Category: Salvation
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Only “After All We Can Do”
LDS author and blogger Mette Ivie Harrison recently addressed the question, “Can Christ Love Me In My Sins?” From a traditional Mormon perspective, the answer would be “No.” But Ms. Harrison is not a traditional Mormon. For her, unlike many other Latter-day Saints who actually hold to the teachings of the Mormon Church, the answer…
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Grace unto Works
When speaking to individuals who place a strong emphasis on personal performance when it comes to being justified before God, one can unwittingly fail to emphasize that the New Testament has much to say about how we should live our lives as Christians. When we focus solely on what it takes to justify (make right)…
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Am I Good Enough? Will I Make It?
Note: The following was originally printed in the January/February 2017 edition of Mormonism Researched. To request a free subscription, please visit here. To listen to a 5-part Viewpoint on Mormonism series that originally aired January 2-6, 2017, click the following: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 By Eric Johnson The title for this article is the actual title for…
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What Is So Amazing About the Mormon Version of Grace?
Note: The following was originally printed in the September/October 2016 edition of Mormonism Researched. To request a free subscription, please visit here. John Newton (1725-1807), the slave trader turned Anglican pastor, wrote many hymns during his lifetime, but none have enjoyed as much fame as “Amazing Grace.” According to Newton biographer, Jonathan Aitken, “Amazing Grace” is the “most sung,…
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Matthew 5:48: Is Perfection an Achievable Goal?
This article first appeared in the Practical Hermeneutics column of the CHRISTIAN RESEARCH JOURNAL, volume 39, number 06 (2016) Jesus taught in Matthew 5:48, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father, which is in heaven is perfect” (KJV). This verse has been quoted many times over the years by top leaders of The Church of Jesus…
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“Credit for Trying:” A Loophole for Latter-day Saints?
Listen to a week’s worth of Viewpoint on Mormonism broadcasts that aired starting June 20, 2016 Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 In the last message of the April 2016 General Conference, Apostle Jeffrey R. Holland attempted to provide encouragement to those Latter-day Saints who become discouraged in their struggle to do everything that is commanded…
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The New and Everlasting Covenant: A Review
Link to the December 2015 article by Seventy Marcus B. Nash: The New and Everlasting Covenant Listen to an 8-part podcast series that aired January 18-27, 2016: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Note: This article—repeated word-for-word here—was written by Seventy Marcus B. Nash and printed in the December 2015 Ensign magazine…
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This is eternal life.
Jesus said in John 17:3, “And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” When I read this Bible verse, I usually think about the imperative call to know the only true God; eternal life is tied to the true God, and none other.…
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Are You Keeping the Whole Law?
Emblazoned on the east wall of the Salt Lake City Temple (and other LDS temples as well) are the words “Holiness to the Lord.” This passage, taken from Exodus 28:36, portrays the Latter-day Saints as a people who strive to live a moral code above that of others in the world today. While such a…
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Have You Ever Sinned the Same Sin Twice?
When it comes to the area of God’s forgiveness, there is a vast difference between the God of Mormonism and the God of the Bible. Because of the sinful nature that clothes all humans, everyone struggles with sin and temptation. Not even the apostle Paul was exempt from the daily contentions with sin. Though he…
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A Gift of Grace?
Editor’s Note: The following was originally printed in the May/June 2015 edition of Mormonism Researched. To request a free subscription, please visit here. At general conference in April 2015, Dieter F. Uchtdorf, a member of the LDS First Presidency, gave a message called “The Gift of Grace.” In it he said “salvation cannot be bought with the currency of obedience.”…
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When Moroni’s Promise is Broken
Most people who have experienced Mormon proselytizing are familiar with “Moroni’s Promise” found in the Book of Mormon: “And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a…
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Mormonism 201 (Grace and Works): Response to Kevin Graham
To visit the list of rejoinders, go here. Editor’s Note: In order to make this review easier to read, all original quotes used from the Mormonism 201 rebuttal are boldfaced and italicized to separate these from the rest of the rejoinder. Review by Kevin Graham Rejoinder by Eric Johnson Though Kevin Graham writes one of the…
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Does Mormonism Really offer a "Gift of Grace"? A review of Dieter F. Uchtdorf’s talk on Easter Sunday 2015
For a 5-part Viewpoint on Mormonism podcast series reviewing this talk, go to “Utctdorf’s Gift of Grace (Is Mormonism coming Biblical Christianity’s Way?)” Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 In what may be the most quoted sermon at a General Conference in recent years, “The Gift of Grace” as delivered by Dieter F. Uchtdorf, the second…
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Jesus Came to Save Sinners
While reading the October 2014 General Conference addresses, I was interested to read that Mormon apostle D. Todd Christofferson said, “So God does not save us ‘just as we are,’ first, because ‘just as we are’ we are unclean, and ‘no unclean thing can dwell…in his presence.’ [Moses 6:57]” (“Free Forever, to Act for Themselves,”…
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“Worthy to Enter” Mormon Temples
April Young Bennett needed to renew her temple recommend. Her brother was soon to be married in a Mormon temple and she wanted to be there. As many of you know, Latter-day Saints who do not hold a current temple recommend are not allowed to enter Mormon temples. They must be “worthy to enter.” “Once…
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Is it really a gift?
One of the most remarkable things about the Mormon religion is how its leaders can so badly misinterpret the basic meaning of certain words. Take “gift,” for example. When I think of a “gift,” I think of something given to another at no obligation, even though there still is a cost attached. The payment, however,…
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Reading Between the Lines on the Issue of Perfection (Part 1)
A recent article in the July 2014 Ensign magazine titled “Becoming Perfect in Christ,” written by Seventy Gerrit W. Gong, caught my eye. I’m not one to make many predictions, but when I saw the title, my immediate response was that this article would teach that “becoming perfect” is not what Mormonism teaches. In effect,…
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Doesn’t the Fruit (Good Works) Produced in Mormonism Prove This Is the True Church?
Pointing to Mormonism’s welfare program, relief supplies during times of disaster, and other humanitarian efforts, some Latter-day-Saints believe that “fruit” such as these legitimizes their church. Should the LDS Church’s “good works” legitimize its standing as “Christian”?
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Is it possible for Christians to lose their salvation?
Those receiving God’s free gift of salvation can rest assured that they will never be left nor forsaken. There are a number of biblical passages to support this idea. Paul wrote in Romans 8:28-30, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his…