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 and very personal, in-depth, one-on-one relationship with
them. And 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. A link
is provided at the end of this page, to an article on Hebrew terms
of speech, that gives an in-depth explanation of the biblical terms
"the Father" and "the Son."]
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 and
supported 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 changes us
from someone who was spiritually dead into one who has spiritual
life. And this is the start of eternal life.
The Mormon ideas of both Christ and God the Father, differ radically
to that of the Bible. Consequently, their idea of eternal life also
differs from that depicted in the Bible.
LDS Apostle Bruce R. McConkie was a well respected member of the
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles from 1972 until his death in 1985.
(The President of the LDS Church comes out of this Quorum. 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.) This high ranking LDS Apostle 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! McConkie tells us that Christ is our older brother in eternal
progression. He has a completely different picture of deity 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). When sin brought down a barrier between fallen man
and his holy God, causing Adam 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 ACCORDING TO MORMONISM
According to Mormonism, 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.)
(Those who are saved but are not exalted to godhood will, according
to the LDS, have everlasting life, which they teach is not at all
the same thing as eternal life.)
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. However, in order to be able to fit their
theology in with biblical teaching, the LDS insists that eternal
life and everlasting life are two entirely different concepts. Their
claim is that those with everlasting life 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, "because God's name
is Eternal."
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. But this only
amounts to universal resurrection, and doesn't include forgiveness
of sins. And it is applicable to everybody, without the necessity
of having faith in Christ. However, it does open the way for us to
earn salvation from personal sins. Personal salvation, which
includes forgiveness of sins, is their second type of salvation,
the right to which is earned 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.)
LDS eternal life is known as full salvation, and that only comes
into the equation after judgment. The LDS has dishonestly given
biblical terms their own exclusive meanings, so when they talk about
salvation, it very often has nothing to do with eternal life. And
they teach that one cannot attain forgiveness of sins or eternal
life apart from membership of their church. However, the right to
forgiveness of sins can be earned by those who aren't Mormons
in the afterlife, by repenting and embracing Mormonism, provided
someone is baptized into LDS membership by proxy for them, in an
earthly Mormon temple.
It seems that in the eyes of
Mormonism, the LDS church exerts authority over the entire
universe, and has more say over our salvation than does God
Himself.
Because in Mormonism, eternal life has the connotation of being
able to carry on reproducing for eternity, one of the many
LDS requirements for eternal life is marriage for time and
eternity, in an earthly Mormon temple (Doctrine and Covenants
131:1-3). (The LDS God leads a married life.)
As mentioned in the first quote of this section, Mormon teaching
is that only those who qualify to be exalted to the highest
degree of glory (i.e. who become gods), will live in the presence
of God and Christ, and will have a continuation of their seed
forever and ever. They will also possess all power (Doctrine and
Covenants 132:19-20). Doctrine and Covenants 76 verse 54
describes them as "the church of the Firstborn"; verse
57 describes them as those who have the LDS Melchizedek
priesthood, and verse 58 describes them as "gods."
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 teachings on different degrees of glory in
the afterlife. As a full
discussion of this subject is not the scope of this article, a
lead is provided at the end of this page to a relevant article,
that also reveals how Bible verses used by Smith to back up his
different degrees of glory teachings, were taken out of context.
The Bible is very clear about there only being two eternal
destinations. So we are in only one of two camps. Those who have
eternal life will go to be with God, eternally, whilst those who
do not 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. 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:
Mormon Doctrines On Christ Misconstrue Hebrew Terms of Speech
What is Biblical Salvation?
The Three Degrees of Glory
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