Category: Salvation
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To Be or Not to Be? That is the Question (About Perfection in Mormonism)
The word perfection has been emphasized in several different ways by LDS leaders over the years. Today, imperatives like “strive” and “do your best” are often used in response to a word that, in this church’s history, has historically been associated with successfully accomplishing the task (i.e. commandment) at hand. Perfection was the focus of…
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Repentance According to Christianity
According to Mormonism and the official church website, repentance is “one of the first principles of the gospel and is essential to our temporal and eternal happiness.” Because “no unclean thing can inherit the kingdom of heaven” (Alma 11:37), all people are “unworthy to return and dwell in the presence of our Heavenly Father.” To truly…
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Mormonism Affirms Its Doctrine of “Being Perfect—in Christ”
8 July 2019 The June issue of Ensign magazine (2019), published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, contains an article in its “What We Believe” section titled, “We Believe in Being Perfect—in Christ” (30-31, emphasis in the original). The LDS doctrine related to being perfect has been examined and discussed several times at…
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Crash Course Mormonism: Obedience
According to Mormonism, obedience is doing God’s will by keeping all the commandments given by God as revealed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. According to unique LDS scripture, it is possible to keep these commandments. First Nephi 3:7 in the Book of Mormon says, “I will go and do the things…
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Crash Course Mormonism: Repentance
Repentance in Mormonism describes the process by which a church member receives forgiveness. The goal is to ceasing all sin. As one church manual reports, “Our Father in heaven does not sin, and He does not allow people who sin to live with Him. To live with Him, we must repent of our sins. To…
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Crash Course Mormonism: Grace
According to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, grace is provided to all people leading to a kingdom of glory. According to 2 Nephi 25:23 in the Book of Mormon, “It is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.” This teaching of grace is different from what Paul said…
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Crash Course Mormonism: Forgiveness
According to Mormonism, forgiveness of sins is available to those who repent and then are completely obedient to the covenants made at baptism, in sacrament services, and at the temple. Let’s take a closer look at all that is required. The Standard Works According to the Doctrine and Covenants, there are several aspects to receiving forgiveness of…
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Crash Course Mormonism: Covenants / Commandments
According to Mormonism, covenants made at baptism, the temple endowment ceremony, and the weekly sacrament service are vital for any member who hopes to be exalted and qualify for eternal increase, allowing a person to live with one’s family throughout eternity. Baptism A Mormon becomes a member by getting baptized by the LDS Church. In…
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Covenants and Repentance Emphasized by Nelson, Oaks at April 2019 General Conference
Check out a 5-part podcast series airing July 29-August 2, 2019, titled Where is My Family? Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Next week we’ll take a closer look at Oaks’ talk. President Russell M. Nelson and Dallin H. Oaks, the first counselor in the First Presidency, emphasized covenants, repentance, and…
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Choosing the “Easier” Commandments
Note: The following was originally printed in the November/December 2018 edition of Mormonism Researched. To request a free subscription, please visit here. If you were to ask any Latter-day Saint if they are keeping all of the commandments or have repented of all their sins, the answer you are likely to hear is, “I’m doing my best” or…
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2 Nephi 25:23: Saved by Grace “In Spite Of” All We Can Do?
Note: The following was originally printed in the November/December 2018 edition of Mormonism Researched. To request a free subscription, please visit here. At a recent church meeting where I spoke about The Miracle of Forgiveness evangelistic approach described in a chapter found in Sharing the Good News with Mormons (Kregel, 2018), two young male LDS missionaries approached my…
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Citations on Salvation
The following are sections out of Bill McKeever’s book In their Own Words: A Collection of Mormon Quotations. Standard Works “For we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do” (The Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 25:23). 2nd President Brigham Young “To explain how much confidence we should…
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Citations on Repentance
The following are sections out of Bill McKeever’s book In their Own Words: A Collection of Mormon Quotations. Standard Works “Wherefore, do the things which I have told you I have seen that your Lord and your Redeemer should do; for, for this cause have they been shown unto me, that ye might know the…
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Citations on Obedience
The following are sections out of Bill McKeever’s book In their Own Words: A Collection of Mormon Quotations. Standard Works “I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that…
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Citations on Grace
The following are sections out of Bill McKeever’s book In their Own Words: A Collection of Mormon Quotations. Standard Works “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…
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Worthiness Interviews in the Mormon Church Lead to Trouble
In August the Mormon Mental Health Association (not officially affiliated with the Mormon Church) released a position statement regarding LDS worthiness interviews. In a nutshell, the MMHA’s professional opinion is that worthiness interviews are not a good idea. In the LDS Church, members are called to meet with their ecclesiastical leaders to determine if each…
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Mormons Urged to Keep on the Covenant Path
22 January 2018 On Friday, January 12 (2018) the 16th LDS President, Thomas Monson, was laid to rest. On Sunday, January 14, Russell M. Nelson was set apart as the new President, Prophet, Seer, and Revelator of the LDS Church. On Tuesday, January 16, the Church’s newly formed First Presidency (Russell M. Nelson, Dallin H.…
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Book Review: Changed Through His Grace
Book written by Brad Wilcox Reviewed by Bill McKeever Check out the two-week Viewpoint on Mormonism series that originally aired June 19-30, 2017 Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 When Brigham Young University professor, Brad Wilcox, gave his “His Grace is Sufficient” talk at…
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LDS Apostle Tries to Comfort Discouraged Mormons
LDS apostle Jeffrey Holland seems to be engaged in an ongoing effort to soften the harsh reality of Mormonism’s impossible gospel. A year and a half ago, at the April 2016 General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Mr. Holland assured Mormons, contrary to orthodox and historical LDS doctrine, that even…
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Perfect Mormonism
At a blog site titled “Relationship Refinery,” Mormon blogger Kate wrote about her “Lifelong Wrestle with Mormonism.” In her article, Kate writes that there is one factor to which she attributes “any lasting peace or happiness” she has experienced. “that, unequivocally, has come from fully living my religion. And I mean, the real religion. “One issue is that…