I sat in the back of the lecture hall, only mildly interested in what I suspected was about to be a long-winded monologue on a subject that held little relevance to me personally.
If I remember correctly, it was a guest speaker in a career series course I was taking at BYU. The class emphasis was careers for political scientists like me who haven't ever considered how to use our unusual affinity for thinking to actual make a living. Or maybe I just needed an easy A -- calculating the benefit of maintaining my full-ride scholarship and avoiding student debt.
No matter the reason, I had subjected myself to a class of lectures. Again if I remember right, the guest was a political theorist. But what surprised me, was the direction he took. He had hardly even began the discourse when suddenly, he started talking about Mormons.
This isn't entirely unusual. When visiting BYU, speakers often like to comment on some sort of interaction they've had with Mormons in the past--a way to try and connect with their audience. But this time it was different, because political theorists see people and the world differently. And I was drawn in to his sudden confession.
"I flatter myself that I have been able to stump a lot of students on the question of religion." He made some statement of the like to begin. "And I will never forget the time I first learned about Mormonism. I had a student who was Mormon in one of my classes. I had been lecturing on the inherent weaknesses in Christianity's claims to an unlimited, singular, abstract God. Then suddenly, the Mormon student raised his hand and questioned,
'But what would you say to the idea of a limited, plural, and physical God?'"
The speaker confessed that he was taken aback. Mainstream Christianity would not make such a claim, and the very possibility that a branch of it could be espousing something so bold intrigued him. I believe he ended up having lunch with the student later and discussing in detail the beliefs of the Mormons.
No, he didn't become Mormon of course, but he did admit that he was impressed with the solidity of Mormon doctrine, with its depth and metaphysical competence while still being determined in its inherent reliance upon spirituality and faith.
My mind lit up with excitement at what he'd just done. I had never before considered the difference between Mormonism and mainstream Christianity in such stark terms before. I have made it a point at some points of my life to better grasp the mentality of mainstream Christianity so as to rightly compare it. There are deep-running and significant similarities. Indeed Mormonism itself espouses the idea that truth is always of God and therefore pockets of truth can be found in various religions and ideologies throughout the world and represent part of God's whole.
But anyone who knows Mormons also knows that this does not mean we aren't vocal in our determination that we are the only faith that maintains a monopoly on the truth and that salvation carries with it the necessity of accepting the full truth in order to retain the full blessings.
But I digress. The point, then, is that as a Mormon I have been confronted with a number of heated opinions from varying sects indicating that my beliefs are unchristian, heretic, or cult-like. And while I do intend to confess the differences, I have found that most of the complaints hail from misconceptions on points to which Mormons actually concur in regards to mainstream Christianity. So using the backdrop of the above story, which of course already highlights a significant difference, I ask only for the opportunity to explain them in a way that might shed more truth on the very Christian and non-cultist views of Mormonism. I speak only for myself, of course, and not for the church.
It begins with a misconception:
1. Mormons do not believe in Grace. They think their works can save them.
Works cannot save us and we are aware of that. Then why is there such an emphasis on works? We talk about the necessity of attending the Temple, keeping commandments, making covenants. We talk as if we could not be saved without such works. I think the point for Mormons is that we couldn't be saved with those works were it not for Christ's ultimate sacrifice and Atonement. So what is the point of them?
The truth is actualized in the following statement, quite different from the first:
2. Mormon Grace is about "becoming."
This point is where Mormonism diverges. It is central to our doctrine and faith that our purpose is more than just to live again with God. Instead, we believe that as literal children of God, his intention for us is to become like Him. To learn, grow, improve, and progress towards Godhood. The usage of the term "Godhood" often causes blatant rejection and outright condemnation. It is perhaps a deeper ground for accusations of blasphemy. I promise to explain it more simply, so as to perhaps appease some of these demands. But for the present moment, the point is that this understanding shapes the application of Grace. We are not presupposed to believe that we will be saved to a static state of eternal existence without progression. Rather, our understanding of being truly saved is to not only rise from the dead with perfected, resurrected bodies to dwell in the presence of God, but also to use the knowledge and experience gained on Earth to continually progress after this life and to become like God--this with our families.
To "glorify" God means to live so as to fulfill his divine purposes. God is glorified as our lives glorify Him. This is done through our efforts to become as He is, since this is the purpose of our creation. But it is only through His plan and Grace that this is made possible.
Being imperfect beings, we are incapable of making the necessary improvements or becoming anything except servants to the devil. We rely on the Grace of Christ not only to receive remission of sins, but also to receive the strength necessary to BECOME something better, a process that would have been impossible through our own merits. Thus there is a redeeming and enabling aspect to God's grace.
The same church leader stated, "Our obedience to God’s commandments comes as a natural outgrowth of our endless love and gratitude for the goodness of God. This form of genuine love and gratitude will miraculously merge our works with God’s grace. "
With our love and His grace thus merged, we are enabled to become new creatures in Christ, to grow towards a state of perfection in Him. This could not be done of our own merits. It needs to be emphasized that the motivation for such a process of becoming is our love for God and our desire to serve Him. But it is also a part of His purposes that His grace not only saves, but also refines. That process of becoming is dependent on the merging of action and faith--both of which are dependent on Grace and the Atonement of Christ.
Our understanding of eternal life is a process of becoming like God. This inherently leads to an amplified understanding of the application of Grace. But it does not deny or ignore it. Rather it relies upon it.
And this leads to the final point:
3. God is plural, limited, physical being.
Quite simply stated, we believe that God is bound by eternal laws that have always existed and always will. How then could He be omnipotent or omniscient? It is the pure and perfect knowledge of eternal laws that allows God a perfect and full power over the elements. It is His perfect understanding that lends itself to His omnipotence. We believe in laws that are "above" God, meaning only that His knowledge of and compliance with eternity results in His absolute perfection and power. He acts in accordance with truth and cannot stray from this or else He would cease to be God--this because the very fact that He is God implies that He is in perfect harmony with truth. He is completely trustworthy and powerful for His very designation as a "God" requires it to be so.
To take it a step further, this means that each commandment and law He has given to us is already eternally affixed with a consequence and result that will shape us. By way of example, we do not believe that God invented ideas of justice or chastity merely to fit his ideals of truth, but that they represent eternal truths with eternal consequence that He perfectly comprehends. Chastity will always result in greater purity, cleanliness, and peace of mind--not because God wills it, but because that is the eternal truth. God commands it for our benefit because the process of becoming like God requires that we too live in accordance with eternal law--that is the very nature of Godhood. We must live in accordance with eternal truth. This has the interesting effect of turning all laws into blessings, purposed for our advancement and progression--once again in keeping with Mormonism's ideas of eternal life and its application of Grace.
Furthermore, Mormons, in striking contrast to most other faiths, actually believe that God is not the only God. We are not implying some sort of mistake in the 10 commandments. For certainly the only God of this world to be worshiped is the very God of the scriptures. Rather, the idea of plurality is that God was also once a man. That He has a story, lived a life, and attained perfection. Then He continued to progress, desiring the same blessings upon His children that He once attained.
I do not desire to expound upon this final point here as I have highlighted enough of a difference for my present purpose, and because this is a doctrinal point that is less publicized and has not been revealed in its fullness (Mormons believe in continuous revelation). But it is sufficient to note that all the doctrines of Mormonism suggest that progression, Godhood, mortality, eternal families, laws, commandments, truth, Grace, repentance, faith, and the Atonement are inherently and eternally combined and connected as apart of one great truth. Our ideas of Grace are often misunderstood because most do not delve into the depth of Mormon doctrine to see the inherent connections of all aspects of our faith.
Conclusion:
This fundamental difference, if you will allow, may still be seen as heretic by some Christians. But it is not because we are somehow diminishing the central role of grace or of Christ in our lives. It is not because we somehow think that salvation and being saved could come of our own merits. We are the most avid of Christians in that regard. We are wholly and entirely aware of our absolute nothingness without Him. We see ourselves as inherently carnal, damned, and purposeless without Christ. This is understood and accepted. That is also why in most cases we can (and many do) listen to Christian music with approval and spirituality, because we recognize the unity of our understanding--we all need Grace to be saved.
The difference is our understanding of God. It is everything that was represented in the initial story and in the third point above. It is the belief that we are actually a part of a plan of never-ending progression intended to refine us into beings worthy not only of the presence of God but of the opportunity to find a joy equal to His by becoming as He is. That His could be the only path of fulfillment and joy necessitates a measure of works because it is ACTION that lends itself to our becoming. And it is our own incapacity to act correctly that warrants our need for Grace's strengthening and ennobling power. Indeed we could not BECOME had he not given us the very means, strength, and power to do so. But "becoming" implies works because by the very nature of laws itself there could be no progression were there no actions. In that regard, there could be no progression for mankind, were we not enabled by God's grace to act towards our progression. We still rely on Grace to be saved, but Mormonism lends meaning to action/works without denigrating the significance and necessity of Grace. Works are seen as purposeful to God's plan for us, not as a tool of our salvation.
None of this denies Grace. None of it denies the powerful and overwhelming sacrifice that is Christ's Atonement. It is a sacrifice which makes possible the conditions of our repentance and progression.
Other Christian sects may indeed acknowledge that we have deep, fundamental differences. Ours is a limited God whose purpose and glory is our becoming, and therefore, the refinement of our perfection in Christ. I realize this is quite striking in its audacity. But the hope is that other Christians would at least give us credit for allowing this basis of doctrine to enhance our deep gratitude for and reliance on Christ's life, death, and resurrection--the Atonement. It gives us purpose and meaning. For without the Atonement, there could have been no advancement, no progression, no perfection, and all would be lost, fallen, and damned. What it means, is that with no requirement or mandate, Christ volunteered to provide a way for us to grow and become, to find joy and peace. and to live again in the presence of God. It means the trials, frustrations of life, and abuses of agency by other parties are not only all healed in Christ, but become methods of our perfection and refinement through His grace. Everything has a purpose. Everything has meaning.
That is what we believe as Christians. That Christ is our Savior and that He is the only way to our Salvation and Exaltation (a term more specifically applied to becoming like God) is an inseparable part of our faith. Putting aside the disputes on other points of doctrines, in the end it means that the term "Christian" is one that we prefer to gratefully apply to ourselves. We are Christians. But we are also believers in a separate, loving God, or Heavenly Father--a literal Father of our Spirits, who created us with the very intent that His children could become as He is. That is the first point that we teach and declare. We are children of a Heavenly Father who loves us and has prepared a plan for us through His Son Jesus Christ that we might attain a fullness of joy. That joy is the attainment of becoming--a goal advanced only through the Atonement of Christ. For this, the doctrine of our church is more accurately represented in the complete form of our church's name:
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
If I remember correctly, it was a guest speaker in a career series course I was taking at BYU. The class emphasis was careers for political scientists like me who haven't ever considered how to use our unusual affinity for thinking to actual make a living. Or maybe I just needed an easy A -- calculating the benefit of maintaining my full-ride scholarship and avoiding student debt.
No matter the reason, I had subjected myself to a class of lectures. Again if I remember right, the guest was a political theorist. But what surprised me, was the direction he took. He had hardly even began the discourse when suddenly, he started talking about Mormons.
This isn't entirely unusual. When visiting BYU, speakers often like to comment on some sort of interaction they've had with Mormons in the past--a way to try and connect with their audience. But this time it was different, because political theorists see people and the world differently. And I was drawn in to his sudden confession.
"I flatter myself that I have been able to stump a lot of students on the question of religion." He made some statement of the like to begin. "And I will never forget the time I first learned about Mormonism. I had a student who was Mormon in one of my classes. I had been lecturing on the inherent weaknesses in Christianity's claims to an unlimited, singular, abstract God. Then suddenly, the Mormon student raised his hand and questioned,
'But what would you say to the idea of a limited, plural, and physical God?'"
The speaker confessed that he was taken aback. Mainstream Christianity would not make such a claim, and the very possibility that a branch of it could be espousing something so bold intrigued him. I believe he ended up having lunch with the student later and discussing in detail the beliefs of the Mormons.
No, he didn't become Mormon of course, but he did admit that he was impressed with the solidity of Mormon doctrine, with its depth and metaphysical competence while still being determined in its inherent reliance upon spirituality and faith.
My mind lit up with excitement at what he'd just done. I had never before considered the difference between Mormonism and mainstream Christianity in such stark terms before. I have made it a point at some points of my life to better grasp the mentality of mainstream Christianity so as to rightly compare it. There are deep-running and significant similarities. Indeed Mormonism itself espouses the idea that truth is always of God and therefore pockets of truth can be found in various religions and ideologies throughout the world and represent part of God's whole.
But anyone who knows Mormons also knows that this does not mean we aren't vocal in our determination that we are the only faith that maintains a monopoly on the truth and that salvation carries with it the necessity of accepting the full truth in order to retain the full blessings.
But I digress. The point, then, is that as a Mormon I have been confronted with a number of heated opinions from varying sects indicating that my beliefs are unchristian, heretic, or cult-like. And while I do intend to confess the differences, I have found that most of the complaints hail from misconceptions on points to which Mormons actually concur in regards to mainstream Christianity. So using the backdrop of the above story, which of course already highlights a significant difference, I ask only for the opportunity to explain them in a way that might shed more truth on the very Christian and non-cultist views of Mormonism. I speak only for myself, of course, and not for the church.
It begins with a misconception:
1. Mormons do not believe in Grace. They think their works can save them.
False. It has taken some time for me to study my own faith enough to provide a more accurate response. But in a recent speech given by one of the leaders of our Church, the statement was made,
"Even if we were to serve God
with our whole souls, it is not enough, for we would still be 'unprofitable
servants.' We cannot earn our way into heaven; the demands of
justice stand as a barrier, which we are powerless to overcome on our own...Salvation cannot be bought
with the currency of obedience; it is purchased by the blood of the Son of God...." (Dieter F. Uchtdorf, April 2015).
“And
moreover, I say unto you, that asalvation doth
not come by the blaw alone;
and were it not for the catonement, which God himself shall make for the sins and
iniquities of his people, that they must unavoidably perish, (Mosiah 13:28)."
Works cannot save us and we are aware of that. Then why is there such an emphasis on works? We talk about the necessity of attending the Temple, keeping commandments, making covenants. We talk as if we could not be saved without such works. I think the point for Mormons is that we couldn't be saved with those works were it not for Christ's ultimate sacrifice and Atonement. So what is the point of them?
The truth is actualized in the following statement, quite different from the first:
2. Mormon Grace is about "becoming."
This point is where Mormonism diverges. It is central to our doctrine and faith that our purpose is more than just to live again with God. Instead, we believe that as literal children of God, his intention for us is to become like Him. To learn, grow, improve, and progress towards Godhood. The usage of the term "Godhood" often causes blatant rejection and outright condemnation. It is perhaps a deeper ground for accusations of blasphemy. I promise to explain it more simply, so as to perhaps appease some of these demands. But for the present moment, the point is that this understanding shapes the application of Grace. We are not presupposed to believe that we will be saved to a static state of eternal existence without progression. Rather, our understanding of being truly saved is to not only rise from the dead with perfected, resurrected bodies to dwell in the presence of God, but also to use the knowledge and experience gained on Earth to continually progress after this life and to become like God--this with our families.
To "glorify" God means to live so as to fulfill his divine purposes. God is glorified as our lives glorify Him. This is done through our efforts to become as He is, since this is the purpose of our creation. But it is only through His plan and Grace that this is made possible.
Being imperfect beings, we are incapable of making the necessary improvements or becoming anything except servants to the devil. We rely on the Grace of Christ not only to receive remission of sins, but also to receive the strength necessary to BECOME something better, a process that would have been impossible through our own merits. Thus there is a redeeming and enabling aspect to God's grace.
The same church leader stated, "Our obedience to God’s commandments comes as a natural outgrowth of our endless love and gratitude for the goodness of God. This form of genuine love and gratitude will miraculously merge our works with God’s grace. "
With our love and His grace thus merged, we are enabled to become new creatures in Christ, to grow towards a state of perfection in Him. This could not be done of our own merits. It needs to be emphasized that the motivation for such a process of becoming is our love for God and our desire to serve Him. But it is also a part of His purposes that His grace not only saves, but also refines. That process of becoming is dependent on the merging of action and faith--both of which are dependent on Grace and the Atonement of Christ.
Our understanding of eternal life is a process of becoming like God. This inherently leads to an amplified understanding of the application of Grace. But it does not deny or ignore it. Rather it relies upon it.
And this leads to the final point:
3. God is plural, limited, physical being.
Quite simply stated, we believe that God is bound by eternal laws that have always existed and always will. How then could He be omnipotent or omniscient? It is the pure and perfect knowledge of eternal laws that allows God a perfect and full power over the elements. It is His perfect understanding that lends itself to His omnipotence. We believe in laws that are "above" God, meaning only that His knowledge of and compliance with eternity results in His absolute perfection and power. He acts in accordance with truth and cannot stray from this or else He would cease to be God--this because the very fact that He is God implies that He is in perfect harmony with truth. He is completely trustworthy and powerful for His very designation as a "God" requires it to be so.
To take it a step further, this means that each commandment and law He has given to us is already eternally affixed with a consequence and result that will shape us. By way of example, we do not believe that God invented ideas of justice or chastity merely to fit his ideals of truth, but that they represent eternal truths with eternal consequence that He perfectly comprehends. Chastity will always result in greater purity, cleanliness, and peace of mind--not because God wills it, but because that is the eternal truth. God commands it for our benefit because the process of becoming like God requires that we too live in accordance with eternal law--that is the very nature of Godhood. We must live in accordance with eternal truth. This has the interesting effect of turning all laws into blessings, purposed for our advancement and progression--once again in keeping with Mormonism's ideas of eternal life and its application of Grace.
Furthermore, Mormons, in striking contrast to most other faiths, actually believe that God is not the only God. We are not implying some sort of mistake in the 10 commandments. For certainly the only God of this world to be worshiped is the very God of the scriptures. Rather, the idea of plurality is that God was also once a man. That He has a story, lived a life, and attained perfection. Then He continued to progress, desiring the same blessings upon His children that He once attained.
I do not desire to expound upon this final point here as I have highlighted enough of a difference for my present purpose, and because this is a doctrinal point that is less publicized and has not been revealed in its fullness (Mormons believe in continuous revelation). But it is sufficient to note that all the doctrines of Mormonism suggest that progression, Godhood, mortality, eternal families, laws, commandments, truth, Grace, repentance, faith, and the Atonement are inherently and eternally combined and connected as apart of one great truth. Our ideas of Grace are often misunderstood because most do not delve into the depth of Mormon doctrine to see the inherent connections of all aspects of our faith.
Conclusion:
This fundamental difference, if you will allow, may still be seen as heretic by some Christians. But it is not because we are somehow diminishing the central role of grace or of Christ in our lives. It is not because we somehow think that salvation and being saved could come of our own merits. We are the most avid of Christians in that regard. We are wholly and entirely aware of our absolute nothingness without Him. We see ourselves as inherently carnal, damned, and purposeless without Christ. This is understood and accepted. That is also why in most cases we can (and many do) listen to Christian music with approval and spirituality, because we recognize the unity of our understanding--we all need Grace to be saved.
The difference is our understanding of God. It is everything that was represented in the initial story and in the third point above. It is the belief that we are actually a part of a plan of never-ending progression intended to refine us into beings worthy not only of the presence of God but of the opportunity to find a joy equal to His by becoming as He is. That His could be the only path of fulfillment and joy necessitates a measure of works because it is ACTION that lends itself to our becoming. And it is our own incapacity to act correctly that warrants our need for Grace's strengthening and ennobling power. Indeed we could not BECOME had he not given us the very means, strength, and power to do so. But "becoming" implies works because by the very nature of laws itself there could be no progression were there no actions. In that regard, there could be no progression for mankind, were we not enabled by God's grace to act towards our progression. We still rely on Grace to be saved, but Mormonism lends meaning to action/works without denigrating the significance and necessity of Grace. Works are seen as purposeful to God's plan for us, not as a tool of our salvation.
None of this denies Grace. None of it denies the powerful and overwhelming sacrifice that is Christ's Atonement. It is a sacrifice which makes possible the conditions of our repentance and progression.
Other Christian sects may indeed acknowledge that we have deep, fundamental differences. Ours is a limited God whose purpose and glory is our becoming, and therefore, the refinement of our perfection in Christ. I realize this is quite striking in its audacity. But the hope is that other Christians would at least give us credit for allowing this basis of doctrine to enhance our deep gratitude for and reliance on Christ's life, death, and resurrection--the Atonement. It gives us purpose and meaning. For without the Atonement, there could have been no advancement, no progression, no perfection, and all would be lost, fallen, and damned. What it means, is that with no requirement or mandate, Christ volunteered to provide a way for us to grow and become, to find joy and peace. and to live again in the presence of God. It means the trials, frustrations of life, and abuses of agency by other parties are not only all healed in Christ, but become methods of our perfection and refinement through His grace. Everything has a purpose. Everything has meaning.
That is what we believe as Christians. That Christ is our Savior and that He is the only way to our Salvation and Exaltation (a term more specifically applied to becoming like God) is an inseparable part of our faith. Putting aside the disputes on other points of doctrines, in the end it means that the term "Christian" is one that we prefer to gratefully apply to ourselves. We are Christians. But we are also believers in a separate, loving God, or Heavenly Father--a literal Father of our Spirits, who created us with the very intent that His children could become as He is. That is the first point that we teach and declare. We are children of a Heavenly Father who loves us and has prepared a plan for us through His Son Jesus Christ that we might attain a fullness of joy. That joy is the attainment of becoming--a goal advanced only through the Atonement of Christ. For this, the doctrine of our church is more accurately represented in the complete form of our church's name:
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
Great points Sandra. Of course for another time you could also expound more upon another facet of grace, which is the power it has to comfort, bless and succor those in grief and sorrow, which sorrows are unconnected with sin. Grace has many facets; salvation, sanctification (becoming) and healing of our ills, (sin based or not). Interestingly the modern popular concept of cheap grace, which amounts to nothing more than spiritual socialism, ignores the inescapable fact that "confession" is a work. So the real issue is not works versus grace, but to what extent works play a part in process, and your outline above is right on point and supported by numerous Bible scriptures. BTW I have found that those who cry "cult" act in unison and harmony with the Pharisees in Jesus day, who as the "established religion" saw Jesus as possessed and his followers as a cult.
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