Category: Salvation
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Mormonism’s Twist on John Newton’s “Amazing Grace”
The LDS Church is revising its hymnbook, including “Amazing Grace,” a song deeply cherished in Christian worship, though it carries a different understanding of grace in Mormon theology. While Christians embrace grace as a gift, Mormonism ties grace to obedience and effort.
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Christian Songs Being Incorporated Into New LDS Hymnal
Note: The following was originally printed in the September/October 2024 edition of Mormonism Researched. To request a free subscription, please visit here. Published 9/26/2024 On May 30, 2024, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced the “first wave” of 13 songs to be included in its new global hymnbook. The songs are now available in…
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Does James Contradict Sola Fides (Salvation by Faith Alone)? A Closer Look at James 2:14–26
To listen to a Viewpoint on Mormonism podcast on this topic that aired May 6-10, 2024, go to the following: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 This article includes a verse-by-verse analysis of James 2:14-26. In doing this, we will compare the King James Version (the official version of The Church…
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How Wide Is That Covenant Path?
Note: The following was originally printed in the July/August 2023 edition of Mormonism Researched. To request a free subscription to Mormonism Researched, please visit here. Certina, a former Mormon and contributing author to the mormonscholar.org website (mormonscholar.org/the-covenant-path), wrote in 2018: Since its introduction into the Mormon vocabulary in 2005 and General Conference in 2007, the term “covenant…
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Did Jesus forgive the adulterous woman?
Note: The following was originally printed in the September/October 2022 edition of Mormonism Researched. To request a free subscription, please visit here. The story of Jesus and the adulterous woman recorded in John 7:53-8:11 is well-known by many Bible readers because it exemplifies the essence of the Savior. If you remember, a woman who had been caught…
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President Nelson speaks on “The Everlasting Covenant”: A Review of Liahona 10/2022
For a 5-part Viewpoint on Mormonism podcast series on “Russell M. Nelson and the Everlasting Gospel” that aired October 3-7, 2022, click Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Posted 9/30/22 In the October 2022 Liahona–the official magazine for English-speaking adults of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints–an article from President Russell M. Nelson…
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“The Covenant Path: The Way to Eternal Life” (Adeyinka A. Ojediran, April 2022)
Posted June 9, 2022 For a series of Viewpoint on Mormonism podcasts that aired June 20-25, 2022, click the following links: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Seventy Adeyinka A. Ojediran (pronounced “oh-head-er-an”) gave a Sunday afternoon talk in general conference titled “The Covenant Path: The Way to Eternal Life”; it was recorded…
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“Covenants with God” (Jean B. Bingham, April 2022): Review
Posted June 6, 2022 Listen to Viewpoint on Mormonism form June 9-10, 2022 on this review: Part 1 Part 2 In the Saturday evening “women’s session,” Jean B. Bingham, the Relief Society General President, gave a talk titled “Covenants with God Strengthen, Protect, and Prepare Us for Eternal Glory.” The talk, printed in the May 2022 Liahona…
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The “Covenant Path”–The Same Old Same Old
Posted May 24, 2022 Many have argued that the views of Mormonism’s leaders are inching closer to an Evangelical perspective that teaches how salvation comes by grace and not by works. Sometimes general conference talks given by leaders have seemed to encourage individual Latter-day Saints to think this way, including: However, in the past few…
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The “Gift” of Salvation is Not Free
Note: The following was originally printed in the January/February 2022 edition of Mormonism Researched. To request a free subscription, please visit here. Discussing the topic of salvation with a Latter-day Saint can sometimes be confusing since the word salvation is given two distinct definitions in Mormonism. General salvation, or resurrection from the dead, is something all humans will…
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Worthiness and Flawlessness: A Look at Bradley Wilcox’s October 2021 GC Message
Bradley R. Wilcox is a popular speaker with Latter-day Saints. According to the counter on YouTube, his June 12, 2011 devotional talk titled “His Grace is Sufficient” at LDS Church-owned Brigham Young University has topped 1 million views. Although Wilcox is not a general authority in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he…
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Apostle Provides the Old “Bait and Switch”
Posted October 7, 2021 Note: The following was originally printed in the September/October 2021 edition of the Mormonism Researched, a bimonthly periodical of MRM that is free upon request. To request a free subscription to Mormonism Researched, please visit here. For many years, the bait and switch scam—advertising a product at an incredible bargain price but…
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The Testimonies of Two Apostles – New Testament vs. LDS
28 June 2021 The New Testament apostle Paul told the Corinthians, “And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” (1 Corinthians 2:1-2) Paul’s faith and testimony…
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Introducing Christianity to Mormons: Chapter 8
Return to Introducing Christianity main menu Chapter 8: Justification: Forgiveness of Sins by Faith Alone Chapter Preview: Christianity is all about the complete forgiveness of sins, which the Bible says is available only through faith alone in the work accomplished by Jesus on the cross. This is a different concept than having to perform certain…
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The Torment of Mormonism’s Uncertainties
The November (2020) issue of Ensign, an official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, contains the church’s October General Conference addresses. One address, given by LDS apostle Dale Renlund, caught my attention. In “Do Justly, Love Mercy, and Walk Humbly with God,” Mr. Renlund explains what it is to be Christlike,…
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Doesn’t the book of James say that “faith without works is dead”?
The following is from chapter 19 in Answering Mormons’ Questions (Kregel, 2013). To get additional help in answering LDS questions, we recommend purchasing the book. Click here to see more. Leaders from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint throughout the years have stressed the importance of good works in order to become exalted and…
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Book Review: The Divine Gift of Forgiveness by Apostle Neil L. Andersen
The Divine Gift of Forgiveness and The Miracle of Forgiveness: Changing Mormon Theology? Or Just More of the Same? A closer look at two books written by two LDS apostles five decades apart Reviewed by Eric Johnson Article Summary Over the years some Latter-day Saints have expressed their disapproval with The Miracle of Forgiveness–one of…
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The Door to Eternal Life According to Spencer W. Kimball
Note: The following was originally printed in the January/February 2020 edition of Mormonism Researched. To request a free subscription, please visit here. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints hope for eternal life. Christians also hope for eternal life. And while Mormonism and Christianity define eternal life differently, there is one aspect that is…
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Do Latter-Day Saints Earn the “Blessing” of Eternal Life?
Note: The following was originally printed in the May/June 2019 edition of Mormonism Researched. To request a free subscription, please visit here. Blessings received by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are described in a number of ways. For example, eternal life in the celestial kingdom of God has been explained as a…
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Matthew 5:48 and C.S. Lewis
What did C.S. Lewis mean when he wrote “Be ye perfect” is not idealistic gas? In his chapter 9 of “Beyond Personality: Or First Steps in the Doctrine of the Trinity,” which can be found in his masterpiece Mere Christianity, Christian author C.S. Lewis wrote, The command Be ye perfect is not idealistic gas. Nor…
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