Salvation and eternal life through becoming like Christ

Footnotes

What is salvation?

Salvation refers to deliverance from death and hell. Death is the cessation of life, which can refer to mortal life or eternal life. Through being born, we inherit physical death. Through choosing to sin, we each suffer spiritual death, which is separation from the presence of God.¹ We are delivered from physical death through resurrection,² where our bodies and spirits will reunite in immortality. We are delivered from spiritual death through aligning ourselves with God to the extent that we understand him to be,³ which reopens the living connection through which we receive eternal life. Hell is a condition of torment caused by exposure to ideas and circumstances that overwhelm one’s ability and willingness to live joyfully aligned with God as far as you understand him to be in spite of opposition. You are saved from hell by learning and living the principles required to overcome what would otherwise overcome you while recognizing and using the protection God offers from situations beyond your capacity.⁴

Most people who are saved from physical death will still suffer spiritual death, as resurrection does not free you from the penalty of the sins that you have not forsaken.⁵ The one and only way to be saved from spiritual death is by reconciling to your understanding of how God is and faithfully following his example until you die.⁶

Resurrection does not provide you with any extra capacity in death to overcome what overcame you in life. What causes you sorrow, grief, pain, and suffering here will cause you the same there,⁷ if not more, because you will not be able to lie to yourself or distract yourself there as you can here.⁸ Meanwhile, the conditions necessary to encounter the tools needed to conquer or qualify for shelter from what overcomes you here are not possible in the afterlife. The one and only way to be saved from hell is by seeking for, perceiving, believing, and living the principles needed to overcome what overcomes you. The Lord Jesus created the world to provide us with the opportunity to obtain and live these principles, having possessed them before the foundation of the world, and coming here to live in order to demonstrate them to us.⁹

Salvation requires living up to how you understand Jesus to be

There is no other way you can be saved, except through learning more about Jesus and living all you learn.¹⁰ You cannot be saved in spite of willful differences between you and God.¹¹ These differences must be reconciled through your choice to follow his example.¹² There are no backdoors or shortcuts to heaven—he is the gate and the way.¹³

Too many find comfort in the fact that they are doing better than they used to or they are doing better than other people they know, when they should be asking whether they are living up to Jesus, as far as they understand him to be. You shouldn’t judge yourself based simply on whether you are doing better than your worst. Your worst is not the standard you will be compared against—Jesus is.¹⁴ You shouldn’t judge yourself based on what others do.¹⁵ Your capabilities are not the same as those of others. Your accountability before God is based on what you know¹⁶ and could know,¹⁷ not what anyone else knows. God will hold you accountable for your own capacity and understanding,¹⁸ not that of others.¹⁹ The degree of blessing you receive from God is determined by the degree to which you are like him.²⁰ Only judge yourself against others if you want to limit yourself to the blessings they have received.²¹

In the day of judgment, you will be judged for whether you lived up to your understanding of how Christ is.²² Jesus Christ—his works, his character, his sinlessness—is the standard of salvation.²³ You will be judged by how well you live up to your present understanding of how God is.²⁴ Everything about you and your life plainly demonstrates how much like him you have become, and by this you can know your standing with God at all times.

Eternal life comes through similitude to Christ

Eternal life is the opportunity offered to all to learn about and live like Jesus Christ, both of which depend on the choices of the individual. If we desire eternal life, we must learn and live what Jesus would do in your place. The Lord came to show us how the Father is and provide us with the power to follow his example in all things. Jesus obtained eternal life before this world was, and by laying down his eternal life, he provided the opportunity for all men to advance toward the same. The life of Jesus Christ was a demonstration of the process and outcome of obtaining the character of the Father, which in combination define the outcome and process of eternal life. The Lord obtained eternal life through learning about and living like the Father.²⁵ We obtain eternal life through learning about and living like the Son.²⁶ God, knowing all things, provided a way whereby any individual could come to understand the same. Through learning what he knows and acting and feeling how he does, an individual can come to possess all things that God possesses.

Immortality and eternal life are not the same thing.²⁷ Immortality comes because of what Jesus did, but eternal life comes because of how Jesus is. Eternal life is not about what you get after you die, but who you become here and now. Through the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus Christ,²⁸ all people will be resurrected,²⁹ whether they believe in God or not, and irrespective of how well they know and obey him. Eternal life does not come from what you say you believe about Jesus, nor from him visiting you. You receive eternal life as you learn how Jesus is and live that way yourself.³⁰ Only those who live as they sincerely believe Jesus would in their place will be saved from spiritual death.³¹

You become one with God through obtaining his attributes

The attributes of God are what yield eternal life. God is what he is because of how he is, not who he is. If his character were different than it is, he would not be God.³² The character of Christ is what makes him God; it is predefined³³ and inalterable.³⁴ The role of God is defined by his character, and that set of qualities is the same from eternity to eternity.³⁵

God is not God for any other reason than that he possesses the precise character of God. God’s attributes, including his knowledge, beliefs, and desires, are precisely what define him. Knowing and living God’s character is what makes God who and what he is. It is because of God’s character that he possesses all things,³⁶ has overcome all things,³⁷ is immortal, is happier than any person, has complete, untouchable peace,³⁸ is able to endure all things that can happen without any anxiety or stress, and never wavers from his character qualities, no matter what situations he encounters.³⁹ Eternal life is the kind of life that God has, and to the degree that you have obtained and live by the same attributes as God, you will experience the same life that God does.⁴⁰ To the degree that your attributes vary from God’s, you will experience a life less like that of God.

As you consecrate yourself to the will of God, you will find that who you used to be is sequentially replaced⁴¹ with your evolving understanding of who God is.⁴² The scriptures call this process “quickening,”⁴³ but modern people call it “improvement.” You will recognize the effects of quickening as improvements to your actions, feelings, depth of desire, direction of desire, and understanding relative to the past. In every instance, whatever comes from God will be of greater worth and result in greater joy than anything that you had or were before.⁴⁴ It is through the acquisition of these attributes that we become one with God.⁴⁵

You become one with God by learning what he is like and doing what he would do in your place.⁴⁶ You become one with God by learning and living his character. The Lord Jesus is one with the Father because he has perfectly developed the character of the Father within himself by yielding to the words of the Father. Through him, we can do the same, and this is the purpose of life.⁴⁷ Becoming one with God does not merely consist of obeying him, but of learning what he would do in your place, why he would do it, and using your brain to fill in the gaps. God is with you as you learn and adopt his character within yourself. You are one with the Son and the Father if, when, and as long as you perfectly align yourself with what you believe God would think, feel, and do.⁴⁸ The Lord once said, “the kingdom of God is within you.”⁴⁹ You are one with the Father to the extent that the character of the Father is within you.

You obtain eternal life by degrees

The purpose of life isn’t just to live forever, but to live forever as a better person than you were before.⁵⁰ Eternal life is an outcome, but it is reached through the process of learning more about Jesus and living up to what you learn.⁵¹

All people who obtain eternal life are saved from their sins, as you cannot enter into eternal life without sincerely living as you believe he would in your place.⁵² However, while you can’t enter into eternal life without fully reconciling to how you understand Jesus to be, doing so does not entitle you to a degree of eternal life beyond the limits of how well you know and live like God.

The measure of eternal life that you receive will equal the measure of the character of Christ you acquire and live in mortal life. The degree of eternal life you obtain is a function of how similar to Jesus you become. The more similar you are to Jesus, the more your eternal life resembles his. Eternal life is something that exists by degrees, corresponding to the accuracy, depth, and breadth of the individual’s understanding of Jesus to which they are reconciled. The more you know about and live like God, the more of eternal life you will receive, because the more like him you are, the more your life will resemble his.⁵³

Everyone with eternal life is fully reconciled to everything they know about Jesus, but they differ in how much they know about him. Each will have a different portion of eternal life depending on how accurate and complete their understanding of Jesus is. The extent to which people learn about and live like Jesus will create severe distinctions between people, even among those who live like Jesus, as far as they understand him to be.

The fullest degree of eternal life is to be as God actually is and to live as God actually does. It is to act like God would in your situation at all times and in all places; to do as he does and to feel as he does, all of the time; to see the world as he does, see yourself as he does, and see others as he does. You can’t live like God does or have what God has beyond the extent to which you are actually as God is.⁵⁴ This is the only way possible to receive everything he has, which he only has because of how he is.

You cannot be saved through mercy alone

Eternal life does not come about through mercy alone. Salvation comes only through the mercy and merits of God,⁵⁵ but for some reason, people are much more apt to cling to his mercy than they are to adopt his merits! Mercy and justice are both components of salvation. Mercy makes a way for justice to result in reward rather than punishment,⁵⁶ but it doesn’t replace justice.⁵⁷

The Lord’s sacrifice provides for forgiveness of your past sins, but not your present or future sins.⁵⁸ While mercy forgives you of past sins, you can be saved only through justly ascribing to the standard of Christ.⁵⁹ You can be forgiven for deviating from your understanding of the Lord, but you can’t be saved without becoming the person God teaches you to be.

Mercy provides space for a person to choose better outcomes through obtaining and living the conditions that produce them.⁶⁰

Mercy does not impute better outcomes than a person deserves.⁶¹ Mercy enables forgiveness of past sins and provides opportunity for you to learn what you didn’t know, but it can’t magically transform you into a better person without your choice to improve.⁶²

Salvation is a gift that you must choose

Many professed Christians embrace the pagan belief that salvation is an arbitrary gift that is obtained from courting the favor of a capricious God, and several denominations differ only in how they attempt to court his favor. Some even believe that because Jesus was righteous, they are too, even if they don’t obey his teachings. Salvation is not the gift of an arbitrary God. If God could freely give salvation to anyone, he would give it to everyone.⁶³ He does not give you eternal life against your will. You cannot be treated by God as if you were righteous without actually being righteous, and there is no righteousness that exists outside of similarity to Jesus.⁶⁴

God can “give” you immortality through resurrection, but he cannot “give” you his character attributes.⁶⁵ You can receive immortality because of what Jesus did, but you can only obtain eternal life to the degree you become like he is.⁶⁶ God’s characteristics can’t be forced upon you. You must willingly take them upon yourself.⁶⁷ He can’t force us to know what he knows, to do what he does, or to share his motives. These are things he gives us, through the price he has paid, according to our choices to seek and obtain them.⁶⁸

The idea of meriting eternal life is a foreign concept to most Christians, in spite of many scriptures explaining it this way.⁶⁹ They correctly understand that there is no path to what the Father has except through what the Son offers, and that none of us will ever deserve the sacrifice he made for us in coming here and dying for our sins, but they incorrectly understand our obligations in that path.

Salvation is a gift in the sense that it is impossible without what Jesus has done and continues to do.⁷⁰ Jesus created this world which is necessary for the opportunity to learn more about and become more like God. He sacrificed the glory he had with the Father before the world was created⁷¹ to come down from heaven⁷² and demonstrate the example we are to follow.⁷³ He endured a life filled with trials,⁷⁴ sorrow,⁷⁵ and pain,⁷⁶ culminating with the sacrifice of his life in order to provide us with the opportunity to obtain forgiveness of our past sins⁷⁷ and obtain greater eternal joy through learning about and living like him. The gift of Christ is not some way to receive the blessings of being like him while continuing to be unlike him. Rather, it is everything needed to know how he is, believe that you can be the same, have sufficient reasons to make the necessary changes, and be forgiven after choosing to follow his example.

Salvation is the greatest gift possible because of what it costs and what it enables.⁷⁸ However, no gift, no matter how great, will increase the joy of those who refuse to receive it. We must receive and value it.⁷⁹ We receive that gift through completely reconciling to the full application of our sincere understanding of the character of Jesus Christ throughout every moment of our lives.⁸⁰ Through the gift he has given us, we can both conform ourselves perfectly to our present understanding of how he is, and receive incremental instruction and experience to advance the breadth and depth of our understanding of how he is.

Forgiveness doesn’t make you holy

The justice of God dictates that your eternal wellbeing be exclusively determined by how virtuous you have become.⁸¹ The sacrifice of Christ doesn’t violate his justice, but rather gives you the opportunity to separate yourself from the moral indictment of your past sins, providing you with sufficient reasons and means to improve so that God’s justice can result in your exaltation instead of abasement. In order to obtain better outcomes than you have, you must become better than you are.

All people are forgiven of the differences between them and God which they are unable to discern. For example, children are forgiven for the law that they are too young to be able to learn⁸² and understand.⁸³ However, there is a difference between being spared the penalty of disobedience to what you don’t yet know and receiving the benefits of obeying what you don’t yet know. Being spared from death and hell is not the same as receiving eternal life.

The atonement frees you from the punishment of failing to live up to how Christ is beyond the limits of your understanding, but it doesn’t provide you with the blessings you would have if you were like Christ beyond the limits of how you understand him to be. Many Christians believe that God declares you righteous as long as you say you believe in Jesus, even if you don’t actually follow his example. You can’t be treated by God as if you were righteous without actually being righteous. This would be a lie.⁸⁴ The gospel doesn’t magically transfer the blessings of Jesus’ righteousness to sinners. Rather, through the gospel, Jesus provides you with the opportunity to choose to be more like him, making a way for you to be forgiven of past sin and providing sufficiently persuasive arguments for you to choose to be better, thus meriting those blessings in your own right⁸⁵

The Lord’s sacrifice provides the opportunity for you to learn more about and live up to how he is, but it doesn’t magically make you more like him than you choose to be.⁸⁶ The idea that God treats sinners as saints simply because they say they believe in him, like him, or worship him, is an example of the extent to which Christians have replaced what Jesus taught with overtly pagan beliefs, in this case the idea that your affinity for an idol transposes its qualities upon you. Sheep gain the benefits of a shepherd by following his instructions, not by saying they like him. Believing that you become holy merely by expressing support for God is as ridiculous as believing that you will magically become a basketball star by wearing your favorite player’s jersey. Forgiveness from God doesn’t reward you with the blessings of obedience any more than it removes from you the temporal consequences of disobedience.

Moral forgiveness doesn’t exempt someone from the temporal consequences of ignorance. Forgiveness from God is a moral absolution, not a material miracle; it absolves you of the divine punishment your past sins would otherwise require, not the temporal consequences that those choices still carry. While you aren’t morally responsible for what you don’t know, you are still subject to the consequences of the laws that apply to your situation, even if you don’t know them.

God’s forgiveness makes you blameless, not holy. Blamelessness is not holiness.⁸⁷ Holiness is a measure of how similar you are to God.⁸⁸ You become holy as you learn what Jesus is like and live that way yourself.⁸⁹ While an innocent person isn’t bad, they are only good to the extent they have become better than neutral. Forgiveness takes away the bad, but it does not substitute the good in its place! To be empty on the inside is much better than to be evil on the inside, but emptiness is not the same as goodness. Emptiness is an indication of preparation for becoming good, but it is not the same as being good. A plowed, weed-free field is not the same as one full of crops ready to harvest. His forgiveness can erase your slate, but it can’t refill it with better things—only you can do that by choosing better things over time. To become better requires learning and living better ideas than what were possessed or followed before.

This life is the time we are given to prepare for eternity

Your eternal state is determined by what you do while in this life.⁹⁰ This life is especially designed to provide the necessary and ideal conditions for every individual to learn as much about Jesus as they are willing to live up to.⁹¹ God created this world and gave everything necessary—including his life—to give you the opportunity to learn what is good and choose to desire it.⁹² Everything in your life is designed with the end of providing every opportunity you are willing to receive to become as much like him as you will.⁹³

Your eternal happiness is determined by how fully you learned, desired, and chose as Jesus would during your life.⁹⁴ You cannot choose to become more like Jesus after you die,⁹⁵ because there is no progression after death.⁹⁶ Death does not change your desires,⁹⁷ nor does it magically transform you into a holy person. You are not resurrected into a person that is more like Jesus than you chose to be during your life. God does not override the choices you made in this life, but rather rewards you eternal good or evil according to how you made them.⁹⁸ You are resurrected to the same state in which you died.⁹⁹

You lose your salvation the moment you rebel against what you believe the Lord would do in your place

While eternal life exists on a continuum, salvation is a binary condition—you are either saved or you are not. You either perfectly follow the example of Jesus Christ to the degree you are aware of it, or you do not.

Salvation is not a static state. In order to maintain your salvation, you have to remain “obedient unto the end of your lives.” (Mosiah 5:8) Life does not remain the same from the point you decide to reconcile to Jesus, but continues to ebb and flow, bringing new challenges and learning opportunities day by day. In order to remain saved, you have to remain fully aligned with Jesus until you die,¹⁰⁰ no matter what God may reveal about himself, what commandments he gives you,¹⁰¹ what challenges he may expose you to, or what opposition arises.¹⁰²

The moment you deviate in any way from how you believe Jesus would live in your place,¹⁰³ you lose salvation,¹⁰⁴ and will remain in this state¹⁰⁵ until and unless you repent by changing whatever is out of alignment.¹⁰⁶

The promise of eternal life

Two reliable aspects of human nature are the desire to get something for less than it costs and the desire to be done. Both desires are wrapped up in ideas held by some regarding the promise of eternal life, otherwise known as making your calling and election sure. There are people who believe that there are shortcuts to receiving eternal life that do not involve becoming more like Jesus, or that you can reach a point where you no longer have to labor to live as you believe he would in your place.

There is no shortcut to receiving eternal life. Eternal life isn’t gained through rite or ritual. Jesus Christ is the embodiment of the conditions, content, and outcomes of salvation.¹⁰⁷ There is no way to receive eternal life except by becoming like Jesus.¹⁰⁸ Anyone who is like him will have eternal life,¹⁰⁹ because to be like him is the very meaning of eternal life.¹¹⁰ If you are reconciled to Jesus, you have eternal life, and will continue to until and unless you cease to remain reconciled with him.

Much confusion has resulted from the assumption that the promise of eternal life is unconditional. The promise of eternal life, like all of God’s promises,¹¹¹ is conditional.¹¹² The conditions of eternal life have been set since the foundations of the world; they are to fully reconcile yourself to your understanding of Jesus and to maintain this reconciliation as you learn all you can about him until you die. There is no cessation to the labor salvation requires except for death. Until then, your salvation is at risk.¹¹³ The promise of eternal life demands the continuous sacrifice of everything required to remain true and faithful to the Lord’s example in spite of every obstacle.¹¹⁴

Rather than see the promise of eternal life as a special accomplishment of the privileged few, we should see it as an invitation unto all. When God mentions it to individuals, it isn't to grant them an unconditional outcome specific to them, but to remind all people of what is available for them, and inspire them to faithfully live by the conditions upon which it depends.¹¹⁵ The promise of eternal life is extended to all people because of his impartiality. Anyone who fulfills its conditions will receive the promised result. As long as you do everything you can to learn more about Jesus, and live up to everything you learn, you qualify for eternal life. As long as you do anything less, you don’t.

Footnotes

1. Therefore, as the soul could never die, and the fall had brought upon all mankind a spiritual death as well as a temporal, that is, they were cut off from the presence of the Lord, it was expedient that mankind should be reclaimed from this spiritual death. (Alma 42:9) ↩
2. Yea, behold, [the death of Christ] bringeth to pass the resurrection, and redeemeth all mankind from the first death—that spiritual death; for all mankind, by the fall of Adam being cut off from the presence of the Lord, are considered as dead, both as to things temporal and to things spiritual. (Helaman 14:16) ↩
3. Yea, and it bringeth to pass the condition of repentance, that whosoever repenteth the same is not hewn down and cast into the fire; but whosoever repenteth not is hewn down and cast into the fire; and there cometh upon them again a spiritual death, yea, a second death, for they are cut off again as to things pertaining to righteousness. Therefore repent ye, repent ye, lest by knowing these things and not doing them ye shall suffer yourselves to come under condemnation, and ye are brought down unto this second death. (Helaman 14:18-19) ↩
4. “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13) These protections include commandments, warnings, and miraculous power from God or through his servants. For example, see the Lord's protective role over the apostles while he was with them, and what they were subjected to thereafter. “While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.” (John 17:12) ↩
5. And, in fine, wo unto all those who die in their sins; for they shall return to God, and behold his face, and remain in their sins. (2 Nephi 9:38) Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come. (John 8:21) ↩
6. I say unto you, if ye have come to a knowledge of the goodness of God, and his matchless power, and his wisdom, and his patience, and his long-suffering towards the children of men; and also, the atonement which has been prepared from the foundation of the world, that thereby salvation might come to him that should put his trust in the Lord, and should be diligent in keeping his commandments, and continue in the faith even unto the end of his life, I mean the life of the mortal body—I say, that this is the man who receiveth salvation, through the atonement which was prepared from the foundation of the world for all mankind, which ever were since the fall of Adam, or who are, or who ever shall be, even unto the end of the world. And this is the means whereby salvation cometh. And there is none other salvation save this which hath been spoken of; neither are there any conditions whereby man can be saved except the conditions which I have told you. (Mosiah 4:6-8) ↩
7. And then cometh the judgment of the Holy One upon them; and then cometh the time that he that is filthy shall be filthy still; and he that is righteous shall be righteous still; he that is happy shall be happy still; and he that is unhappy shall be unhappy still. (Mormon 9:14) ↩
8. O how great the plan of our God! For on the other hand, the paradise of God must deliver up the spirits of the righteous, and the grave deliver up the body of the righteous; and the spirit and the body is restored to itself again, and all men become incorruptible, and immortal, and they are living souls, having a perfect knowledge like unto us in the flesh, save it be that our knowledge shall be perfect. Wherefore, we shall have a perfect knowledge of all our guilt, and our uncleanness, and our nakedness; and the righteous shall have a perfect knowledge of their enjoyment, and their righteousness, being clothed with purity, yea, even with the robe of righteousness. (2 Nephi 9:13-14) ↩
9. For [God] is the same yesterday, today, and forever; and the way is prepared for all men from the foundation of the world, if it so be that they repent and come unto him. (1 Nephi 10:18) ↩
10. And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the way; and there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God. And now, behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God, without end. Amen. (2 Nephi 31:21) ↩
11. I say unto you, if ye have come to a knowledge of the goodness of God, and his matchless power, and his wisdom, and his patience, and his long-suffering towards the children of men; and also, the atonement which has been prepared from the foundation of the world, that thereby salvation might come to him that should put his trust in the Lord, and should be diligent in keeping his commandments, and continue in the faith even unto the end of his life, I mean the life of the mortal body—I say, that this is the man who receiveth salvation, through the atonement which was prepared from the foundation of the world for all mankind, which ever were since the fall of Adam, or who are, or who ever shall be, even unto the end of the world. And this is the means whereby salvation cometh. And there is none other salvation save this which hath been spoken of; neither are there any conditions whereby man can be saved except the conditions which I have told you. (Mosiah 4:6-8) ↩
12. Therefore, blessed are they who will repent and hearken unto the voice of the Lord their God; for these are they that shall be saved. (Helaman 12:23) ↩
13. ...I am the door of the sheep....He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. (John 10:7, 1-2) ↩
14. For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise. But we will not boast of things without our measure, but according to the measure of the rule which God hath distributed to us, a measure to reach even unto you. (2 Corinthians 10:12-13) ↩
15. Don’t conform yourself to the present world, but be transformed by completing the process by which you obtain the mind of God; improving your idea of what is good, from your present understanding of what aligns with him unto the fullness of who he is. Judge wisely. We all differ in our present state of understanding of God. Therefore, do not judge yourself based on comparing yourself to others, but judge yourself against God as far as he has revealed himself to you. (Romans 12:2-3, Author’s Reflection) ↩
16. “For of him unto whom much is given much is required; and he who sins against the greater light shall receive the greater condemnation.” (D&C 82:3) ↩
17. And if it so be that they will not believe these things, then shall the greater things be withheld from them, unto their condemnation. (3 Nephi 26:10) ↩
18. ....For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more. (Luke 12:48) ↩
19. Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand. (Romans 14:4) ↩
20. And again, verily I say unto you, that which is governed by law is also preserved by law and perfected and sanctified by the same. (D&C 88:34) ↩
21. Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. (Psalms 45:7) ↩
22. And the day soon cometh that your mortal must put on immortality, and these bodies which are now moldering in corruption must soon become incorruptible bodies; and then ye must stand before the judgment-seat of Christ, to be judged according to your works; and if it so be that ye are righteous, then are ye blessed with your fathers who have gone before you. (Mormon 6:21) ↩
23. And because of the intercession for all, all men come unto God; wherefore, they stand in the presence of him, to be judged of him according to the truth and holiness which is in him. Wherefore, the ends of the law which the Holy One hath given, unto the inflicting of the punishment which is affixed, which punishment that is affixed is in opposition to that of the happiness which is affixed, to answer the ends of the atonement. (2 Nephi 2:10) ↩
24. Behold I have given unto you my gospel, and this is the gospel which I have given unto you— that I came into the world to do the will of my Father, because my Father sent me. And my Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross; and after that I had been lifted up upon the cross, that I might draw all men unto me, that as I have been lifted up by men even so should men be lifted up by the Father, to stand before me, to be judged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil—And for this cause have I been lifted up; therefore, according to the power of the Father I will draw all men unto me, that they may be judged according to their works. And it shall come to pass, that whoso repenteth and is baptized in my name shall be filled; and if he endureth to the end, behold, him will I hold guiltless before my Father at that day when I shall stand to judge the world. (3 Nephi 27:13-16) ↩
25. For just as the Father obtained life in himself, he gave the Son the ability to obtain life in himself. (John 5:26, Author’s Reflection) ↩
26. Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. (John 5:24, NIV) ↩
27. For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. (Moses 1:39) ↩
28. Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth, that they may know that there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah, who layeth down his life according to the flesh, and taketh it again by the power of the Spirit, that he may bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, being the first that should rise. (2 Nephi 2:8) ↩
29. Now, this restoration shall come to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, both the wicked and the righteous; and even there shall not so much as a hair of their heads be lost; but every thing shall be restored to its perfect frame, as it is now, or in the body, and shall be brought and be arraigned before the bar of Christ the Son, and God the Father, and the Holy Spirit, which is one Eternal God, to be judged according to their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil. (Alma 11:44) ↩
30. O then, my beloved brethren, repent ye, and enter in at the strait gate, and continue in the way which is narrow, until ye shall obtain eternal life. (Jacob 6:11) ↩
31. Anyone who follows the example of the Lord will be saved, and only those who follow the example of the Lord will be saved. (Romans 10:13, Author’s Reflection) ↩
32. But there is a law given, and a punishment affixed, and a repentance granted; which repentance, mercy claimeth; otherwise, justice claimeth the creature and executeth the law, and the law inflicteth the punishment; if not so, the works of justice would be destroyed, and God would cease to be God. (Alma 42:22) ↩
33. For God doth not walk in crooked paths, neither doth he turn to the right hand nor to the left, neither doth he vary from that which he hath said, therefore his paths are straight, and his course is one eternal round. (D&C 3:2) ↩
34. For do we not read that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and in him there is no variableness neither shadow of changing? And now, if ye have imagined up unto yourselves a god who doth vary, and in whom there is shadow of changing, then have ye imagined up unto yourselves a god who is not....the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and it is that same God who created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are. (Mormon 9:9-11) ↩
35. For I know that God is not a partial God, neither a changeable being; but he is unchangeable from all eternity to all eternity. (Moroni 8:18) His “...ways are righteousness forever.” (1 Nephi 1:19) ↩
36. The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand. (John 3:35) ↩
37. These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. (John 16:33) ↩
38. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. (John 14:27) ↩
39. For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. (Malachi 3:6) ↩
40. And as many as have received me, to them have I given to become the sons of God; and even so will I to as many as shall believe on my name, for behold, by me redemption cometh, and in me is the law of Moses fulfilled. (3 Nephi 9:17) ↩
41. Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 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 1:2-8) ↩
42. So David waxed greater and greater: for the Lord of hosts was with him. (1 Chronicles 11:9) But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. (2 Corinthians 3:18) I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20) Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. (1 John 3:20) ↩
43. For instance: “I beheld the transgressors, and was grieved; because they kept not thy word. Consider how I love thy precepts: quicken me, O Lord, according to thy lovingkindness.” (Psalm 119:158-159) ↩
44. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; (2 Corinthians 3:5) ↩
45. As soon as you live according to how I have shown you I am, you will know that I am in my Father, and that I am in you, and you are in me. He who has my commandments, and obeys them, loves me; and he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him, and show more of how I am to him. And Judas (not Iscariot) asked him, Lord, how can you show us how you are without showing the world at the same time? Jesus answered him: Anyone who loves me will treasure up and obey everything he learns about me, and my Father will love him, and we increasingly reveal ourselves to him in character and presence, and he will increasingly be one with us as he becomes increasingly like us. (John 14:20-23, Author’s Reflection) ↩
46. Go forth and do as I have commanded thee, and no man shall pierce thee. Open thy mouth, and it shall be filled, and I will give thee utterance, for all flesh is in my hands, and I will do as seemeth me good. Say unto this people: Choose ye this day, to serve the Lord God who made you. Behold my Spirit is upon you, wherefore all thy words will I justify; and the mountains shall flee before you, and the rivers shall turn from their course; and thou shalt abide in me, and I in you; therefore walk with me. (Moses 6:32-34) ↩
47. I have given them thy word....Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth....That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. (John 17:14, 17, 21-23) ↩
48. To be one with him is to live in perfect accord with your present understanding of how he would be in your place. Anyone who says they are one with him while willingly deviating from their understanding of what he would do in their place is a liar. They disobey that truth they already perceive; until they repent, they will not receive greater truth, and unless they repent, they will lose even that truth they have already obeyed. Those who keep the word of God will grow toward a full understanding and practice of the love of God, and they will have full confidence that they are one with God. Only those who remain reconciled to their understanding of what God would do in their place at all times can continue to grow in how much of him they see, understand, and become. (1 John 2:3-6, Author’s Reflection) ↩
49. Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you (Luke 17:21) ↩
50. 10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly (John 10:10) ↩
51. Who will render to every man according to his deeds: To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life. (Romans 2:6-7) ↩
52. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. (Matthew 7:21-23) ↩
53. For your sake I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, From whom every good thing flows through and to every family in heaven and on earth to the extent they know him and live as he would in their place, That he might give you according to the riches of his glory, with power, to be strengthened by his Spirit in your inner man, For this is the way through which Christ inhabits your hearts, and how you come to be founded upon and rooted in love, Until you can fully comprehend, with all the saints, the true breadth and length and height and depth, knowing the transcendent love of Christ, being filled with the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:14-19, Author’s Reflection) ↩
54. Yea, verily I say unto you, if ye will come unto me ye shall have eternal life. Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who come unto me. (3 Nephi 9:14) ↩
55. Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth, that they may know that there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah, who layeth down his life according to the flesh, and taketh it again by the power of the Spirit, that he may bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, being the first that should rise. (2 Nephi 2:8) ↩
56. But learn that he who doeth the works of righteousness shall receive his reward, even peace in this world and eternal life in the world to come. (D&C 59:23) ↩
57. For behold, justice exerciseth all his demands, and also mercy claimeth all which is her own; and thus, none but the truly penitent are saved. What, do ye suppose that mercy can rob justice? I say unto you, Nay; not one whit. If so, God would cease to be God. (Alma 42:24-25) ↩
58. By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins—behold, he will confess them and forsake them. (D&C 58:43) And I say unto you again that he cannot save them in their sins; for I cannot deny his word, and he hath said that no unclean thing can inherit the kingdom of heaven; therefore, how can ye be saved, except ye inherit the kingdom of heaven? Therefore, ye cannot be saved in your sins. (Alma 11:37) ↩
59. But God did call on men, in the name of his Son, (this being the plan of redemption which was laid) saying: If ye will repent and harden not your hearts, then will I have mercy upon you, through mine Only Begotten Son; Therefore, whosoever repenteth, and hardeneth not his heart, he shall have claim on mercy through mine Only Begotten Son, unto a remission of his sins; and these shall enter into my rest. And whosoever will harden his heart and will do iniquity, behold, I swear in my wrath that he shall not enter into my rest. (Alma 12:33-35) ↩
60. Therefore, O my son, whosoever will come may come and partake of the waters of life freely; and whosoever will not come the same is not compelled to come; but in the last day it shall be restored unto him according to his deeds. If he has desired to do evil, and has not repented in his days, behold, evil shall be done unto him, according to the restoration of God. (Alma 42:27-28) ↩
61. Do not suppose, because it has been spoken concerning restoration, that ye shall be restored from sin to happiness. Behold, I say unto you, wickedness never was happiness....Therefore, my son, see that you are merciful unto your brethren; deal justly, judge righteously, and do good continually; and if ye do all these things then shall ye receive your reward; yea, ye shall have mercy restored unto you again; ye shall have justice restored unto you again; ye shall have a righteous judgment restored unto you again; and ye shall have good rewarded unto you again. For that which ye do send out shall return unto you again, and be restored; therefore, the word restoration more fully condemneth the sinner, and justifieth him not at all. (Alma 41:10, 14-15) ↩
62. And thus he shall bring salvation to all those who shall believe on his name; this being the intent of this last sacrifice, to bring about the bowels of mercy, which overpowereth justice, and bringeth about means unto men that they may have faith unto repentance. And thus mercy can satisfy the demands of justice, and encircles them in the arms of safety, while he that exercises no faith unto repentance is exposed to the whole law of the demands of justice; therefore only unto him that has faith unto repentance is brought about the great and eternal plan of redemption. (Alma 34:15-16) ↩
63. The idea that he can give salvation freely, but only to those who believe in him is inadequate to explain why it is that only some are saved. Since everyone will believe in him in the last day, when all knees will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is the Christ, how is it that he would ever have reason to say this to anyone? “And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” (Matthew 7:23) ↩
64. Righteousness is similitude to God: “O then, my beloved brethren, come unto the Lord, the Holy One. Remember that his paths are righteous....” (2 Nephi 9:41) And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. (Mark 10:18) ↩
65. Jesus said it “is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father.” (Matthew 20:23) He said: “I will not give my glory unto another.” (Isaiah 48:11) ↩
66. Do ye exercise faith in the redemption of him who created you? Do you look forward with an eye of faith, and view this mortal body raised in immortality, and this corruption raised in incorruption, to stand before God to be judged according to the deeds which have been done in the mortal body? I say unto you, can you imagine to yourselves that ye hear the voice of the Lord, saying unto you, in that day: Come unto me ye blessed, for behold, your works have been the works of righteousness upon the face of the earth? Or do ye imagine to yourselves that ye can lie unto the Lord in that day, and say—Lord, our works have been righteous works upon the face of the earth—and that he will save you? Or otherwise, can ye imagine yourselves brought before the tribunal of God with your souls filled with guilt and remorse, having a remembrance of all your guilt, yea, a perfect remembrance of all your wickedness, yea, a remembrance that ye have set at defiance the commandments of God? I say unto you, can ye look up to God at that day with a pure heart and clean hands? I say unto you, can you look up, having the image of God engraven upon your countenances? I say unto you, can ye think of being saved when you have yielded yourselves to become subjects to the devil? I say unto you, ye will know at that day that ye cannot be saved; for there can no man be saved except his garments are washed white; yea, his garments must be purified until they are cleansed from all stain, through the blood of him of whom it has been spoken by our fathers, who should come to redeem his people from their sins. (Alma 5:1521) ↩
67. ...And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men... (2 Nephi 2:27) ↩
68. And unto him that repenteth and sanctifieth himself before the Lord shall be given eternal life. (D&C 133:62) ↩
69. The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me. For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my God. For all his judgments were before me, and I did not put away his statutes from me. I was also upright before him, and I kept myself from mine iniquity. Therefore hath the Lord recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight. (Psalm 18:20-24) ↩
70. And now, my sons, I would that ye should look to the great Mediator, and hearken unto his great commandments; and be faithful unto his words, and choose eternal life, according to the will of his Holy Spirit; (2 Nephi 2:28) ↩
71. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. (John 17:5) ↩
72. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16) ↩
73. Verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my gospel; and ye know the things that ye must do in my church; for the works which ye have seen me do that shall ye also do; for that which ye have seen me do even that shall ye do. (3 Nephi 27:21) ↩
74. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted. (Hebrews 2:18) ↩
75. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. (Isaiah 53:3) ↩
76. And lo, he shall suffer temptations, and pain of body, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can suffer, except it be unto death; for behold, blood cometh from every pore, so great shall be his anguish for the wickedness and the abominations of his people. (Mosiah 3:7) ↩
77. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. (Romans 5:10) ↩
78. ...eternal life...is the greatest of all the gifts of God. (D&C 14:7) ↩
79. And they who remain shall also be quickened; nevertheless, they shall return again to their own place, to enjoy that which they are willing to receive, because they were not willing to enjoy that which they might have received. For what doth it profit a man if a gift is bestowed upon him, and he receive not the gift? Behold, he rejoices not in that which is given unto him, neither rejoices in him who is the giver of the gift. (D&C 88:32-33) ↩
80. ...be reconciled unto Christ, and enter into the narrow gate, and walk in the strait path which leads to life, and continue in the path until the end of the day of probation. (2 Nephi 33:9) ↩
81. [God] will render to every man according to his deeds. (Romans 2:6) ↩
82. For behold that all little children are alive in Christ, and also all they that are without the law. For the power of redemption cometh on all them that have no law; wherefore, he that is not condemned, or he that is under no condemnation, cannot repent; and unto such baptism availeth nothing— (Moroni 8:22) ↩
83. But behold, I say unto you, that little children are redeemed from the foundation of the world through mine Only Begotten; Wherefore, they cannot sin, for power is not given unto Satan to tempt little children, until they begin to become accountable before me; (D&C 29:46-47) ↩
84. And he answered: Yea, Lord, I know that thou speakest the truth, for thou art a God of truth, and canst not lie. (Ether 3:2) ↩
85. Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God. (Moroni 10:32) ↩
86. Those who remain of the earth do so by following the example of the first Adam, choosing to rebel against God. Those who will become the sons of God will do so by following the example of the second Adam, completely subjecting themselves to God. And as we have taken upon ourselves the image of the earthy through birth, we must also take upon ourselves the image of the heavenly through repentance and sanctification. For this flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor can decay inherit immortality. Behold, I tell you a mystery: Not all will sleep in death, but all will be changed by death. Some will only die in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet. The trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised into immortality, and we will all be changed. Therefore, it is essential for the perishable to take upon themselves what is imperishable, for this mortal will put on immortality. When what is mortal takes upon itself immortality, the perishable who have taken upon themselves what is imperishable will experience what is described in the word: death will be consumed by victory. (1 Corinthians 15:48-54, Author’s Reflection) ↩
87. For example, little children are innocent, but they are not holy. ↩
88. Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy. (Leviticus 19:2) ↩
89. Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the Lord your God. (Leviticus 20:7) ↩
90. For strait is the gate, and narrow the way that leadeth unto the exaltation and continuation of the lives, and few there be that find it, because ye receive me not in the world neither do ye know me. But if ye receive me in the world, then shall ye know me, and shall receive your exaltation; that where I am ye shall be also. This is eternal lives—to know the only wise and true God, and Jesus Christ, whom he hath sent. I am he. Receive ye, therefore, my law. (D&C 132:22-24) ↩
91. And we see that death comes upon mankind, yea, the death which has been spoken of by Amulek, which is the temporal death; nevertheless there was a space granted unto man in which he might repent; therefore this life became a probationary state; a time to prepare to meet God; a time to prepare for that endless state which has been spoken of by us, which is after the resurrection of the dead. (Alma 12:24) ↩
92. Therefore, as they had become carnal, sensual, and devilish, by nature, this probationary state became a state for them to prepare; it became a preparatory state. (Alma 42:10) For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors. (Alma 34:32) ↩
93. And thus did I, the Lord God, appoint unto man the days of his probation—that by his natural death he might be raised in immortality unto eternal life, even as many as would believe; (D&C 29:43) ↩
94. The one raised to happiness according to his desires of happiness, or good according to his desires of good; and the other to evil according to his desires of evil; for as he has desired to do evil all the day long even so shall he have his reward of evil when the night cometh. (Alma 41:5) ↩
95. He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. (Revelation 22:11) ↩
96. And now, as I said unto you before, as ye have had so many witnesses, therefore, I beseech of you that ye do not procrastinate the day of your repentance until the end; for after this day of life, which is given us to prepare for eternity, behold, if we do not improve our time while in this life, then cometh the night of darkness wherein there can be no labor performed. (Alma 34:33) ↩
97. He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. (Revelation 22:11-12) ↩
98. And it came to pass that I said unto them that it was a representation of things both temporal and spiritual; for the day should come that they must be judged of their works, yea, even the works which were done by the temporal body in their days of probation. (1 Nephi 15:32) ↩
99. And in one year were thousands and tens of thousands of souls sent to the eternal world, that they might reap their rewards according to their works, whether they were good or whether they were bad, to reap eternal happiness or eternal misery, according to the spirit which they listed to obey, whether it be a good spirit or a bad one. For every man receiveth wages of him whom he listeth to obey, and this according to the words of the spirit of prophecy; therefore let it be according to the truth.... (Alma 3:26-27) And thus did I, the Lord God, appoint unto man the days of his probation—that by his natural death he might be raised in immortality unto eternal life, even as many as would believe; And they that believe not unto eternal damnation; for they cannot be redeemed from their spiritual fall, because they repent not; For they love darkness rather than light, and their deeds are evil, and they receive their wages of whom they list to obey. (D&C 29:43-45) ↩
100. ...But behold, for none of these can I hope except they shall be reconciled unto Christ, and enter into the narrow gate, and walk in the strait path which leads to life, and continue in the path until the end of the day of probation. (2 Nephi 33:9) ↩
101. For example: “And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother. And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.” (Mark 10:17-22) ↩
102. And, if you keep my commandments and endure to the end you shall have eternal life, which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God. (D&C 14:7) But blessed are they who are faithful and endure, whether in life or in death, for they shall inherit eternal life. (D&C 50:5) Continue in these things even unto the end, and you shall have a crown of eternal life at the right hand of my Father, who is full of grace and truth. (D&C 66:12) ↩
103. And I say unto you again that he cannot save them in their sins; for I cannot deny his word, and he hath said that no unclean thing can inherit the kingdom of heaven; therefore, how can ye be saved, except ye inherit the kingdom of heaven? Therefore, ye cannot be saved in your sins. (Alma 11:37) ↩
104. Whoso walketh uprightly shall be saved: but he that is perverse in his ways shall fall at once. (Proverbs 28:18) ↩
105. But wo, wo unto him who knoweth that he rebelleth against God! For salvation cometh to none such except it be through repentance and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ. (Mosiah 3:12) ↩
106. But remember that he that persists in his own carnal nature, and goes on in the ways of sin and rebellion against God, remaineth in his fallen state and the devil hath all power over him. Therefore he is as though there was no redemption made, being an enemy to God; and also is the devil an enemy to God. (Mosiah 16:5) ↩
107. Verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my gospel; and ye know the things that ye must do in my church; for the works which ye have seen me do that shall ye also do; for that which ye have seen me do even that shall ye do; (3 Nephi 27:21) ↩
108. Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6) And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the way; and there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God. And now, behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God, without end. Amen. (2 Nephi 31:21) ↩
109. But learn that he who doeth the works of righteousness shall receive his reward, even peace in this world and eternal life in the world to come. (D&C 59:23) ↩
110. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. (John 17:3) ↩
111. I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise. (D&C 82:10) ↩
112. ...if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life. (2 Nephi 31:20) Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father. And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life. (1 John 2:24-25) ↩
113. Many who believe that God can irrevocably promise you eternal life will cite D&C 88:3-4: “Wherefore, I now send upon you another Comforter, even upon you my friends, that it may abide in your hearts, even the Holy Spirit of promise; which other Comforter is the same that I promised unto my disciples, as is recorded in the testimony of John. This Comforter is the promise which I give unto you of eternal life, even the glory of the celestial kingdom;” They will omit the rest of the section, which clearly and repeatedly states that you cannot receive and keep the glory of the celestial kingdom unless you receive and keep that law throughout the duration of your life: And they who are not sanctified through the law which I have given unto you, even the law of Christ, must inherit another kingdom, even that of a terrestrial kingdom, or that of a telestial kingdom. For he who is not able to abide the law of a celestial kingdom cannot abide a celestial glory....That which breaketh a law, and abideth not by law, but seeketh to become a law unto itself, and willeth to abide in sin, and altogether abideth in sin, cannot be sanctified by law, neither by mercy, justice, nor judgment. Therefore, they must remain filthy still....And unto every kingdom is given a law; and unto every law there are certain bounds also and conditions. All beings who abide not in those conditions are not justified. (D&C 88:21-22, 35, 38-39) ↩
114. Verily I say unto you, all among them who know their hearts are honest, and are broken, and their spirits contrite, and are willing to observe their covenants by sacrifice—yea, every sacrifice which I, the Lord, shall command—they are accepted of me. (D&C 97:8) ↩
115. For example: “And again, verily I say unto you, it is wisdom and expedient in me, that my servant John Johnson whose offering I have accepted, and whose prayers I have heard, unto whom I give a promise of eternal life inasmuch as he keepeth my commandments from henceforth—” (D&C 96:6) “Thou art my servant; and I covenant with thee that thou shalt have eternal life; and thou shalt serve me and go forth in my name, and shalt gather together my sheep.” (Mosiah 26:20) “And the Lord said unto Mosiah: Let them go up, for many shall believe on their words, and they shall have eternal life; and I will deliver thy sons out of the hands of the Lamanites.” (Mosiah 28:7) ↩

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