Replies

...after all there are but two. The one covers all who expect salvation by DOING; the other, all who have been saved BY SOMETHING DONE. So you see the question is very simple. Can you save yourself, or must you be saved by another? If you can be your own saviour, you do not need to listen. If you cannot, you may well want to learn about Jesus Christ and the message of the cross. -Modified from H.A. Ironside

I agree with GF...excellent framing by Ironside.

It reminded me of an Idaho pastor who has an outreach to Mormons. Late last year (Dec. 27, 2009) Idaho pastor Mark Cares said in an Idaho newspaper: "The teachings of Mormonism cause people to despair because they have so much TO DO." (Idaho Statesman)

Lds promote that they are "children of God" and that we are heirs. But heirs don't have to boast some long "to DO" checklist to become heirs -- they simply are to BE children of God.

Like any heir, I'm an heir by His death [or did you think you could become an heir & gain a "testimony" only by His life???] and by His ensuing gift to me...NOT an heir based upon...
...my works,
...my obedience,
...my self-promotional worthiness,
...my commandment-keeping,
...my bishop-graded temple recommend,
...my Word-of-wisdom keeping,
...my exaltation checklist,
...who I marry,
...if I marry,
...and all the other plural "My-s" I can ever list--as if my life was to center on... ..me
...or as if all my good works were primarily or unconsciously done to boomering back on my bootstraps to kick me into divinity...
...rather than simply to love the One I serve.

LDS: Be free from legalism!

Join us in concluding that you could never do all you could do -- including love as Jesus loves -- in order to coax God's grace to eventually kick in (2 Nephi 25:23)

(Join us in trying to stop manipulating how God thinks about you -- He already knows us perfectly -- and a temple recommend checklist is mere religiosity -- not a relationship with the true Jesus)

Do you rejoice with the truth that he who believes in Jesus HAS eternal life -- not just WILL have -- but has it NOW? (John 3:36; 5:24; 17:3; 1 John 5:10-13).

"Do you rejoice with the truth that he who believes in Jesus HAS eternal life -- not just WILL have -- but has it NOW?"

You betcha!!!

"These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God"(1 John 5:13)

I believe knowing you're saved is essential to doing the work of God.(John 6:29)

The one vital difference between God's truth and ANY cult is the fact that salvation is the first thing settled.With any cult it is the last.It's the clearest definition of a cult I've ever come across.