We believe that through the aAtonement of Christ, all bmankind may be csaved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.
I confess I didn’t know much about the different belief systems revolving around salvation, grace, works, and the Atonement until I started writing Sunday posts. I don’t even think I thought much about the 3rd Article of Faith as a child because it seemed so natural to me. I have a mansion waiting for me in heaven, and I can move right in and choose the carpeting and drapes I like best if I follow the commandments of God and live my life according to the pattern that Jesus Christ set forth.
All people eventually die. But through the Atonement and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, all people will be resurrected—saved from physical death. Paul testified, “As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22). In this sense, everyone is saved, regardless of choices made during this life. (This is where grace comes in.) This is a free gift from the Savior to all human beings. Jesus Christ was the only one capable of carrying out the Atonement for all mankind. Because of His Atonement, all people will be resurrected, and those who obey His gospel will receive the gift of eternal life with God. I’ve written about salvation before, and while reading this post it is important to keep in mind that the LDS faith believes “Salvation” and “saved” are used throughout the scriptures with several different meanings. As used in Romans 10:9–10, the words “saved” and “salvation” signify a covenant relationship with Jesus Christ.
In preparing for this post I’ve realized the largest difference between the LDS faith and other Christian faiths is the addition of the opportunity for exaltation to the equation. Salvation is afforded through the atonement of Jesus Christ, but exaltation is earned through our own righteous works. Those who die can live once again, but what we do on this earth determines how we will live in the next life. Heavenly Father presented us with a Plan of Salvation, and the final outcome of that Plan involves three different Kingdoms. My goal is to reach the Celestial one.
Going back to Romans 10:9-10, I see my relationship with Jesus Christ as a covenant one. A covenant is a sacred agreement between God and a person or group of people. Grace is extended by Him, works are done by me, and because Jesus fulfilled his end of the covenant I have salvation, or freedom from death. Good works in this life brings about exaltation which was promised as a reward for fulfilling my end of the covenant.
Many have commented previously saying they don’t believe works plays any part in salvation, that all we have to do is accept Jesus Christ as our Savior. Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 11:6, and Titus 3:3-7 are used to argue that it is by grace alone that we are saved. Yes, all are saved from death through grace, but the salvation which can be defined as “living with God once again” is found through our own works.
Jesus came to the Jordan River and was baptized by John the Baptist. He met with his disciples shortly before his crucifixion and taught them about the blessing and passing of the bread and the water. These are two of the ordinances that we believe are essential for both salvation and exaltation. He used up part of His short time on this earth to show us the way back to our Father. We must obey the commandments presented in the scriptures and by the prophets and fulfill the necessary ordinances to live with him again.
I find great comfort in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We, all of us, living or dead, whether we are Christian, Buddhist, Taoist, Atheist, Agnostic, Jewish, Muslim, or any other belief system will have an equal opportunity to accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and participate in these saving ordinances that will allow us to return and live with our Father in Heaven once again.
May 10th, 2009 on 4:06 pm
I don’t agree with exaltation at all, but I do agree with salvation. I simply believe that Jesus’ death was the complete, that it was enough, and that there was no more and no less than we can do to determine our standing in heaven. It is very interesting to explore these differences.
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May 10th, 2009 on 5:40 pm
Yes, just today I made the connection too about our difference with other Christian religions - - Exaltation.
We believe that ALL people are saved - all are resurrected regardless of what they do. That was the priceless gift that Jesus Christ gave us - that knowing we would ALL be imperfect, HE would provide a way for even the chance to exist to live with our Heavenly Father. But since we believe that there are different degrees of heaven and closeness with our Heavenly Father after this life, we believe that that degree to which we are exalted does depend on our faithfulness - to me, that’s only fair.
We may all be saved (which is absolutely awesome and wonderful) but our God is not only a God of mercy, but a God of fairness and justice. Would it be fair for someone who led a very good, Christ-like life - lived the commandments, etc., to being “living next door in the mansions of heaven” to someone who, while they may not have been horrible liars or murderers, didn’t care for their fellowmen or follow the commandments the best they could?
We definately agree with our brothers and sisters in fellow Christian religions that grace is essential - it’s what makes all the rest possible!! Without Christ saving us, the very idea of exaltation isn’t even possible. That’s the absolute beauty and awesome power of the Atonement.
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Beth Reply:
May 10th, 2009 at 7:34 pm
While I agree with the argument that it isn’t fair for those who did not follow Christ to the best of their ability to live next to those who did, I can’t help but think of the prodigal (sp?) son. He left his father and was foolish, but the father celebrated him when he came back. I guess I’ve always thought of it similar to that since we’re all mortals and destined to sin - it’s the repentance of our sins that counts. Although, I am not saying not to try to lead a righteous life on earth because I believe that good acts are part of being a true Christian (Christ befriended prostitutes, tax collectors, and the like)…
I’m sure that yall have been compared to Jehovah Witnesses frequently (my LDS friends have told me this), but to get into the Celestial Kingdom do you have to lead a righteous life and participate in the proper sacraments, or do only so many people get into the C.K. like Jehovah Witnesses believe? What about people who pass away before they are able to participate in all of the sacraments (i.e. a 14 year old who hasn’t been sealed) - would that person go the the C.K.?
Sorry for so many questions, I’m so curious. Your posts are extremely helpful in understanding your faith.
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Katy Reply:
May 11th, 2009 at 12:01 am
To answer your last two questions…no, LDS people don’t believe that only a certain number can inherit exaltation. Everyone of God’s children has the potential and can live with Him again in the most exalted state (what we refer to as the celestial kingdom or state)provided they: 1)partake in the necessary ordinances 2)endure to the end and do their very best to remain faithful (#2 is the real hard part!)
Note that I didn’t say ‘perfection’ - God knows what our best is and if we are living our lives the best we can. As I mentioned before, God is the perfect mixture of justice and mercy, so should someone die at a young age before they had a chance to do any ordinances or should they die never even knowing or being taught that God existed, etc., God will take that into account. He has already provided a way for ALL - no matter what - to be saved (through Jesus Christ’s atonement) and He will also provide a way for those who would have acted upon knowledge but didn’t have the chance…to have that chance in His own time and way. He will balance mercy and love against justice and balance what we did with what we were given and given the opportunity to do. He’s just the perfect judge like that!
He also knows of His children that are like the prodigal son (which, of course, none of us being perfect, aren’t we all?). He will judge them fairly and provide a way to reach exaltation possibly, but it is unique to every individual. I know that He has perfect knowledge of His children. I rely on Him to make those ultimate final decisions - for all that I have faith in and believe, there is MUCH I can’t say for 100% certainity, but I know that God knows each of us and He wants us all back with Him. I know that He wants us all to use and exercise the Savior’s atonement in our lives so that not only will we be saved and resurrected (which is already guarenteed for us all), but also so that we can live with Him as closely as we can in that exalted state.
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R Reply:
May 11th, 2009 at 5:41 pm
I certainly agree that God is a god of justice, but traditional Christianity teaches that it is a justice which is beyond the human understanding of justice. If you care to explain, I’d love to know about LDS teaching that God is a God of fairness. That seems to contradict much of the Bible, but I know that you must have your own reading of things such as the parable of the vineyard.
I will admit though, that I always loved the idea that God could show mercy that was far beyond the imagining of our petty jealousies and entitlements. Sure, it seems “unfair” in a way, but isn’t it wonderful to think that God will make all right in a way that is far better than what we would choose?
That is my thinking, so I wonder whether you (you meaning Mormons in general) believe that God has enabled you to have an understanding of fairness which is superior to the average human’s?
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Katy Reply:
May 11th, 2009 at 6:42 pm
As to having an understanding of fairness superior to others - - of course I don’t and I don’t think any other LDS person would claim that either. And I completely agree that God will make all right the way it should be - and do it far better (try a million times better) than I would do it because He knows all His children explicitly and is the Perfect Parent - I of course do not and am not!
My understanding and faith of the nature of God as the perfect Father and judge comes from my simple, child-like understanding of what constitutes good parenting here in this world by us. Good parenting is all about finding that balance between justice and mercy with your children. Good parents should always consider the uniqueness of their children when making decisions/judgements for that child - if they focus too much on mercy (i.e. never letting the child experience consequences for their actions), that has detrimental effects. On the other hand, if fairness and justice is the only ruling factor in parenting, that is very cold and uncaring - that has it’s own detriments.
So, if in our parenting we must find that key balance between fairness and mercy to help our children learn and grow, how much more will God do it and - - do it perfectly?? (unlike us, of course who try our best, but sometimes fall short) He requires us to follow Him the best we can (justice part), but He knows us and will do what is ultimately….well…fair - and that’s applying mercy and understanding unique to each of us (even beyond the incredible mercy extended towards us by the Atonement of Jesus Christ). I hope you can sense how much I trust and rely on God to not only extend me understanding and mercy, but my fellow brothers and sisters around the world. That doesn’t excuse me from my end of the deal (staying faithful, partaking of ordinances-especially since I’ve been given the opportunity to partake in them), but it’s of great comfort to me that He knows me uniquely.
While no one can claim to fully understand God and His ways with perfection, I think that’s one reason we are put in families and are given the chance to be parents - by loving, teaching, and guiding those entrusted to us, I think we learn a *bit* more about the nature of God and how much He loves us.
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Jenna Reply:
May 19th, 2009 at 9:51 pm
I could not agree more with what Katy said. Amen.
I believe the difference blossoms from our understanding that our Heavenly Parents are absolutely, and literally, our Parents. Just as my earthly parents are my parents, so are they the Parents of my Soul. I believe the true principles of fairness that we witness in our earthly parents applies to that of our Heavenly Parents as well.
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May 10th, 2009 on 7:55 pm
Jenna,
I read your Sunday posts and think… oh my gosh, another week has gone by!
This was an interesting post and I am glad you included the links to different Kingdoms again. When you first started Sunady posts, they were over my head and I wasn’t sure I was going to attempt to follow these. The more you explain, the more accessible the earlier posts are to me.
As always, thanks for opening yourself up to questions, critiques, and the like!
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May 11th, 2009 on 8:49 am
Hi Jenna,
Is there a widely-held LDS belief as to the identity and righteousness (or exalted nature) of God? Was he always holy, always righteous, always perfect? Did he go through a process of exaltation? I have heard that some LDS members believe that he was once a man and that by living righteously, he was exalted, and he is now Heavenly Father.
Since you have been appointed as a volunteer temple worker, I assume your beliefs would be ‘orthodox’ regarding what has been taught and revealed in your LDS history. That’s why I wanted to ask you, and not just assume you believed a certain thing.
Thanks.
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Jenna Reply:
May 20th, 2009 at 2:32 am
Blythe,
You actually caught on to a little-known belief that we are often criticized for.
President Lorenzo Snow said “As man is, God once was; as God is, man may become.” As far as I know much more than this hasn’t been said, but it is believed to be the truth. For me, it makes sense. If I can become a god one day through the process of exaltation, why not the same process for God? I think the reason this belief is so hard to grasp because it leads one to ask “Where does the process begin?” Don’t even start thinking about that one, it always makes my head spin!
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May 11th, 2009 on 9:40 am
I’m with you about Hungry Girl - But when a recipe uses normal things and makes something that tastes good - I can’t fight that. The cannoli’s were phenomenal and you should certainly try them, but I’ve never had them in Italy so they might only pass my American palate. Also - you’d love that apartment. My friend just put up crown molding in a frame to have for space to put art, pictures, some kind of constructed boxes, etc. inside for whatever occasion is going on in the apartment at the time. It rotates based on whose birthday is coming up, etc. Currently they are blank which allowed for some fun picture taking. I’m excited to see what your studio will look like someday!
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May 11th, 2009 on 11:48 am
I was thinking a lot about convenants yesterday as I looked over some talks from General Conference. It is amazing to me just how much of a blessing living worthy for or living as a convenant people really can be. The second half of Elder Christofferson’s talk and the talk by Elder Bednar from the most recent General Conference reminded me specifically of Temple Covenants, but I was also thinking about what it means to be living and striving to be like Jesus Christ and the baptismal covenant and the sacrament. Love these Sunday posts! They are always so uplifting and eye opening.
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May 12th, 2009 on 7:39 pm
Thanks for explaining that, it makes a lot more sense now. So according to the LDS faith, when a non-Christian dies, are you saying that she has an opportunity after death to believed and be saved? If she does believe, what is the next life like for her? Is it possible for her not to believe, and if so and she still doesn’t accept it, what happens then?
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Jenna Reply:
May 20th, 2009 at 2:44 am
Yes, that is exactly what we believe. ALL people who have EVER lived have the opportunity to accept or reject Jesus as the Christ in the afterlife.
Those who accept Christ in the afterlife live in Spirit Paradise. We don’t know much about what it is like, but we believe that those living there are engaged in the same missionary work of spreading the Gospel to the non-believers. After all, the non-believers have to hear the message somehow.
Those who die without the knowledge of Jesus Christ are sent to Spirit Prison. They are given the chance to accept Jesus Christ and the ordinances performed for them on earth and move to Spirit Paradise. “Every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess” that Jesus is the Christ, so yes, eventually all will believe.
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May 17th, 2009 on 5:35 pm
[...] 3rd Article explains that we believe obedience to the laws and ordinances to the Gospel are necessary for [...]
August 1st, 2011 on 1:49 pm
Jenna,
Thank you so much for these great posts! I was raised LDS but have been inactive at different times in my life. Right now I’m trying to get reacquainted with my Mormon beliefs and have searched the internet for helps with the Articles of Faith to help me understand them better as an adult. Your blog is the best I have found. It is fantastic and I wanted you to know how much I have appreciated the effort you have put into it. Thank you!!!
I hope you and your family are all well and happy. Greetings from northern Utah =).
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Jenna Reply:
August 1st, 2011 at 7:34 pm
This makes me feel so happy. Thank you!
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