A Gift To Re Received Or A Debt To Repay?

When I compare some LDS Church teachings with what I read in the Bible and Book of Mormon, I see things which do not agree. I even see contradictions in Book of Mormon verses too.

It should be noted that one definition of salvation in LDS theology is eternal life - to become a god or goddess in the highest of the three divisions in the Celestial Kingdom.

In the Mormon scriptures for instance, I found a few verses which specifically deal with the gift of salvation or eternal life.

"If thou wilt do good, yea, and hold out faithful to the end, thou shalt be saved in the kingdom of God, which is the greatest of all the gifts of God; for there is no gift greater than the gift of salvation" (D&C 6:13).

"And now my sons, behold I have somewhat more to desire of you, which desire is, that ye may not do these things that ye may boast, but that ye may do these things to lay up for yourselves a treasure in heaven, yea, which is eternal, and which fadeth not away; yea, that ye may have that precious gift of eternal life, which we have reason to suppose hath been given to our fathers" (Helaman 5:8).

Did you notice the common idea in both?

You must do something to earn a gift.

Before we dig deeper into the subject, let's start with Rachel Sterzer Gibson's paraphrase of a sermon given by Bonnie Cordon during the First Presidency's Christmas Devotional back in 2022. Bonnie's actual words can be found beginning at 00:11:45 in the video.

A brief analysis of mine will follow.

When Young Women General President Bonnie H. Cordon’s father, Harold Hillam, was 9 years old, he received the miraculous gift of a train set for Christmas.

It was 1943 and the world was engulfed in World War II. All were concerned about loved ones on distant shores and money and food shortages at home. “It seemed impossible for such a marvelous gift to be a reality. Oh, how Harold treasured that train.

As the world emerged from the war a few years later, economic conditions had not improved. A few days before Christmas, Harold’s father asked him if he would be willing to give his train to his little brother Arnold so that he could have a gift that year.

For Harold, "this was the request of all requests" but as Christmas morning arrived, Arnold squealed in delight when he received a train just like his older brother's.

Eventually Arnold realized his cherished gift was not 'just like’ Harold’s train — it was Harold's train. When Arnold understood the significance behind the gift, that train became priceless.

This family story is a gift to her, President Cordon said, because it reminds her of the sacrifice and love of the Beloved Son of God.

Jesus Christ was and is our first and forever gift of Christmas".

Is this really a true comparsion?

Apart from gratefully accepting the gift, did Arnold need to do anything like asking forgiveness for offences he had committed against Harold or by doing good deeds towards his other family members or neighbors to deserve the gift of a train from his brother Harold?

The gift of eternal life, which the LDS Church defines as exaltation, must be earned by keeping all the commandments and faithfully enduring to the end.

Let's briefly look at a verse very familiar to Latter-day Saints:

"For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do" (2 Nephi 25:23).

According to Nephi, you are not saved until after all you can do. If you have not done the necessary works, then you are not saved.

This is what I believe Gospel Principles describes as the "Gospel of Work" (chapter 27, p. 184).

Latter-day Saints are taught they must repay the debt to the benefactor Jesus:

"'Then,' said the benefactor, 'you will pay the debt to me and I will set the terms. It will not be easy, but it will be possible. I will provide a way. You need not go to prison.'" (Gospel Principles, chapter 12, p. 77, The Mediator, Ensign, May 1977, pp. 54-55, online, local copy).

Now compare this with what the Bible has to say:

"Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt" (Rom. 4:4).

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Rom. 6:23).

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast" (Eph. 2:8-9).

Do you see the difference in the Mormon teaching versus the Biblical one?

How do you feel? In what way do you regard eternal life being a gift? And is such a gift merited or unmerited?

Take the occasion of Christmas or your birthday. Do you try to gain a gift from someone? I don't believe you do. I think you solely rely on their love to hope to have a gift given to you without any merit on your part.

It is the same way with God and His gift of eternal life. You cannot do something (apart from having faith) to receive this gift. If you can earn a gift, then it is no longer a gift.

The Book of Mormon, in Helaman 5:8, does have a partial truth to it. We need not boast in our abilities when a gift is given.

I also like another passage that I found in the Book of Mormon. "I say, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants" (Mosiah 2:21).

All Mormons need to consider this instead of thinking they are worthy enough to approach God in their temples.

According to the Bible, God's grace is sufficient for us (2 Cor. 12:9). But this is not so in the Mormon Church today, as shown in her training manuals.

"Grace is an enabling power that allows men and women to lay hold on eternal life and exaltation after they have expended their own best efforts. Grace cannot suffice without total effort on the part of the recipient" (Religion 327 - Pearl of Great Price Student Manual, p. 25).

Notice the word "after". Less than total effort means not being saved. Grace cannot suffice where it is lacking.

"The faith necessary unto the enjoyment of life and salvation never could be obtained without the sacrifice of all earthly things" (Religion 327 - Pearl of Great Price Student Manual, p. 31).

Notice the word "never".

The Book of Mormon teaches grace is sufficient only after you meet certain conditions (Moroni 10:32). You cannot inherit salvation without a sincere, total effort. Pay close attention to the IF / THEN conditions.

"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".

Faith without works is dead ... we know this. But works are the evidence of salvation, not the means to it.

We see a passage in the Bible that has Paul saying, "Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling" (Phil. 2:12).

What does he mean?

As the Barnes Commentary states, "Strive to enter in at the strait gate; to break off from sin, and to repent."

I believe that if we do anything to earn the gift of eternal life, then we cheapen Christ's redemptive act.

Now we come to some verses in the Book of Mormon that contradicts some of what we saw earlier.

"And now, my beloved brethren, after ye have gotten into this strait and narrow path, I would ask if all is done? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save" (2 Nephi 31:19).

Your works count for nothing towards salvation when you trust wholly upon the merits of Christ.

"And now, did they understand the law? I say unto you, Nay, they did not all understand the law; and this because of the hardness of their hearts; for they understood not that there could not any man be saved except it were through the redemption of God" (Mosiah 13:32; Alma 25:15-16).

"It is only in and through the grace of God that ye are saved" (2 Nephi 10:24).

"Only" means what you do counts for nothing.

But let's follow through with the premise of LDS theology to its conclusion anyways. A frightening thing to consider is what happens to all those Mormons who do not inherit eternal life (who do not become gods and goddesses).

When we look at other revelations believed to have come from God, the wicked (those who don't become gods) are cursed with everlasting fire (D&C 29:27-28). The tares (those who don't inherit eternal life) will be burned (D&C 101:65-66).

Only the saved will reside in a kingdom where God, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are. If one is not in this place, then "they shall be cast out for they are the children of the kingdom of the devil" (Alma 5:24-25; 7:21, 25).

There are only two choices in the Book of Mormon: eternal life with God or eternal death with the devil (2 Nephi 2:27-29).

Other destinations (the Telestial kingdom, Terrestrial kingdom, and two lower sections of the Celestial Kingdom) have been formed in supposedly later revelations to the Mormon Church.

This has abrogated the teachings of Nephi.

We find another teaching in Alma. "I know that he allotteth unto men, yea, decreeth unto them decrees which are unalterable, according to their wills, whether they be unto salvation or unto destruction" (Alma 29:4).

You are either saved to be with God in heaven or you are destroyed.

This is a scary prospect should one choose to remain in the Mormon Church.

Let's shift back to the Bible now.

What are the works of God?

"Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent" (John 6:28-29).

Did you notice that? They asked with the plural tense and Jesus replied with the singular tense.

The work of God is to believe Him.