Who Says the LDS Teach Saved by Works?

An LDS perspective to Faith and Works and their Role in Salvation!

by Wer62

Many detractors of the LDS faith state without hesitation that the LDS teach that works save us. In response to their claim I would state that those individuals have not spent much time reading the Gospel Principals Manual. The Manual clearly states the role of works in which all Christian religions practice even if it is not admitted.

What is one of the least understood concepts is that works are required and will be accomplished through ones faith. Works by themselves however doesnÂ’t save you. A person can be a good person doing works for others, serving his fellow man and not achieve salvation. That stated however, you cannot call themselves a faith based Christian and not do good works.

First, let us define salvation. There are many Christian religions that teach salvation as in the resurrection. This simply is not the case. We all will be resurrected. So, where does salvation actually occur? Salvation occurs after the judgment. You may know you are doing the right thing while on Earth but you are not “saved” until after the judgment. We know this because there will be many that will stand before Christ and say to him, have I not prophesied in your name and done many works in your name and Jesus will answer them with I knew you not. (Paraphrased) Those people may have thought they were saved but were not. This is why a person has to study it out for themselves to be sure what they are doing is correct in the eyes of the Lord.

Now lets take about what is taught about salvation from an LDS perspective.

Chapter 12 in the Gospel Principals Manual: - TAtonementent:

Jesus Christ “came into the world … to be crucified for the world, and to bear the sins of the world, and to sanctify the world, and to cleanse it from all unrighteousness; that through him all might be saved”. The great sacrifice he made to pay for our sins and overcome death is called the Atonement. It is the most important event that has ever occurred in the history of mankind: “For it is expedient that an atonement should be made; for according to the great plan of the Eternal God there must be an atonement made, or else all mankind must unavoidably perish; … yea, all are fallen and are lost, and must perish except it be through the atonement”

It is clear that we teach that through Jesus Christ we might be saved. The reason the word "might" is used is because we each have a choice to make. We can choose to follow the will of our Lord or not. If we do not come to Christ we cannot be saved. I am positive that most Christian religious groups if not all will agree with this principal. The LDS teach this as demonstrated in the above cite from the Gospel Principals manual. Others topics of the Atonement mentioned in chapter 12 are the following:

• The Atonement Was Necessary for Our Salvation
• Christ Suffered and Died to Atone for Our Sins
• The Atonement and Resurrection Bring Resurrection to All

The Atonement Makes It Possible for Those Who Have Faith in Christ to Be Saved from Their Sins Christ Was the Only One Who Could Atone for Our Sins Clearly the LDS teach that the atonement of Christ is for our salvation and to pay for the price of sin but that grace is only extended to those people who accept Christ and his teachings.

Now lets talk about like personal responsibility. We each have a personal responsibility when it comes to our own salvation. In James we read, "Faith without works is dead". One must consider also how we are judged. In the Book of Revelation it is clearly stated we will be judged according to our works. Works are a direct relation to our faith. We do the works because we have faith in Christ. I believe most Christian group should agree with this principal to remain in line with the scriptures. 2 Nephi 25:23 "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." (also see Rom 7:4-6) This leads us to believe that some work must be performed. You would have to agree that Jesus Christ is our example while here on Earth and he performed works.

Lets look closer at what is taught concerning work in the LDS Church.

Work and Personal Responsibility - Chapter 27

Our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have shown us by their examples and teachings that work is important in heaven and on earth. God worked to create the heavens and the earth. He caused the seas to gather in one place and the dry land to appear. He caused grass, herbs, and trees to grow on the land. He created the sun, the moon, and the stars. He created every living thing in the sea or on the land. Then he placed Adam and Eve on the earth to take care of it and to govern the other creatures (Genesis 1:1–28).Jesus said, “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work” (John 5:17). He also said, “I must work the works of him that sent me” (John 9:4). We Are Commanded to Work. Work has been the way of life on earth since Adam and Eve left the Garden of Eden. The Lord said to Adam, “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread” Genesis 3:19). Adam and Eve worked in the fields so they could provide for their own needs and the needs of their children (Moses 5:1). The Lord said to the people of Israel, “Six days shalt thou labour” Exodus 20:9.

In the early days of the restored Church, the Lord told the Latter-day Saints, “Now, I, the Lord, am not well pleased with the inhabitants of Zion, for there are idlers among them” D&C 68:31). All that stated work by itself cannot save us and neither is it stated as such in the Gospel Principals Manual of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. We are saved by grace but that stated we must follow the laws and ordinances of the Lord our Christ. We have to have Faith and without faith and works salvation is just not possible because the grace of Christ will not be extended to us. It is true grace is a free gift, why is that. No man is perfect and no matter what you do you cannot earn you way to heaven. You can't pay money; you can't just do good deeds with the idea that you will obtain salvation. It has to be understood that we do these things out of Faith because we are commanded to do so.

There are components of salvation and heavenly Father wants to see all of his Children saved. He provided a way through his son Jesus Christ to Atone for our sins that by his grace we might be saved. In return we are asked to have Faith and do the works that are asked of us to follow the laws and ordinances including repentance. Grace is extended to us after we show faith and faith will result in good works. We are commanded to "go forth and teach all nations and baptize them in the name of Christ" this in itself is a work. This cannot be denied! Work is an outward show of ones faith and faith is how we obtain grace.