She wasn’t aware of her sinful nature and how far away from God her religion had taken her. I almost felt a little sorry for her because she didn’t have a response when asked about sin, nor did she have an answer to how to give someone hope for their salvation.
Watching the video reminded me of how I felt about sin as a Mormon. At the time I never believed I was a sinner. Sin was this horrible thing someone committed such as adultery, murder, or homosexuality. Lying, stealing, or bearing false witness were mere transgressions. As a Mormon, I had a very unbiblical view of sin. Like the young woman in the video, I believed that because I was a member of the Mormon Church I was already saved.
Even going back to Adam and Eve, Mormons are taught what they did wasn’t a sin, but just a transgression. I was taught –
“We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression.” (2nd Article of Faith)
Their 3rd Article of Faith goes with the second, it states –
“We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.”
In the October 1993 General Conference, Dallin H. Oaks said –
“Some acts, like murder, are crimes because they are inherently wrong. Other acts, like operating without a license, are crimes only because they are legally prohibited. Under these distinctions, the act that produced the Fall was not a sin—inherently wrong—but a transgression—wrong because it was formally prohibited. These words are not always used to denote something different, but this distinction seems meaningful in the circumstances of the Fall.” Elder Dallin H. Oaks – General Conference October 1993
As a Mormon, I was taught that we didn’t believe what Adam and Eve did to be a sin because it was a necessary part of the Mormon god’s plan to bring his spirit children to earth.
Back then I didn’t think much about my sin. I thought that because I was staying true to the things required to hold a temple recommend, I was righteous in God’s sight.
In the video, Ray asked her what she would say to someone who’s about to die and is afraid of where they will go. She didn’t have an answer and as a Mormon, I wouldn’t have either. Mormons hate the idea of “deathbed confessions”. It leaves no room for their 7-step repentance process.
Which is –
We Must Recognize Our Sins. To repent, we must admit to ourselves that we have sinned.
We Must Feel Sorrow for Our Sins.
We Must Forsake Our Sins.
We Must Confess Our Sins.
We Must Make Restitution.
We Must Forgive Others.
We Must Keep the Commandments of God.
Like the Mormon in the video, if someone had asked me what they had to do to receive eternal life I might have been a little confused by the question as well. Since there is no biblical hell in Mormon doctrine, they have no concept of what being sent to hell means. In their belief system, every person who has lived is sent to a level of heaven. This of course is based on the kind of person they were in this life.
The biblical truth of being saved after nothing we do sounds like heresy to Mormons. They don’t truly understand how much God loves us and the beautiful gift of grace. As my favorite hymn goes “Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe”. He truly did pay it all for us, without him we would have no hope of salvation. Join me in prayer for this young woman. I hope she comes to know the real Jesus Christ.
In Christ,
Melissa Grimes
References –
Mormon Exposed by One Simple Question