Matters of Faith and Salvation

     When we come before the judgment bar of Christ, we are ultimately being judged for our worthiness for salvation.  There are three different forms of salvation which need to be discussed.  These are salvation from physical death, salvation from sin, and salvation from separation from God the Eternal Father (also called spiritual death).

     All of these forms of salvation come through the Atonement of the Beloved Savior, Jesus Christ.  He broke the bands of death in order to save us from physical death.  He took upon Himself the consequences of all the sins ever committed, granting salvation from sin.  And with His eternal perfection, He makes up the difference between our best and the perfection needed to enter the presence of God, saving us from spiritual death.  Thus it is only through Jesus the Atoning One that we have true salvation.

     As we know through revelation covered in previous entries, salvation from physical death comes to all the children of God who come to earth to obtain mortal bodies.  The grace of Christ grants all of us that blessing because of our faith in Jesus Christ in the Premortal Existence.  This isn’t true for salvation from sin or salvation from spiritual death.  These latter salvations are contingent upon our faith in Jesus Christ in this world. 

     It’s important to note an important fact here.  It isn’t enough to merely believe in Jesus Christ.  There are several scriptures that have been quoted for justification that all you need to do is declare your faith in Him and all is well.  In the New Testament of the King James Version of the Holy Bible, for example, we read, “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified…” (Galatians 2:16)  And there are many other scriptures that seem to support this.

     Yet if we turn in the same book to James chapter two, we learn that “faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.”  This chapter goes on to give a wonderful discourse on why we need actions to be saved, not just faith.  So what is with this seeming contradiction? 

     The problem in the time of Paul, the person who penned Galatians, is that many members of the Jewish culture tended to follow a strict set of laws, but had no faith in Jesus Christ.  Instead they were puffed up with pride because of their piety in following the laws.  Paul is teaching us that this piety is empty, for Christ has no part in it.  Therefore those living in this manner, and there are a lot even today who do, are practicing a perversion of religion that is in itself a sin.  Therefore they cannot have claim to the salvation they seek.

     At the same time, there are many who believe in Jesus Christ, yet want no part of Him, or simply don’t want to put forth any work to become like Him.  These people are not attempting to overcome their sins and become better people, nor are they seeking to abide by the higher laws of God.  Therefore they have not staked a claim in the mercy of Jesus Christ necessary to receive salvation.  Their faith in Christ has not been practiced and they have no part in Him.

     To sum it up, you must have faith in Jesus Christ, and you must act on that faith.  This is what grants you full access to the salvation of Jesus Christ.  And there is no other way.  Notice you don’t need to be perfect now.  You just need to be trying to become perfect.

     Now, I want to say something more about faith in Jesus Christ.  There are many in the world that carry the wrong idea about what members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe.  They believe these Mormons believe that only people who are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can be saved.  There are many who claim that all Christian religions have the same belief. 

     This simply isn’t true.  And it isn’t true that you must be a member of a certain faith in order to be saved through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  Nor is it true that you must believe in Jesus Christ.  There are many different religious people, such as Jews and Muslims, who do not believe in Jesus Christ.  But these people believe in a good God, whatever they believe His nature, and devote their lives to living the teachings of this God.

     You simply must remember that all that which is good comes from the One True God.  So if people believe in a good god, it is that One True God, even if they may be mistaken about some of His personality traits and characteristics.  And there are people of all denominations who fit this category of people.  If they give their lives serving this God, trying to become better people, and living by what they believe He teaches, these people are serving the One True God.  That God is Jesus Christ, and they are serving Him, practicing faith in Him, and growing to be like Him.  And these people will find opportunities through the grace of Christ to partake in the fullness of His salvation before they come before the judgment bar of Christ.

     In my next entry, I intend to go into further detail on salvation from sin and salvation from spiritual death.  There is still quite a bit more to cover, and it hinges upon our faith in Him here and how we live that faith. 

The Final Judgment: Part 2

     In today’s entry I wish to continue my focus on the Final Judgment.  Last week’s entry closed with those to whom Jesus Christ has delegated the keys of judgment.  These are the people who will judge us according to the laws of God when we stand before the judgment bar of Christ.  The next question we must ask is what are the standards by which we will be judged?

     Let me give two scriptural accounts that help us establish what these standards are?  The first can be found in The Book of Mormon:  Another Testament of Jesus Christ (1 Nephi 10:20-21).  It reads, “Therefore remember, O man, for all thy doings thou shalt be brought into judgment.  Wherefore if ye have sought to do wickedly in the days of your probation, then ye are found unclean before the judgment-seat of God…”  Revelation 20:13 further states, “And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.”

     These scriptures make it very clear that we are judged for our works.  If our works are wicked works, we will be judged unclean and therefore not fit to enter the presence of God.  If they have been righteous works, then we will be judged clean and fit to enter the presence of God.  (In The Book of Mormon:  Another Testament of Jesus Christ, Alma chapter five gives an excellent discourse on what works we are judged by and what we need to improve upon in order to be found clean at the Final Judgment.)

     There is, of course, a problem with this.  All of us have done works of wickedness.  Doesn’t that mean we will all be judged unworthy to enter the presence of God?  What is the point if none of us will be judged worthy to enter to the presence of God because all of us have done works of wickedness?

     This is where the Atonement of the Savior Jesus Christ has an impact.  As discussed in numerous locations throughout the scriptures, those who repent of their sins and try to realign themselves to the will of God shall be cleansed of their sins.  Their sins shall be “blotted out” by the blood of the Son of God so they will be “remembered no more” (Isaiah 44:22, Acts 3:19, Hebrews 8:12, Doctrine and Covenants 58:42).  These people will be judged righteous and worthy to enter the presence of God because they had faith in Christ so that they repented of their wickedness.

     This still leaves a problem, though.  All of us are so weak that we sin often.  We may repent of every sin we know we have committed, but miss some sins and transgressions because we forget them or simply never knew about them.  Doesn’t this still leave us falling short of being judged worthy and entering the presence of God.

     Here, again, the mercy of Jesus Christ saves the repentant soul.  Our Heavenly Father knew of this flaw and made allowances for these weaknesses by sending Jehovah to atone for them.  This is why we have learned through modern day revelation that the judgments aren’t so much about what we have done.  They are more focused on what we have become (See the talk “The Challenge to Become”, by Elder Dallin H. Oaks, found in The Ensign, November 2000, page 32.)

     So the question isn’t so much about whether or not you are doing good deeds.  After all you can do good deeds while doing them for poor reasons.  The question is who are you really?  What is the true character you hold that lies behind the motives of your choices and everything you do?  And how will that true character measure up when you stand before the judgment bar?  Is it a character worthy of becoming like God, or do you need to change your course?  And remember that at the judgment bar of Christ it is too late to change your course.  So you better start asking that question now, when it can have an impact on your eternal salvation.

     We still haven’t really answered the question of what the standards by which we are judged are.  We know we are judged by whether or not we are good.  But what is good?  For this we turn to Matthew 5:48.  It reads, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”  So the standard we are to strive to become is perfection like that of our Father in Heaven.  This means we need to strive to become like Jesus Christ who was perfect.  We are to learn from the examples of His life and strive to become like Him. 

     We won’t fully succeed in this life.  None of us are going to become fully perfect.  But the point is to strive towards perfection so that we demonstrate a character that desires perfection.  Then the Atonement of Jesus Christ will have its full claim upon us, and we will stand at the judgment seat and be judged clean and worthy to enter the presence of God.

     I want to restate what I believe is the most important point we need to understand from this.  When we reach the judgment seat, we will not be judged by what we have done in life.  Good actions can still come from bad motives.  Instead we will be judged by what our character has become.  We will be judged by who we are at our very core.

     So ask yourselves, “Who am I?”  Is your character good?  Are you striving to become like Jesus Christ?  If not, correct your course and become better.  After all, we are always becoming something.  And it is our choice what that something is.  So become better.  Exercise your faith in Jesus Christ so that you become like Him.

The Final Judgment: Part 1

    After our resurrection, there comes a time when we will stand before God for our final judgment.  Throughout our existence we face many judgments.  Some of these are spiritual judgments about our worthiness before God, while others are judgments concerning our standing with other human beings. 

     Judgments concerning other human beings are a necessity of life since they determine our safety and the safety of those we are responsible for.  These judgments can have eternal consequences (others not so much), and should always be done with an eye single to the glory of God.  In other words, we need the help of God in order to judge righteously and not come under the condemnation spoken of throughout the scriptures for unrighteous judgment. 

     Our choice in friends is a form of this judgment.  Our influence on the friends of our children involves this sort of judgment.  Choosing an accountant, a lawyer, a doctor, and other professionals involves this sort of judgment.  Our choice concerning marriage also involves this kind of judgment, though it in particular has an incredibly large impact on eternal salvation. 

     Spiritual judgments are also incredibly important, since they help determine our standing before God.  A wise person will find himself or herself constantly evaluating his or her own standing before God in a form of self-spiritual judgment.  This will help that individual constantly draw closer to God and become a better person.  In addition we face spiritual judgments through the appointed servants of God as well as directly from Him. 

     In the Premortal Existence, the spirits organized by Elohim the Father faced an initial judgment for choosing to follow Lucifer the deceiver or Jehovah the Redeemer.  Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints submit to spiritual judgment at the hands of our bishops who are called by revelation to administer unto the children of God in ward units.  These bishops are responsible for judging whether members are worthy to enter the presence of God in His holy temples, or if the members need to repent and realign themselves with the will of God before doing so.  They must have the spirit of revelation to successfully perform this duty.  We also face spiritual judgments when entering the spirit world after death and when it’s time for our resurrection.   

     Ultimately, however, the most important judgment we face takes place after our resurrection and is known as the Final Judgment.  Up until this time we are still able to repent of our mistakes and realign ourselves to the will of God.  Some circumstances leave it more difficult than others, but it is still possible.  Through repentance we can change the outcome of the Final Judgment.  But the Final Judgment is just that, the Final Judgment.  It is the last in the judgments we face and will determine our state in the Kingdom of Heaven.  For this reason it is important to understand what this judgment entails.

     So who will be judged?  In The Book of Mormon:  Another Testament of Jesus Christ, we learn that all of us will be brought to stand before God for judgment.  Alma chapter 11, verse 44, reads, “Now this restoration shall come to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, both the wicked and the righteous…and shall be brought and be arraigned before the bar of Christ the Son, and God the Father, and the Holy Spirit, which is one Eternal God, to be judged according to their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil.”  So everybody, no matter their state, status, or condition, will stand before the judgment bar of Christ.

     Who will do the judging?  Turning to John 5:21-22, we learn, “For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.  For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son…”  This is important to understand.  Elohim the Father has the authority to judge us, for He is the Supreme Being who created our souls.  His Son, Jehovah, sacrificed everything for us.  And through His sacrifice we have access to all things under God if we choose to become like God.  Because of this Elohim the Father has committed the authority to judge to Jehovah the Son.  So Jehovah has the authority to judge under the authority of Elohim the Father.

     Jehovah then delegates these keys of judgment to others, as we learn in the scriptures.  In Matthew 19:28, Jesus Christ proclaims to His faithful disciples that they shall judge the twelve tribes of Israel.  This is reaffirmed in Luke 22:30 and in The Book of Mormon:  Another Testament of Jesus Christ (1 Nephi 12:9-10; Mormon 3:18-19).  These Book of Mormon verses also teach that those who have access to the words of The Book of Mormon shall also be judged by the twelve ministers called by Jesus in Ancient America (3 Nephi 12).  And modern revelation through prophets of our time has taught that authority will be given to twelve apostles of our time to judge the people of the last days (prophecy given through President John Taylor, third prophet called of God after the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ in 1830).  So, we will be judged by the apostles of Jesus Christ who are given that authority by Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

     There is a lot more to discuss with regards to the Final Judgment.  But again it will require a separate entry to prevent too lengthy of an entry.  So, in my next entry, I will continue with the focus on the Final Judgment.  Until then remember that all of us will be brought to stand before the judgment bar of God, where we will be judged by the apostles of Jesus Christ.  These apostles are given this authority by Jesus Christ.  Jesus, who is Jehovah, is given it by Elohim the Father because He is the Son of God and has earned that right through His own faith and obedience.

Resurrection of the Dead: Other Details

     Last week I focused on the Resurrection, particularly what it is and who participates.  This week I want to continue focusing on the Resurrection.  So, I’ll pick up where I left off.

     When Adam partook of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, he became a mortal being in a temporal world.  One of the consequences of this change to a temporal state was death (Genesis 3, Moses 4).  This included a physical death where the spirit body leaves the physical body, as past posts have described.  All beings born of a mortal father and mother would be subject to the laws of death and would have no power over death.  Only God would have this power. 

     So how is it possible that we can take up our physical bodies after we have died?  There was only one way.  The God of our world, Jehovah, would have to be born to a mortal mother so that He would be subject to death.  However, He would need to be born as the literal Son of God in order to carry divine power capable of breaking the bands of death.  So He came to earth as the mortal son of Mary and the divine Son of God. 

     With His mortal character, Jesus (who is Jehovah) chose to lay down His life on the cross at Calvary.  His body was placed in a tomb where it rested during three days.  During this time He ministered to the spirits in the Spirit World and organized the work of spreading His gospel among these beings.  Then He took up His body again as a resurrected being.  (See the accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in The New Testament for the various details of this resurrection.)  This was the first time a being was resurrected. 

     So when shall the rest of the children of Heavenly Father receive this gift?  We can turn to the scriptures to learn some already have.  When Jesus was resurrected, He also caused many of the ancient righteous saints to come forth as resurrected beings with Him (3 Nephi 23, in The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ).  So Jesus was first and many have already followed. 

     As far as the rest are concerned, we don’t know the exact time we will be resurrected.  Alma the Younger stated, “Behold, there is a time appointed that all shall come forth from the dead.  Now when this time cometh no one knows; but God knoweth the time which is appointed.”  (Alma 40:4)  But we do have some revelation as to the order in which the dead will be brought forth.  Revelation 20 teaches us the righteous that choose not to worship the “Beast”, but instead choose to follow Christ, even unto death, shall come forth first.  This will be known as the first resurrection.

     You may think it strange that this is called the first resurrection.  After all, this is some time after the time when Jesus Christ was resurrected.  But it really doesn’t matter what God chooses to call the time when He brings forth the dead.  What matters is the righteous will come forth first, as we learn in this scripture. 

     There is only one possible conclusion after this.  The wicked shall come forth to be resurrected last.  Turning to the Bible Dictionary, we read evidence of this.  “Christ was first; the righteous have precedence over the wicked, and come forth in the first resurrection, whereas the unrepentant sinners come forth in the last resurrection.” 

     Now let me summarize what I’ve covered about the resurrection.  All who are born into this world are subject to death.  Those who die go to the Spirit world for some length of time.  Then they take up their physical bodies again through what is called “resurrection”.  All who are born into this world are entitled to this resurrection because they chose to follow Jesus Christ in the Premortal Existence, and He has gained victory over death by coming forth as the first resurrected being.  The righteous will be brought forth by Him first, followed by the wicked, though nobody but God knows the time appointed for this.

     Modern day revelation through prophets of this time has given us ample evidence to support that which I’ve covered.  In addition, the scriptures can be used to find additional support.  If you wish to search for yourself, please use the first link provided under the “LDS Church Websites” heading on the left to continue your search.

     Let me close now with my testimony of the truthfulness of the resurrection of the dead.  I haven’t died, nor have I been resurrected.  But I have a testimony that those who die will be resurrected.  I have this testimony because I have faith in Jesus Christ, the First Resurrected Being.  I know that He came to earth and suffered death Himself so that He could break the bands of death and rise as a resurrected being.  I know that He did so that He might grant resurrection to the rest of the children of God.  I know this because He Himself has testified of it through His holy prophets and through personal revelation.

     I further know that He has promised all of us a part in this resurrection, regardless of our choices.  Jesus Christ keeps His promises.  I know He does because He has made several promises to me over the course of my life.  Some have been very broad promises, and some have been very personal.  But it doesn’t matter their nature.  My Heavenly Friend and King has kept every single one of them.  He has never broken a promise He has made to me.  And I know He never will.  So I know the resurrection of all the dead will come to pass.  Such is my testimony.