Mormon Doctrine Summary - Plan of Salvation (Chronological)

Basic Mormon Doctrine Summary

Chapter: Plan of Salvation (Chronological)

Introduction

	Mormonism glorifies mankind
	The man-centered LDS Plan of Salvation serves as the Mormon gospel
	The Mormon gospel is not good news
	Mormons see God's love for them in the fact that he gave them a plan
	To Mormons, no plan means no chance of eternal life
	The engine that powers a Mormon's progress along the plan of salvation is human agency - freedom to make the right decisions
	The purpose of one's life on earth is to be tested and demonstrate worthiness through the choices one makes
	Mormons rely on the guide of the Holy Ghost to use their agency - but he only guides the worthy
	Agency is so much a part of being a Mormon, that one can no more separate the Mormon from his agency than you can separate a person from his personality
	This plan of salvation has been, is being, and will be the guiding process for countless worlds

Compare with Christianity

	Both have a Plan of Salvation - but they are very different
	Christianity's plan is seen through the image of the Israelites looking at the bronze snake lifted up by Moses: "Those who believed, lived."
	John uses this illustration to show that God's plan of salvation is that those who look on the Christ that was lifted up on the cross and believe have eternal life, by faith alone
	God's true plan of salvation is that Jesus "Paid in full" the price for our sins - paid once for all mankind, no additional payment can be made
	God's plan of salvation frees Christians from bondage to the law
	The Mormon god's plan makes all Mormons slaves to their laws
	A Christian's purpose on earth is to glorify God.
	A Mormon's purpose on earth is to be tested.
	All of God's blessings are equally assessable through faith, by every Christian
	In Mormonism, the Gift of the Holy Ghost is doled out based on worthiness
	Mormonism teaches that man is basically good and inclined to choose the right
	Christianity teaches that man is inherently bad, sinful from birth, and can only do evil
	Christians are taught to take everything to God in prayer
	Mormons are taught to rely on their own agency
	Christians can grow in their faith to walk daily with Christ and experience peace and joy in the midst of the trials and turmoil of this world
	Mormons must struggle in their eternal progression, knowing that if they make a mistake it is because they used their agency unwisely, and that it is because they are unworthy - and the unworthy do not gain exaltation
	In Mormonism, Heavenly Father is one of a countless number of gods, controlling one small slice of the overall picture
	In Christianity, God is the Great 'I AM', a concept that surpasses human understanding
	The Christian God and the Mormon plan of salvation are inherently incompatible

Overview

	Premortal Existence
	Birth
	Mortal Existence
	Death
	Spirit World Existence
	Resurrection and Judgment
	Eternal Existence

Premortal Existence

	Mormon existence starts as a spirit child procreated by Heavenly Father and a Heavenly Mother
	Spirits live, learn, demonstrate their worthiness, and grow to maturity before coming to earth
	These spirits come to earth seeking to "Return with Honor"
	Mormons believe their preexistence worthiness has already put them well down the road to perfection

Birth

	At birth a veil drops over the mature spirit, preventing them from remembering their preexistence
	The spirits start growing all over again
	Mormonism teaches that all children are born sinless and if they die before age eight, they will receive an eternal destination in the highest kingdom
	Mormon doublespeak: We must live on earth to be tested and prove our worthiness or we don't earn eternal life - but if we die as a child before being tested and proving our worthiness, we get eternal live anyway

Mortal Existence

Purpose of Mortality

	To be tested
	A mortal probation

Compare with Christianity

Baptism

	A Mormon must 'truly' repent before he or she is baptized
	You receive forgiveness after baptism
	Each Mormon "covenants to abide by all of the laws and requirements of the whole gospel"
	Makes Mormons "slaves to the law"

Gift of the Holy Ghost

	By laying on of hands immediately after baptism
	Helps the worthy use their agency wisely
	Not an actual 'gift' because you must be worthy first

Worthiness

	Worthiness is the all-inclusive condition for most everything in Mormonism
	Being worthy is the way to becoming perfect
	Defined as obedience to laws
	The more laws that can be kept, the greater the illusion of worthiness
	Mormonism is a religion of outward morality
	Christians have the sure knowledge of eternal life
	Mormons can never be assured that they are doing enough, are worthy enough
	Many Mormons live with doubts of their worthiness that are magnified because they compare their inner knowledge of their own heart with the outward image of others' illusion of worthiness

Laws, Laws, Laws

	Mormonism glorifies law
	Unending list of rules, commands, etc.
	The more rules one keeps, the holier one believes oneself to be
	Sacrifice of following rules for the sake of following rules becomes more important than the motivation of the heart
	Can compare Mormonism with the problem Paul addresses concerning Colosse
	Mormonism fails to honor Christ by acknowledging his all-sufficiency as our sole procurer of eternal life
	Mormonism's law-abiding doctrine caters to mankind's worldly desires for self worth, being first, and powerful vanity
	Each Mormon builds an ever increasing degree of ownership in his or her own salvation (eternal life)
	It is hard to walk away from all the works one has 'stored-up' for oneself
	Constant commands to "Be good", "Work hard", "Look good", "Be perfect"
	Unrelenting overt and subtle messages of "Only the unworthy complain", "Only the unworthy fail", "If you show weakness, you demonstrate your lack of faith and worthiness"
	Mormonism is so man-centric it relegates Christ to an example and Heavenly Father to a cheerleader

Service

	Life as a Mormon is active, structured, controlled, hierarchical, and demanding
	Many callings within the church
	Callings are divine in nature - can't really refuse
	Taught that God has already considered the circumstances of their call, so they must have the time and talents necessary
	Callings and station are based on worthiness
	Successive calls provide progressively higher authority and power within the church
	The Mormon church is built on a model of power and authority flowing from the top down
	Difficult to walk away from the authority and power gained
	Caters to mankind's need for a high self-image
	Demanding service within the church segregates its members from the general population
	Internet may be a readily available way Mormons can interact with Christians without the visibility of their church

Priesthood

	Aaronic and Melchizedek
	Various offices
	Hierarchical progression starting with boys age 12
	Progress to offices of higher honor
	Callings are 'divine' and tied to worthiness
	Ladder continues up to Mormon apostles, presidencies, and their 'living prophet'
	Young men and women serve callings as missionaries
	Most Mormon missionaries are not strong in knowledge of Mormon doctrine
	A visit by Mormon missionaries is an excellent opportunity to witness God's true word

Women's Roles

	Relief Society, Young Women, Primary, and Sunday School
	Women even more busy than men
	No priesthood authority
	Huge expectations of work done in the home
	Mormon women are told that their primary responsibility from God is to have children, and to have as many as is possible

The Stumbling Stone

	God: "I desire mercy [faithful love] not sacrifice"
	For God, it is not about the works but the motivation for the works
	Christians pursue righteousness by faith - and obtain it
	Mormons pursue a law of righteous - and do not obtain it
	Mormons pursue it not by faith, but as if it were by works
	They stumble over the "stumbling stone"
	Mormons are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge of the true Gospel
	God's love flows through Christians and results in them desiring to bring Mormons into the knowledge of the true God
	How can Mormons believe if they are not told the truth?
	Mormons who hear the Gospel message and believe are saved by grace
	Those who hear the Gospel message and reject God's grace remain in their sins and stand condemned already

Church Life

	Mormons have no trained theologians or spiritual leaders
	A Mormon worship service consists primarily of talks prepared and given by individual members of the congregation
	A second Sunday activity is Sunday School - children and adults
	A third Sunday activity is another one hour study session
	Also busy during the week
	Church structure includes a highly organized team sports establishment
	Mormons are kept too busy to question doctrine, and segregated from non-Mormons
	Exposure to true Christianity and Christians with a desire to love them and witness God's truths is very limited

Temple Worthy

	The Mormon church has temple buildings as well as church meeting buildings
	Temples are not used for weekly worship but for special ordinances
	In Mormonism "the road to exaltation leads through the temple."
	There are currently over 100 temples
	Before a Mormon can even enter one of the temples, he or she must be worthy
	Each Mormon must annually pass an interview process to get a 'temple recommend' id card
	Many (most?) do not make the grade

Temple Irony

	Mormon doctrine bases belief in the need of temples on the Old Testament use of the temple
	Old Testament believers went to the temple to cleanse themselves from sin, *to become* worthy
	Mormons must be worthy before they can go to the temple
	Belief in the necessity of temples denies the significance of the tearing of the temple curtain at Christ's death
	Jesus made temples built by man obsolete
	Christians are God's temple and God lives in us
	Unfortunately, Mormonism teaches the temple stands between them and eternal life with Heavenly Father

Personal Ordinances

	Every Mormon wishing eternal life must go to the temple to perform the ordinance of endowment and the ordinance of marriage
	Endowment ordinance endows people with power and protection
	Provides sacred underwear, a secret name, secret handshakes and other knowledge necessary to gain eternal life
	Ceremony is very symbolic in nature
	Only the worthy and spiritually prepared will understand the symbolism
	The second temple ordinance required for exaltation is marriage
	Children born to a couple before their temple marriage, may be sealed to their parents in a separate ceremony
	Without a spouse sealed to you for all eternity, there is no chance at being exalted and procreating spirit children for your own world

Vicarious Ordinances

	Mormonism teaches that a person's progression toward eternal life continues past the grave
	People who have not had the chance to convert to Mormonism in their earthly life will have the chance after death in the spirit world
	But they cannot perform baptisms or temple ordinances in the spirit world
	Therefore people on earth now must perform these ordinances for the dead
	Mormons go to the temple to vicariously baptize, endow, and give in marriage their dead relatives and others
	The temple occupies the same place in Mormonism that Christ's cross occupies in Christianity
	The Mormon church has good reason to ignore the cross; for it is on the cross that all the laws and required ordinances it uses as self-serving works to progress towards perfection can be found. Nailed to it by Christ, all perfectly fulfilled by Christ for us, paid in full, and thereby cancelled

Death

	In Mormonism, death, like birth, is a transition
	Death is a time of judgment, but it is not the final judgment
	Those who make the grade go to spirit paradise, all others go to spirit prison, to await Christ's second coming and Judgment Day
	There is much doublespeak about how much of the work of progression to perfection must be done before death
	In some isolated instances, Mormonism teaches there is no second chance after death
	In most cases, Mormonism teaches there are second chances after death
	Saint Paul declared that at his death, his race was over and he would receive eternal life because of his faith
	Christians have sure hope in their salvation, no doubt, no progression, no partial judgment, no doublespeak

Spirit World Existence

	The spirit world is made up of two places where spirits exist until Christ's second coming: paradise and spirit prison
	The Bible commends people for their faith, not their works, that by faith people are made perfect and at death they would receive what had been promised
	In Mormonism, the eternal stress of attempting "all you can do" continues in the spirit world
	Those in spirit prison may accept Mormonism and will go to paradise if someone living is baptized for them
	They can continue to progress if the other ordinances are performed vicariously for them by someone on earth
	Those in spirit prison suffer for their sins

Resurrection and Judgment

In Mormonism, the second coming of Christ sets in motion a series of events

Mormon doctrine teaches that when the Bible says 'saved', what is meant is resurrection, not eternal life

All people are 'saved' because through resurrection they are reunited with their physical bodies, exit the spirit world and enter one of the 'kingdoms'

Through resurrection, Mormons may gain eternal life through their own works, otherwise, their work would be for naught - they would be stuck in the spirit world

The first resurrection is for those who have obtained the level of worthiness that grants them the inheritance of the celestial or the terrestrial kingdom

The second resurrection comes later. At this time, the unworthy are resurrected to receive the inheritance of the lowest kingdom

Some, if not most people who have left the Mormon faith will be cast into Outer Darkness - the residence of Satan

Judgment follows resurrection

Mormons are given a terrible vision of Judgment Day during which every word, thought, and action of each person is displayed for every other person to witness

Mormonism states that every person to have ever lived on earth will be judged by their works, recorded in the books and 'the other book' of Revelation 20:12

The tutorial offers a mini-Bible study into the meaning of Revelation 20:12

	By looking at all the biblical references of "the book of life" and studying John's use of the word 'dead', we come to understand Revelation 20:12 very differently
	Revelation 20:12 says that only unbelievers, those who reject faith in Christ's works for them, are judged by their own works
	These unbelievers are not listed in the "book of life" and every one is first judged by their own works and then are cast into the lake of fire
	No one is declared righteous by their own works, that is, by observing the law

Eternal Existence

Mormonism claims there are four different eternal destinations

	Celestial Kingdom
	Terrestrial Kingdom
	Telestial Kingdom
	OuterDarkness

Outer Darkness is the domain of Satan

Only people who abandon their Mormon faith might be cast into Outer Darkness

Everyone else will receive an eternal existence that is far superior to life on earth

Telestial kingdom is for those from spirit prison

Terrestrial kingdom is for moral non-Mormons and less than valiant Mormons

Celestial kingdom is for those who have successfully progressed to perfection

Celestial kingdom has three levels

	In the highest level, people have fulfilled all the ordinances, most importantly, marriage
	Those in the highest level are made gods
	In the lowest level, people have failed to obtain a temple marriage
	Those in the lowest level are 'ministering servants' to the gods in the highest level

Only those in the highest level of the celestial kingdom are said to achieve eternal life

All others are said to inherent eternal deaths (because they will not be able to have spirit children for eternity)

Mormonism doublespeaks about these eternal deaths

	It is glorious beyond human understanding
	People will know that they might have obtained eternal life, but by their own fault failed. This knowledge will be a torment, making their eternal death a kind of hell
	"How lonely and barren will be the so-called single blessedness throughout eternity!"

Conclusions

	We want to witness to Mormons in a loving manner
	We need to meet them where they are, not where we are
	We want to bring Mormons into God's word as much as is possible
	By understanding their plan, we can offer to contrast the Christian plan through shared Bible study
	By understanding the maze of Mormonism, we can enter it and lead Mormons out using God's Word as our guiding light