INTRODUCTION

This article examines the difference between what the LDS church teaches concerning trusting in Christ, and what the Bible tells us.



BIBLICAL SALVATION

According to the Bible, salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Because this subject as a whole is adequately dealt with in several other articles listed in the index of the home page of this site under the heading "Salvation," we will not deal any further with it here. (You can reach the home page index by clicking on the button marked "Home," right at the bottom of this page.)

In this article we're dealing with the question of what the Bible means by having faith in Christ, and the outcome of such faith.



MORMON SALVATION

Two of the major differences between Mormon and biblical salvation, are that the LDS maintains that forgiveness of personal sins can only be attained through membership of their church; and that only those who are exalted to godhood will enjoy eternal life. On the other hand the Bible insists that salvation is solely through faith in Christ, apart from church membership or any deeds of our own, and that it includes the gift of eternal life. Nowhere does the Bible say that we need to belong to a church with so-called "authority" or that only so-called "gods" enjoy eternal life. Here are just a few quotations, to make the point:

BIBLICAL TEACHINGS:

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 by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
(Ephesians 2:8-9, KJV)

Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us ..... (Titus 3:5, 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 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)

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 of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. (1 John 5:11-13, KJV)

LDS TEACHINGS:

There is no salvation outside The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (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.)

"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).

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. (LDS Apostle Delbert L. Stapley, Member of the Quorum of the Twelve, The Path to Eternal Glory, Ensign, July 1973, page 99.) (Emphasis inserted by editor.)

..... 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.)

As you can see, Mormon teachings contradict those of the Bible.



CHRIST TAUGHT THAT HE, PERSONALLY, IS THE SOLE SOURCE OF SALVATION

In direct contradiction of the LDS's claim that there is no salvation apart from their church, Christ consistently focused upon His Person as being the one and only source of salvation. Here are a few relevant quotes:

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6, KJV)

I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. (John 10:9, KJV)

I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger [spiritually]; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. (John 6:35, KJV)

In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.) (John 7:37-39, KJV)
(Note by editor: Trusting in Christ is the catalyst for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.)

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)

And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish (John 10:28, KJV) (Christ is the provider of eternal life.)

(Italics in the above quotes were inserted by the editor.)

The above scriptures indicate two things: Firstly, that Christ is the vehicle of salvation, and secondly that we need to come to Him personally for redemption from sin and the gift of eternal life. In other words, both salvation from sin and eternal life are attained through a one-on-one relationship between the seeker and the Saviour.

When we come to Christ, an eternal bond of trust, love and faithfulness is formed. The Bible likens it to that of the relationship between a groom and his bride (Ephesians 5:25-28, 2 Corinthians 11:2-3, Revelation 19:7). Remember the teaching that a groom and his bride become one? (Genesis 2:24, 1 Corinthians 6:16-17) And this intimate relationship with Christ is the normal Christian life. Our part in all of this is to submit to Him and to honour Him in all that we do, which is not too onerous a task when it involves the one who has laid down His life for us.

The very moment we come to Christ, repent of our sins and trust in Him for salvation, we are forgiven and have eternal life. But that isn't where salvation ends. It's just the start.

Wherefore He [Christ] is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him ..... (Hebrews 7:25, KJV)

As the old hymn, Rock of Ages puts it, "saves from wrath and makes me pure." Christ's atonement saves us from God's judgment (wrath) by paying the price (atoning) for our sins in our stead, thus earning our forgiveness for all our sins. But it doesn't stop there. He also saves us from the power of sin, and makes us pure. In biblical jargon these two doctrines, saving us from wrath, and making us pure, are called justification and sanctification.

Justification is the gracious act of God in declaring righteous the sinner who believes on Jesus Christ, who atoned in our place for our sins. And sanctification (being set aside for God in holiness) follows justification as surely as night follows day. The moment we come to Christ in faith we are fully justified because of His vicarious atonement; and our sanctification has already kicked in. Our sanctification then becomes progressively deeper through our ongoing walk (and deepening fellowship) with Christ and our prayerful meditation in, and application of, the Word of God (John 17:17, Acts 26:18, 1 Corinthians 1:2, Ephesians 5:25-27, Hebrews 2:11, 4:12, 10:10; 13:12, etc.)

Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. (Titus 2:14, KJV)

But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. (2 Corinthians 3:18, KJV)

However, Christ doesn't just dump salvation and all it entails on to us. It's not as simple as that. He wants us to yoke ourselves to Him so that we can learn His ways.



IT'S ALL OR NOTHING

When we put our faith in Christ for salvation, it has to be all or nothing. Christ illustrates this fact in the following verse. Bear in mind that He is using metaphorical language here to illustrate the necessary depth of commitment to Him and His sacrificial death on our behalf, that is required. He uses the analogy of eating bread (which was the staple diet for the sustenance of life in those days).

I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. (John 6:51, KJV)

Before we eat a slice of bread, that's all it is; just a slice of bread. But after we swallow it, our metabolism digests and distributes it throughout our bodies. And once it has been absorbed into our systems, that slice of bread literally becomes a part of us. There is no turning back. It has become one with us. And Christ wants His person and His substitutionary sacrifice for forgiveness of our sins, to be so absorbed into our lives, that we become one with Him, to the point that there is no turning back.

When Christ took upon Himself the burden and the responsibility for the sins of those of us who were going to trust in Him for salvation, this meant that He was representing us. So when He bore the terrible cost of our sins, it was the same as if we had borne the cost, because He represented us. In biblical language, we were "in Him" when He sacrificed His own flesh and blood in dying to pay the consequences of our debt of sin. And we were also "in Him" when He conquered Satan, sin, death and hell and rose from the dead, on our behalf, as our Saviour. In other words, when a sinner genuinely puts his trust in Christ for salvation from sin, he becomes one with Him. The Bible calls it being "in Christ Jesus."

He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. (John 6:56, KJV)

When He made the above statements, the Bible tells us that many of his followers forsook Him (John 6:66-69). Verse 60 says that they complained that what he was saying was too much for them to handle, and that they didn't want to listen to stuff like that. It didn't fit in with their ideas. And nothing has changed, people still feel the same way today.



FOLLOWING CHRIST WILL COST US EVERYTHING

Our obedience, righteousness and good works aren't what earn us our salvation, they're the consequence of our salvation. Christ has already earned salvation on behalf of those who trust in Him as their sin bearer and Saviour. And trusting in Him for salvation means that we have removed our focus from ourselves and our own efforts; and are instead centering our focus on Him. We can't save ourselves no matter how hard we try. He's the Saviour, not us. So we focus on Him.

This type of surrendered commitment frees us up to follow Him along a very hard and narrow path that does not fit in with the ways of the world or with the mindset of fallen mankind (which is us). And if we choose rather to take another route, this would mean that our faith isn't really in Christ, but that is either in ourselves, our own abilities and our own powers of reasoning, or in whoever or whatever it is that has influence over us in this regard, such as a specific church, prophet, guru, religion or philosophy. But none of those things can save us, only Christ can do that. And we will never make any spiritual progress if we have one foot in one camp and the other foot in another. It has to be Christ alone. Mormons need to note that nowhere in the Bible are we told that membership of the so-called "true" church is required for salvation. If you read through the New Testament, you will note that "the church" was comprised of all those regenerated folk who were trusting in Christ alone.

Our salvation cost Christ everything, and He made it clear that if we want to follow Him it will cost us everything too. Our commitment to Him needs to be radical. He has to be first and foremost in every area of our lives, even transcending our bonds with our nearest and dearest.

He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. (Matthew 10:37, KJV)

He went on to say that following Him meant loosing our ties to our possessions and our wealth:

Whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:31, KJV)

For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? (Mark 8:36, KJV)

But He didn't stop there. We need to go even further than that. He wants us to surrender our so-called rights, our wills and our very lives, to Him, on a daily, ongoing basis.

And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. (Luke 9:23, KJV)

And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. (Matthew 10:38, KJV)

The cross was an instrument of death. When a man was seen carrying a cross, everyone knew he was about to die, and that his death would be slow, humiliating and excruciatingly painful. But because He said we must take up our cross daily, we know that the Lord Jesus was speaking metaphorically. He was telling us here that if we are going to follow Him on our journey of salvation from the power of sin in our lives (and full consecration to God), we are going to have to deny our self to the extent of putting our own self-centred desires and ambitions to death on a daily basis. And just like physical crucifixion, this is a slow, humiliating and painful process.

The Christian life is not easy, because it's supernatural. It's a daily struggle, where we sometimes slip and fall badly. But Christ is our Saviour, so He lifts us up, and by His grace we will complete the course (Hebrews 10:23, 1 John 1:9). Of ourselves we cannot do it. That's why we need to lean on Him, moment by moment, for grace to see us through.

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. (Matthew 11:28-29, KJV)

Christianity is Christ, plus nothing. He is our all in all.

In biblical times when a Jew turned to Christ, he was ostracized by the community, and his property and belongings were confiscated. Then his family held a mock funeral service, as in their eyes he was as good as dead. So following Christ cost Paul the apostle (who was a Jew) everything that was once precious to him.This is his testimony:

But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith (Philippians 3:7-9, KJV)

He went on to say:

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. (Galations 2:20, KJV)

According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. (Philippians 1:20-21, KJV)

However, for the Mormon it is their church and their ordinances that are paramount in their lives, not Christ. They believe they can't be saved other than through the LDS church and obedience to their laws and ordinances. But Christ says that salvation is through Him alone.

Members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles are responsible for the overall administration of the LDS church, and are second only in authority to the First Presidency (who are actually assisted by the Quorum). Bruce R. McConkie was a well respected member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles from 1972 until his death in 1985. And he wrote several doctrinal books, including one entitled Mormon Doctrine. The following are extracts from a talk given by McConkie, 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..... (Editor's italics)

..... 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."

What McConkie is saying here is that according to the revelations and teachings received by the prophets of the LDS church, a personal relationship with Christ or with God is wrong.



THE LDS AND CHRIST

Although Mormons are taught that their spiritual progress is only possible through the authority of the LDS priesthood, obedience to their laws and ordinances, participation in their baptism and temple ceremonies and so on; they do pray in Christ's name, and they honour Him because of His part in their teaching about the atonement and universal salvation. They also state in their testimonies that they believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

However, the Christ they believe in is not the biblical, historical Jesus who is eternal deity; but a non-existent being who was invented in order to fit in with Joseph Smith's teachings. In reality, the Mormon Jesus is merely our older brother in eternal progression, as was so clearly pointed out above by LDS Apostle Bruce McConkie.

In bearing testimony of Jesus Christ, President Hinckley spoke of those outside the Church who say Latter-day Saints do not believe in the traditional Christ. "No, I don't. The traditional Christ of whom they speak is not the Christ of whom I speak. (The LDS Church News, week ending June 20, 1998, page 7) (Italics inserted by the writer.)

"..... the Christ followed by the Mormons is not the Christ followed by traditional Christianity." (Elder Bernard P. Brockbank, of the First Quorum of the Seventy, "The Living Christ," Ensign, May, 1977, pages 26 and 27.)

In any event, the focus of Mormons is not on Christ. It is on the LDS church, Joseph Smith, and his gospel. And the cross of Christ has been banned from all LDS premises.



CONCLUSION

We have seen that Mormon salvation bears no resemblance whatsoever to the salvation taught by Christ and the apostles. Nor will it be found anywhere in the teachings of the primitive church. So we can only conclude that either the Lord Jesus Christ, His apostles and the primitive church were all under a terrible delusion or were deliberately lying; or else that Joseph Smith was a deceiver and a false prophet.

There is freedom of religion in the western nations of the world. So Mormons need to ask themselves why the LDS finds it necessary to resort to ongoing deception in an endeavour to pass Mormonism off as being something that it is not, i.e. a biblical Christian denomination.



PERSONAL NOTE BY THE EDITOR

Mormons are taught that those who leave the LDS are either involved in gross sin, or else are being led by Satan, and consequently they are more often than not ostracized by the membership. The writer was a second generation Mormon. And in terms of my relationships with those nearest and dearest to me, who were all members of the LDS, it was costly for me to become a Christian.

If the reader is a Mormon, I want you to know that my one and only regret is that I waited so long to come to know Him who loved me enough to die for me; and to have the amazing, undeserved and supreme privilege of walking through life with His hand in mine. He is sufficient. And I will never stop thanking Him for what He has done for me, a sinner.

Upon the cross of Jesus, mine eye at times can see;
The very dying form of One, who suffered there for me;
And from my smitten heart with tears,
Two wonders I confess: the wonders of His glorious love,
And my unworthiness. (Elizabeth C. Clephane)

The following links will take you to relevant articles:

Mormonism's Claim to be a Christian Denomination

Mormon Doctrines On Christ Misconstrue Hebrew Terms of Speech

Mormonism and "Being Worthy"

Mormon Salvation Exposed to the Light of the Bible

You are welcome to write to the editor, at response@bibtruth.com


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