A message for members of the LDS church who believe spirits in the afterlife can still repent and then come into God’s presence to stay:
The Book of Mormon says otherwise.
Nowhere in the Book of Mormon is works for the dead taught. Moroni 8:22-23 calls it “Mockery before God.”
Alma 42:13 says repentance needs to happen in this life, or mercy would destroy justice.
Alma 34:32-34 says that this life is the appointed time for men to prepare to meet God—this life is the day of our probation; and that “the same spirit which possesses our bodies at the time we go out of this mortal life shall have power to possess our bodies in that eternal world.”
So if someone did not use their time in this life to “prepare to meet God”—if they did not experience remorse and seek God’s forgiveness—why would they do so in the next life? They’re the same spirit with the same desires and personality.
Read this entire sermon by Alma in context — the reason he is talking about being the same person is in order to convey this point.
So then what? What about everyone who didn’t know about Jesus?
In this video, we learn that all of us have a conscience. All of us know we have done wrong. If a person turns to God for forgiveness, I believe He forgives. Maybe they don’t need the Bible—it’s already written on their heart. Maybe they don’t need to know the name of Jesus in order to ask God for forgiveness. Jesus made it possible, yes, but do they need to know the name of their Savior? They recognize it is God in some form. Because intuitively, we know that.
The only argument left is if you think these people who died without Christianity still need a physical baptism. That’s what the LDS church provides.
However, Moroni 8:22-23 tells us baptism for those who died without the law is putting trust in dead works and denying the mercies of Christ.
Non-denominational Christians now teach that baptism is not essential for salvation. If you look at King Benjamin’s and Abinadi’s sermons, you’ll see the instructions for salvation all laid out but baptism is never mentioned.
Yes, Jesus told us to be baptized. Yes, baptism is important. But where does the Bible say it’s for salvation? The thief on the cross was promised paradise with his simple deathbed repentance.
Salvation happens in your heart, between you and God, with no middle man. This was the entire point of the rending of the veil at His death! We have direct access now. No man of “priesthood” necessary—that was the old covenant!
This is quite the mental shift, though, I admit, for Mormons to think Jesus might command something unrelated to salvation. To Mormons, everything is connected to salvation and all the works they do are required in one way or another for salvation. In this case, please see my post on that.
It’s been an exciting adventure for me to discover what the Bible does and doesn’t teach — and what’s been twisted or added. I hope you’ll continue learning with me!
All I Possess 