Mormon Temple Worship

Related Posts: Why Covenants?; The Fall of Man Part I; The Fall of Man Part II; The Mormon Concept of Heaven(s); Mormon Temple Garments.

Secrecy?

Firstly, there is a difference between a temple and a regular meeting house. In a meeting house we meet weekly for worship and to take the sacrament. Temples are set aside for special ordinances that are not open for public viewing.

Mormons do not generally discuss temple worship among non-Mormons. Even among ourselves, there are aspects of temple worship we do not discuss outside the temple. At most they are referred to indirectly.   Continue reading →

The Premortal Life

Related Posts: Election; Blacks and the Priesthood; Who is Jesus?–to a Mormon; Are Satan and Jesus Brothers?; Angels; Doctrine of Agency

Summary: When a Mormon speaks of premortal life he is referring to the belief that each person existed before their birth, that the spirit preexists conception and that we all had lives, thoughts, friends, and beliefs during that time.

You, me, Jesus, Lucifer, and everyone else who has been, are now, or will be living on the earth are all children of God.

The term preexistence refers to a time before the creation of the earth when we all existed and during which several important events occurred. One of those events was the war in heaven. Eventually, everyone chose one of two camps: followers of Jesus and followers of Lucifer. The war led to the expulsion of Lucifer and his followers. It is believed by Mormons that 1/3 of the preexistent spirits followed Lucifer. The remaining 2/3 followed Jesus and were born to earth, or will be born to earth. Lucifer and his followers will never have that privilege.

Everyone born to this earth was at one time a follower of Jesus. Though, some of them were more valiant than others.

Our belief in the preexistence contributes greatly to our larger view of life, such as the origin of evil, the nature of Christ, and how we are related to each other. It also affords a generally optimistic view of humanity and allows us to see other religions in a favorable light.

It gives additional meaning to this life, providing a sense of purposefulness to the positive elements of history. Elder Neal A. Maxwell (Apostle) explained, “There cannot be a grand plan of salvation for all mankind, unless there is also a plan for each individual. The salvational sum will reflect all its parts” (“A More Determined Discipleship,” Ensign, Feb. 1979).

Read more...

The Spirit World

Related posts: Angels

According to Mormon beliefs, at death the spirit is separated from the body and enters what we call the spirit world--a place where disembodied spirits await the resurrection and God’s final judgment. The Book of Mormon prophet Alma explains,

Now, concerning the state of the soul between death and the resurrection--Behold, it has been made known unto me by an angel, that the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body, yea, the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave them life. And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of those who are righteous are received into a state of happiness, which is called paradise, a state of rest, a state of peace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care, and sorrow. And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of the wicked, yea, who are…these shall be cast out into outer darkness; there shall be weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth… thus they remain in this state, as well as the righteous in paradise, until the time of their resurrection. (Alma 40:11-14).

The LDS doctrine of the spirit world is similar to the Jewish concept of Hades (NT Greek; see “Hades in Christianity” at Wikipedia) or Sheol (Hebrew). In the New Testament the word hell should, in most cases, be understood to mean Hades, the world of the spirits. Most modern translations are careful to make the distinction. Jewish historian Josephus described Hades this way.

Now as to Hades, wherein the souls of the righteous and unrighteous are detained…Hades is a subterraneous region…This region is allowed as a place of custody for souls, in which angels are appointed as guardians to them, who distribute to them temporary punishments, agreeable to every one’s behaviour and manners....

For there is one descent into this region, at whose gate we believe there stands an archangel…the just are guided to the right hand…unto a region of light, in which the just have dwelt from the beginning of the world…[for them] there is no place of toil, no burning heat, no piercing cold, nor are any briers…[there] they wait for that rest and eternal new life in heaven…this place we call The Bosom of Abraham.

But as to the unjust, they are dragged by force to the left hand…into the neighbourhood of hell itself…[they] continually hear the noise of it…[and] when they are struck with a fearful expectation of a future judgment, and in effect punished thereby…[they also] see the place of the fathers and of the just, even hereby are they punished; for a chaos deep and large is fixed between them…[such that] a just man cannot be admitted, nor can one that is unjust…pass over it.

This is the discourse concerning Hades, wherein the souls of all men are confined until…[God] will make a resurrection of all men from the dead. ("An Excerpt from Josephus’ Discourse to the Greeks Concerning Hades")

Hence the Psalm, “Do not drag me away with the wicked, with the evildoers” (HCSB, Ps. 28:3); “you have brought up my soul from Sheol; you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit” (HCSB, Ps. 30:3); “In the middle of my days I must depart; I am consigned to the gates of Sheol for the rest of my years” (HCSB, Isa. 38:10); and Jacob, when he was told his son Joseph was dead, lamented, “I will go down to Sheol to my son, mourning” (HCSB, Gen. 37:35).

A description of Hades is found in Jesus' teaching about Lazarus and the rich man.

One day the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s side. [KJV reads Abraham’s bosom] The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torment in Hades, he looked up and saw Abraham a long way off, with Lazarus at his side. ‘Father Abraham!’ he called out, ‘Have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this flame!’ ‘Son,’ Abraham said, ‘remember that during your life you received your good things, just as Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here, while you are in agony. Besides all this, a great chasm has been fixed between us and you, so that those who want to pass over from here to you cannot; neither can those from there cross over to us.’ (HCSB, Luke 16:22-26).

Abraham, Lazarus, and the rich man were not in heaven or in eternal hell. They were in the world of the spirits, a temporary holding place for the spirits of men to await their resurrection and final judgment.[1]

Thus Paul says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will go up to heaven?’ that is, to bring Christ down or, ‘Who will go down into the abyss?’ that is, to bring Christ up from the dead” (HCSB, Rom. 10:6-7); and “this expression, ‘He ascended,’ what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things” (Eph. 4:9-10).

The gate that Josephus refers to is also mentioned by Jesus in relation to His church: “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it” (NIV, Matt. 16:18). That is, the gate to the world of the spirits will not always be able to contain the righteous dead. And thus Jesus says, “I have the keys of Death and Hades” (ESV, Rev. 1:17-18). Jesus overcame the effects of physical death and gained the power to free the souls of men from the world of the spirits. This also explains what Paul means in reference to an Old Testament prophecy of Jesus, “For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption” (ESV, Act 2:27; compare Psa. 16:10).

One question that Mormonism claims to answer is this: Where was Jesus between his death and resurrection? To us the answer is obvious. He was in the spirit world. We read in the NT that just after his resurrection Jesus had not yet ascended to heaven: “Jesus saith unto [Mary], Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father” (John 20:17). And he was not in heaven during the three days of death: “he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption” (ESV, Act 2:31). According to the Mormon view Jesus spend his three days preaching to the spirits of men in the spirit world--sometimes called spirit prison. This also explains what Jesus meant when he said to the thief on the cross, “To day shalt thou be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43), paradise is the good part of Hades.[2]

After Jesus visited the spirit world he made it possible for the souls there to repent of their sins. Peter taught, “for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit” (1 Pet. 4:6). Protestants usually interpret this passage to mean the gospel was preached to people while they were yet alive, but who are dead when Peter wrote his epistle.[3] However I believe that passage, as well as 1 Peter 3:18-20, harmonizes better with the LDS view: “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient.”

As previously mentioned, preaching to the dead in the spirit world would only make sense if the dead could be forgiven of their sins. Jesus does hint at such a doctrine: “And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come” (Matt. 12:32). Jesus is specific, for those who blaspheme against the Holy Ghost there is no forgiveness in the spirit world. A peculiar thing to say if none of the dead could be forgiven of their sins.

For those who are in paradise, and therefore guilty only of minor sins, the possibility of repentance is easy to justify. But on the other hand, did Christ’s visit to Hades make it possible for the wicked in torment to repent and enter into paradise? For more serious sins the Book of Mormon teaches:

The Lord redeemeth none such that rebel against him and die in their sins; yea, even all those that have perished in their sins ever since the world began, that have wilfully rebelled against God, that have known the commandments of God, and would not keep them. (Mosiah 15:26)

The converse statement would be that the Lord redeems those who have not known the commandments of God and would have obeyed them. This is what Mormonism teaches: “All who have died without a knowledge of this gospel, who would have received it if they had been permitted to tarry, shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom of God” (D&C 137:7). The possibility of repentance in the spirit world seems to be available only to those who did not willfully rebel against God. According to the teachings of Mormonism sins committed in ignorance are forgiven by the atonement of Christ: “his blood atoneth for the sins of those who have fallen by the transgression of Adam, who have died not knowing the will of God concerning them, or who have ignorantly sinned” (Mosiah 3:11). This forgiveness is extended to both Christians and non-Christians.

But where exactly is the dividing line? Can those in spirit prison repent and move into paradise? Mosiah 15:26 suggests it is not possible for the most extreme cases of rebellion against God. But common LDS sensibilities are such that most believe it is possible, though there is no clear official church statement on where the dividing line is, or if one even exists. Since we believe the gospel was preached to all the dead (see below) it would make sense that they all may repent and enter into paradise. Latter-day Saints typically believe that going from paradise to prison is possible for all the dead who repent of their sins. Though I do believe repentance is possible for the dead, I question some aspects of that interpretation. The Book of Mormon says, “they remain in this state...until the time of their resurrection” (Alma 40:14). Though a universal opportunity for salvation is expressed in the Book of Mormon--“The way is prepared for all men from the foundation of the world” (1 Nephi 10:18)--the question I have is this. Is the door forever open to the wicked who have rebelled against God? Is there a point of no return?

In 1918 Church president Joseph F. Smith received a revelation about the two passages from Peter quoted above.

...the Lord went not in person among the wicked and the disobedient who had rejected the truth, to teach them; But behold, from among the righteous, he organized his forces and appointed messengers...and commissioned them to go forth and carry the light of the gospel to them that were in darkness, even to all the spirits of men; and thus was the gospel preached to the dead…Thus was the gospel preached to those who had died in their sins, without a knowledge of the truth, or in transgression, having rejected the prophets. These were taught faith in God, repentance from sin, vicarious baptism for the remission of sins, the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands...in order to qualify themselves that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit. (D&C 138:28-35)

Baptism
Since baptism is necessary for salvation--“He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved” (Mark 16:16)--we believe there must therefore be some kind of vicarious ordinance that permits the living to be baptized on behalf of the dead. In chapter 15 of first Corinthians Paul makes a series of arguments to prove the reality of resurrection. One of them is, “if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised” (ESV, 1 Cor. 15:13). Another is: “what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf?” (ESV, 1 Cor. 15:21). Apparently the Corinthians were familiar with baptism for the dead, and Paul used it to prove the reality of the resurrection. Though Paul speaks of it obliquely--“what do people mean”--he clearly doesn’t disapprove of the practice.[4] Consequently, neither should our Christian cousins.

One non-Mormon view
There are verses which suggest that after death the spirits of the righteous do not go to the spirit world but ascend to heaven: “while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord…yet we are confident and satisfied to be out of the body and at home with the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:6-7); and “I have the desire to depart and be with Christ” (Php. 1:23).

One non-LDS interpretation of the doctrine of Hades is that before the resurrection of Christ it was divided into two halves--one for the righteous and one for the wicked. But after Christ came and freed the righteous, Hades then became the abode of the wicked. The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary reads, “However, with regard to the state of the righteous and the location of paradise, Christ’s ascension has evidently worked a drastic change. The apostle Paul was ‘caught up to the third heaven…into Paradise’ (2 Cor. 12:1-4). Paradise, therefore, now denotes the immediate presence of God. When Christ ‘ascended on high’ He ‘led captive a host of captives’ (Eph. 4:8-10). Since it is immediately added that He ‘descended into the lower parts of the earth,’ evidently the paradise division of hades, He set free the saved spirit denizens of the underworld…The wicked, by contrast, are in hades.” (“Hades”). In this light some would view the following passage: “I will ransom them from the power of Sheol. I will redeem them from death. Death, where are your barbs? Sheol, where is your sting?” (HCSB, Hos. 13:14).

The Book of Mormon prophet Enos wrote (just before his death), “I soon go to the place of my rest, which is with my Redeemer; for I know that in him I shall rest” (Enos 1:27). But for Enos “with my redeemer” was an expression meaning “in him I shall rest,” and does not point to the immediate presence of God.

There is one NT passage that speaks of Hades as the current abode for the righteous dead who will at some future time be freed from Hades by the resurrection:

Now when this corruptible is clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal is clothed with immortality, then the saying that is written will take place: Death has been swallowed up in victory. O Death, where is your victory? O Death, where is your sting? (HCSB, 1 Cor. 15:54-55)

A more literal translation is needed. The Analytical-Literal Translation reads,

Now when this corruptible shall put on incorruption, and this mortal shall put on immortality, then will happen the word, the one having been written, “Death was swallowed up into victory.” “O Death, where [is] your sting? O realm of the dead [Gr., hades], where [is] your victory?” (brackets original)

Because this is a fulfillment of OT prophesy (Hos. 13:14; Isa. 25:8) it cannot be taken as a figure of speech. It clearly says that in the future resurrection Hades has no victory over the dead. The implication being it has no victory over the righteous dead, for the unrighteous are not victorious.

That the righteous are in the spirit world even after Christ visited there is also expressed by the Book of Mormon prophet Moroni. The concluding verse of the Book of Mormon reads,

I soon go to rest in the paradise of God, until my spirit and body shall again reunite, and I am brought forth triumphant through the air, to meet you before the pleasing bar of the great Jehovah, the Eternal Judge of both quick and dead. Amen. (Moroni 10:34)

After the Final Judgment death and Hades will be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone. That is, the lake near the bad region of Hades: “Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire” (ESV, Rev. 20:14).

What of the righteous non-Christian dead?
In 1836 Joseph Smith received the following revelation

All who have died without a knowledge of this gospel, who would have received it if they had been permitted to tarry, shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom of God; Also all that shall die henceforth without a knowledge of it, who would have received it with all their hearts, shall be heirs of that kingdom; For I, the Lord, will judge all men according to their works, according to the desire of their hearts. And I also beheld that all children who die before they arrive at the years of accountability are saved in the celestial kingdom of heaven. (D&C 137:7-10)

Our belief in salvation for the dead speaks to our confidence in the love of God and the power of the atonement of Christ--that the opportunity for salvation extends beyond mortal life.



End Notes____________________________________________________

[1] Protestant Theologian William Barclay writes,

Immediately Jesus goes on to say of Abraham: “He saw it (my day) and was glad.” Some of the early Christians had a very fanciful interpretation of that. In 1 Peter 3:18-22 and 4:6 we have the two passages which are the bases of that doctrine which became imbedded in the creed in the phrase, “He descended into Hell.” It is to be noted that the word Hell gives the wrong idea; it ought to be Hades. The idea is not that Jesus went to the place of the tortured and the damned, as the word Hell suggests. Hades was the land of the shadows where all the dead, good and bad alike, went; in which the Jews believed before the full belief in immortality came to them. The apocryphal work called the Gospel of Nicodemus or the Acts of Pilate had a passage which runs: “O Lord Jesus Christ, the resurrection and the life of the world, give us grace that we may tell of thy resurrection and of thy marvellous works, which thou didst In Hades. We, then, were in Hades together with all them that have fallen asleep since the beginning. And at the hour of midnight there rose upon those dark places as it were the light of the sun, and shined, and all we were enlightened and beheld one another. And straightway our father Abraham, together with the patriarchs and the prophets, were at once filled with joy and said to one another: ‘This light cometh of the great lightening.’” The dead saw Jesus and were given a chance to believe and to repent.

To us these ideas are strange; to a Jew they were quite normal… (The Daily Study Bible Series: The Gospel of John, Vol. 2, pp. 35-36)

[2] This man was a thief (Matt. 27:38; Mark 15:27). Jesus said to him, “To day shalt thou be with me in paradise,” that is, the good part of Hades. Though the thief was guilty, he was also repentant: “we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:41-43).

[3] Albert Barnes wrote,

others [believe] that it refers to the sinners of the old world, expressing a hope that some of them might be saved; and others, that it means that the Saviour went down and preached to those who are dead, in accordance with one of the interpretations given of 1 Peter 3:19. It seems to me that the most natural and obvious interpretation is to refer it to those who were then dead, to whom the gospel had been preached when living, and who had become true Christians. (Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible)

Matthew Henry wrote about 1 Peter 3:19--“By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison”:

Because they were dead and disembodied when the apostle speaks of them, therefore he properly calls them spirits now in prison; not that they were in prison when Christ preached to them. (Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible)

[4] I once heard an evangelical radio preacher respond to a caller who mentioned that her LDS friend used the Corinthians passage to prove that baptism for the dead was real. After she read the passage--“ why are they then baptized for the dead?”--the preacher quickly responded, “Yes, exactly. Why were they baptizing for the dead?” He then went on to condemn the practice. He clearly didn’t have a good answer for her question. Matthew Henry wrote, “But whether this be the meaning, or whatever else be, doubtless the apostle’s argument was good and intelligible to the Corinthians” (Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible).

The 1915 International Bible Encyclopedia reads,

Whatever “baptism for the dead” meant, it was, in Paul's opinion, as real, valid and legitimate a premise from which to conclude that the dead would rise as his own sufferings. The natural meaning of the words is obvious. Men in Corinth, and possibly elsewhere, were being continually baptized on behalf of others who were at the time dead, with a view to benefiting them in the resurrection, but if there be no resurrection, what shall they Thus accomplish, and why do they do it? (“Baptism for the Dead”)

Election

Grace, Justification, and Election
Part III: Election

Related Posts: The Premortal Life ; Blacks and the Priesthood ; Grace ; Justification ; Why Covenants? ; The Fall of Man Part I ; Omniscience ; Faith and Charity ; Justification and Salvation

The elect are those whom God has chosen: “but for the elect’s sake, whom he hath chosen” (Mark 13:20). The LDS Bible Dictionary points out that election “is both on a national and an individual basis” (“Election,” Bible Dictionary).

National (group) election
The national basis is that God has elected his church to be holy, and that Israel will be his holy people. A good place to begin is Ephesians chapter 1:

PAUL, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace. (Eph. 1:1-7)

We must understand that Paul is writing to the faithful in Christ, to the saints. So whenever we come across the word “we” and “us” we can replace it with “the Saints” and “the faithful.”

… Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us [the faithful] with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us [the faithful] in him before the foundation of the world, that we [the saints] should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us [the faithful] unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us [the faithful] accepted in the beloved. In whom we [the saints] have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.

Predestination does not mean that God predetermines individuals to heaven or hell, but that God predetermined to save those who love his Son and make every effort to be obedient. All the faithful are God’s elect and the body of the church has been chosen for salvation from the foundation of the world, to be made acceptable to the Father.

When Paul says, “from the beginning God has chosen you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and through belief in the truth” (HCSB, 2 Thes. 2:13), we must understand he was speaking to “the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (HCSB, 2 Thes. 1:1). So the passage can be read like this: “from the beginning God has chosen you [the church] for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and through belief in the truth.”

God has also elected the house of Israel to be his holy people: “For thou art a holy people unto Jehovah thy God: Jehovah thy God hath chosen thee to be a people for his own possession” (ASV, Deut. 7:6; 14:2). This election does not impute righteousness to Israel, for it was said to them: “Jehovah will establish thee for a holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee; if thou shalt keep the commandments of Jehovah thy God, and walk in his ways” (Deut. 28:9).

Premortal election
In Mormonism we believe that every person once lived as a spirit son or daughter of their Heavenly Parents. (See The Premortal Life.) It was during this premortal life (also called the preexistence) that God selected individuals to receive certain blessings, and ordained them to do certain things during mortality. It is in this sense that we understand this verse from Jeremiah: “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations” (Jer. 1:5). In the premortal life Jeremiah was selected and ordained to be a prophet of God. In that sense he is one of the elect. And there are many people, from high station to low, rich and poor, famous and unknown, who are, like Jeremiah, God’s elect. Verses which mention “from the beginning,” “from the foundation of the world,” or “foreordained” often refer to our premortal existence--We are all “strangers and pilgrims on the earth” (Heb. 11:13).

God’s foreknowledge means he knows what will happen before it happens. But this does not mean he forces his will on others, or creates them to be obedient or disobedient; it does not preclude individual choice. It simply means that God knows “things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come” (D&C 93:24). God has prepared many things according to his foreknowledge: “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son” (Rom. 8:29). Or as the ASV reads, “For whom he foreknew, he also foreordained…” Elder Neil A. Maxwell wrote,

Foreordination is like any other blessing-it is a conditional bestowal subject to the recipient’s faithfulness. Prophecies foreshadow events without determining the outcome, this being made possible by a divine foreseeing of outcomes. So foreordination is a conditional bestowal of a role, a responsibility, or a blessing which likewise foresees but does not fix the outcome. Remember John’s sequence-“called, and chosen, and faithful” (Revelation 17:14). (But for a Small Moment, p. 97)

In the premortal world God brought together his most choice spirits and, according to his wisdom, ordained them to their future callings in mortality:

God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born (Abr. 3:23).

Though a calling and election can be received in the preexistence, they must happen again in mortality: “For many are called, but few are chosen [i.e. elect]” (Matt. 22:14). As the Doctrine and Covenants puts it: “many [are] called, but few are chosen. And why are they not chosen? Because their hearts are set so much upon the things of this world, and aspire to the honors of men” (D&C 121:34-35).

Receiving election is not the same thing as being adopted as a son or daughter of God. Adoption follows election. “[God] having foreordained us unto adoption as sons through Jesus Christ unto himself, according to the good pleasure of his will” (ASV, Eph 1:5; italics mine). It is then possible to make the calling and election secure.[1] This is emphasized by Peter, “give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall” (2 Pet. 1:10).[2] The calling and election was received prior to this. Peter mentions that “diligence” is required, which emphasizes what he previously said:

And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:5-8)

Through faith and diligence it is possible to be “sealed up unto eternal life” (D&C 131:5). This has also been called a more sure word of prophecy (2 Peter 1:19; D&C 131:5).

When Apostle Alonzo A. Hinckley learned he had a fatal illness, he wrote to the First Presidency, “As to the future, I have no misgivings. It is inviting and glorious, and I sense rather clearly what it means to be saved by the redeeming blood of Jesus Christ and to be exalted by his power and be with him ever more.”[3]

I have never personally known any Latter-day Saint who claimed his calling and election was sure.[4] Such a thing would be considered very sacred and should be kept private.

To foreknow
I do not believe that “foreknow” means God was acquainted with us at some previous time--I do not believe that is its meaning. But rather, that “the Lord knoweth all things which are to come” (W. of M. 1:7); “God knoweth all things” (Mormon 8:17); God knows “know the end from the beginning” (Abr. 2:8); and “Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world” (Acts 15:18).

A passage from Acts
Acts 13:48 reads, “And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.” In most other translations it reads, “all who were appointed for eternal life believed” (NIV, HCSB, ESV). Protestant theologian William MacDonald interpreted this as meaning “When the Gentiles heard this, they gloried in the Lord’s Word, and as many as were putting themselves in a position for eternal life believed.”[5] In Mormon beliefs it is possible to interpret this as meaning “as many as had been appointed during premortality to receive the gospel in mortality believed.” The Joseph Smith Translation switches the words ordained and believed: “as many as believed were ordained unto eternal life.”

Two Protestant views of election
The Calvinistic view: The following quotation is from the Westminster Confession (a standard for many Presbyterian churches). It is taken from New Unger’s Bible Dictionary.

By the decree of God, for the manifestation of His glory some men and angels are predestinated unto everlasting life and others foreordained to everlasting death. These angels and men, thus predestinated and foreordained are particularly and unchangeably designed, and their number is so certain and definite that it cannot be either increased or diminished…The rest of mankind God was pleased, according to the unsearchable counsel of His own will…to ordain them to dishonor and wrath for their sin, to the praise of His glorious justice. ("Election")

Arminian view: The Arminian view has been called conditional predestination and conditional election. Election is does not imply guaranteed salvation--one must endure to the end. The Arminian view is held by many Methodist churches.

That God, by an eternal, unchangeable purpose in Jesus Christ his Son, before the foundation of the world, hath determined, out of the fallen, sinful race of men, to save in Christ, for Christ's sake, and through Christ, those who, through the grace of the Holy Ghost, shall believe on this his Son Jesus, and shall persevere in this faith and obedience of faith, through this grace, even to the end; and, on the other hand, to leave the incorrigible and unbelieving in sin and under wrath, and to condemn them as alienate from Christ, according to the word of the gospel in 1 John 3:36: “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him,” and according to other passages of Scripture also. (Remonstrance, taken from Philip Schaff, The Creeds of Christendom)

The LDS view of election is markedly different from both the Calvinist and the Arminian view. However, our doctrine is closer to the Arminian view of election.


End Notes_______________________
[1] Once a persons calling and election is made sure their salvation is guaranteed. This is also called a more sure word of prophecy (2 Pet. 1:19): “The more sure word of prophecy means a man’s knowing that he is sealed up unto eternal life, by revelation and the spirit of prophecy, through the power of the Holy Priesthood” (D&C 131:5). Election alone is not a guarantee: “But Christ was faithful as a Son over His household, whose household we are if we hold on to the courage and the confidence of our hope” (HCSB, Heb. 3:6; italics mine); “We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first” (NIV, Heb. 3:14; italics mine); “holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith” (ESV, 1 Titus 1:19; italics mine).

[2] This verse can be read differently. I read it in the sense of making a previously received election secure: “be diligent to make stedfast your calling and choice” (YLT); or “use diligence to make your calling and election sure” (Darby); or “be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure” (ESV). Other translations convey the idea of being certain about what has already happened: “the more zealous to confirm your call and election” (RSV); and “be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you” (NASB). Every translation has a degree of theological bias.

[3] The Deseret News Church Section, March 27, 1949, p. 24; taken from Roy W. Doxey, “Accepted of the Lord: The Doctrine of Making Your Calling and Election Sure,” Ensign, July 1976, p. 53.

[4] Joseph Smith said,

After a person has faith in Christ, repents of his sins, and is baptized for the remission of his sins and receives the Holy Ghost, (by the laying on of hands), which is the first Comforter, then let him continue to humble himself before God, hungering and thirsting after righteousness, and living by every word of God, and the Lord will soon say unto him, Son, thou shalt be exalted. When the Lord has thoroughly proved him, and finds that the man is determined to serve him at all hazards, then the man will find his calling and election made sure, then it will be his privilege to receive the other Comforter, which the Lord hath promised the Saints, as is recorded in the testimony of St. John, in the 14th chapter, from the 12th to the 27th verses. (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 150)

[5] William G. MacDonald, “The Biblical Doctrine of Election,” in The Grace of God, the will of man; a case for Arminianism, p. 227.

Justification

Grace, Justification, and Election

Part II: Justification

Related Posts: Why Covenants? ; Grace ; Election ; Faith and Charity ; Justification and Salvation

The word justify can mean (1) innocence before the law, (2) reconciliation with God, and (3) to be shown to be correct (vindication). Unless otherwise stated the word justification is used in the sense of (1), innocence before the law.

Justification
The term justification generally can be thought of as the language of the courts. For example, if the outcome of a trial is decided in your favor you have been justified. This is the context which Isaiah uses:

All the nations have gathered together so that the peoples may be assembled. Who among them can declare this and proclaim to us the former things? Let them present their witnesses that they may be justified, Or let them hear and say, “It is true.” (NASB, Isa. 43:9)

The opposite of justification is condemnation: “by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned” (Matthew 12:36-37; See also Alma 41:15).

In the Mormon view works alone cannot justify us. The reason is partly due to our unsteadiness.

AND thus we can behold how false, and also the unsteadiness of the hearts of the children of men; yea…how quick to do iniquity, and how slow to do good, are the children of men,…how quick to boast, and do all manner of that which is iniquity; and how slow are they to remember the Lord their God, and to give ear unto his counsels, yea, how slow to walk in wisdom’s paths! (Hel. 12:1-5)

At one moment we repent and obey, and in the next we sin. Consequently, “no man is justified by the law in the sight of God” (Gal. 3:11, compare 2 Nephi 2:5). Or in the words of Lehi, “by the law men are cut off…[and] perish from that which is good” (2 Nephi 2:5).

We know that obedience cannot remove the stain of sin. If we live our entire life righteously and commit only one sin we cannot be saved, “For the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). Therefore, if I do 50 bad things and 51 good things the scales of justice do not tip in my favor. Only repentance can free us from the law’s condemnation; and forgiveness is freely available to those who are willing to repent.

Repentance and justification
Another meaning of justification is reconciliation with God. Luke 18:11-14 reads,

The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

The publican was justified because he sought true repentance and desired to live according to God’s commandments. (Apparently the boasting which the Pharisee demonstrated was common.) Those who truly humble themselves before God naturally desire to be obedient. These are they who are justified with God--this has been described as a right relationship with God. “For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God” (ESV, Rom. 4:2). Abraham was indeed obedient to God’s commandments, but his justification did not come by works alone. Just as the Pharisee who fasted twice a week, did not commit adultery, and paid tithes was not justified by his works. To be justified we must “acknowledge [our] unworthiness before God at all times” (Alma 38:14) and continually repent. The word for this effort is penitent.[1] “Thus, none but the truly penitent are saved” (Alma 42:24).[2] [3]

Justification as a “right relationship” (reconciliation) and justification as innocence before the law are inseparable. One describes humility before God; the other describes one’s standing in regard to his law.

Justice and mercy
Since justification is linked to our standing before God in relation to his law we must also consider the law of justice and mercy. Since mercy through the atonement of Christ brings freedom from eternal punishment, atonement is then part of justification.

And thus we see that all mankind were fallen, and they were in the grasp of justice; yea, the justice of God, which consigned them forever to be cut off from his presence. And now, the plan of mercy could not be brought about except an atonement should be made; therefore God himself atoneth for the sins of the world, to bring about the plan of mercy, to appease the demands of justice, that God might be a perfect, just God, and a merciful God also. (Alma 42:14-15)

This is consistent with what was said above: those who acknowledge their unworthiness before God and seek repentance are justified. Only in this way will the atonement satisfy the demands of justice, and only then will the penitent sinner be innocent before the law and be reconciled to God.

Works of the law
For some people obedience means nothing more than blindly following tradition. But righteous obedience is motivated by love: “this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments” (1 John 5:3).

Paul poses then answers the question, “Where is boasting then? It is excluded.” He then asks, “By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.” That is, being proud of our obedience is excluded by the necessity of having faith. “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law” (Rom. 3:27-28). “The deeds of the law” is a phrase that expresses the deeds required by the law--the external forms of obedience. Those who are obedient only to the deeds of the law “are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness” (Matt. 23:27). Jesus condemns this hypocrisy:

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. (NIV, Matt. 23:23)

The crime of esteeming “the deeds of the law” more than the purpose of the law was so pervasive that it provoked Jesus’ emotive cry against the Pharisees and teachers of the law: “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?” (NIV, Matt. 23:33). As Jesus said, we must practice the latter without neglecting the former. Mercy and justice are not “deeds of the law.” But rather, attempts to be merciful and just are reflections of our love and respect for others, and for God; they are reflections of a good conscience.

The necessity of having faith-centered obedience and abandoning blind, and sometimes hypocritical, obedience is conveyed by Paul’s statement: “a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law” (NKJV, Rom. 3:28). That is, justification is something separate and apart from the external forms of worship. If we do not “[neglect] the more important matters of the law--justice, mercy and faithfulness,” then justification is through faith. Had Israel obeyed the law of Moses with the love of God, rather than list obedience, they could have been justified by their faith (Rom. 9:31-32).

More on justification
There are two good reasons justification is not through obedience to commandments. Firstly, it is impossible to be totally obedient, thus all are guilty. Secondly, our obedience is an obligation that cannot free us from condemnation--good deeds to not wipe out bad ones. But there is also a third: “I cannot tell you all the things whereby ye may commit sin; for there are divers ways and means, even so many that I cannot number them,” said King Benjamin (Mosiah 4:29; compare Acts 13:39). The law doesn’t list every possible way to break a commandment, and therefore perfect obedience to a list of commandments is insufficient to be innocent before the law--just think of all the ways it is possible not to love thy neighbor. Innocence comes only through Christ’s atonement.

Obedience in faith is necessary
Since faith can be thought of as a principle of action it precedes righteous action and is always coupled to righteous obedience (James 2:26). Here are several examples. (All italics mine.) “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice…By faith Noah…prepared an ark… By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out…obeyed; and he went out…By faith he sojourned in the land of promise. By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac…By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents” (Heb. 11). We know that Abraham “believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness” (Rom. 4:3). We also know that “the devils also believe, and tremble” (James 2:19). So Abraham is not believing in God passively, but believing and keeping the commandments. “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God” (Rom. 8:14).

[For Abraham], contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. And therefore “it was accounted to him for righteousness.” (NKJV, Rom. 4:18-22)

Just as unbelief is coupled to disobedience, faith is coupled to a desire and an effort to be obedient--it does not say that Abraham believed God and spent his time in riotous living. Though he and his wife were too old to have children, Abraham believed that God could deliver what was promised to him and continued in obedience. Had this not been so, Abraham’s faith would not have been “accounted to him for righteousness” (Gal. 3:6; italics mine).

Divine approbation
There is another sense of the word justification. If one’s actions or decisions are shown to be wise we can say they were justified, or shown to be correct. This is the sense of “wisdom is justified of her children” (Matt. 11:19; Luke 7:35). Or as it reads in the ALT: “wisdom was justified [or, vindicated] by her children” (brackets and italics original). It is also the sense of “justifying the righteous, by giving him according to his righteousness” (2 Chron. 6:23). (The ESV reads, “vindicating the righteous.”)

James taught that “Abraham our father [was] justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?” (James 2:21-22). Abraham was tested in that he was commanded to sacrifice his “only son.” In bringing his son to the sacrificial altar he demonstrated his willingness to be obedient to all God’s commandments. After which God said to Abraham:

because thou hast done this thing…I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. (Gen. 22:16-18)[4]

Abraham was justified in that his obedience was shown (through the blessing he received) to be righteous.

Final thoughts
We must first do all that we can do, then grace will be given: “Believe in Christ, and…be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do” (2 Nephi 25:23; italics mine). Doing “all we can do” is necessary to receiving forgiveness, and it is forgiveness in Christ Jesus that justifies us before the law. So works are necessary to justification through their necessity to forgiveness.[5] Repentance sometimes requires restitution.[6]

Exodus 23:7 reads, “for [God] will not justify the wicked.” And 2 Chronicles 6:23 says, “Then hear thou from heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, by [punishing] the wicked, by recompensing his way upon his own head.” This seems to be a direct contradiction of Romans 4:5 which reads, “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” This is clarified by the JST: “But to him that seeketh not to be justified by the law of works, but believeth on him who justifieth not the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” And finally, “ye are justified of faith and works, through grace” (JST, Rom. 4:16).

In LDS beliefs works are a necessary part of God’s plan of salvation. But understanding our obligations to God, that God is never indebted to us, that obedience does not wipe out sin, and that all blessings including salvation are a gift, clarifies the meaning of the phrase “by grace ye are saved.”

Statements from notable Protestants
regarding justification

What follows are some statements about justification. The following quotations were taken from A. W. Pink’s book, “The Doctrine of Justification,” chapter two.

“We simply explain justification to be an acceptance by which God receives us into His favour and esteems us as righteous persons; and we say that it consists in the remission of sins and the imputation of the righteousness of Christ…Justification, therefore, is no other than an acquittal from guilt of him who was accused, as though his innocence has been proved. Since God, therefore, justifies us through the mediation of Christ, He acquits us, not by an admission of our personal innocence, but by an imputation of righteousness; so that we, who are unrighteous in ourselves, are considered as righteous in Christ” (John Calvin, 1559).

“What is justification? Answer: Justification is an act of God’s free grace unto sinners, in which He pardoneth all their sins, accepteth and accounteth their persons righteous in His sight; not for any thing wrought in them, or done by them, but only for the perfect obedience and full satisfaction of Christ, by God imputed to them, and received by faith alone” (Westminster Catechism, 1643).

A. W. Pink wrote the following about justification: “It is not that God treats as righteous one who is not actually so (that would be fiction), but that He actually constitutes the believer so, not by infusing a holy nature in his heart, but by reckoning the obedience of Christ to his account. Christ’s obedience is legally transferred to him so that he is now rightly and justly regarded as righteous by the Diving Law” (A. W. Pink, “The Doctrine of Justification,” chapter 5; parenthesis original).

Those who believe in justification by faith alone use the following scriptures to support their view. Romans 4:5, God “justifieth the ungodly.” (Note, the JST reads “justifieth not the ungodly.”) And those who have accepted Christ are “now justified by his blood” (Rom. 5:9; italics mine) and “have been justified by faith” (Rom. 5:1; italics mine). And “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law” (Rom. 3:28). They also interpret James 2:24, “Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only,” to mean that works are an effect of faith. “[Paul] speaks of our persons being justified before God, [James] speaks of our faith being justified before men…Thus we see that our persons are justified before God by faith, but our faith is justified before men by works” (Matthew Henery’s Commentary on the Bible). It is true that James speaks of the effects of faith before men: “Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works” (Jas. 2:18; italics mine).

Theologian William Barclay writes,

“[Justification] means that God treats sinners as if they had not been sinners at all. Instead of treating them as criminals to be obliterated, God treats them as children to be loved. That is what justification means. It means that God treats us not as his enemies but as his friends…That is the very essence of the Gospel.

“That means that to be justified is to enter into a new relationship with God, a relationship of love and confidence and friendship…Justification (dikaiosune) is the right relationship between God and human beings. The person who is just (dikaios) is someone who is in this right relationship, and – here is the supreme point – who is in it not because of anything that he or she has done, but because of what God has done. Such people are in this right relationship not because they have meticulously performed the works of the law, but because in utter faith they have cast themselves on the amazing mercy and love of God. (William Barclay, The Letter to the Romans, p. 27; italics original).

It is only fair to point out that not every Protestant writer would go so far as to say, “Christ’s obedience is legally transferred to [the sinners account].” Barclay’s statement is impresumptuous: justification comes “because in utter faith they have cast themselves on the amazing mercy and love of God.”

I must admit, I cannot find a scripture that says the righteousness of one person is reckoned to another. The following quote is taken from Vincent’s Word Studies, commentary on Romans 4:5. It is quoted exactly as given:

“Observe that the believer's own faith is reckoned as righteousness. ‘In no passage in Paul’s writings or in other parts of the New Testament, where the phrase to reckon for or the verb to reckon alone is used, is there a declaration that anything belonging to one person is imputed, accounted, or reckoned to another, or a formal statement that Christ’s righteousness is imputed to believers’ (President Dwight, ‘Notes on Meyer’).”

Our differences in belief can be made evident by comparing passages from the Joseph Smith Translation with the King James Version. The strikeouts indicate things removed and the brackets indicate things added.

Rom. 4:5 But to him that worketh not [seeketh not to be justified by the law of works], but believeth on him that justifieth [not] the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

Rom. 4:6 Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without [the law of] works,

Rom. 4:16 Therefore it is [ye are justified] of faith [and works], that it might be by [through] grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,

Rom. 8:8 So then they that are in [after] the flesh cannot please God.

Rom. 8:30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified [sanctified]: and whom he justified [sanctified], them he also glorified.



End Notes____________________________
[1] Penitent: “Suffering pain or sorrow of heart on account of sins, crimes or offenses; contrite; sincerely affected by a sense of guilt and resolving on amendment of life” (Webster’s 1828 Dictionary).

Contrite: “Literally, worn or bruised. Hence, broken-hearted for sin; deeply affected with grief and sorrow for having offended God; humble; penitent; as a contrite sinner” (Ibid.).

[2] We can imagine that Abraham’s humility was not unlike Nephi’s who said,

O wretched man that I am! Yea, my heart sorroweth because of my flesh; my soul grieveth because of mine iniquities.I am encompassed about, because of the temptations and the sins which do so easily beset me. And when I desire to rejoice, my heart groaneth because of my sins; nevertheless, I know in whom I have trusted. (2 Nephi 4:17-19)

[3] Recall that after a woman of ill repute anointed Jesus’ feet with oil and washed them with her tears, the Pharisees complained saying, “This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner.” Jesus answered by saying, “Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven…Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.” The point is that we all need much repentance, and if we repent a lot we are forgiven a lot: “as often as my people repent will I forgive them their trespasses against me” (Mosiah 26:30). But if we repent little we are forgiven little and our love and gratitude to God is equally small: “to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.” But those who seek repentance are blessed of God. This woman had “wash his feet with [her] tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.” She had a testimony that Jesus could forgive sins and by her sorrow and actions sought true repentance. But only after she had performed those works did Jesus say, “Thy sins are forgiven.”

[4] This act was the final test for Abraham to receive a guarantee that he would inherit eternal life. Elder Bruce R. McConkie said,

“By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord,” was the language used by Deity in giving the promise of eternal life “unto Abraham.” (Gen. 22:15-16.) That is, God swore with an oath in his own name that Abraham would be saved, which divine assertion absolutely guaranteed the eventuality. Abraham’s calling and election was thus made sure. (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, Vol. 3, p. 164)

[This act of being sealed up unto eternal life is] when the ratifying seal of approval is placed upon someone whose calling and election is thereby made sure -- because there are no more conditions to be met by the obedient person. (Ibid. p. 336)

[5] Paul wrote to the Romans, “if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Rom. 10:9-10). They key to understanding the meaning is found in two things. In the phrase “with the heart a man believeth unto righteousness.” Righteousness requires obedience with faith. And “if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” Paul is speaking to people who are already making an effort to be obedient to God, but were relying on “the deeds of the law” for their salvation. Faith needed to be added to their effort. As Paul put it, “Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law or by hearing with faith?” (HCSB, Gal. 3:2).

[6] From the Book of Mormon we know that after many of the Lamanites were converted to the Gospel they buried their weapons of war. Their king explained it in this way: “since it has been all that we could do…to repent of all our sins and the many murders which we have committed, and to get God to take them away from our hearts, for it was all we could do to repent sufficiently before God that he would take away our stain” (Alma 24:11; italics mine). Their justification (innocence before the law) necessitated faith that Christ can forgive sins and an effort to make restitution.