Do Works Save Us?

I was driving along flipping channels when I came upon a Christian radio station. A minister was giving a spiritual thought in which he said, "Don't let works get in the way of your salvation. If you are performing works you are relying on your own strength to save you, rather than Jesus. So don't let works get in the way of your salvation."

This all too common sentiment illustrates a classic misunderstanding of the reason we have come to Earth. In fact, works don’t save us they change us. This is what our Christian brothers and sisters don’t understand about our faith. The works we perform are not meant to purchase eternity. They are meant change us into beings that can endure eternity.

Consider the parable of the widow’s mite. The Lord glorified the two farthings that the widow gave to the church because she gave all that she had. Yet, Jesus mocked the rich who technically performed the same work because they gave of their great abundance. In other words, it was no sacrifice for them. This parable is a perfect illustration of how the work itself is not glorified but rather the change it causes in us. A change that we only experience through the sacrifice of our will for his.

Imagine if the widow, rather than giving all she had to the church, would have simply “confessed Jesus” and went on her way expecting to be saved without giving or sacrificing.

We are the accumulation of the experiences we have in this life. We cannot be saved without works. Because it is not the works themselves, but the change those works cause in us that alters our prospects for salvation.

Alma 5:18-19
18. …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?
19. 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?

Missionary Work Is Not Repentance

I have heard several people in church misquoting James 5:20 as meaning that a person’s sins will be “covered” if they convert another person. I think this is a gross misinterpretation of that scripture.

The confusion comes in whose sins are referenced and how those sins will be covered. The scripture says, “He that converteth the sinner from the error of his way...” This clearly means that because of the conversion you have taken the sinner off a path filled with inevitable future sins and put him on a different path that does not include those sins. By so doing you, “Shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.” It is the sins of the converted person being covered not those of the missionary.

1 Peter 4:8 says that, “Charity shall cover a multitude of sins.” Are we to assume then that everyone who practices charity is also exempt from repentance? If this was true, we would have little need for a savior; we could simply save ourselves through missionary work and charitable acts. It seems much more logical that the reference in both scriptures is about changing the paths we and others are on and thereby eradicating or “cover[ing]” future sins.

There is nothing more sacred in the gospel than the process of repentance. It involves God’s own perfect Son suffering unimaginable pain and ultimately dying on the cross so that we may repent. To say that there is some other way to remove past sin than through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ is blasphemous.

Helaman 5:9
…yea, remember that there is no other way nor means whereby man can be saved, only through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ, who shall come…

(see also Mosiah 3:17 and Alma 38:9)

The Lost Ten Tribes: A True Waste Of Time

In the Gospel of Jesus Christ there are two types of truth: interesting and important. It is significant to understand the difference between the two.

An important truth is one that relates directly to your salvation and can only be had through experiences on Earth. For example, baptism and charity are truths that will directly impact your salvation and can only be accomplished here on Earth.

An interesting truth is one that is equally true, but serves at best as a distraction from your salvation. It is something that you can be simply told or understand without any need for experience. The most classic example of this type of truth is the location of the Lost Ten Tribes. There are many who have gotten lost themselves studying these true but inconsequential doctrines.

Joseph Smith Counseled that we should, “…Cling close to the trunk.”

God can tell you later where the Ten Tribes went; but he can’t tell you later the things that we learn in life through experiences. It will be a sad day if we show up to the judgment bar, armed only with such empty knowledge as the location of the Lost Ten Tribes.

Alma 34:32 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.

Power Without Control

The American Tire Company has an ad for a slim racing tire with the caption, “Power is nothing without control.” This slogan is meant to imply that a powerful motor is useless if you can’t stay on the road.

This ad is a profound answer the age old question of why a loving God would send us to Earth with bodies laden with a natural tendency for sin and then give us commandments to resist those tendencies he gave us (Mosiah 3:19). One of the objectives in this life is to learn self-control so that we may inherit even greater power in the next life.

There is no greater example of the damage that sudden and great power can do to an unprepared person than Lottery winners. A classic example of this is the story of Jack Whittaker. He won the single largest jackpot ever. He stated in the beginning that it would not change him. Ironically, a once great businessman is now a blundering peepshow addict, he has mountains of legal problems, his precious granddaughter is dead and his wife says that she wishes they had never won that money. The power of $114 million dollars was simply too much for them to handle. In fact, 70% of all Lottery winners end up broke.

As much as he may want to, God simply could not just give us Heaven like some kind of Lotto winner. Just like a father gives his three-year-old a bike with training wheels rather than a powerful motorcycle, we have come here first to learn how to control ourselves so that we can handle the great blessings of the next life.

I believe that God is waiting at the other end of this life anxious to endow us with blessings incomprehensible to us now; if we will just make use of this life and the opportunity to resist the natural tendencies we have.

Mathew 25:1-12 Parable of the Ten Virgins.

“You Can Read The Menu, Just Don’t Order"

I have heard it said, in regards to the opposite sex, that, “you can read the menu, you just can’t order.”

It seems innocent enough. But if you were not hungry, would you enjoy going into Red Lobster, amid the aroma and just reading their menu? I don’t think so. You enjoy reading a menu because you are hungry and the anticipation of which food you will enjoy to resolve that hunger is half of the experience.

I saw a couple on T.V. trying to recover after he had cheated on her. He said what they all say, “I don’t know how it happened.”

I know exactly how it happened, he was reading the menu. It is only when you read a menu that you are tempted to order.

Matthew 5:28
But behold I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

Only When The Ox Is In The Mire

It is not uncommon in life to find ourselves invoking the “ox is in the mire” reasoning to justify a certain action or inaction. But, is it possible that some of these situations arise in our lives specifically so that we have the opportunity to show the Lord that we are not just fair weather friends? In Matthew 5:46 the Lord says, “For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? Do not even the publicans the same?”

I am not implying that the ox is never in the mire. But I do know that our only real opportunity to show the Lord that we are committed to paying tithing, keeping the Sabbath day holy or even abstaining from “R” rated movies is when it is hard.

Mark 12:41-44
…and many that were rich cast in much. 42. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. 43. And [Jesus] called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in than all they which have cast into the treasury: 44. For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.

Clean House

Why can’t we just confess Jesus and be saved?

There is a T.V. show called Clean House. It is a relatively interesting show about a talented crew of designers who are in search of the messiest homes in America. They remove the messy people from the home and then they clean and remodel the house. When they have finished, the messy people are returned to a clean home. It is inevitable that those homes will become messy again in short order because the nature of the problem was not addressed: messy people. If this was my show I would forget about cleaning the house.  I would take the people and teach them how to be clean, then I would put them back in the messy house and it would become clean as a matter of course because clean people would live there.

A few years ago I was teaching a discussion alongside the missionaries. When I got to the Word of Wisdom the woman defensively declared that, “God will not send [her] to hell for smoking!”  Her statement illustrates an all too common and backward understanding of the commandments. God is not standing at the judgment bar looking for a reason to hit the trap door switch. He loves us. He created this Earth for us to learn how to master ourselves.  If we fail to do so, how can he endow us with even greater freedom and power that comes in the next life? It would be a disaster.  So, it is not that he will send us to hell for smoking, it is that we will not have learned the nessessary self control that we need to handle even greater things.

This Earth is the clean people show. He sent us here armed with the commandments to learn how to master ourselves and become clean people; so that we can return to live with him in his clean house. You must view the commandments of God as a gift; a tool to teach us how to become a clean people. Not a reason to condemn us.

I love and respect our Christian brothers and sisters, but to say that we need only confess Jesus to be saved is like taking messy people, cleaning their house and then returning them as if it was the house’s fault. In such a scenario it is the house that was cleansed not the person.

3 Nephi 27:19 And no unclean thing can enter into his kingdom; therefore nothing entereth into his rest save it be those who have washed their garments in my blood, because of their faith, and the repentance of all their sins, and their faithfulness unto the end.

Pornography

A few months ago, I was lying in an uncomfortable chair staring at the needle lying on a table next to my podiatrist. Before injecting my foot, he sprayed the area with a very cold solution. Out of a pure need to talk, I mentioned to him how interesting I thought it was that the solution was so cold that in numbs the skin. “Actually” he said, “it is nothing like that.” As he pushed the tiny needle painlessly into my skin he explained that you can only feel one thing at a time. That is why, if you overwhelm a small area of skin with a cold sensation, you don’t feel the needle go in; you just feel the cold.

I believe this is how our spirits work as well. You can only feel one thing at a time.

It may seem harmless to engage in a little pornography. But, it is hard to notice what you’re not feeling. The whisperings of the spirit are tiny, like the needle on a syringe. Pornography overwhelms your spirit to the point that you cannot feel anything else. Those tiny pricks of the spirit grow less and less noticeable as you develop an appetite for the cold and without realizing it, your whole spirit settles into a deep freeze.

Alma 5:57 And now I say unto you, all you that are desirous to follow the voice of the good shepherd, come ye out from the wicked, and be ye separate, and touch not their unclean things…

Moroni 9:20 …Behold, thou knowest the wickedness of this people; thou knowest that they are without principle, and past feeling; and their wickedness doth exceed that of the Lamanites.

A true testimony is an island

I often hear uplifting stories in Sacrament Meeting about a child who was healed or a person that got a good job. I am grateful for these stories. However, these testimonies often end with, “…and so I know the church is true.”

This statement always makes me uncomfortable. Because if you follow that logic through, it means that if you didn’t get the job or your child wasn’t healed, then the church is not true.

I believe that a true testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ must be an island. It must stand on its own foundation, independent of the individual circumstances of your life. I have visited many less active members who, when asked why they stopped coming to church, also list an event as the reason for their lack of testimony.

Individual events in your life should be a source of gratitude, not knowledge that the Gospel is true. Otherwise, your testimony will blow in whichever direction the circumstances of your life dictate.

Two months ago a woman, whose son had died the night before in a car accident, stood in church and bore her testimony that the Gospel is true and that her son is in a better place. As I listened, I knew that her testimony was not built on an event. Her testimony is an island, independent of individual circumstances.

Matthew 5:45 …for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

Leaning against the church

When I go to the gym, there are always a couple of people leaning against the machines talking to their friends. They are in that same position when I leave an hour later. It doesn’t bother me and I have never thought much of it. But a few days ago I got off my machine (exhausted) and I walked past one of them just in time to hear him say that he doesn’t understand why he is not losing any weight when he comes to the gym every day. I almost tripped on myself when I heard him say that. Apparently he felt that just being in the gym counted whether he exercised or not.

As I drove home, I couldn’t help thinking about the danger in coming here to Earth and spending our time "leaning" against the Church. Not really doing much of anything unless we are asked to; but, assuming that since we show up to church each week that we are secured a place in heaven.

Matthew 3:9 says, “And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.” Jesus said this because Abraham was promised by the Lord that he would have children who would inherit eternity. Because of that promise, some of the literal descendants of Abraham, alive at that time, assumed they were assured eternal salvation for nothing more than their lineage. Jesus' point was that just being a descendant of Abraham will not secure your place in heaven.

Just like the socializers at the gym and the literal descendants of Abraham; showing up to church each week alone is not enough to get you into heaven. You must actively participate in your own salvation.

Matthew 7:21 Not everyone 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.

Coming Soon: Think.Feel.Share.