign, Oct 1998, pp. 6-13) LDS Apostle M. Russell Ballard reflects a different point of view - one more in keeping with the view that salvation must be earned. To some it may appear that he is merely describing the 'sacrificial' nature of living for God. It shouldn't take much examination to realize that Ballard is saying more than that. This becomes evident early on with such statements as "While its practice changed during the New Testament period, the purposes of the law of sacrifice remained in place even after the Atonement of Christ fulfilled the law of Moses." In other words, Christ's offering of Himself on the cross did not make a final end to the need for sacrifices, but this provided an important part of the plan. Read more »

Faith Alone and the Joseph Smith Translation

In his Inspired Version (A.K.A. Joseph Smith Translation) of the Bible, Smith altered Romans 3:28. The King James Version (the official Bible of the LDS Church) reads: "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law." However, Joseph Smith included one simple word to his rendition of this beloved passage. In his "translation" Smith added the word alone. Today it reads: "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith alone without the deeds of the law." But Smith's rendition of Romans 4:5 went in another direction. In the King James Version it reads, "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." For some unknown reason Smith added the word "not" into the passage. In the JST Romans 4:5 reads, "But to him that seeketh not to be justified by the law of works, but believeth on him who justifieth not the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." Read more »

Moving Toward a Protestant View of Grace?

In recent years some Christians have insisted that the Mormon Church has been slowly abandoning its heretical roots and coming closer to embracing a more biblical soteriology. While we would like nothing more than to see this actually happen, we have been reluctant to engage in similar optimism. A speech given by Seventy Bruce Hafen in General Conference in April 2004 confirms our doubts. In his talk titled "The Atonement: All for All," Hafen made it very clear to his listeners that the LDS Church is not moving towards a Protestant view of grace and works. Hafen commented on how "some of our friends can't see how our Atonement beliefs relate to our beliefs about becoming more like our Heavenly Father." He went on to say, "Others mistakenly think our Church is moving toward an understanding of the relationship between grace and works that draws on Protestant teachings." Such "misconceptions," he said, prompted him to address this topic in his conference message (Ensign, May 2004, p.97). Read more »

Heaven and Hell

Mormonism teaches that a person is destined for one of six places depending on what he has done or what he has believed. These are: outer darkness (for Satan, his demons, and extremely wicked people) or one of three "kingdoms" known as the telestial, terrestrial or celestial kingdoms. Within the celestial kingdom are three levels, the highest being called "The Church of the Firstborn." It is here, and only here, that Mormon males hope to achieve Godhood and rule over their own worlds throughout eternity. Read more »

Progression Between Kingdoms?

Some Mormons seem to be under the impression that there is a chance to improve themselves beyond the grave; even though their mortal lifestyle may not qualify them for exaltation, give or take a million years or so, they too often believe they can eventually leave their originally assigned kingdom and advance up the ladder towards the celestial. In response to such a notion 10th President Joseph Fielding Smith said, "It has been asked if it is possible for one who inherits the telestial glory to advance in time to the celestial glory? The answer to this question is, No! The scriptures are clear on this point" (Doctrines of Salvation 2:31). Read more »

Saved by Grace Unto Damnation?

McConkie makes it very clear that resurrection from the dead is known in the Mormon vernacular as being synonymous with "salvation by grace alone" (Mormon Doctrine, p. 671). He wrote, "those who gain only this general or unconditional salvation will still be judged according to their works and receive their places in a terrestrial or a telestial kingdom. They will, therefore be damned." (Mormon Doctrine, p. 669). There are several reasons why these definitions should cause Christians concern. One can be found in the words of Jesus Himself. In John 5:28 and 29 our Lord is recorded as saying, "Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation." If we are to believe the LDS definition of salvation by grace alone we must conclude that the great majority of those who are saved by grace will be saved by grace unto damnation. Read more »

Sons of Perdition

Mormon doctrine teaches that those who are "sons of perdition" are those who had a sure and perfect knowledge of the truth, then voluntarily turned from it and committed the "sin unto death." The first requirement, then, to become part of this group is to have been members of the LDS Church. After that, they would have to have the truth revealed to them with such sureness and clarity that there would be no doubt in their minds about the truthfulness of the Mormon gospel. Speaking of the sons of perdition, Joseph Fielding Smith taught that "before a man can sink to this bitterness of soul, he must first know and understand the truth with a clearness of vision wherein there is no doubt" (Doctrine of Salvation 1:49). Such clarity requires a confirming vision from heaven. Joseph Smith taught that to become a son of perdition, a person must "have the heavens opened unto him, and know God....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" (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p.358). Read more »

Godhood and Theosis

That mere mortal men have the capacity to eventually become Gods is a doctrine that has been defended by LDS leaders since the early years of the Mormon Church. At the root of this concept is the idea that mankind is the literal offspring of God. Speaking in the Tabernacle on August 8, 1852, Brigham Young stated,

"The Lord created you and me for the purpose of becoming Gods like Himself; when we have been proved in our present capacity, and been faithful with all things He puts into our possession. We are created, we are born for the express purpose of growing up from the low estate of manhood, to become Gods like unto our Father in heaven. That is the truth about it, just as it is" (Journal of Discourses 3:93).

The Mormon doctrine of deification is fraught with biblical contradictions. If humans can, in fact become Gods, then it denies the monotheistic message of the Bible. Read more »