by Nora

Just before His crucifixion, Jesus Christ kept the passover with His disciples. He spoke to them with great love as He comforted them concerning His impending death. He blessed them with His peace:

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).

After washing their feet, sharing this special meal with them, teaching them, expressing His love for them, and praying for them, the Lord Jesus Christ left for the Garden of Gethsemane, where the suffering of the Atonement began. Jesus’s disciples, who did not really understand that He was about to suffer and die for mankind, felt great anguish and despair as they watched Him die and be laid in the tomb. Where could they find peace?

There is debate in Christianity as to the value of works.  Some Christians believe we are saved by our belief in Christ, and that His grace is sufficient to save us — works are unnecessary.  Both Catholicism and Mormonism (the doctrines of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) believe in both faith and works, essentially that we are judged for our works, but saved by God’s grace.

What do the scriptures say?

And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works (Revelation 20:12, 13).

Some men’s sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they followafter.   Likewise also the good works of some are manifest beforehand; and they that are otherwise cannot be hid (1 Timothy 5:24, 25).

So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure:   Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer…(2 Thessalonians 1:4-5).

For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous (1 John 5:3).

If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love (John 15:10).

And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless (Luke 1:6).

And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments (1 John 2:3).

Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent (Revelation 2:5).

And they went out, and preached that men should repent (Mark 6:12).

I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish (Luke 13:3).

Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you (1 Corinthians 11:2).

To members of the Church of Jesus Christ, “works” are repentance, the making and keeping of ordinances, keeping Christ’s commandments, doing good to all men (and women, and children, and all of God’s creations), and enduring to the end faithful in Christ.  That this is true is manifest in the above scriptures from the Bible.  We have more in other scriptures:

For they shall be judged according to their works, and every man shall receive according to his own works, his own dominion, in the mansions which are prepared (Doctrine and Covenants 76:11).

For I, the Lord, will judge all men according to their works, according to the desire of their hearts (D&C 137:9).

And even unto the great and last day, when all people, and all kindreds, and all nations and tongues shall stand before God, to be judged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil—(3 Nephi 26:4).

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 (3 Nephi 27:15).

And ye shall go forth baptizing with water, saying: Repent ye, repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand (D&C 42:7).

And thus we see, that there was a time granted unto man to repent, yea, a probationary time, a time to repent and serve God (Alma 42:4).

Behold, I have given unto you the commandments; therefore keep my commandments. And this is the law and the prophets, for they truly testified of me (3 Nephi 15:10).

Therefore God gave unto them commandments, after having made known unto them the plan of redemption, that they should not do evil, the penalty thereof being a second death, which was an everlasting death as to things pertaining unto righteousness; for on such the plan of redemption could have no power, for the works of justice could not be destroyed, according to the supreme goodness of God (Alma 12:32).

…for out of the books shall your dead be judged, according to their own works, whether they themselves have attended to the ordinances in their own propria persona, or by the means of their own agents, according to the ordinance which God has prepared for their salvation from before the foundation of the world, according to the records which they have kept concerning their dead (D&C 128:8).

And this shall be our covenant—that we will walk in all the ordinances of the Lord (D&C 136:4).

These, then, are works…repentance, kindness, keeping Christ’s commandments, doing His will, becoming like Him, partaking of His ordinances, and keeping our covenants with Him, spoken clearly to us in the Bible, and reiterated and clarified in modern revelation.

We are judged by these works and the intent of our hearts.  But we are saved by grace:

And may God grant, in his great fulness, that men might be brought unto repentance and good works, that they might be restored unto grace for grace, according to their works (Helaman 12:24).

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).

Wherefore, my beloved brethren, reconcile yourselves to the will of God, and not to the will of the devil and the flesh; and remember, after ye are reconciled unto God, that it is only in and through the grace of God that ye are saved (2 Nephi 10:24).

Additional Resources:

Finding Happiness

Basic Mormon Beliefs and Real Mormons

Jesus Christ in Mormonism

Mormons and the Bible

We are not left alone on this earth. Jesus Christ was sent to this earth to give us the strength to overcome challenges, problems, and sin. To overcome sin. He asks us to look to Him with faith that He knows what is best for us. There is a pathway that the Lord Jesus Christ has provided for us so that we might be able to find peace in this life and eternal life in the next life. He has given us the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Lord prospers all those who follow the gospel of Jesus Christ. In The Book of Mormon, a record of the teachings of Jesus Christ that God gave to the ancient inhabitants of the American continent, it says:

And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it.

In the Holy Bible Jesus Christ said, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another (John 13:34).” I have found that some of my greatest joys in life come from serving other people. As I try to show the love for others as the Savior did for me, He blesses me with peace, and He helps me love others even more. I know that true happiness only comes to those who seek to love and serve God and all His children. Listen to these words of a modern day apostle of Jesus Christ.

Additional Resources:

Get a free copy of the Holy Bible.

Read a modern apostles words on becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ at the official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (inadvertently called by friends of other faiths, the “Mormon Church”).

Learn about how a belief in Jesus Christ can help you.

Mormons describe four important steps to becoming a member of God’s kingdom, and they refer to these as the first principles and ordinances of the gospel. They form the foundation of a Mormon‘s relationship with God and Jesus Christ, and set the basis for his membership in the church.

These principles are outlined in a document called, ” The Articles of Faith.” The Articles of Faith are thirteen core beliefs of the church. The first one states, “We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.” This is important for understanding the four principles, and is followed by statements on personal responsibility for actions and on the Atonement of Christ.

The first principles are listed as the fourth Article of Faith. It states: “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.” These principles are organized in the order in which they must be obtained. Each one builds on the others.

The first principle is faith. Faith is believing in something you can’t see and don’t have physical proof of. Alma, an ancient prophet in the Book of Mormon, gave the classic sermon on faith. In it, he explained, “Now, as I said concerning faith-that it was not a perfect knowledge-even so it is with my words. Ye cannot know of their surety at first, unto perfection, any more than faith is a perfect knowledge. But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words. (Alma 32:26-27)

From Alma, we learn that even the smallest glimmer of faith-even a longing to believe– is enough to begin with, and that we can use that hope or glimmer to begin the process of developing a personal relationship with God and with the Savior.

The second principle of the gospel is repentance. Once we have faith and a strong love for God, we begin to feel a sorrow for all the things we did wrong before we gained our faith. This sorrow provides a starting place for repentance. The process of repentance involves a true sorrow for the sin, not just for the consequences of sin. Next, the person must make restitution for his sins, apologizing to all those who were hurt and trying to make things right as far as possible. The next step is to go to God, asking forgiveness of Him. Finally, the person must forsake the sin, never returning to it. If the sin is repeated, the process begins again until he has finally gained mastery over that aspect of his life.

After he has gained faith and gone through the repentance process, he can begin to evaluate his life against the principles of the gospel. Once he has achieved a certain level of testimony and obedience, and has repented fully, he can be baptized. This is the third step of the four critical principles and ordinances. Mormon baptism follows the example of the Savior’s own baptism, in that it is done by complete immersion. This immersion represents the death and resurrection of the Savior, as well as symbolizing a cleansing of the soul. The baptism must be done by a person who has the authority to do so, just as Jesus went to John the Baptist, who was authorized to baptize.

During the baptism, the person makes covenants with God. A covenant is a two-way promise between man and God, with God setting the terms. He covenants to take on the name of the Savior and to keep the commandments of God. Mormons do not baptize anyone until the age of eight, since they must be old enough to be accountable for their sins and to understand what they’ve committed to do.

The fourth step in this process is to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. All people have the Spirit of Christ to guide them and can receive ministrations from the Holy Ghost. However, once the person has formally received the Gift of the Holy Ghost, he can have it with him at all times, as long as he’s living worthy of it. This gift helps him to discern truth from falsehood, right from wrong, and safety from danger. This gift is administered by a worthy priesthood holder with the authority to give it. At the same time, membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (often nicknamed the Mormons) is conferred.

Other ordinances will occur in the members life, and of course, there are many other principles by which the Mormons live, but these form the foundation for all the others.

The Fall of Adam brought into the world both physical death, which is the separation of the spirit from the body (James 2:26), and spiritual death, separation from God or alienation from the things of God (Alma 12:32). The Atonement of Jesus Christ redeems, or ransoms, us from the effects of the Fall. “Redemption,” Bruce R. McConkie, late Mormon apostle (apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter–day Saints)  taught, is of two kinds: conditional and unconditional” (Mormon Doctrine, 2d ed., Bookcraft, 1966, 623.)

Jesus Christ’s unconditional redemption provides two free gifts to mankind. The first unconditional gift is that all who ever have or ever will live in mortality will be redeemed from physical death through the Resurrection, because Jesus “taste[d] death for every man” (Hebrews 2:9). John recorded the Savior’s own testimony that all “shall come forth; they who have done good, in the resurrection of the just; and they who have done evil, in the resurrection of the unjust (Inspired Version, John 5:29).

Whether just or unjust, all will be raised with an immortal body, never again subject to death or the pains, sicknesses, and fatigues of the mortal body (Alma 11:41-45). I came to appreciate that blessing as a teenager. My father suffered from the effects of diabetes, including the loss of sight in the last two years of his life. Although I experienced a great loss when he died during my senior year in high school, I felt peace knowing his spirit would one day be reunited with a perfect physical body that would be free from the physical afflictions he had suffered in this life. I rejoiced to know his passing had restored his sight and that he could see his family for the first time in more than two years. “Jesus said . . . I am come into this world, that they which see not might see” (John 9:39).

The second unconditional blessing of the Atonement is expressed in our second article of faith: “We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression.” Although each of us is certainly influenced by the Fall of Adam (that is, we all experience pain, suffering, sickness, and death), the infinite mercy of Christ prevents us from being punished for Adam’s transgression or the sins of anyone else. We may suffer because of the sins of another, but that suffering does not occur as a punishment imposed by God. For God to punish one person for the sins of another would not be just. John recoded the words of Jesus: “The Father . . . hath committed all judgment unto the Son” (John 5:22) and “my judgment is just” (John 5:30).

Redemption from physical death is unconditional, but redemption from spiritual death is not. “Conditional redemption,” Bruce McConkie said, “is synonymous with exaltation or eternal life. It comes by the grace of God coupled with good works and includes redemption from the effects of both the temporal and spiritual fall” (Mormon Doctrine, 623). We alienate ourselves from God and die spiritually through sin. And because of sin, John reasoned, all have need of the Atonement (1 John 1:8). John further explained that the Atonement provides redemption from spiritual death upon conditions of repentance and subsequent obedience and makes spiritual rebirth possible (John 3:3-5, 8:51). “If any man sin and repent,” John testified, “we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (JST, 1 John 2:1-2). . .

The word atonement means literally to reconcile or to set at one–one with God. Jesus, who was one with the Father, mediates a reconciliation between God and whereby we are “brought again into communion with [the Father], and [are] made able to live and advance as a resurrected being in the eternal worlds.” (James E. Talmage in Hugh B. Brown, The Abundant Life, 1965, 315). By so doing, Jesus Christ, the “author and finisher of our faith” answers the ends of the law, thus bringing about our eternal happiness, which is the end or the “object and design of our existence” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 1976, 255). . .

Conditional repentance requires that we repent fully of all our sins. The repentance that brings complete forgiveness requires suffering. Spencer W. Kimball said: “There can be no forgiveness without real and total repentance, and there can be no repentance without punishment” The unrepentant sinner must pay the full price of sin (“To Bear the Priesthood Worthily,” Ensign, 1975, 78). . . .

Can the repentant sinner escape suffering entirely, or is he still subject to part of the demands of justice? Can the repentant sinner satisfy the demands of justice by his own suffering, by his own works of repentance?

Dallin H. Oaks, [an apostle of the Lord], answered these questions. He said:

Do these [verses] mean that a person who repents does not need to suffer at all because the entire punishment is borne by the Savior? [No, they mean] that the person who repents does not need to suffer “even as” the Savior suffered for that sin. Sinners who are repenting will experience some suffering, but, because of their repentance and because of the Atonement, they will not experience the full . . . extent of [suffering] the Savior [did] for that sin. . . . The suffering that impels a transgressor toward repentance is his or her own suffering. Bu the suffering that satisfies the demands of justice for all repented transgressions is the suffering of our Savior and Redeemer. . . . Some transgressors . . . [ask] “Why must I suffer at all? . . . Now that I have said I am sorry, why can’t you just give me mercy and forget about this?” . . . The repentant transgressor must be changed, and the conditions of repentance, including confession and personal suffering, are essential to accomplish that change. To exempt a transgressor from those conditions would deprive him of the change necessary for his salvation” (“What Think Ye of Christ, Ensign, November 1988, 67).