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MORMONISM'S "SALVATION BY WORKS"
vs.
SALVATION BY GRACE THROUGH CHRIST
The entire BIBLE points in all directions to the cross. Upon
it God's only begotten Son died that we might have eternal life
from God. Only through Christ can this separation be bridged.
On the other hand, MORMONISM points in all directions to the
"Law of Eternal Progression". We have seen that Mormon doctrine
states that God was once a man. He progressed to become God. The
same law states that man may become God!
Let's go to the authorities of the church and hear what they
have said, first on the subject of man's pre-existence as a
spirit in a "spirit world" prior to taking a body here on earth:
DID WE PRE-EXIST?
BRUCE R. McCONKIE (Apostle); MORMON DOCTRINE, page 589
"Pre-existence is the term commonly used to describe the
pre-mortal existence of the spirit children of God the Father ...
All men and women are in the similitude of the universal Father
and Mother, and we are literally the sons and daughters of Deity;
as spirits they were the offspring of celestial parentage ...
Unless God the father was a personal Being, He could not have
begotten spirits in His image, and if there had been no self-
existent spirit element, there would have been no substance from
which those spirit bodies could have been organized."
The basis of the Mormon law of progression in Mormonism is
that "intelligences" are eternal. On the other hand, God is not!
He started as a spirit child in another 'spirit world' long ago;
entered a body on another earth as a man; apparently was able to
follow the law of progression perfectly; after death He became
God in the 'celestial kingdom' of that other earth; brought (or
was given) many wives; through sexual union in our spirit world
had billions of spirit children : The first was Jesus, the second
Lucifer, the third and on and on were to enter the earth as you
and me.
No organic difference in the parentage between us and Jesus
and Lucifer! We all have the same literal "Heavenly Father". Note
how those in Mormonism generally refer to Him as "Heavenly
Father" -- they mean just that - LITERALLY!! Just remember that
they could say also; "Heavenly GRANDFATHER", "Heavenly Great-
Grandfather", and so on ...!
MILTON R. HUNTER (1st Council of 70); GOSPEL THROUGH THE AGES;
pages 127-129 (1958)
"In the first stage, man was an eternally existent being
termed an intelligence ... The next realm where man dwelt was the
spirit world."
According to Mormon concept eternally existing intelligences
were clothed with spirit bodies in the mansion of their eternal
Father... "numerous sons and daughters were begotten and born of
heavenly parents into that eternal family in the spirit world ...
There ... they were reared to maturity, becoming grown spirit men
and women prior to coming upon this earth ... Following his stay
in the spirit world, man comes to earth in a probationary state
... receives a physical body and undergoes the experiences of
mortality .. Eventually; however, mortal death comes upon all.
The eternal spirit goes to the spirit world to wait resurrection
and judgement ... there they shall be assigned to the glory that
they have merited ... Some will receive celestial glory; others
terrestrial, while those who are recorded in the 'Lamb's Book of
Life' will enter celestial glory. There some of them will become
angels and others priests and kings, or, in other words, Gods."
On page 12, Hunter states a basic "truth" of Mormonism, that
God is subordinate to the law of eternal progression.: "Our
Eternal Father has attained His position of exaltation and
Godhood by obedience to the great law of progression."
JOSEPH FIELDING SMITH; DOCTRINES OF SALVATION; Vol 1, pg 12
"The intelligent part of man was never created but always
existed. That is true of each of us as well as it is of God, yet
we are born sons and daughters of God in the spirit and are
destined to exist forever. Those who become like God will also be
from eternity to eternity."
The BIBLE states explicitly that there are no intelligences
co-eternal or co-existent with God. Anything that exists, other
than God, is a "thing". COLOSSIANS 1:16-17 and JOHN 1:1-3 state
that ONLY Jesus is co-eternal with God as the "WORD WAS GOD"
(John 1:1). He is before all "things" and created all "things".
His creation did not pre-exist Him! God knows the beginning and
end of all things before they exist. There are several scriptures
stating HE "knew" us before we were born. They do not imply we
existed before we were born.
"The burden of the word of the Lord of Israel, saith the
Lord, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the
foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within
him." (ZECHARIAH 12:1)
SALVATION BY GRACE VERSUS WORKS
The BIBLE states over and over that we do not merit
salvation (eternal life in God's presence) by our own goodness
and system of good works from or for any organization. You need
only to study the Old Testament and see the hopelessness of a
system whereby man was to live within God's laws with the system
of prophets - temples - priests and ordinances. The purpose of
Jesus coming to earth to die for us was to make provision for our
own inability to bridge this separation of man from God and
brought a new covenant. If you choose Mormonism as your plan of
salvation, you have regressed to the old covenant of the prophet,
temple and ordinance which produce only "dead works" in an
attempt to obtain righteousness on your own. If you trust the LDS
church and its prophets; here is what is said:
MILTON R. HUNTER; THE GOSPEL THROUGH THE AGES; pg 115 JOSEPH F.
SMITH; TEACHINGS OF THE PROPHET JOSEPH SMITH; pg 348
"Thus all men who ascend to the glorious status of Godhood
can do so only by one method - by obedience to all the principals
and ordinances of the Gospel of Jesus Christ (another way of
saying "Mormonism")... Men are saved no faster than they gain
knowledge. The Prophet Joseph described the process of going
toward Godhood as follows: When you climb a ladder, you must
begin at the bottom, and ascend step by step, until you arrive at
the top; and so it is with the principles of the Gospel - you
must begin with the first, and go on until you learn all of the
principles of exaltation. But it will be a great while after you
have passed through the veil before you will have learned them."
JAMES E. TALMAGE; ARTICLES OF FAITH; pg 480
"The sectarian dogma of justification by faith alone has
exercised an influence for evil."
II NEPHI 25:23 (BOOK OF MORMON)
"For we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after
all we can do."
WHAT THE MORMONS THINK OF CHRIST
LDS CHURCH TRACT; pg 32,46,47
"Christians speak often of the blood of Christ and its
cleansing power. Much that is believed and taught on this
subject, however, is utter nonsense and so palpably false that to
believe it is to lose one's salvation. Many go so far, for
instance, as to pretend, at least, to believe that if we confess
Christ with our lips and avow that we accept Him as our personal
Savior, we are thereby saved ... And no man can pick the fruit of
eternal life off the branches, as these are tied to the vine,
without accepting both Christ and His prophets ... If it had not
been for Joseph Smith, the Prophet, the perfect knowledge of
Christ would not be had in the world in this day. If it had not
been for him and his mission there would be no legal
administrators now on earth to administer in the ordinances of
salvation."
BRUCE R. McCONKIE; MORMON DOCTRINE; pgs 84 & 745
"The second birth begins when men are legally baptized in
water by a legal administrator ... Those who receive the Gospel
(Mormon Doctrine) and join the church of Jesus Christ of Latter
day Saints have power given them to become sons of God."
(Compare to John 1:12 -- "But as many as received Him, to
them gave He power to become sons of God..")
BRUCE R. McCONKIE; MORMON DOCTRINE; pg 149
"Those things which men are directed to do to attain peace
in this life and gain eternal life in the world to come are
collectively called the commandments."
BRUCE R. McCONKIE; MORMON DOCTRINE; preface to 1966 Edition; pg
118
"Man is saved no faster than he gains knowledge -- (See I
Corinthians 1:17,20-23,2:1-5) -- To gain salvation after baptism
it is necessary to keep the commandments of God and endure to the
end ... The most important things that any member of the church
of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints ever does in this world are:
1. To marry the right person, in the right place, by the right
authority (Mormon Temple marriage); and 2. to keep the covenant
made in connection with this holy and perfect order of matrimony
- thus assuring the obedient persons of an inheritance of
exaltation in the celestial kingdom."
CHURCH NEWS-EDITORIAL; November 8,1975; page 16
"There is only one way to become sanctified and perfected,
and thus prepared to live with God. That is by obedience to His
laws. There is no other way ... When will we learn to obey him
with all our heart, mind and strength?
(Compare with Luke 10:27 - "Thou shalt love the Love the
Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with
all thy strength, and with all thy mind....")
MILTON R. HUNTER, GOSPEL THROUGH THE AGES; pgs 118-120
"If men and women obey all the other laws of the gospel
except that of celestial marriage (Mormon Temple Marriage), they
are appointed angels ...."
BENNET; WHY I AM A MORMON; pg 170
"Once we have been resurrected, it will be our own efforts,
and not Christ's sacrifice, that will be the deciding factor ...
A man can be saved only so fast as he gains knowledge of the laws
of God." Prophets ... temples ... Obedience to the Law ...
Aaronic Priest .. Legalisms ... Dependent on our own efforts and
good works ...
Sound familiar? Old Testament in a new wrapping? Wrapped in
Christian terminology? Mormonism calls the unsuspecting back
under what amounts to the old covenant. If righteousness could be
obtained, earned or gained by our own efforts to be perfect under
the law, there would have been no need for a "NEW" covenant. If
all Christ's death meant was to conquer death - to pay for Adam's
sin as Mormonism teaches - why are the following among the great
number of God's words declaring the TRUTH of the NEW COVENANT of
salvation through Christ, by faith, not works of the law. Look up
these scriptures and review their full context:
THE LAW AND WORKS DO NOT SAVE
JOHN 6:28,29,39,40 ... What must we do to be doing the works of
God? This is the work of God that you believe in Him whom He
sent.
ROMANS 3:21,22 ... No one is justified by the works of the law.
Now righteousness of God is manifested apart from the Law.
ROMANS 4:13-16 ... If it is adherents of the Law that are to be
heirs, then faith is NULL and the promise void.
ROMANS 7:4-6 ... Died to the Law through the body of Christ.
Discharged from the law, dead to that which held us captive, so
that we serve not under the old written code but in new life of
the Spirit.
ROMANS 8:1-4 ... God has done what the law could not do!
ROMANS 9:30-32 ... Israel who pursued righteousness based on the
law did not succeed. WHY? They did not pursue it through faith,
but as if it were based on works.
ROMANS 10:1-4 ... A zeal for God - but not enlightened. Seeking
to establish their own righteousness. Christ is the end of the
law. Romans 14:1-23 and Colossians 3:8-23 are clear refutations
of the point made by Joseph Smith in "Words of Wisdom" to not
drink and eat certain things is nothing more than MAN'S
regulation and NOT from God. Read and see what God said through
the Apostle Paul!
GALATIANS 2:16 ... Man is not justified by works of the law but
is through faith!
GALATIANS 2:19-21 ... Died to the law, that I might live to God.
I do not nullify the Grace of God; for if righteousness were
through the law, then Christ is dead in vain.
GALATIANS 3:10 ... As many as are under the works of the law are
under the curse!
GALATIANS 3:23-28 ... Before faith came, we were under the law -
our schoolmaster (Custodian) until Christ came. Now that faith is
come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
GALATIANS 5:18 ... If led by the Spirit, you are not under the
law.
II TIMOTHY 1:8-10 ... Who saved us, not according to our works,
but according to His own purpose and grace.
TITUS 3:3-9 ... He saved us, not by works of righteousness which
we have done, but according to His mercy. Being justified by
grace.
HOW IS MAN (or WE ) SAVED ?
If salvation is not by works of our own under the law and
ordinances, HOW IS MAN SAVED? Just a few of the scriptures God
has given us are:
JOHN 3:1-18 ... YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN! In context Jesus,
Himself, explains that, not only do we have a natural birth
(Flesh) but a spiritual birth! "Whosoever believeth in Him shall
not perish but have everlasting life (ETERNAL)!
ROMANS 5:1-11 ... Christ died for us, sinners, who are now
justified by His blood. We are reconciled through Him.
ROMANS 5:15-17 ... The free gift of righteousness by the grace of
God.
ROMANS 10:9-17 ... Confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and
believe in your heart God raised Him from the dead, you will be
saved.
GALATIANS 2:16-21 ... We are justified by faith. Our old nature
is crucified with Christ; Christ now lives in us; we live by
faith --- not the law!
EPHESIANS 2:8-10 ... "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. For we are His workmanship, created in
Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that
we should walk in them."
Works have nothing to do with our justifying eternal life.
The Mormon will be quick to point out James 2:17 - "Even so
faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone." AMEN! That is
not denying salvation by faith. What it is saying is this: "You
say you are saved? Saving faith will naturally flow into a life
that will show evidence of it. Your 'works' will testify of your
faith. If none, there is reason to question whether there really
was a saving faith to start with." To quote Ed Decker in his
tract "To Moroni with Love"; You do not bark to become a dog nor
"baa" to become a sheep. You bark because you are a dog or "baa"
because you are a sheep! Christians, when born-again and indwelt
by the Holy Spirit, have a never ending desire to follow the Lord
Jesus in their daily life behavior. "Works" is not an appropriate
name as it suggests payment after the work has been done. Christ
made the payment IN FULL for our sins by His blood for us; if
only we REPENT of our sins and ACCEPT Him by faith. It is
available only through God's grace for an eternal life.
I JOHN 1:7 ... Blood of Jesus cleanseth us from all sin.
HEBREW 9:23-28,10:10-18 ... Jesus was the sacrifice, once, to
perfect forever those who are sanctified.
ROMANS 5:6-11 ... We are reconciled by His blood.
ISAIAH 53:6-11 & I CORINTHIANS 5:17-21 ... Our iniquity was laid
on Jesus; to die for us; that we might be made the righteousness
of God in Him.
I PETER 2:24 ... "Who his own self bare our sins in His own body
on the tree, that we, being dead to sins should live unto
righteousness: By whose stripes ye are healed."
You will never (Well, We won't say never because God may
have His plan for their salvation that We are not aware of at
this moment) see a cross on a Mormon structure. They will say
call it a "graven image"; yet "Moroni" stands on top of their
temples. Moroni didn't die for them. Joseph Smith, Jr. didn't die
for them. The church didn't die for them. JESUS DIED FOR THEM, if
they would only cling to His cross and reach out to claim His
blood for their sins. They're told they can earn their own
righteousness based on the law of the church which is based on
"prophets, seers and revelators" proven -TIME AND AGAIN- to be
false. Wouldn't you rather lay your eternal life in the hands of
the ETERNAL GOD; the SON who, personally, died for you - than,
say, a "prophet" in Salt Lake City?
Our prayer is that this comparison of the Bible vs: the LDS
Mormon church will show you the LIGHT of CHRIST.
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