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by mndawall on March 19th, 2005

mndawall

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According to the Mormon religion, what are the necessary steps for salvation?

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Answers. 2 helpful answers below.

  • by BluePen on September 19th, 2005

    BluePen

    Just trying to help some of the confusion.

    In regards to questions such as this it must be made clear what is meant by salvation. In mormon theology to be saved can mean different things. In a sense, in order to be saved we need not do a thing. We are all saved from physical death because of the death and resurrection of the savior.

    In order to be saved from our sins, we must confess and forsake our sins, be baptized and be purified by the baptism of fire or the receiving of the holy ghost. And if we do that, then we will be saved. Saved from our sins.

    Salvation as many would see it, being saved and placed in the highest degree of glory is truly being saved, but it's more of a glorification.

    God will reward us to whatever degree our beliefs and actions in this life and while in the spirit world warrant. In order to achieve the highest degree of glory has been expressed in other answers, keep the commands receive additional sacred ordinances such as marriage. But ultimately we are all saved through Christ. He came to save us from death and we are all saved from that. He also came to save us from our sins, which requires faith and repentance. And he also came so we could become glorified and become like him. Which requires more work.

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  • by Glenn Blaylock on March 22nd, 2005

    Glenn Blaylock

    (Jon Liu and pacella23, see below for the answer to the question that you posted in your answer.)

    The most succinct statement of our beliefs on this is given in the Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 25:23 "For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do."

    God has given us commandments that serve to guide us in the paths that will lead us to happiness in this life and back to Him in the next life. God expects us to do our best to live according to these commandments. However, He also knows that none of us will be able to keep all of the commandment all of the time. We all fall short of perfection. Thus He also provided us with a Savior who took all of our sins on Himself. He paid the price for our sins so that we would not have to if we would just repent and keep striving for perfection. However, we must keep striving, keep battling to overcome the temptations of the adversary. If we don't, then we won't be saved (http://scriptures.lds.org/ezek/18/20-32, highlighted verses).

    Now, in reading this, don't think that I am saying that we earn our way into heaven. God created us, gave us life, and has given us the opportunity to become something so much more than we are now. For all of these things, we are in His debt. When we do what He asks of us, He rewards us according to the promises that He has made. So, there is no way to earn our way out of our debts to Him. No matter what our reward in the next life, we will always be in His debt because of that which He has given us. This is something that all of us should recognize and accept. It is something for which we will praise Him throughout eternity.

    For one of the most eloquent sermons on this point, see http://scriptures.lds.org/mosiah/2/19-25 (highlighted verses). I also highly recommend King Benjamin's entire sermon which comprises Mosiah 2-5 (http://scriptures.lds.org/mosiah/2, http://scriptures.lds.org/mosiah/3, http://scriptures.lds.org/mosiah/4, http://scriptures.lds.org/mosiah/5).

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    Jon, I don't see how that verse in any way contradicts what I have written. If we repent of our sins, then God removes them from us through the power of Jesus' atonement. Through the blood of Jesus, we can all be washed clean of our sins if we will just repent of them. Repentance involves, at the very least, both exercising faith in Christ and forsaking the sins in question. So, it involves both faith and works.

    **********************************
    pacella23, there are many places in the scriptures that tell of the importance of works in obtaining salvation. For example, in http://scriptures.lds.org/matt/25/31-46, those that receive salvation received it because of their works. Those that were condemned were condemned because of a lack of works. I am sure that the ones that were condemned believed in Christ, but they didn't act on that belief. We most often quote http://scriptures.lds.org/james/2/14-26 to explain the importance of works. In these verses, James tells us that faith, in and of itself, is useless. "Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone." It is only when we act upon our faith that our faith gains the ability to save us. "Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?"

    So, we have Paul's Epistle to the Romans expounding on the importance of faith over works and James' Epistle talking about the importance of works. How do we reconcile the two? We do this by looking at to whom the letters were written. The Romans had gotten the idea that it didn't matter whether they had faith or not. As long as they went through the motions and did the works, then they would be saved. (If I remember my history correctly this was a view that was fairly common among the Jews in general at that time.) So, Paul's epistle was aimed at showing the importance of faith. Works alone could not save them.

    James' epistle was written to a people who had gone to the other extreme. They believed that faith was all that they needed. As long as they believed in God and Jesus, then they would be saved no matter what they did. James' point to these people is that Faith alone can't save them. Faith must be backed up by works in order to become perfect. So, in the final analysis, we must have both faith and works. Once again, we don't earn our way into heaven. We all fall short of the mark and must ultimately rely on God's mercy and the atonement of Jesus to return to the presence of God. However, if we don't put in the effort to both grow our faith and improve our behavior, then we won't receive salvation.

    BTW. this discussion goes a long way to illustrating why we believe it is important to having living prophets. All Christians believe the Bible to be the word of God. However, we all interpret the written word differently. This is why there are so many different Christian churches. If the heavens are closed and there are no more prophets, then how do we know which interpretation is correct? On the other hand, If God does have prophets on the Earth, then when misinterpretations of the scriptures make their way into the discussion, then He can speak through the prophet and say, "That is not what I meant. This is what I meant." Of course, this only clears up the confusion if you accept the prophet as a prophet. However, if you don't, then when you go before the judgment bar and face God, He will ask you why you didn't listen to the prophet that He sent.

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    "John Pacella: Glenn... there are also a vast number of mormon splinters as well. Seems there are problems with interpretation in your Church as well."

    So what. Since the beginning there have been groups that broke away from the true faith. Just because Cain rebelled against the teachings of his father Adam does not mean that Adam was wrong. Just because the Israelites rebelled against Moses doesn't mean that Moses wasn't a prophet of God. I never said that we were immune from having people apostatize from us. If you read elsewhere in this section, you will find places where I have discussed some of these splinter groups. The Church of God has never been immune to having people apostatize from it.

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    loakers,

    Your point of view has already been discussed ad nauseum throughout this section. So, I don't see any point in discussing it further. So, let us just respectfully agree to disagree and let it go at that.

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