According to LDS doctrine there are two types of salvation, both of which are unbiblical. Salvation by grace, through the atonement of Christ, is an unconditional or universal "salvation," and provides for resurrection only. The right to individual or personal salvation, which includes forgiveness of sins, has to be earned. And their definition of eternal life has no connection with anything the Bible teaches.

LDS President Joseph Fielding Smith wrote:

"Salvation is twofold: General, that which comes to all men irrespective of a belief (in this life) in Christ, and Individual, that which man merits through his own acts through life and by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the [Mormon] gospel" Doctrines of Salvation, Volume I, page 134).

In regard to both general and individual salvation, LDS Apostle James Talmage said:

"The first effect (of the atonement) is to secure to all mankind alike, exemption from the penalty of the fall, thus, providing a plan of General Salvation. The second effect is to open a way for Individual Salvation whereby mankind may secure remission of personal sins. As these sins are the result of individual acts, it is just that forgiveness for them should be conditioned on individual compliance with prescribed requirements, obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel" (Articles of Faith, page 87).

LDS GENERAL SALVATION (SALVATION BY GRACE)
(Sometimes called Unconditional or Universal Salvation)

LDS general salvation by grace through Christ's atonement is merely bodily resurrection and does not include forgiveness of personal sins or eternal life. It therefore amounts to damnation. This is a travesty of what the Bible teaches and it belittles what Christ achieved for us on the cross. It is also flies in the face of the "picture" of salvation provided for us in the levitical substitutionary sacrifice for sin under the Old Covenant. Furthermore, it makes null and void the entire biblical record concerning salvation from personal sins through faith in Christ's atoning sacrifice that is given to us in the New Testament, and which was taught by Christ's apostles and the primitive church.

Mormon teaching is that the purpose of Christ's atonement was to cover Adam's original sin, thereby reversing the consequences of the fall. They maintain that because of His atonement mankind will be released from the penalty for Adam's sin, which is death. And as it is by grace, even those who do not have faith in Christ will receive this general salvation, except the "sons of perdition". (A Mormon term, the definition of which is "individuals who rebel against God, deny the truth and defy the Lord's power.")

"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 telestial kingdom. They will therefore be damned" (LDS Apostle McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, page 669). (Author's italics)

"All men are saved by grace alone without any act on their part, meaning they are resurrected". (Apostle Bruce McConkie, "What the Mormons Think of Christ," page 28).

Nowhere does the Bible teach us that salvation means either resurrection or damnation. The Bible clearly and simply teaches that if we put our faith in Christ, He will save us from our own sins, not Adam's, and will give us eternal life:

And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins. (Matthew 1:21, KJV)

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16, KJV)

To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. (Acts 10:43, KJV)

In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: (Colossians 1:14 KJV)

He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life ...... (John 3:36, KJV)

LDS INDIVIDUAL (CONDITIONAL) SALVATION

This is full salvation, and can only be attained through membership of the LDS church. In other words the LDS church is the vehicle of individual salvation, not the Lord Jesus Christ. (Remember, Christ's atonement amounts to damnation, according to the LDS.) Individuals who are not Mormons, including those belonging to Christian churches, will only receive unconditional or universal salvation, which is the same as damnation. So they will be resurrected, but will not receive forgiveness for personal sins, regardless of whether or not they have trusted in Christ for salvation.

"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 outside The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. (Bruce McConkie, "Mormon Doctrine," page 670).

There is no salvation without accepting Joseph Smith as a prophet of God, (Doctrines of Salvation, Vol. 1, page 188.)

But Mormons have no way of knowing for sure whether or not their lives will have been good enough to warrant personal salvation. This means that they are far worse off than the Israelites were under the Old Covenant, before the New Covenant of forgiveness of sins by grace through faith came into being.

God did not tell the Israelites that they would have to earn their right to forgiveness because He knew they weren't capable of doing this. Instead He provided the sacrificial system. The person who had sinned was required to take an unblemished animal to the altar and place his hand upon the animal's head to indicate that it would be his substitute, and would die in his place to cover his sin. (Leviticus 4:27-31, Numbers 15:22-26, etc.) These were "pictures" of the coming promised Redeemer, who would give Himself once and for all as a vicarious sacrifice to cover all the personal sins of those who identified themselves with Him by faith. This idea of a sacrificial substitute for sin was so foundational to the Jewish mindset that John the Baptist, who was the herald of promised Messiah, pointed Christ out as being the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world. (John 1:29)

But LDS Apostle Bruce McConkie declared:

"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 gospel, the priesthood, and the 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, page 670). (My italics)

First of all this isn't what the Bible teaches. And secondly, this teaching is blasphemous. It implies that Joseph Smith and the LDS organization deserve more credit for the salvation of mankind than does the Lord Jesus Christ. At this stage we need to remind ourselves of the false propaganda put out by the LDS concerning their complete conformance to what the Bible teaches:

"Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (known informally by the nickname Mormons) believe the Bible. Indeed, so literally and completely do their beliefs and practices conform to the teachings of the Bible that it is not uncommon to hear informed persons say: 'If all men believed the Bible, all would be Mormons.' Bible doctrine is Mormon doctrine, and Mormon doctrine is Bible doctrine. They are one and the same" (LDS Apostle Bruce McConkie, "What The Mormons Think of Christ," page 2).

Mormons need to ask themselves why the LDS finds it necessary make these false claims, and what their purpose is in doing so. Furthermore, if their doctrines comes straight out of the Bible, why then do they say that the reason their doctrines aren't in the Bible is because evil people removed them? The Bible disproves Mormon teaching all the way through, from Genesis to the book of Revelation. Contrary to what they claim, Mormon teaching is not Bible teaching. It is purely Joseph Smith's teaching. Mormonism is not biblical, and nor is it Christianity.



ETERNAL LIFE

LDS teaching is that individual salvation also provides for exaltation, or eternal life. But they have invented their own exclusive meaning for the term "eternal life," so that it doesn't mean what it's supposed to mean. Because the Mormon God was not eternally a God, in order to give some semblance of their doctrines fitting in with the Bible, they have given the word "eternal" a completely different meaning to that taught by the Bible and defined in our dictionaries. They maintain that when applied to God, the word "eternal" is used in the same way as the word Mr. is used, i.e. in the form of a title. And just as one calls a man "Mr." Jones, so one calls God, "Eternal" God. Similarly, when an individual progresses to the point that he becomes a God, that means "eternal life," i.e. the type of life that a God has. But that's not what the Bible teaches.

Attainment of the LDS version of eternal life is solely through works, i.e. obedience to all the laws and ordinances of the LDS church, including full tithing and participation in temple ceremonies, serving the LDS church and keeping God's commandments (one of which is still compulsory polygamy, as they have never rescinded that doctrine), plus righteous living until the end, and also the attainment of sufficient knowledge. So when they talk about God's commandments we need to remember that they don't mean the ten commandments or any other commands God has given us in the Bible, they mean the commandments that have come from the mouths of their LDS prophets. Also included in keeping the commandments is being married for time and eternity in an LDS temple. Without participating in eternal marriage, individuals are not permitted to procreate in the afterlife, so the LDS maintains that this precludes them from becoming gods, which is the the same thing as attaining eternal life.

According to LDS teaching, even if a person has put their faith utterly in Christ, has consecrated himself wholly to Him and lived a godly, virtuous, sacrificial life serving Christ, to the point of being martyred for His sake; if he has not been baptized by the LDS and polygamously married in an LDS temple for time and eternity, he cannot gain eternal life. Yet the Bible teaches that whosoever believes will in Christ have eternal life (John 3:15).

"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." (S. Kimball, The Miracle of Forgiveness, page 245).

There is no paid ministry in the lower echelons of the LDS church. So as part of their conditions of personal salvation, they are required to serve their church devotedly, and are delegated various duties. Another of the many requirements for personal salvation is genealogical work, and work for the dead:

"And now, my dearly beloved brethren and sisters, let me assure you that these are principles in relation to the dead and the living that cannot be lightly passed over, as pertaining to our salvation. For their salvation is necessary and essential to our salvation, as Paul says concerning the fathers; that they without us cannot be made perfect; neither can we without our dead be made perfect." (Doctrine and Covenants 128:15)

However, the LDS has both misread and misunderstood the biblical phrase, "that they without us cannot be made perfect". This comes from Hebrews 11:40, the subject matter of which is not salvation, but faith and the perfection of that faith, not the perfection of salvation. The epistle of Hebrews was addressed to Jewish Christians, hence the name "Hebrews," and the whole of chapter 11 concerned only faith and the perfection of that faith. At the start of chapter 11 the writer was talking about the promise of God and His plans for the nation of Israel. Their faith was resting in God's promise of a coming Messiah, and this faith in His promise was "made perfect," or fulfilled by the coming to earth of Christ, the Jewish Messiah, and the salvation wrought by Him, resulting in the formation of the body of Christ, the church. (The primitive church was entirely Jewish.)

So the last sentence in Doctrine and Covenants 128:15 quoted above, i.e. "Neither can we without our dead be made perfect," is a wrong conclusion brought about through the misreading of the Bible by the LDS. There is nothing in the Bible that even remotely suggests that we need to do work for the dead in order to perfect our salvation. That is purely a mistaken and unbiblical idea introduced by the LDS church.



LDS SALVATION THROUGH BAPTISM
(See the article on baptism, symbolism and picture language under the title, "Baptism and the Use of Biblical Symbolism," which clarifies much of the controversy over baptism.)

LDS Apostle McConkie declared that one of the purposes of Mormon baptism is for the remission of sins:

"Baptism serves four purposes: 1 - It is for the remission of sins. 2 - It admits the repentant person to membership in the Church and Kingdom of God on earth. 3 - It is the gate to the celestial kingdom of heaven. 4 - It is the means whereby the door to personal sanctification is opened" (Mormon Doctrine, page 70).

Contrary to the first purpose of LDS baptism, the Bible teaches that Christ died for the forgiveness of all our individual sins, and that if we put our faith in Him those sins are forgiven. What right then does the LDS have to say we can only have our sins remitted if we're baptized by them?

In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace (Ephesians 1:7 KJV)

To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. (Acts 10:43, KJV)

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)

For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures. (1 Corinthians 15:3, KJV)

And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross (Colossians 2:13-14, KJV) (The writer's italics)

The second reason for Mormon baptism is to admit the person concerned to membership of the church and kingdom of God on earth. But this is not what the Bible teaches. Paul the Apostle clearly teaches that membership of the Church of Jesus Christ is through the New Birth, which has nothing whatever to do with water baptism and everything to do with baptism in the Spirit:

And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning. Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost. (Acts 11:15-16, KJV).

For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:13, KJV)

However, Apostle McConkie maintains that Mormons are born again through water baptism:

"The second birth begins when men are baptized in water by a legal administrator" (Mormon Doctrine page 101).

"Little children are spiritually alive until they arrive at the age of accountability (Moroni 8:8-26)...... Then they die spiritually unless they are born again ..... by baptism they are born of water and of the Spirit" (Mormon Doctrine page 761).

There is a comprehensive article on the new birth on this site, listed in the index on the home page, and in order to avoid duplication it won't be repeated here.

Nowhere in the Bible will you find a single teaching on being born again through being "legally" baptized by someone with supposed authority.

In Acts 10, we read about how God sent Peter to preach to the gentiles. As he preached the Word of God to them, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, and they were regenerated or born again. (As explained in the article on the new birth, regeneration comes about through the application of the Word of God, accompanied by an anointing of the Holy Spirit.) After these gentiles had experienced the new birth, Peter said:

"Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?" And he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. (Acts 10:47-48, NASB)

So we see that Christians in the primitive church were born again before they were baptized in water. And that is the pattern followed by Christ's true church today. When the Holy Spirit anoints the Word of God, people come under conviction, put their faith in Christ as their Savior, and are regenerated, born again, or born of the Spirit, after which they undergo believer's water baptism. As the Lord Jesus said concerning the Holy Spirit's spiritual baptism or regeneration:

"The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit." (John 3:8, NASB)

In other words, two people can be sitting side by side listening to the Word of God, and the Holy Spirit will regenerate one, but not the other.



THE LDS CLAIMS THAT SALVATION IS ONLY THROUGH THEIR ORGANIZATION

At the LDS General Conference on April 8, 1973, Apostle Mark E. Peterson said:

"Salvation is in the (LDS) church, and of the church, and is obtained only through the church" (Deseret News, "Church News," April 14, 1973, page 14).

McConkie also declared:

"There is no salvation outside The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" (Mormon Doctrine, page 670).

But the Bible teaches that we are saved through faith in Christ and His atoning sacrifice, not through church membership. These false claims concerning salvation being restricted to the LDS church are a form of brainwashing, the purpose of which is to bind Mormons to the LDS church. And here again the LDS is bypassing the Lord Jesus Christ, who Himself is salvation. He said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through Me" (John 14:6), and Christ was not a Mormon. He was an Old Covenant Jew, and He worshipped in the courtyard of the Old Covenant Jewish temple. (The New Covenant never came into being until it was ratified by His shed blood when He died on the cross.)

It's no good the LDS church telling us otherwise, because these facts don't only come from the biblical record. Historians from that time all tell us the same story, that Jesus Christ was an Old Covenant Jew. On the other hand, nobody, not even the historians, had ever heard of Mormonism or any of their doctrines, or the type of unbiblical temples that the LDS has, until Joseph Smith started up the LDS church. So salvation is solely and wholly through a Jewish messiah, as prophesied by God's Jewish prophets in the Old Testament; and not through the LDS church or through Mormonism.

Furthermore, the Bible clearly teaches that salvation is through grace alone by faith alone in Christ alone. Christ never ever told us that we would have to become members of a certain religious organization, if we were to have full salvation. If it was the case, He would have told us so. But that wasn't God's way of saving us then, and it isn't His way of saving us now. The Lord Jesus said that no one could come to the Father except through Himself personally (John 14:6), and in Acts 4:12 we read that there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved. Christ also said that His words were truth. And truth stands the test of time, it never changes.

Here are a few more scriptures concerning salvation and eternal life:

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. (John 6:47, KJV)

These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life (1 John 5:13, KJV)

Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:3, KJV)

..... unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood (Revelation 1:5, KJV)

Copyright 2007 by Mormonism and Biblical Truth. All rights reserved.