Mormons: Can a person get into Heaven if they accept Christ and reject Joseph Smith?

Question

I am not trying to pick on mormons but I am doing some reading about them and things confuse me. Do you believe we have to accept Joseph Smith to enter Heaven? Or is accepting Christ enough?

"No man or woman in this dispensation will ever enter into the celestial kingdom of God without the consent of Joseph Smith...every man and woman must have the certificate of Joseph Smith, junior, as a passport to their entrance into the mansion where God and Christ are... [Joseph Smith] reigns there as supreme a being in his sphere, capacity, and calling, as God does in heaven. Many will exclaim—"Oh, that is very disagreeable! It is preposterous! We cannot bear the thought!" But it is true."
- The Prophet Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, vol. 7, p.289-91

I am a pentecostal Christian and do not desire to be a mormon. Just trying to understand what they believe.

Answer 1

I don't know about the Morman teachings, but just reading what you quoted made my tummy hurt! I am Catholic and as a follower of Jesus Christ and his teachings, I find it sickening to think that people would be a part of a following that teaches that the only way to get into heaven is to have a "passport" from Joseph Smith. So he just writes you a permission slip or something? Scripture says that not even Jesus knows the day or hour of our death or the end of the world or if we will go to heaven or not. And he is 100% God and 100% man. How is this Joseph Smith guy going to get you into heaven?

Only God knows who will be seated with him in heaven. I don't think that only Catholics will be in heaven, and I can't even say that only Christians will be in heaven. Only God knows. I only pray that I will be with him at his side for eternity. I hope that is what we all pray- not matter our faith or religion.

Answer 2

Mormons believe that after this life, we all receive eternal life based entirely upon the merits and sacrifice of Jesus Christ. he atoned for the sins of ALL mankind (womankind :) ) and because of our savior, we will life eternally in the world to come. So in a sense, no matter what we believe, we will go to Heaven. Mormons also believe, based on Paul's first epistle to the Corinthians, (1 Corinthians 15:40-41) that there are three degrees or levels of Heaven. Christ himself also taught this doctrine of many levels of heaven. See John 14:2. Paul teaches that we can enter in one of these three. Mormons believe that those who have led the good life, been true Christians in word and deed, and followed "pure religion" as the Apostle James taught, (James 1:27) those will enter the Celestial Glory, or highest kingdom of heaven.

Mormons believe that Joseph Smith received revelation from God to clarify these doctrines that had been obscured from the world. So, it really does not make logical sense that one would accept the message of these doctrines by not the one who taught them. As mentioned above, it would be similar to rejecting Moses, Abraham, Noah, but only accepting Christ.

So, to answer your question more simply: Yes one can get into Heaven, but not the highest degree.

Answer 3

I will answer your question with an analogy. When you sit for a family portrait, do you leave some of your family members out? Do you tell them they are not part of the family for this important occasion, so they have to sit and watch? Or if there is a company party, do you tell the vice president or other managers not to come? It is the same with God's servants. We are all part of the same family, or the same company. There is organization in Christ's church. So if God and Jesus Christ delegate the work to their servants, giving them the authority to help people obtain the direction and knowledge to get into the Kingdom of God, is it offensive, or is it simply a way of organizing the work?After all, there are billions of God's family members here on earth. God's servants are His prophets, and in this latter part of the world's history, Joseph Smith as the first of the line of latter-day prophets would have, by default, pre-eminent authority due to the need to prepare the world for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, but at the same time, we listen to the words of the LIVING prophet on the earth, to receive the most current instructions from God for the Church. Hope this helps.

Answer 4

What has already been said by some LDS is good, so I'll just add my mite to that.

We believe that everyone will get a chance to accept the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and if you reject that chance, you cannot enter into the Celestial Kingdom (where God dwells). That said, it is really hard for anyone to judge whether someone else has truly had "a chance."

We believe that all people who did not get the chance in this life to accept the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, will get a chance in the spirit world.

So the real question of whether you will get to heaven as a Pentecostal or not, depends upon whether God deems you to have had a chance to accept His Gospel, which you rejected, or whether he deems you to be worthy of a "second chance" in the afterlife.

Salvation comes through the APPLICATION of plain and simple truths. DBY is deep theoretical knowledge meant only for those who are already applying (and spiritually comprehending) the Gospel of Jesus Christ, in its fullness.

Best wishes, brother. xo

Answer 5

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Answer 6

Christ is the only way into heaven. However, the LDS religion purports a religion of restoration. As such, (we must have a knowledge and understanding of what happened to the primitive Church after the death of our Savior. Both sacred and secular writ attest to the fact that there was a dissolution of the church that Jesus Christ had established. We speak of the Apostasy not as an attack on any church. We have no interest in tearing down or belittling any religious organization) we must recognize and acknowledge the Apostasy because it leads irrevocably to the necessity of that which followed—the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

When Brigham Young spoke this, He was indicating that for the LDS member, a testimony begins with the acceptance by faith of the divine mission of Jesus Christ, the head of this Church; and the prophet of the Restoration, Joseph Smith. The gospel as restored by Joseph Smith is either true or it is not. To receive all of the promised blessings we must accept the gospel in faith and in full. However, this certain faith does not usually come all at once. We learn spiritually line upon line and precept upon precept.

So basically, in short - If you can’t accept Joseph Smith’s story of the Father and the Son’s appearance to him, you will never be able to accept the restored gospel of Jesus Christ

Answer 7

Can a person get into heaven by accepting Christ, but not Paul, Peter, John, Isaiah, Moses, etc? To truly accept Jesus Christ is to accept his servants and their teachings. If Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, then one must accept him along with all others in accepting Christ. Simply "praying the pray" to be saved does not work.

I hope that makes sense. If not, feel free to email me.

Answer 8

You are a pentecostal Christian you have to accept Christ and leave your old self where it was, when you are a born again you start a new life and leave your old self and the things with it.

Answer 9

One cannot accept Christ and reject Joseph Smith, since Joseph taught that men must accept Christ to get into Heaven. :-)

Answer 10

“I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. . . . When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!” ( Joseph Smith—History 1:16–17).

read for your self here ---> http://www.mormon.org/mormonorg/eng/basic-beliefs/the-restoration-of-truth/the-restoration-of-the-gospel