For many, the belief that God is a loving Father seems to suggest He ought to save all His children, regardless of their choices during their lifetime. They find it hard to see a loving Father as one who will deny his children any of his blessings or eternity with Him. Let’s look at how the gospel works to see why it is not possible for God to return everyone to His presence.
First, we need to examine what is meant by the word “saved,” which differs from religion to religion. Since I am writing as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose members are sometimes called Mormons, I will give you our definition of the term. It may surprise some to find out Mormons do believe in being saved by grace. We do, but it may not mean exactly what you mean by the term. Once we understand what it means to be saved and why we were born in the first place, we can begin to understand why God can’t save you regardless of your choices.
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(2 Nephi 25:23).
Grace, to a Mormon, is the result of the mission of Jesus Christ. None of us are able to live a sinless life, and therefore, if only the law were used to judge us, we would be unable to be saved. However, Jesus Christ voluntarily came to earth, lived a sinless life, which he could do because He had a divine father, and then took our sins on Himself in the Garden of Gethsemane. He died on the cross for us, overcoming death when he was resurrected. This voluntary sacrifice allowed us to also overcome death and to live forever. It made it possible for us to repent if we sin, which means we can be forgiven and we can return home to God without being perfect every moment of our lives. Grace is an extraordinary gift, and it is one we could not possibly give ourselves. It comes only through Jesus Christ, because no one else meets the requirements for the role of Savior.
Most people who love God want more than to just live forever, however. They want to live forever with God. This is called exaltation and it requires a little more than just existing. Everyone who has ever or will ever live on earth will live forever, but only a few will be able to live with God in His presence. What is required to be exalted? Once we understand that, we can look at why God doesn’t just automatically save everyone.
There are some who say that no acts of any kind are required to be saved—that grace alone is sufficient. Interestingly, however, these same people will say you must accept Jesus Christ as your Savior to be saved. Doing so is, of course, an act. The discussion is really, then, not about whether acts are required, but about how many acts are required and what they are. Some also say you must be baptized in order to be saved—in fact, the Bible says this also. Baptism is an act.
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned (Mark 16:16), Jesus told his disciples.
So we see that both faith and baptism are required to be saved—both of which are acts that must be deliberately taken by the person wishing to be saved, if to be saved is to be exalted. What else does the Bible say we must do to return to God’s presence?
“Not every one 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” (Matthew 7:21).
This, then, is where the Book of Mormon scripture quoted early in this article comes in:
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(2 Nephi 25:23).
Now we can look at the scripture and find out what it means. Then we are ready to understand why God can’t just bend this rule and let us all in. Mormons believe that only through Jesus Christ can a person be saved. We could not have saved ourselves because we could not have lived perfectly. If Jesus Christ had not atoned for our sins, we would have been unable to repent. Why would this matter?
Imagine Heaven for a moment. What do you picture? While we don’t know a great deal about how life will work there, we do know it will be a safe and spiritual place, where everyone loves God and shares the same values. We will all have the same goals and the same moral lifestyle. If this were not true, it would be just a continuation of life on earth, with its stresses, crimes, cruelty, and unhappiness. When we die, we take with us what is in our hearts and minds—in other words, we will still be ourselves. We will be the person we have chosen to become during our lifetime. This is the person who will live in Heaven. In order for God’s personal kingdom to be one of joy, peace, and love, all who live there must share the same vision for life and must have already learned to live that way.
Mormons do not believe all people can divided into two categories—good and evil. As we look around us on earth, we see people approach morality at many different levels. In the Bible, Jesus told his disciples that in Heaven there were many mansions. This means there is not just one place for those who are not entirely wicked. While Mormons believe a very few of the very worst—those who have a sure knowledge of Christ (one who received a personal visit from Christ, perhaps) and later deny Him, for instance—will be forced to live with Satan for eternity. Most however, will be allowed to live in a kingdom accessible to visits from Jesus Christ and where they will be happier than they have ever been. However, only those with the highest level of obedience and faith—because our level of obedience done for the right reasons—are a demonstration of our faith—will be able to live in God’s presence. This kingdom is reserved only for those who are Christ-like in their hearts and who have committed to put God first.
All of us have agency. This is the right to choose. It was given to us from the moment we were created and even Adam and Eve had a tree placed right in the center of the Garden of Eden, where they could see it every day. The decision as to whether or not to partake of the tree was theirs. The consequences of their choice, however, was not up to them. God is always truthful, always dependable. He always obeys the laws. We committed before coming to earth to a set of guidelines concerning our lives here on earth.
Mormons believe we lived with God as spirits prior to coming to earth. “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5). During this time, God told us about our lives on earth. We were allowed to choose whether to accept Jesus Christ as our Savior—a necessity in order to come to Earth—or to reject Him, in which case we would be denied life on earth and would have to live out eternity with Satan. One-third chose Satan. Anyone who has ever lived on Earth chose Jesus Christ. Part of the plan we agreed to involved having agency. We would not remember our previous life and would have to find truth on our own. We would have the Holy Ghost to prompt us if we were willing to listen to those promptings. We understood that some of us would reject the truth or refuse to live the life He taught us to live, and would not be allowed to return home. We accepted these terms.
We understand that good parents must let their children suffer the consequences of their choices, even when those choices cause pain and suffering. God is a perfect parent. He does everything in His power to help us make the right choices and is always there when we need Him. However, in the end, the choice is ours to make.
We might say, then, that God does save everyone, but only if they are willing to be saved by humbly seeking truth and accepting it, even if they find it where they did not expect it to be. They must be willing to pray and ask God to confirm what they think might be the truth and then to act on the answer He gives us.
God trusts us. Now it’s up to us to live up to that trust.
The late Terrie Lynn Bittner—beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and friend—was the author of two homeschooling books and numerous articles, including several that appeared in Latter-day Saint magazines. She became a member of the Church at the age of 17 and began sharing her faith online in 1992.
