Basic Mormon Doctrine Summary
Chapter: Plan of
Salvation (Theological)
 | Adam's Fall
 | Mormons
commend rather than condemn Adam and Eve |
| Mormonism
teaches that before the Fall, Adam and Eve could not have
children |
| God
commanded them to be fruitful and multiply |
| Their
transgression was the way to fulfill God's command |
| Adam's and
Eve's transgression was a necessary part of God's plan |
| "Adam
fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have
joy" (2 Nephi 2:22-25). Gospel Principles page 34. |
| Totally
ignored is the biblical view that the Fall constitutes the
greatest tragedy in human history |
|
| Sin
| The
concept of sin, in Mormonism, is downplayed |
| Mistakes,
blunders, oversights, bad calls, inadequacies, bad habits,
imperfections, transgressions, are not really considered
"SIN" |
| If a sin
can be rationalized into something else, it is no longer a
sin |
| People
have to know what they are doing before they can sin |
| Believe
people are born innately good |
| Waters
down the sinfulness of thoughts and desires |
| Sin is
evil because of what it does to the person, not because of
what it does to God |
| All these
Mormon beliefs conflict with the messages of the Bible |
| Five major
sins of Mormonism
 | Murder |
| Apostasy |
| Sexual
immorality (in deed) |
| Breaking the
Word of Wisdom |
| Refusal to bear
children |
|
| The Mormon
doctrine of a severely weakened concept of sin tends to
polarize Mormons as a group
| While not
considering themselves perfect, many do not see
themselves in any trouble because they do not see
themselves as sinners |
| Many others are
miserable because they do see themselves as sinners,
even under such a weakened view of sin, and there is
nowhere they can take their sin |
|
|
| Atonement
and Salvation
| Mormonism
diminishes the role Jesus played in providing eternal life |
| Mormons
would deny this judgment vehemently |
| However,
Mormonism's teaching of Christ's atonement is proof |
| Mormonism teaches
that Christ's atoning sacrifice results in physical
resurrection thus 'opening the door' to eternal life |
| The word atone
is seen as meaning 'at-one' with God, not 'to make amends' |
| Atonement is
then seen as what Jesus did to enable man to work his way
towards eternal life |
| Physical
resurrection is synonymous with unconditional salvation |
| Limiting
Christ's atonement by denying his sacrifice to 'make amends' for
our sins, diminishes Christ's role as
our Savior. |
|
| Jesus as
our Creditor
| Mormonism
teaches that Jesus paid for our debt of sin |
| But we
must pay him back, he only delayed the requirement of
immediate payment |
| Because he
conquered physical death, we have all eternity to pay him
back |
| Mormons
see this as a great act of love on Jesus' part |
| This
teaching greatly diminishes the role of Jesus as recorded in
the Bible - Jesus did not refinance our debt; he paid it in
full, tore up the note, and forgot our original debt |
|
| Jesus as
our Example
| Mormons
see Jesus as their example, his perfect life shows them that
working the Mormon plan of salvation can be
done and how to do it |
| WWJD
versus WDJD |
| Mormons
view of Jesus as merely their example diminishes his role as
our substitute by being perfect for us |
|
| The
Divinity of Jesus
| The reason
Mormons oppose the accusation that they diminish the role of
Jesus is that they do not know the true Jesus |
| Mormons
defend their 'high' view of Jesus because they see him as
divine |
| It is
taught that Jesus is Jehovah and the Father is Elohim |
| But they
do not consider him the equal of the Father |
| Mormonism
teaches Jesus is the first spirit child of Heavenly Father (the
birthright son) |
| Jesus
progressed in the premortal existence to earn the right to be a
god before he was born on earth |
| This doctrine
conflicts with the doctrine that spirits must be tested on earth
before they can overcome physical temptations |
| Mormonism
rejects the concept of the Trinity |
| Mormonism's
first Article of Faith is "We believe in God, the Eternal
Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy
Ghost." |
| The Mormon
view of Jesus' divinity substantially diminishes the honor due
him: "that all may honor the Son just as they honor the
Father" (John 5:22) |
|
| The
Incarnation
| Mormonism
teaches Jesus is Heaven Father's literal physical child |
| It teaches
Jesus' conception was the result of a physical act of sexual
intercourse between Heavenly Father, in his physical body, and
Mary |
| Mormons say
Jesus is the Father's only begotten son of their god;
whereas everyone is a spirit son or daughter because they define
begotten to mean physical - so Jesus is God's only physical
son |
| Jesus is
described as "half Divine and half-mortal" |
| The Mormon
teaching of Christ's conception diminishes the miracle of his
birth and the significance Mary's virginity has on Jesus' nature |
| This teaching
diminishes the beyond human understanding nature of
Jesus, that of fully true God and fully true man |
|
| Jesus and
Man in Partnership
| Jesus is
portrayed as our 'big brother' or 'senior partner' |
| Mormonism
teaches Jesus did his part, now "It is up to each of us to
do our part and become worthy of exaltation." |
| This part
is defined as each individual's responsibility to work out his
or her own salvation |
| Mormonism's
focus on what man must do to gain salvation for himself
diminishes his role, not as our partner, but as our Savior |
|
| Grace
| In the Bible,
grace is God's unconditional, undeserved, unfathomable
love for sinful mankind |
| Mormonism
drains biblical grace of all its magnificence
| Grace is made
fathomable by saying it is the obligation of God to give
eternal life to those that have earned it |
| Grace becomes a
reward, instead of a gift, by saying mankind does not receive it unless he has
done all he can do |
| Grace is made
conditional on man's progression to perfection and
demonstration of worthiness |
| Grace is often not
even mentioned in the equation to gain exaltation |
| Grace has been given
a second definition, that of a power, given out by God on
the basis of worthiness. This power gives man to
ability to save himself |
|
| This is (the?)
one doctrine of Mormonism that has little doublespeak, little
confusion, and is universally accepted by Mormons |
| The biblical
doctrine of grace receives scalding condemnation from Mormon
authorities |
| It is possibly
the greatest reason why Mormons abjectly despise Christianity |
| Romans
11:6: "And if by grace, then it is no longer by works;
if it were, grace would no longer be grace" - in Mormonism
grace is no longer grace |
| "One of
us is satanic, and one of us is of God" |
| Mormonism's
doctrine of grace diminishes the immeasurable love God has for
his undeserving, sinful children |
| Mormonism's
doctrine of grace diminishes God's acts of love in completing every aspect of his Plan of Salvation for us |
| Mormonism's
doctrine of grace diminishes God's glory by taking it from him
and giving it to those who would earn the right to become gods |
|
| Forgiveness
| Mormonism
teaches two different doctrines of forgiveness
| One doctrine defines how
people are to forgive each other |
| One doctrine defines how
people are forgiven by God |
|
| Mormons are
instructed to freely forgive others
| Unconditionally |
| Immediately |
| Forget the transgression |
| It is a biblical view of
forgiveness |
|
| Mormons are
taught they must earn forgiveness from their god
| Conditional on the
transgressor |
| May take 'ages' before
forgiveness is earned |
| Sins are 'remembered' - could
lose your forgiveness |
| It is a non-biblical view of
forgiveness |
|
| The 'Miracle'
of Forgiveness
| Book by past living prophet
Spencer W. Kimball |
| Discusses the conditions by
which one may gain forgiveness |
| Not much of a 'Miracle', more
of a 'Depressing Dilemma' or a 'High Price' |
|
| As defined in
Mormonism, earning forgiveness is as impossible a task as
becoming perfect |
| Mormons do not
focus on forgiveness as much as they fixate on their requirement
of repentance |
| Christians do
not focus on repentance as much as they fixate on the graciousness
of God's forgiveness |
|
| Repentance
| It is through
repentance that Mormons earn forgiveness |
| The process of
repentance may take ages to accomplish |
| Biblically,
repentance is a change of mind, that results in turning from sin
towards God |
| Christian
believers repent as they come to faith; they repent of being
sinners |
| Christian
believers maintain a repentant heart as long as they remain
believers |
| Christians
will repent of all their sins, known and unknown, in a
collective confession |
| Mormons are
taught they must repent individually of each and every sin they
commit |
| In Mormonism,
repentance is an involved, extensive, and drawn out process with
many requirements. "It is a long road spiked with
thorns and briars and pitfalls and problems."
|
Must recognize
each sin |
|
Must feel sorry
for that sin |
|
Must forsake
(stop) the sin - never to commit that particular sin again |
|
Must confess the
specific sin to God and if appropriate to any injured party
and to the LDS church authority |
|
Must make
restitution for the particular sin |
|
There must be
works - many works |
|
Must freely
forgive anyone who ever sinned against you |
|
Must keep God's
Commandments - any sin shows you to be unrepentant |
|
There can be no
repentance without punishment |
|
The truly
repentant will have no desire to ever commit that particular
sin again |
|
The process may
take "weeks, years, or centuries" |
|
Once forgiven,
God will not restore a person to the losses they suffered |
|
Some sins, even
after they are forgiven, will leave permanent scars |
|
If you earn
forgiveness, but then commit the sin again; God 'remembers'
the original sin and you lose your forgiveness of the first
sin |
|
|
The
tutorial references biblical stories Mormon authorities have
attempted to use as examples of their stringent doctrine |
|
Many
Mormons chafe under these demanding and impossible requirements,
never to know the blessing of God's gracious, undeserved
forgiveness |
|
Many
Mormons blend these strict and demanding requirements of an
unapproachable god with the biblical teachings of the true and
merciful Jesus Christ |
|
Many
Mormons believe they are already well along the way, or have
already achieved forgiveness because they do not or can not see
their sin |
|
|
Faith
|
The
LDS church's fourth Article of Faith lists faith as the
first principle and ordinance of their gospel |
|
Mormonism's
doctrine of faith, similar to most other doctrines, puts God's
work in the background and man's works on center stage. |
|
Mormonism
has redefined faith from its original Christian meaning |
|
In
Christianity, faith is trust in Jesus' saving works for us |
|
In
Mormonism, faith is twofold
|
Acceptance
of the Mormon plan of salvation through works, rather than of
salvation itself |
|
Power God
gives to resist sin and perform works, thereby working the
plan to become perfect and saving oneself |
|
|
Mormonism
teaches that faith in Christ is the commitment to keep his
commandments |
|
The
power of faith is bestowed in proportion to the righteousness one
demonstrates through obedience to God's laws |
|
The
Mormon definition of faith diminishes Jesus by stripping him of
the trust that he is our solely sufficient Savior |
|
|
Justification
and Sanctification
|
Justification
and sanctification are two terms that are not part of the average Mormon's
vocabulary |
|
The
LDS Bible Dictionary does not list either term |
|
Teachings
that exist are contradictory and refute biblical teaching |
|
The
Tutorial examines a recent Ensign article titled
"Justification and Sanctification"
|
States
justification and sanctification are at the center of the
Mormon plan of salvation (even though they are virtually
untaught concepts) |
|
Article
gives very Christian sounding definitions of both terms |
|
Justification:
being pardoned by the grace of Jesus who satisfied the demands
of justice by his own suffering, making us like him -
righteous and sinless |
|
Sanctification:
To be sanctified through the blood of Christ is to become
clean, pure, and holy |
|
States
we can not earn these gifts |
|
In
addition to Christian sounding statements gives the associated
Mormon doctrine |
|
Says we choose
to accept justification and sanctification - this is a
key word play |
|
Claims
that since Jesus paid for our sins and satisfied justice, we
now owe our debt for sin to Jesus instead of to justice |
|
Therefore
we must meet the stipulation for forgiveness and cleansing |
|
We choose
to accept the 'gift' by performing all the works and
requirements of Mormonism - but this is not earning it! |
|
If we
don't do the work (obedience to all God's commands, paying for
your sins, performing all required ordinances, etc.), God will
withdraw his offered 'gift' |
|
It is an
ongoing process and obligation |
|
Described
as "personal persistence in the path of obedience" |
|
This
process and obligation of obedience and works is stated as the
way to choose to accept justification and
sanctification but it is also stated that justification and
sanctification are accomplished by the grace of Christ,
grace which is a gift to man based on faith. |
|
|
In
conclusion, both justification and sanctification must be earned
through life long persistence in obedience and working to fulfill
all requirements. |
|
In
this sense, they are not gifts. |
|
In
Mormonism, justification does not pardon one from the debt of
their sin as the debt is still owed |
|
In
Mormonism, sanctification is a state of saintliness attained only
by conformity to the laws and ordinances of the Mormon gospel |
|
In
Christianity, all believers are freely justified by God's grace,
defined as undeserved love, through the complete and final payment
Christ made at the cross |
|
In
Christianity, sanctification is a process of being made ever
closer to holy through growth in faith which is the result of being in
God's Word, growing in our knowledge of God, bearing good fruit,
praising God, and embracing God's many blessings |
|
|
Conclusion
|
Mormonism:
Jesus Christ is the great enabler
|
Enables
Mormons to provide their own salvation (eternal life) through
their own righteousness |
|
Bought
them time by making the immediate payment of their sins and
becoming their creditor |
|
Gives
them the tools (many conditional on worthiness) they need to
work their own salvation - commands, ordinances, plan of
salvation, gift of the Holy Ghost, forgiveness (conditional on
Mormon repentance), faith (power), grace (power) |
|
Is their
Exemplar - by his life he shows them how to do it. |
|
After
Mormons spend this life and the next spirit life striving to
"do all they can do", if they were good enough,
Jesus makes up the difference and grants them eternal
life |
|
Mormons can not be sure of their eternal fate,
because it is based on what they have yet to do. |
|
|
Christianity:
Jesus Christ is the great substitute
|
Substitutes
his righteousness for our sinfulness, thereby gaining for us
our salvation (eternal life) |
|
Paid in
full the only payment required for all the sins of the world |
|
Gives us
the unconditional gifts we need to gain salvation -
forgiveness (freely offered to everyone), faith (sure hope,
trust in Christ's works alone), grace (the undeserved gift of
eternal life) |
|
Christians
have eternal life immediately, from the moment of their
conversion |
|
Christians
are assured of their eternal fate, as it has already been
declared. They are blessed with peace and joy and
motivated to praise God by this assurance |
|
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