MORMONISM'S DECEPTIVE TEACHING ON ETERNAL LIFE
"Immortality is assured to all of us through the atonement
of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
But eternal life is a personal responsibility we must earn and be
worthy of." (Italics by Editor)
(LDS Apostle Delbert L. Stapley, Member of the Quorum of the Twelve,
in The Path to Eternal Glory, Ensign,
July 1973, page 99.)
WHAT IS ETERNAL LIFE, ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE?
The following is an extract of an article written by J. F. Walvoord,
in which he discusses the definition of eternal life:
The Scriptures describe but do not formally define eternal life.
The nearest approach to a definition is given in John 17:3, where
Christ stated: "This is life eternal, that they might know thee
the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou has sent."
Eternal life is described in its experiential aspect of knowing God
and having fellowship with God through his Son, Jesus Christ.
Eternal life is contrasted in Scripture with ordinary physical life.
One having physical life without eternal life is described as
"dead in trespasses and sins" (Eph 2:1). The lack of
eternal life is equated with the state of being unsaved, condemned,
or lost, in contrast to those who have eternal life who are
declared to be saved, and promised that they shall never perish
(John 3:15-16,18,36; 5:24; 10:9) ..... (Evangelical Dictionary of
Theology. Copyright © 1984 by Baker Books. All rights reserved.
Used by permission.)
ETERNAL LIFE THROUGH KNOWING CHRIST
And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true
God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. (John 17:3, KJV)
God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his
Son Jesus Christ our Lord. (1 Corinthians 1:9, KJV)
In biblical parlance, to know someone means to have an
intimate, in-depth, one-on-one relationship with them. And as we go
through the following scriptures we will discover that Christ made
it abundantly clear not only that He wanted us to have such a
relationship with Him, but that it was vital that we did so:
1. All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth
the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save
the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. (Matthew
11:25, KJV)
Here Christ is telling us that only He knows the Father. And
furthermore, only those to whom He reveals the Father, can come to
know Him. In other words, God has chosen to reveal Himself to us
through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ (Hebrews 1:1-2). The
following scripture amplifies this:
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no
man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye
should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him,
and have seen him. Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father,
and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time
with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath seen
me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the
Father? (John 14:6-9, KJV)
Christ is God in the flesh. An easy-to-understand article on
Hebrew terms of speech, that gives an in-depth explanation of the
biblical terms "the Father" and "the Son,"
will be found by clicking on this link:
Mormon Doctrines On Christ Misconstrue Hebrew Terms of Speech
2. Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I
will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I
am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your
souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matthew
11:28-30, KJV).
Firstly, Christ invites us to become yoked to Him so that He
can teach us how to cope with our burdens in life. Secondly, as
we walk through life with Him at our side, He promises that as
we learn His ways of meekness and humility, we will find our
lot easy to bear. This is a description of a close, personal
relationship, where we come to know Him and He teaches us His
ways.
3. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of
itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye
abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth
in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for
without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is
cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them,
and cast them into the fire, and they are burned (John 15:4-6,
KJV).
Christ is saying that the only way we can bear any spiritual
fruit is through union with Him. In verse 5 He says that without
Him we can do nothing. In other words, the Christian life is
symbiotic, in that unless we are individually sustained by Christ,
we will exhibit no signs of spiritual life (fruit bearing) at
all. How much more personal can a relationship be?
4. Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal
life: and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not
come to me, that ye might have life. (John 5:39-40, KJV).
Here Christ states plainly and unambiguously that in order
to have eternal life, we have to come to Him personally.
5. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even
so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth
in him should not perish, but have eternal life. (John 3:14-15,
KJV)
[This is where it all starts. We wouldn't come to Christ
unless we had faith in Him, would we? So it starts off with us
putting our faith in Christ for salvation. And He promises in John
7:38, "He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said,
out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water." Verse 39
tells us that he was talking about the Spirit we would receive when
we believe on Him. This is what is termed being born of the spirit
in John 3. In other words when we come to Christ and exercise faith
in Him for salvation, we receive a wonderful, new spiritual
dimension in our lives, which transforms us from someone who was
spiritually dead into someone who has spiritual life. And this is the
start of eternal life.]
The President of the LDS Church and his two counselors are called
the First Presidency, and they are assisted by the Quorum of the
Twelve Apostles. From 1972 until his death in 1985, LDS Apostle
Bruce R. McConkie was a well respected member of this quorum. He
wrote several LDS doctrinal books, one of which was called
"Mormon Doctrine." So one would expect him to know what he
was talking about when he discussed LDS doctrine. And the following
are extracts from a talk given by him, at Brigham Young University
on 2nd March, 1982, entitled Our Relationship with the
Lord:
"Now, it is no secret that many false and vain and foolish
things are being taught in the sectarian world and even among us
about our need to gain a special relationship with the Lord Jesus.
I shall summarize the true doctrine in this field and invite erring
teachers and beguiled students to repent and believe the accepted
gospel verities as I shall set them forth.....
..... All of us, Christ included, are the spirit children of the
Father; all of us, Christ included, seek to become like the Father.
In this sense the Firstborn, our Elder Brother, goes forward as we
do.....
..... Now I know that some may be offended at the counsel that they
should not strive for a special and personal relationship with
Christ. It will seem to them as though I am speaking out against
mother love, or Americanism, or the little red schoolhouse. But I
am not. There is a fine line here over which true worshipers will
not step.....
..... Those who truly love the Lord and who worship the Father in
the name of the Son by the power of the Spirit, according to the
approved patterns, maintain a reverential barrier between
themselves and all the members of the Godhead."
Oh my! LDS doctrinal writer McConkie believed that Christ is our
older brother in eternal progression. The LDS has a completely
different picture of both the Father and the Son, to that portrayed
by the Bible.
Prior to their fall in the garden of Eden, Adam and Eve had
fellowshipped personally with God in the cool of the evening
(Genesis 3:8). But then Adam sinned. Filled with guilt, fear and
shame, he tried to hide himself. God cried out, "Adam, where
are you?" (He knew exactly where Adam was, but was making a
point.) Why should God have created mankind in His likeness, if not
for a relationship with Himself?
The Bible is the story of a holy God's amazing, incredible and
unmerited love for fallen, sinful man. It describes in graphic
detail His efforts to reconcile to Himself a race who had chosen
to turn from Him in order to follow their own inclinations. His
desire is that we learn to love Him with all our hearts, minds
and strength (Mark 12:30), cleave to Him, worship, honour and
obey Him — and crave fellowship with Him. Even under the
Old Covenant we find this longing expressed:
As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after
thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God ........
(Psalm 42:1-2, KJV)
What could be more personal than that?
ETERNAL LIFE AS IT APPLIES TO MORMON SALVATION
The LDS teaches two main types of salvation, with yet a third type
tacked on the end.
First of all there is general salvation, which they say Christ
achieved through His atonement. And it is applicable to everybody,
without the necessity of having faith in Christ or even believing
that there is a God. But all it guarantees is resurrection and a
place in the lowest degree of the Mormon heaven, which is not
where God and Christ are. According to their third article of faith,
which states that "through the atonement all mankind may be
saved by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the [LDS]
gospel," all Christ's atonement achieved was to open the
way for the LDS church to provide a way of salvation from personal
sin, through themselves, their laws and ordinances, temple
ceremonies, and so on.
Personal salvation, which includes forgiveness of sins, is their
second type of salvation, the right to which is earned (as mentioned
above) by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the LDS church,
plus good works (c/f the Third Article of Faith, Doctrines of
Salvation, Volume I, page 134, Articles of Faith by
LDS Apostle James Talmage, pages 87, 478-479.)
According to the LDS, eternal life is known as full salvation, and it
only comes into the equation after judgment. However, they have
given biblical terms their own exclusive meanings, so when they talk
about salvation it generally has nothing to do with eternal life.
And they also teach that one cannot attain either forgiveness of sins
or eternal life apart from membership of their church.
Redemption from personal sins can only be obtained through
obedience to the requirements of the [Mormon] gospel, and a life of
good works ..... The Sectarian Dogma of Justification by Faith Alone
has exercised an influence for evil (Mormon Apostle James
Talmage, Articles of Faith, pages 478-479).
There is no salvation without accepting Joseph Smith as a prophet
of God, (Doctrines of Salvation, Volume 1, page 188.)
Full salvation is attained by virtue of knowledge, truth,
righteousness, and all true principles. Many conditions must exist
in order to make such salvation available to men. Without the
atonement, the [LDS] gospel, the [LDS] priesthood, and the [LDS]
sealing power, there would be no salvation. Without continuous
revelation, the ministering angels, the working of miracles, the
prevalence of gifts of the spirit, there would be no salvation.
If it had not been for Joseph Smith and the restoration there
would be no salvation. There is no salvation outside The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Doctrine,
LDS Apostle Bruce McConkie, page 670, c/f Doctrines of
Salvation Volume 2, pages 1-350). (Editor's italics)
The LDS church seems to be under the impression that they exert
authority over the entire universe, and have more say over our
salvation than does God Himself. Their teachings insinuate that His
hands are tied regarding the implementation of salvation from sin and
eternal life, unless folk become members of the LDS church, serve
them devotedly, tithe regularly and participate in their temple
ceremonies.
But that's not what the Bible teaches. It says that it was Christ
who bore our sins and who is the Saviour, not the LDS church.
And Christ maintained that all who trust in Him will be forgiven
their sins and gain eternal life (John 3:14,15) and that it was
His sacrificial blood that washed away our sins, not baptism by a
Mormon priest (Matthew 26:28, Colossians 1:14, 1 John 5:13).
ETERNAL LIFE ACCORDING TO MORMONISM
My dictionary defines the word "eternal" as meaning
everlasting, perpetual, continuing forever, without end. But the LDS
church would have us believe that the word "eternal" has a
completely different meaning to that given in our dictionaries.
Eternal life is the name given to the kind of life that our
Eternal Father lives. The word eternal, as used in the name
eternal life, is a noun and not an adjective. It is one of
the formal names of Deity (Moses 1:3, 7:35; D&C 19:11) and has
been chosen by him as the particular name to identify the kind of
life that he lives. He being God, the life he lives is God's life;
and his name (in the noun sense) being Eternal, the kind of life he
lives is eternal life. Thus: God's life is eternal life; eternal
life is God's life — the expressions are synonymous.
..... But only those who obey the fulness of the [LDS] gospel law
will inherit eternal life (D&C 29:43-44)..... Thus those who
gain eternal life receive exaltation ..... They are gods.
(Mormon Doctrine, LDS Apostle Bruce R. McConkie, page 237.)
The KJV (which is used by Mormons) sometimes translates exactly the
same original Greek word "aiwviov" as everlasting (life),
and other times as eternal (life), with both definitions being used
in the same context. But in order to be able to fit their
theology in with biblical teaching, the LDS insists that eternal
life and everlasting life (immortality) are two entirely different
concepts. Their claim is that those with immortality do not live in
heaven with God, but in a different degree of glory; and that eternal
life only applies to those who are exalted to godhood, who will then
live the type of life God lives, which is called eternal life,
"as God's name is Eternal," i.e. eternal is a noun and not
an adjective.
ETERNAL LIFE AND MARRIAGE
"If one is going to be ..... where God dwells in all his
glory, one will be there as a husband or a wife and not otherwise.
Regardless of his virtues, the single person, or the one married for
this life only, cannot be exalted." (Spencer W. Kimball, 12th
President of the LDS, The Miracle of Forgiveness, page 245).
[Editor: Exalted means granted godhood and eternal life.]
In Mormonism, eternal life has the connotation of being able to
carry on reproducing for eternity (c/f Doctrine
and Covenants 132:19-20; 76:54, 57-58). Consequently, one of the most
important LDS requirements for eternal life is marriage in an
earthly Mormon temple, for time and eternity (Doctrine and Covenants
131:1-5). In line with this teaching, the LDS God, who has a body of
flesh and bone, leads a married life, and they teach that in a prior
existence known as our first estate, he literally fathered us all.
They say that's why he's called our Heavenly Father (see the
refutation of this teaching in Mormon Doctrines
On Christ Misconstrue Hebrew Terms of Speech ):
All men and women are literally the sons and daughters of
God. "Man, as a spirit, was begotten and born of heavenly
parents,and reared to maturity in the eternal mansions of the
Father, prior to coming upon the earth in a temporal [physical]
body" (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith
[1998], 335; this quote taken from Gospel Principles, 2010,
page 9).
But the Bible vigorously opposes the LDS's idea of marriage being
necessary in order to live in heaven with God eternally. Firstly
in Matthew 22:24-30, the Lord Jesus was asked by the Sadducees
whose wife a woman would be in heaven if she had been married
seven times, her first six husbands having predeceased her. In
verse 30 He indicated that none of them would be her husband,
because marriage does not apply in heaven as we then become
"like the angels."
The Bible portrays the angels as being neither male nor female.
Marriage is an earthly ordinance provided by God, and according to
the Lord Jesus Christ, marriage as we know it will cease to exist
once we enter the afterlife.
Earlier on in Matthew 19:7-12 Christ was discussing the fact that
divorce had never been intended by God, and that apart from when
immorality of the one partner was the cause of the break up, God
considered remarriage to be akin to adultery. In verse 10 His
disciples remarked that in this case it would be better not to
marry. Had marriage been vital in order to have eternal life
and to be able to live with God in heaven for eternity, this would
have been the ideal opportunity for Christ to have pressed the
point. But instead he went the opposite way, stressing in verse 12
that there are men who make themselves eunuchs "for the sake
of the kingdom of heaven."
On the same subject, the Apostle Paul points out in 1 Corinthians
7:32-35, that when a man and a woman are married, of necessity
they have to devote time and attention to one another. And in
order to please each other they become caught up with worldly
things. He goes on to say that on the other hand, if they do not
marry they are able to devote themselves wholly to the things of
the Lord, and to pleasing Him. He emphasizes his point by saying
that it is better if a man can attend to the affairs of the Lord
without distraction. Earlier on in verse 7, he said he wished
that all could be as he was, i.e. celibate. And in verse
7:26, he points out that because of the distresses of those times
it would be better for a man to remain single.
None of this would have applied if marriage had been one
of the qualifications required for eternal life. Marriage would
then have been the overriding consideration and Paul would have
been strenuously advocating marriage for all, instead of
discouraging the practice. Furthermore, we would have found
teaching after teaching on this important point. But this
was not the case. Nowhere in the entire New Testament did
Christ or any of the Apostles ever mention that marriage and a
continuation of one's seed was necessary if one was to gain
eternal life and live with God in heaven (c/f Doctrine and
Covenants 132:19-20). That was purely Joseph Smith's idea.
What Joseph Smith didn't seem to understand is that salvation is
solely about the holiness of God, the sinfulness of fallen
mankind, and the rescue package that God had designed through
Christ Jesus: It has
nothing whatsoever to do eternal sex, plural wives or the
perpetuation of the earthly breeding cycle. (See the articles,
Sin and the Fall, Mormon and Biblical Teachings
Contrasted and What is Biblical
Salvation? .)
God is not devious. And nor is His Word, the Bible. (Satan is the
one who is devious, not God.) Consequently, when the Bible talks
about life it means a conscious existence. And when it uses the
word eternal, it means forever. So when using the term,
eternal life, the Bible it means a life that will go on
forever.
Joseph Smith never seemed to have been able to grasp that fact
that it wasn't his own ideas on religion that mattered, but what
God has told us in the Bible. Consequently, Mormonism is filled
with unbiblical doctrines.
ONLY TWO ETERNAL DESTINATIONS
The LDS teaches that there are different degrees of salvation
and consequently, different degrees of glory in the
afterlife. But that's not the way it's going to be. Those
were the teachings of Joseph Smith, not of the Bible. Joseph was
an occultist, and it was a well known fact that during his
lifetime occultic books were the only source of information on
this type of teaching. As a full discussion of this subject is
not the scope of this article, a link is provided at the end of
this page to a relevant article on the Three Degrees of Glory,
that reveals how Bible verses used by Smith to back up this
teaching, were taken out of context.
The Bible is very clear about there only being one type of
salvation and two eternal destinations (see the link at the end
of the page to the article on salvation). So when it comes to
eternity we have to be in only one of two camps. All those who
have been saved through faith in Christ will have eternal life
and will go to be with God, eternally, whilst those who have
not been saved through faith in Christ will be separated from
Him and the glory of His power, forever. 2 Thessalonians 1:9
calls this "eternal destruction." Imagine living in
a place completely bereft of the presence of God,
eternally! Only someone intent on deception could
describe that as living in a degree of glory.
CONCLUSION
To sum up, according to the Bible, eternal life comes about
through trusting in Christ, and knowing God, through Christ. And
the Lord Jesus said that in order to have eternal life, we have to
come to Him:
Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life:
and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me,
that ye might have life. (John 5:39-40, KJV)
This is the type of life that Christ was referring to in John 10:10,
when He said, "I came that they might have life, and might
have it abundantly." And we don't have to wait until some time
in the future, on the other side of the grave, to gain eternal life.
The Bible tells us that the moment we exercise saving faith in
Christ, we have eternal life!
And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and
this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that
hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written
unto you that believe on the name [the
person] of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal
life. (1 John 5:11-13, KJV) (Italics by editor)
You are welcome to write to the editor at
reply@bibtruth.com
The following links lead to relevant articles:
What is Biblical Salvation?
The Three Degrees of Glory
By clicking on the button marked "home" at the end of this
page, the reader will be able to access a comprehensive list of
fully referenced articles that discuss different aspects of
Mormonism and compare them with what the Bible teaches.
Copyright © 2010, by Mormonism and Biblical Truth.
All rights reserved.
