Posted on 12/13/2013 6:46:14 AM PST by SZonian
Ninth LDS President David O. McKay, once wrote:
“The fallacy that Jesus has done all for us, and live as we may, if on our deathbed, we only believe, we shall be saved in his glorious presence, is most pernicious. Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, has given us the means whereby man may obtain eternal happiness and peace in the kingdom of our Father, but man must work out his own salvation through obedience to the eternal principles and ordinances of the gospel. For centuries men have been blinded by the false teaching of ‘belief alone sufficient’; and today there is manifest on every hand the sorry plight into which this and other perverse doctrines have thrown the pseudo-Christian sects. The world is in sore need at the present time of the gospel of individual effort—the gospel of faith and works. He who will not grasp this means provided him, will sink beneath the waves of sin and falsehood” (Gospel Ideals, p.8).
As with all Mormon leaders, McKay insists that faith in Christ’s sacrifice was not sufficient to bring believers into His glorious presence. Individual effort, he claims, completes the formula. But how much effort must a Mormon expend? Can a Mormon hope to achieve exaltation by keeping some of the commandments or by failing to repent of all of his sins? Of this Mormon leaders have been very clear.
Eleventh Mormon President Harold B. Lee offered this admonition to Latter-day Saints:
“In one sentence, repentance means turning from that which we have done wrong in the sight of the Lord and never repeating that mistake again. Then we can have the miracle of forgiveness.” (Ye Are the Light of the World: Selected Sermons and Writings of Harold B. Lee, 1974, p.321).
Lee’s successor, Spencer W. Kimball offered these somber warnings to all members of the LDS Church:
“Because men are prone to postpone action and ignore directions, the Lord has repeatedly given strict injunctions and issued solemn warnings. Again and again in different phraseology and throughout the centuries the Lord has reminded man so that he could never have excuse. And the burden of the prophetic warning has been that the time to act is now, in this mortal life. One cannot with impunity delay his compliance with God's commandments” (The Miracle of Forgiveness, pp.9-10).
“This earth life is the time to repent. We cannot afford to take any chances of dying an enemy to God" (The Miracle of Forgiveness, p.15).
“And let us not suppose that in calling people to repentance the prophets are concerned only with the more grievous sins such as murder, adultery, stealing, and so on, nor only with those persons who have not accepted the gospel ordinances. All transgressions must be cleansed, all weaknesses must be overcome, before a person can attain perfection and godhood” (The Miracle of Forgiveness, p.16)
“That armor is incomplete without steadfast effort to live God's commandments. Without such effort repentance too is incomplete. And incomplete repentance never brought complete forgiveness” (The Miracle of Forgiveness, p.212).
In an article written to Mormon youth, Jay E. Jensen, a member of the Presidency of the Seventy, said,
“Another prerequisite or condition to repentance is to know that no unclean thing can dwell with God (see 1 Ne. 10:21; 1 Ne. 15:34; Alma 7:21; Alma 40:26; and Hel. 8:25). You can hide sins from your bishop, you can hide them from your parents and friends, but if you continue and die with unresolved sins, you are unclean and no unclean thing can dwell with God. There are no exceptions” ( “The Message: Do You Know How to Repent?” New Era, November 1999, p.7).
All transgressions must be cleansed, all weaknesses must be overcome. Past mistakes must never be repeated. All this must be accomplished in this mortal life. How many Latter-day Saints have you met who have achieved this?
Oftentimes when a Mormon is challenged on their inability to meet the aforementioned demands, they will insist that they will be able to do so in the next life. In support of thissome may point to an obscure statement in the King Follett Discourse where Smith compares climbing a ladder with learning all the principles of exaltation. Smith claimed that such an education “is not all to be comprehended in this world; it will be a great work to learn our salvation and exaltation even beyond the grave.” There are a few problems with assuming this means that a Mormon can repent after death.
1) Smith is not discussing repentance in this part of his sermon. The context has to do with how God’s kingdoms are increased based on the faithfulness of Mormon believers.
2) If putting off repentance until you are on your deathbed is pernicious (as defined by David O. McKay), how can waiting until after death be considered any less pernicious?
3) Hope of doing any sort of “work” after this mortal probation undermines a clear warning in the Book of Mormon.
This last point is particularly important since it addresses the dire situation involving every Mormon who thinks they can get things right with their God after mortality.
I realize the following citation is rather lengthy, but it is absolutely essential when it comes to the requirements laid upon each and every Latter-day Saint. Alma 34:31-35 states:
“For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors. And now, as I said unto you before, as ye have had so many witnesses, therefore, I beseech of you that ye do not procrastinate the day of your repentance until the end; for after this day of life, which is given us to prepare for eternity, behold, if we do not improve our time while in this life, then cometh the night of darkness wherein there can be no labor performed. Ye cannot say, when ye are brought to that awful crisis, that I will repent, that I will return to my God. Nay, ye cannot say this; for that same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world. For behold, if ye have procrastinated the day of your repentance even until death, behold, ye have become subjected to the spirit of the devil, and he doth seal you his; therefore, the Spirit of the Lord hath withdrawn from you, and hath no place in you, and the devil hath all power over you; and this is the final state of the wicked” (Emphasis mine).
In an April 2007, conference message titled “This Day,” Henry B. Eyring, now a member of the LDS First Presidency, quoted from Alma 34 and warned Mormons about the dangers of “procrastinating what we must do here and now to have eternal life” (Ensign, May 2007, p.90). Nowhere in his talk did he ever hint of a possible post-mortem repentance.
Despite his efforts to encourage members that they “will have days enough if only we don’t waste them,” Eyring said, “It is hard to know when we have done enough for the Atonement to change our natures and so qualify us for eternal life” (p. 90).
In that last statement lies the real tragedy. For Mormons and Christians alike, sin is a daily issue that dogs all of us. The difference is, Christians rely on the imputed righteousness of Christ to cleanse from sin and ultimately meet the demands necessary to enjoy eternal life. It was what Christ did on our behalf (His works) that make the believer right with God and prepared for eternity. Princeton theologian Benjamin B. Warfield (1851-1921) explains, "Justification by faith, we see, is not to be set in contradiction to justification by works. It is set in contradiction only to justification by our own works. It is justification by Christ's Works."
According to Eyring, Mormons can only be cleansed from sin by personally “qualifying for the effects of the atonement.” A Mormon who can’t say with assurance that they have successfully repented of all of their sins makes it clear that in their hearts, they know some things are still left undone. Hence, they are guilty of violating Alma 34:35, since logically and practically, they are all, at best, only achieving what Kimball called a "partial repentance." If a Mormon wants to believe the Book of Mormon is doctrinally true, their future is spelled out for them. To paraphrase Alma 34:35:
The Spirit of the Lord will withdraw from them, and hath no place in them, and the devil will have all power over them; and this will be the final state of all Mormons who procrastinate their repentance.
There is good news, however. God freely offers eternal life to all who recognize their inability to personally "qualify" to be in God's presence by their own efforts. He asks all those who are burdened with such an impossible task to find rest in Christ's completed works. The choice is simple, a Latter-day Saint can continue living a defeated life, knowing they will never be good enough to meet God's high standard of perfection, or they can renounce the false teachings of Mormonism and trust in the complete and perfect works of Christ alone. Only then will they receive the full effects of the atonement. Only then will they experience that "peace that passes all understanding."
Amen.
[In before unproven claims of bigotry]
"The fallacy that Jesus has done all for us, and live as we may, if on our deathbed, we only believe, we shall be saved in his glorious presence, is most pernicious. Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, has given us the means whereby man may obtain eternal happiness and peace in the kingdom of our Father, but man must work out his own salvation through obedience to the eternal principles and ordinances of the gospel.
...and the gospel referred to is the foundation of mormon doctrine, the so-called "Restored Gospel" which is nothing but a figment of the imagination of Joseph Smith. The "ordinances" of mormonism are stolen from Masonry ordinances.
"The fallacy that Jesus has done all for us, and live as we may, if on our deathbed, we only believe, we shall be saved in his glorious presence, is most pernicious. Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, has given us the means whereby man may obtain eternal happiness and peace in the kingdom of our Father, but man must work out his own salvation through obedience to the eternal principles and ordinances of the gospel.
Who can justify this, if they also claim to be Christian?
In the first place every one in the Christian world is not believers, just as every one that is in the world is not of the world.
One side will say if you drink coffee or smoke you are not saved.
The exact opposite are the people who will glory in the real sins of the world an still proclaim they are saved.
They know who they are, i don,t, and they just love religion of any kind, what ever it is that fits their needs or wants or their self righteous fancy or tradition.
That is why Jesus said the kingdom of God is within you.
You can not see the kingdom of God in a good will program which is advertized for that purpose, you can only see the real thing when people are being who they really are.
The man woman or child you gave food to may be the only one that know who you really are.
Mathew 25
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
James 2
18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
James is talking about the same works as Jesus was talking about.
Exactly what is the comparison of the works that Jesus was talking about, and the absolutely required "works" that demand participation in arcane rituals in mormon temples in order to reach salvation?
Titus 3:4-7
Proverbs 15:12
It’s so good to hear from you brother!
that demand participation in arcane rituals in mormon temples in order to reach salvation?
This thread is titled "Aren't All Mormons 'Procrastinating Their Repentance'?"
Mormonism doesn NOT allow "different individuals to have different works of faith."
The temple ordinances are REQUIRED for mormons to be saved...these ordinances are the "evidence of faith" that must be performed for reaching salvation.
And BY says you are damned.
I'd call that about even.
Heck; even the Majority of Mormons ain't gonna make it to the HIGHEST level of their 'heaven'!
|
Temple Recommend Questions
1 Do you have faith in and a testimony of God the Eternal Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost? 2 Do you have a testimony of the Atonement of Christ and of His role as Savior and Redeemer? 3 Do you have a testimony of the restoration of the gospel in these the latter days? 4 Do you sustain the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as the Prophet, Seer, and Revelator and as the only person on the earth who possesses and is authorized to exercise all priesthood keys? Do you sustain members of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as prophets, seers, and revelators? Do you sustain the other General Authorities and local authorities of the Church? 5 Do you live the law of chastity? 6 Is there anything in your conduct relating to members of your family that is not in harmony with the teachings of the Church? 7 Do you support, affiliate with, or agree with any group or individual whose teachings or practices are contrary to or oppose those accepted by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? 8 Do you strive to keep the covenants you have made, to attend your sacrament and other meetings, and to keep your life in harmony with the laws and commandments of the gospel? 9 Are you honest in your dealings with your fellowmen? 10 Are you a full-tithe payer? 11 Do you keep the Word of Wisdom? 12 Do you have financial or other obligations to a former spouse or children? If yes, are you current in meeting those obligations? 13 If you have previously received your temple endowment: Do you keep the covenants that you made in the temple? Do you wear the garment both night and day as instructed in the endowment and in accordance with the covenant you made in the temple? 14 Have there been any sins or misdeeds in your life that should have been resolved with priesthood authorities but have not been? 15 Do you consider yourself worthy to enter the Lord's house and participate in temple ordinances? |
Only if one equates "saved" with the UPPER level of the Mormon TRINITY of Heaven sections.
85% of the poor, deluded souls are gonna be stuck with the likes of ME for ETERNITY!!!
HEAVEN-The Mormon church teaches there are three levels of heaven (three "degrees of glory"):
The temple ordinances are REQUIRED for mormons to be saved.
I do not believe that.
Mathew 18
21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
I believe that could mean any number of times
I do not believe Jesus would ask us to do anything he would do any different.
I’m glad to provide some information to you.
I’m glad to provide some information to you.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.