Ensign, ‘What Think Ye of Christ?’, November 1988 “Man unquestionably has impressive powers… But after all our obedience and good works, we cannot be saved from the effects of our sins without the grace extended by the atonement of Jesus Christ… Man cannot earn his own salvation.” — Dallin H. Oaks
Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
The words of this man are a far cry from the topic we posted on yesterday. Mormonism is a works based salvation so this makes Oaks’ talk a lie. How sad for those who’ve trusted him, and the countless other teachers who’ve led members down the wrong path.
Furthermore, the question begs to be asked … what about Joseph Smith’s inspired canon? The verse listed below shows the ambiguity in the teachings of Mormonism.
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.”
My heart is sad for Mr. Oaks, and all their leaders. It’s a sad day when they’ve already rejected the truth, and then knowingly lied, or they still haven’t opened their hearts to Jesus. In either scenario, the lies still persist. Please, pray for the leaders, and especially for those who are ensnared in the mess.
With Love in Christ;
Michelle
How sad and confusing. To be fair though, some Christians struggle with this too. But the difference is we may struggle with it, but know that we can never be perfect and feel we can somehow merit our salvation.
If you believe there is anything you can do to save yourself, then you are denying Christ and don’t need a Savior.
If we are capable of being perfect and sinless on our own, then why did God send Jesus. Another way to better understand is, if we never got sick or hurt, there would be no need for doctors.
Praise God for our Lord and Savior.
[…] Lastly beloved, the LDS reference today contradicts our post a couple of days ago where we noted Dallin Oaks‘ teaching that man can’t earn […]