mormons... i guess i mislead in my question so let me try again....?

Question

i asked a question about good works getting the mormon faith to heaven. let me explain a bit more. you must be saved to get to heaven. if you are not saved u will not go. that is what the bible says and if u believe otherwise you are wrong. now, after you are saved you are a christian and you should want to do his will because you love him and want to be more christ like. i do this. BUT if you do not always do good, and if you slip from him for 20 years..... and die before getting back on the path you are still his and he will still allow you into heaven. so what i ask is why do mormons think that good works has so much to do with it when it really has NOTHING to do with getting to heaven?

yes i am saying once saved by grace always saved. you can no tloose it, i am not saying i am leading away from him, i am just simply saying. that being saved if a free gift as long as we accept it.

Answer 1

Works vs grace has and will be a debate that will last for years as far as I can tell. We Mormons have answered this before, we beleive we are saved by grace. We also believe in following what God asks us to do, his Commandments are not just something we hang on the wall and look at, they must be followed to the best of our abilities. There is no way we will save ourselves by our works, only Christ saves us. That said, we must put forth an effort to show God we will follow him.
It's like making a batch of Chocolate Chip cookies. We need all ingredients, and our works are like the teaspoon of vanilla that is placed in the mix. It is a very small part of the needed recipe, but it's important, such it is with our works.

Answer 2

I find this question more confusing than the other two. It sounds to me like you have embraced once saved, always saved--but I am not even sure of that in your questions. God always gives people their free agency . . . look at Judas. How much closer to the Lord can you get and still mess-up? Did he go to Hell? Who knows? Was there more to the story than what was in the Bible? Possibly--he could have been blackmailed or had his family threatened or any number of things and we won't know until the end. Did he have some type of physical problem that skewed his ability to judge? Did he just not believe the Jesus was the Christ? Was he desperate for money? Who knows? What we do know is that people can choose to turn their back on their salvation and choose a different path. They will be judged, but not by their peers it will come from the Lord.

I am sure this Ted Haggard at one time was "saved." As horrible as the exposure of his life has been, he has an opportunity to make things right with the Lord again prior to death. Yet only the Lord knows what was in the man's heart and why he made the choices he made. I am not about to judge him as never being "saved" because he sinned. I wouldn't even want to judge his competence to know right from wrong, if he just used religion to gain power or if he is mentally ill and desperately crying out for help. Will he make changes and hold to those changes from now on? Who knows--he has his freedom.

Our opinions on how he will be judged is totally irrelevant . . . because only the Lord's opinion matters.

I think we both agree that true faith and receiving grace results in doing good for others. Perhaps your question can be made clearer if you define the works part of your question. I find that we LDS often don't use the same catch phrases of other churches and it can lead to confusion. For example, we believe firmly and talk frequently of Christ being the Messiah and all salvation comes through Him but we don't usually use the term "saved." Yet, people don't think we know of Christ or believe He is the Messiah.

The bottom line is only salvation comes from Christ . . . it cannot be earned independent of Him no matter how good of person you are or how good your deeds are.

PS We also talk of enduring to the end . . . once saved, you have to continue to recommit yourself to Christ until the end. You just can't bury your relationship with the Lord.

Answer 3

Read the Bible, then you will neither mislead or be mislead.

Revelations 22: 12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.

Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. \

The Articles of Faith don't mention anything about "being saved by works":

We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.

We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Answer 4

That of course is your belief and your interpretation. That would be just like me telling you "well the bible clearly states this so you are wrong" Clearly to whom? You? Me? We all have choices. We will all be accountable for those choices whether good or bad.
We believe there is more to being "saved" - we believe in salvation in different ways than you do. Why don't you start worrying about yourself and not trying to bash the Mormons so much? Is that very Christ-like to go around telling people they are "clearly wrong"?
The only one who will ever truly be able to answer your knit-picky questions is the Lord. If you truly want to know for the sake of knowing, ask him. If you only want to "know" just to create tension, why not just stop and focus on your own life.

Answer 5

Your interpretation of our teaching is incorrect. Jesus Christ is the way to salvation.

Here are some of our beliefs that perhaps will help you understand that we are not trying to save ourselves, but rather that we obey God's law out of love and that we have faith and hope through Jesus Christ that we may one day be saved.

Article of Faith 3: We believe that through the atonement of CHRIST, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.

Doctrine and Covenants 18:23: Behold, JESUS CHRIST is the name which is given of the Father, and there is none other name given whereby man can be saved.

Book of Mormon-Moroni 7:34: And HE (CHRIST) said: Repent all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me, and be baptized in my name, and have faith in me, that ye may be saved.

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

So why do we strive to be good and to keep the commandments? Don't forget that the idea that we should strive to perfect ourselves is not a mormon invention. Jesus Christ, our Savior, commanded: Be ye therefore perfect, even as you Father which is in heaven is perfect (Matthew 5:48).

As for your idea of saved, here is one of the many scriptures that indicates the need to be faithful throughout our entire life, not just long enough to be "saved."

Ezekial 18: 24: But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.

Ezekial 18:30- Therefore, I will judge you, O house of Israel, everyone according to his ways, saith the Lord God. Repent, and turn yourselves from all transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.

There are many other eloquent passages on this subject. May I again suggest that you stop wasting time reading man's theories on Mormonism and start spending more time reading the word of God.

Answer 6

"Wherefore, my beloved brethren, reconcile yourselves to the will of God, and not to the will of the devil and the flesh; and remember, after ye are reconciled until God, that it is only in and through the grace of God that ye are saved."
"Wherefore, may God raise you from death by the power of the resurrection, and also from everlasting death by the power of the atonement, that ye may be received into the eternal kingdom of God, that ye may praise him through grace divine. Amen."
That comes straight out of 2 Nephi, verses 24-25 and it will align nicely with the Bible, which the Book of Mormon supports. I'm not sure what you are arguing about. Have a couple of gummy bears and have a relaxing weekend.

Answer 7

you are saved by God's grace thru faith, your acts is just your reaction after accepting this grace. you are not saved by your works, your works are just evidences that you are saved. when you stopped doing good works after accepting the grace that means you are loosing your faith in God, and thats the time you loose your salvation. Ask God to save you but you have to follow his instructions, you have to have faith in him, otherwise He cannot save you even is he wants to.

Answer 8

You are correct. Our works are but filthy rags to God. A true "born-again" Christian can never fall away as the Holy Spirit resides in them. Salvation is a gift from God and can't be earned nor thrown away. It is by His grace that we might live. We live a life striving to be pleasing to Him.

Romans 8:38-39
For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come,
nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Answer 9

I'm not a mormon but your doctrine is lies if you slip away from him (The Lord) and do not repent your lost please stop fooling youself read the bible... and faith without works is not faith at all as james says. I pray that you may find the Lord.

Answer 10

I feel if you slip away from the lord..then your not a Christian you were just a church goer...Hope you find your way back Jesus the vine.