Over the years, I've had people ask me questions about what I believe as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, so I decided to lay out some basic doctrines of what we believe. Although I deleted the original sources from quotes, they are easily searchable on the Church's website. Almost everything was pulled from student manuals. There will be 13 posts on this topic total. Enjoy! 4. We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. Faith in the Lord Jesus ChristElder James E. Talmage said: “Inasmuch as salvation is attainable only through the mediation and atonement of Christ, and since this is made applicable to individual sin in the measure of obedience to the laws of righteousness, faith in Jesus Christ is indispensable to salvation. But no one can effectively believe in Jesus Christ and at the same time doubt the existence of either the Father or the Holy Ghost; therefore faith in the entire Godhead is essential to salvation. Paul declares that without faith it is impossible to please God, ‘for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.’ The scriptures abound in assurances of salvation to those who exercise faith in God, and obey the requirements which that faith makes plain… “Though within the reach of all who diligently strive to gain it, faith is nevertheless a divine gift. As is fitting for so priceless a pearl, it is given to those only who show by their sincerity that they are worthy of it, and who give promise of abiding by its dictates. Although faith is called the first principle of the Gospel of Christ, though it be in fact the foundation of religious life, yet even faith is preceded by sincerity of disposition and humility of soul, whereby the word of God may make an impression upon the heart. No compulsion is used in bringing men to a knowledge of God; yet, as fast as we open our hearts to the influences of righteousness, the faith that leads to life eternal will be given us of our Father.” Doctrinal points on faith:Faith in Jesus Christ is the foundation of the gospel.
Faith comes from a knowledge of God and His teachings.
Faith in Jesus Christ always produces good fruits.
Over the years, I've had people ask me questions about what I believe as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, so I decided to lay out some basic doctrines of what we believe. Although I deleted the original sources from quotes, they are easily searchable on the Church's website. Almost everything was pulled from student manuals. There will be 13 posts on this topic total. Enjoy! 3. We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.Elder David B. Haight (1906–2004) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles testified:
“We believe that Christ came into the world to ransom mankind from the temporal and spiritual death brought into the world by the fall of Adam, that through the shedding of His innocent blood all mankind are raised in immortality and that those who believe and obey His laws are raised unto eternal life. “Salvation is administered on the same terms and conditions in all ages. Men must have faith in him, repent of their sins, be baptized in his name, receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, and remain steadfast to gain life eternal. “The Lord God has sent his holy prophets among all men in all ages to declare these things, even as he does today.” President James E. Faust explained: “There is a distinction between immortality, or eternal existence, and eternal life, which is to have a place in the presence of God. Through the grace of Jesus Christ, immortality comes to all men, just or unjust, righteous or wicked. However, eternal life is ‘the greatest of all the gifts of God.’ We obtain this great gift, according to the Lord, ‘if you keep my commandments and endure to the end.’ If we so endure, the promise is, ‘you shall have eternal life.’” Over the years, I've had people ask me questions about what I believe as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, so I decided to lay out some basic doctrines of what we believe. Although I deleted the original sources from quotes, they are easily searchable on the Church's website. Almost everything was pulled from student manuals. There will be 13 posts on this topic total. Enjoy! 2. We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression.President James E. Faust (1920–2007) of the First Presidency explained:
“Because of their transgression, Adam and Eve, having chosen to leave their state of innocence, were banished from the presence of God. This is referred to in Christendom as the Fall, or Adam’s transgression. It is a spiritual death because Adam and Eve were separated from the presence of God and given agency ‘to act for themselves and not to be acted upon. They were also given the great power of procreation, so that they could keep the commandment to ‘multiply, and replenish the earth’ and have joy in their posterity. “All of their posterity were likewise banished from the presence of God. However, the posterity of Adam and Eve were innocent of the original sin because they had no part in it. It was therefore unfair for all of humanity to suffer eternally for the transgressions of our first parents, Adam and Eve. It became necessary to settle this injustice; hence the need for the atoning sacrifice of Jesus in His role as the Savior and Redeemer. Because of the transcendent act of the Atonement, it is possible for every soul to obtain forgiveness of sins, to have them washed away and be forgotten.” Elder Dallin H. Oaks said: “In order to lay claim upon our Savior’s life-giving triumph over the spiritual death we suffer because of our own sins, we must follow the conditions he has prescribed. As he has told us in modern revelation, ‘I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent. “‘But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I.’” Elder Bruce R. McConkie said: “If there was ever a false doctrine that runs counter to the whole concept of the fall and the atonement, this is it (that all are subject to original guilt or birth-sin, and they will automatically be damned because Adam fell). Personal accountability for sin lies at the very root of the plan of salvation. Every man is accountable for his own sins, not those for another. Men are judged for the deeds they do in the flesh, not for those of another. Men work out their own salvation, not the salvation of another. This is what the plan of salvation is all about—every man being judged according to his own works and every man being awarded his own place in the kingdoms that are prepared. As to man's freedom from the transgression of Adam, the Lord said to the first man: ‘behold I have forgiven thee thy transgression in the Garden of Eden.’ Adam himself was forgiven of this transgression; It no longer rested upon him, let alone upon any of his posterity. ‘Hence came the saying abroad among the people,’ the scripture continues, ‘that the Son of God hath atoned for original guilt, wherein the sins of the parents cannot be answered upon the heads of the children, for they are whole from the foundation of the world.’” (Moses 6: 53-54) Over the years, I've had people ask me questions about what I believe as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, so I decided to lay out some basic doctrines of what we believe. Although I deleted the original sources from quotes, they are easily searchable on the Church's website. Almost everything was pulled from student manuals. There will be 13 posts on this topic total. Enjoy! 1. We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said: “In common with the rest of Christianity, we believe in a Godhead of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. However, we testify that these three members of the Godhead are three separate and distinct beings. We also testify that God the Father is not just a spirit but is a glorified person with a tangible body, as is his resurrected Son, Jesus Christ.” God the Eternal FatherIn a 1916 doctrinal exposition, the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles stated: “God the Eternal Father, whom we designate by the exalted name-title ‘Elohim,’ is the literal Parent of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and of the spirits of the human race.”
President Brigham Young (1801–77) said: “I want to tell you, each and every one of you, that you are well acquainted with God our heavenly Father, or the great Eloheim. You are all well acquainted with him, for there is not a soul of you but what has lived in his house and dwelt with him year after year; and yet you are seeking to become acquainted with him, when the fact is you have merely forgotten what you did know… “There is not a person here to-day but what is a son or a daughter of that Being [Heavenly Father]. In the spirit world their spirits were first begotten and brought forth, and they lived there with their parents for ages before they came here.” Elder Ezra Taft Benson said: Nothing is going to startle us more when we pass through the veil to the other side than to realize how well we know our Father and how familiar his face is to us. |
AuthorI am a proud member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am not a gospel scholar, but I hope to be one someday. While I’m learning and growing, I hope you join me on my journey for further light and knowledge. Archives
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