What does The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Believe?

[Mattel]

Okay. So before I start, I would just like to say that I am a firm believer in what I view as the traditional Christian Religion, and am not a member of the LDS church. I will not say that I do not have doubts in my religion, because faith requires doubt, but I want to make it clear that I am not seeking evangelism or conversion. I am merely curious to learn about a religion, and this particular world on the internet has a lot of y'all, so this seemed like as good a place as any to find information. 

So with that out of the way:

What can you all tell me about your faith? 

What do you believe about the nature of God? Do you believe in one God?

What about Jesus? Do you believe that he was fully man and fully God? That he died and was resurrected?

What is it that separates you from other views on Christianity, and what is it that gives you conviction in your religion?

What are your views on Man? Like what do you believe about the inherent nature of humanity? Do you believe in original sin or a more Orthodox view of a "sickness" within all?

Where does the Church of LDS stand on the Nicene Creed? In general, all other Christians use this to recognize each other as Christians. While certain details have been picked over (*cough* the Great Schism *cough*) generally everyone agrees to this. So what are your views on this?

Quote

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father; God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God; begotten not made, one in being with the Father. Through Him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation He came down from heaven. By the power of the Holy Spirit He was born of the Virgin Mary and became man. For our sake He was crucified under Pontius Pilate. He suffered, died, and was buried. On the third day He rose again, in fulfillment of the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and His kingdom will have no end. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son He is worshipped and glorified. He has spoken through the prophets. We believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.

There are other questions that I either don't know how to phrase or don't know to ask, so if there is anything else you want to tell me that I forgot to ask, feel free.

[dezaS Hᴇ/Hɪᴍ]

This is a partial answer, since I am not the most religiously versed/eloquent Latter-Day Saint.

We believe pretty much all of that, except that God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit are 3 separate beings, one in purpose but not one in being.

• We do not believe in Original Sin, but we believe that man is naturally susceptible to the devil and has to apply effort to resist, being divine in spirit but the body bringing carnal temptation:

Quote

Mosiah 3:19 (from the Book of Mormon): For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man.

• We believe that Jesus was indeed fully man and fully God, and under the direction of God The Father he created Heaven and Earth. We believe he is our intercessor with the Father and thus we pray to the Father, in Jesus' name ("via Jesus" one might put it.)
• We are separated from "mainstream Christianity" by our belief in an open canon, i. e. that God continues to reveal scripture to living prophets such as the Book of Mormon to Joseph Smith, and our belief in said prophets. 
• We believe in vicarious baptism and priesthood spiritual authority mostly through lay clergy.

[Master Silver]

Hey Mattel,

I am a U.S Army Chaplain and a Christian Pastor. I have had the privilege of discussing these very things with Morman Army chaplains. The LDS use the word God very differently than orthodox Christianity. By God, we mean an eternal uncreated being. For us God Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all equal according to His deity. Three divine persons, one divine substance. If you cannot say Jesus is equal to the Father according to His deity and begotten not made, then you are outside of the catholic (universal) Church confessed in the Apostles Creed. That is not to say someone else couldn't be correct, but it is to say that if you take away the fundamentals of the Christian faith you end up with a different religion. I would encourage you to read this Art. IV (II): Of Justification | Book of Concord and ask is that worth giving up and if so, what am I getting instead. Blessings on your study. 

[Going_North_cal]

@Master Silver

Heyo! Soon-to-be LDS Missionary here.

Minor correction: Since 2018/2019 we try to avoid being referred to as 'Mormons,' we prefer members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or as being LDS, although the former is more preferable.

When our church was founded, our first prophet Joseph Smith wrote a piece entitled the Articles of Faith. It is a 13 verse piece that encapsulates the core moral values and beliefs of the church.

Quote

1 We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.

2 We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression.

3 We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.

4 We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.

5 We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.

6 We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth.

7 We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth.

8 We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.

9 We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.

10 We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory.

11 We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.

12 We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.

13 We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.

Citation: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/pgp/a-of-f/1?lang=eng

If you have any further questions, I'd love for you to PM/DM them to me! I'm happy to answer and willing to discuss.

[Immortal Platypus]

On 1/14/2025 at 5:09 PM, Mattel said:

Okay. So before I start, I would just like to say that I am a firm believer in what I view as the traditional Christian Religion, and am not a member of the LDS church. I will not say that I do not have doubts in my religion, because faith requires doubt, but I want to make it clear that I am not seeking evangelism or conversion. I am merely curious to learn about a religion, and this particular world on the internet has a lot of y'all, so this seemed like as good a place as any to find information. 

Out of curiosity, are you non-denominational or of a specific denomination? I won't try to convert, but if it sounds like I am, it's probably because internet words and I'm passionate about my religion.

Quote

What can you all tell me about your faith? 

Like @Medium said, the Articles of Faith are a great place to start. They'll pretty much sum up the most important parts. One thing that isn't mentioned in them specifically, but is very important, is that we believe that God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are three separate individuals, which I understand is contrary to the majority of Christians.

Quote

What do you believe about the nature of God? Do you believe in one God?

As stated above, we believe that God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are three separate individuals that are united in purpose. Usually it will be the Father we are referencing when we say God, but it could be Christ. I've never heard someone use God to reference the Holy Ghost. We believe that if we live righteously, we can become as our Heavenly Father is, that is, being a God. 

Quote

What about Jesus? Do you believe that he was fully man and fully God? That he died and was resurrected?

We do believe that he died and was resurrected. I'm afraid I don't know exactly what you mean by fully man and fully God, so I'm not going to answer that.

Quote

What is it that separates you from other views on Christianity, and what is it that gives you conviction in your religion?

One of the main things that separates us is our view on the Godhead. Because we believe each member of the Godhead is a different being, some people say we believe in a "different Jesus." Obviously a big one is our different interpretation of Revelations 22:18. Many people think that that means that God's word is closed and that he will reveal no more. We believe differently. We believe that God revealed many truths to Joseph Smith, which are published in the Doctrine and Covenants, that through God's power, Joseph Smith was able to translate an ancient record which is now the Book of Mormon, and we believe in modern-day prophets who receive direct revelation through God, for the whole church. We believe that individuals can be directed of God.

As for what gives me conviction, the main factor for me is personal experiences. I've had many experiences that have helped shape my faith to what it is today. In addition to that, there are other small contributing factors, like what I've heard referred to as the "shroud of darkness." Many religions attack the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in a way that they don't do for many (or any) others. I personally look at this as Satan's influence in trying to destroy God's church.

Quote

What are your views on Man? Like what do you believe about the inherent nature of humanity? Do you believe in original sin or a more Orthodox view of a "sickness" within all?

We believe that man is punished for their own sins, not for Adam's transgression. We believe that mankind is in a fallen state, and that we are redeemed through Christ. We believe the natural man (or, mankind's desires, unmoderated by anything) is an enemy to God.

Quote

Where does the Church of LDS stand on the Nicene Creed? In general, all other Christians use this to recognize each other as Christians. While certain details have been picked over (*cough* the Great Schism *cough*) generally everyone agrees to this. So what are your views on this?

Quote

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father; God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God; begotten not made, one in being with the Father. Through Him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation He came down from heaven. By the power of the Holy Spirit He was born of the Virgin Mary and became man. For our sake He was crucified under Pontius Pilate. He suffered, died, and was buried. On the third day He rose again, in fulfillment of the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and His kingdom will have no end. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son He is worshipped and glorified. He has spoken through the prophets. We believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.

We believe that God the Father, Jesus (the Son), and the Holy Ghost are different, so we're already a little different.  We believe that we can become Gods, so we're different from most (if not all) religions. In general we agree with the Nicene Creed though.

--

Honestly, I'd say the best way to learn about our church is to read the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the talks given in our General Conference. They'll help you understand what it is we believe far better than most of us could.

[Ookla she/her]

On 1/15/2025 at 9:52 PM, Ookla the Arbiter said:

Honestly, I'd say the best way to learn about our church is to read the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the talks given in our General Conference. They'll help you understand what it is we believe far better than most of us could.

I agree. We can explain some things, but really, the best sources to go to are these (especially the Book of Mormon), and then you'll have some additional information to ask questions from.

[Keke They/he]

On 1/14/2025 at 5:09 PM, Mattel said:

What can you all tell me about your faith? 

What do you believe about the nature of God? Do you believe in one God?

What about Jesus? Do you believe that he was fully man and fully God? That he died and was resurrected?

What is it that separates you from other views on Christianity, and what is it that gives you conviction in your religion?

What are your views on Man? Like what do you believe about the inherent nature of humanity? Do you believe in original sin or a more Orthodox view of a "sickness" within all?

Where does the Church of LDS stand on the Nicene Creed? In general, all other Christians use this to recognize each other as Christians. While certain details have been picked over (*cough* the Great Schism *cough*) generally everyone agrees to this. So what are your views on this?

1. We believe in the god head,  Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost.  Heavenly Father is the spiritual father of everyone.  Jesus Christ was a spirit and Heavenly Father needed someone to go down to earth for his plan and Jesus volunteered. He became a man, when he was older he got crucified and then got resurrected and visited everyone. Including the americas, where the nephites lamanites and all the ites reside. (Book of Mormon). Holy Ghost is a spirit who you get when you get baptized. He is a guide  and comforter who helps you though life. You pray to Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus Christ and he responds though the Holy Ghost.

2. I dont know the answer to this. I asked in seminary the other day and this is what she said. There is god the father, (Heavenly Father) god the son (Jesus Christ) and god the spirit (Holy Ghost)

3 see number one

4. One thing that i see, we believe that even after death you can still be baptized. You can take names to the temple and do the temple ordenencints (dunno how to spell that) for them so they can still go to heaven after judgement day.

5. I don’t rllly understand the question

6. I dont know what that is.

i hope this helps.  

[dezaS Hᴇ/Hɪᴍ]

Coming from "standard" Nicene Christianity, to find out what our church believes I recommend reading (of course Book of Mormon and Doctrine & Covenants), but also Jesus The Christ and/or Articles of Faith by Talmage.

[LittleNipper]

Do you believe that Joseph Smith made mistakes?

[Ookla she/her]

8 hours ago, LittleNipper said:

Do you believe that Joseph Smith made mistakes?

Yes. You can read about some of the consequences of those mistakes in the book of Doctrine and Covenants.

2 hours ago, LittleNipper said:

I fully accept the Bible as GOD's Holy Word, and that absolutely speaking, the original HEBREW, GREEK, and ARAMAIC was without error. I feel that with the help of the HOLY SPIRIT that the translations we presently possess are very good and again one can go back to the Dead Sea Scrolls and note that the original text we have today compares very well with that of ancient manuscripts.  Given that, I do not accept any later books found as real.  They are not ancient text and there is a total lack of historicity among them.  And such text seem to dwell on contrived human events rather than on CHRIST's linkage and HIS GRACE.  I believe in one GOD essence that has eternally existed as a Trinity.  The FATHER, SON, and HOLY SPIRIT share an eternal love and bond.  Nothing surprises GOD.  GOD foreknew and predestined to allow all events to occur as HE knew that they would, and had a plan of salvation ready at the most perfect moment in history.  

While your argument against later-found books works well enough against the Doctrine and Covenants (which members of my church believe to be revelation from God to His prophet in modern times), I would recommend doing more research into what has been found in the way of archaeological evidence that seems to support the narrative in the Book of Mormon (and also to read the Book of Mormon so you can compare what's inside it to that evidence yourself). There have been a great deal of discoveries in the Mesoamerican region that seem to support the idea that the stories in the Book of Mormonactually happened--not to mention evidences within the book's language itself, including perfect and near-percet chiasmus, among other things, that Joseph Smith would not have been able to come up with out of his own head with the knowledge and education he had at the time of publishing the Book of Mormon.

I would say that watching the "Journey of Faith" documentary series would be a good place to start in that particular endeavor, again with the caveat that actually reading the Book of Mormon, if you haven't yet, would give you the knowledge you'd need to really understand the arguments the archaeologists and liguists and such in that documentary are making.

When it comes to the Pearl of Great Price, I don't know of any direct evidence to support it (though I'm no expert), aside from the existing Bible, and for me it's a matter of, "If I believe the Book of Mormon was translated by the power of God, it's not a huge stretch to believe the Pearl of Great Price was translated that way too." 

Also, a question for my own curiosity: Do you believe it possible to receive revelation or for there to be living prophets in the modern day? Why or why not?

[Keke They/he]

@LittleNipper

And your believes are valid. 

10 hours ago, LittleNipper said:

Do you believe that Joseph Smith made mistakes?

Yes and you can read them in doctrine and covenants 

[Through the Living Wrath he/him]

11 hours ago, LittleNipper said:

Do you believe that Joseph Smith made mistakes?

Yes - definitely.

There is a passage of our history (during translation) in which Martin Harris, who was helping translate, requested the papers (there was only one copy at that time) to show to his wife, who was pressuring him about his beliefs at the time.

Joseph Smith told him no, but after repeated requests, he gave him 116 pages, what we know as the Book of Lehi.

Short story, the pages were stolen. We believe that Joseph Smith refrained from retranslating them because whoever had stolen them wished to tamper with them and then essentially say that the prophet was contradicting himself.

We never got these pages back.

However, we also believe that the Lord has already provided a “backup” - but we also believe that, rather than it being a backup, it contains more detail and more prophetic guidance (Nephi wrote two books, one he called a historical record - lost, and one he called a spiritual record) - that was also translated.

After this, Martin Harris kinda sinks into sullen shame.

And so, everyone is surprised when Joseph Smith brings him back - forgives him. He becomes one of the Three Witnesses, and never once denies the truth of what he saw.

 

We don’t worship our prophets. Just like we don’t worship the prophets of old.

[Ookla she/her]

3 hours ago, SpiritOfWrath said:

Yes - definitely.

There is a passage of our history (during translation) in which Martin Harris, who was helping translate, requested the papers (there was only one copy at that time) to show to his wife, who was pressuring him about his beliefs at the time.

Joseph Smith told him no, but after repeated requests, he gave him 116 pages, what we know as the Book of Lehi.

Short story, the pages were stolen. We believe that Joseph Smith refrained from retranslating them because whoever had stolen them wished to tamper with them and then essentially say that the prophet was contradicting himself.

We never got these pages back.

However, we also believe that the Lord has already provided a “backup” - but we also believe that, rather than it being a backup, it contains more detail and more prophetic guidance (Nephi wrote two books, one he called a historical record - lost, and one he called a spiritual record) - that was also translated.

After this, Martin Harris kinda sinks into sullen shame.

And so, everyone is surprised when Joseph Smith brings him back - forgives him. He becomes one of the Three Witnesses, and never once denies the truth of what he saw.

 

We don’t worship our prophets. Just like we don’t worship the prophets of old.

Well said!

[Through the Living Wrath he/him]

On 1/14/2025 at 7:09 PM, Mattel said:

Okay. So before I start, I would just like to say that I am a firm believer in what I view as the traditional Christian Religion, and am not a member of the LDS church. I will not say that I do not have doubts in my religion, because faith requires doubt, but I want to make it clear that I am not seeking evangelism or conversion. I am merely curious to learn about a religion, and this particular world on the internet has a lot of y'all, so this seemed like as good a place as any to find information. 

So with that out of the way:

What can you all tell me about your faith? 

What do you believe about the nature of God? Do you believe in one God?

What about Jesus? Do you believe that he was fully man and fully God? That he died and was resurrected?

What is it that separates you from other views on Christianity, and what is it that gives you conviction in your religion?

What are your views on Man? Like what do you believe about the inherent nature of humanity? Do you believe in original sin or a more Orthodox view of a "sickness" within all?

Where does the Church of LDS stand on the Nicene Creed? In general, all other Christians use this to recognize each other as Christians. While certain details have been picked over (*cough* the Great Schism *cough*) generally everyone agrees to this. So what are your views on this?

There are other questions that I either don't know how to phrase or don't know to ask, so if there is anything else you want to tell me that I forgot to ask, feel free.

Something I don’t think anyone else mentioned is baptism by proxy.

This has particular significance for me because of a story my seminary teacher shared with me, so it’s one of the first differences I think of.

Essentially, members will be baptized in place of those who could not be baptized in their life. Usually the members are descended from them, but that isn’t a requirement.

Don’t take me wrong, this is not a conversion against will baptism. We believe that the soul will chose for themselves in the afterlife.

The importance of this, from my perspective, is two things.

First, people who had never had a chance to even hear Christianity have a choice of conversion.

And second, there is a small group of people who would be physically unable to be baptized (this is the story that I heard).

[Through the Living Hope]

On 1/15/2025 at 10:52 PM, Immortal Platypus said:

Out of curiosity, are you non-denominational or of a specific denomination? I won't try to convert, but if it sounds like I am, it's probably because internet words and I'm passionate about my religion.

Like @Medium said, the Articles of Faith are a great place to start. They'll pretty much sum up the most important parts. One thing that isn't mentioned in them specifically, but is very important, is that we believe that God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are three separate individuals, which I understand is contrary to the majority of Christians.

As stated above, we believe that God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are three separate individuals that are united in purpose. Usually it will be the Father we are referencing when we say God, but it could be Christ. I've never heard someone use God to reference the Holy Ghost. We believe that if we live righteously, we can become as our Heavenly Father is, that is, being a God. 

We do believe that he died and was resurrected. I'm afraid I don't know exactly what you mean by fully man and fully God, so I'm not going to answer that.

One of the main things that separates us is our view on the Godhead. Because we believe each member of the Godhead is a different being, some people say we believe in a "different Jesus." Obviously a big one is our different interpretation of Revelations 22:18. Many people think that that means that God's word is closed and that he will reveal no more. We believe differently. We believe that God revealed many truths to Joseph Smith, which are published in the Doctrine and Covenants, that through God's power, Joseph Smith was able to translate an ancient record which is now the Book of Mormon, and we believe in modern-day prophets who receive direct revelation through God, for the whole church. We believe that individuals can be directed of God.

As for what gives me conviction, the main factor for me is personal experiences. I've had many experiences that have helped shape my faith to what it is today. In addition to that, there are other small contributing factors, like what I've heard referred to as the "shroud of darkness." Many religions attack the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in a way that they don't do for many (or any) others. I personally look at this as Satan's influence in trying to destroy God's church.

We believe that man is punished for their own sins, not for Adam's transgression. We believe that mankind is in a fallen state, and that we are redeemed through Christ. We believe the natural man (or, mankind's desires, unmoderated by anything) is an enemy to God.

We believe that God the Father, Jesus (the Son), and the Holy Ghost are different, so we're already a little different.  We believe that we can become Gods, so we're different from most (if not all) religions. In general we agree with the Nicene Creed though.

--

Honestly, I'd say the best way to learn about our church is to read the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the talks given in our General Conference. They'll help you understand what it is we believe far better than most of us could.

Fully God and fully man means that Jesus was a human like us and simultaneously God on Earth.. He was born, from His mother and He lived a life as a human until His death. However, He was fully God because the Spirit of God was in Him. He worked miracles because the Father worked through Him, and He didn't sin once in his life though he was tempted in every way that we are.

On 2/6/2025 at 9:05 AM, Hawks said:

1. We believe in the god head,  Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost.  Heavenly Father is the spiritual father of everyone.  Jesus Christ was a spirit and Heavenly Father needed someone to go down to earth for his plan and Jesus volunteered. He became a man, when he was older he got crucified and then got resurrected and visited everyone. Including the americas, where the nephites lamanites and all the ites reside. (Book of Mormon). Holy Ghost is a spirit who you get when you get baptized. He is a guide  and comforter who helps you though life. You pray to Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus Christ and he responds though the Holy Ghost.

2. I dont know the answer to this. I asked in seminary the other day and this is what she said. There is god the father, (Heavenly Father) god the son (Jesus Christ) and god the spirit (Holy Ghost)

3 see number one

4. One thing that i see, we believe that even after death you can still be baptized. You can take names to the temple and do the temple ordenencints (dunno how to spell that) for them so they can still go to heaven after judgement day.

5. I don’t rllly understand the question

6. I dont know what that is.

i hope this helps.  

So similar to Catholic pergatory in essence?

3 hours ago, SpiritOfWrath said:

Something I don’t think anyone else mentioned is baptism by proxy.

This has particular significance for me because of a story my seminary teacher shared with me, so it’s one of the first differences I think of.

Essentially, members will be baptized in place of those who could not be baptized in their life. Usually the members are descended from them, but that isn’t a requirement.

Don’t take me wrong, this is not a conversion against will baptism. We believe that the soul will chose for themselves in the afterlife.

The importance of this, from my perspective, is two things.

First, people who had never had a chance to even hear Christianity have a choice of conversion.

And second, there is a small group of people who would be physically unable to be baptized (this is the story that I heard).

The Bible says that Jesus is the judge of the believers and that the Father is the judge of those who do not claim Jesus in their lives. Those who give their hearts to Jesus in their life will receive their judgement at the Judgement Seat of Christ. They will be rewarded for every work they do out of a heart of love towards Him, and all the other works will be burned in fire. You will not be punished for those; only rewarded for the things you truly did for Christ. Those who do not turn to God in their lives will be judged by the Father at the Great White Throne. If their name is not found in the Book of Life, a record of all those who lived their lives for God, they will be cast into the lake of fire. This can all be found in Revelation.

[Mags she/they]

20 minutes ago, Spark of Hope said:

The Bible says that Jesus is the judge of the believers and that the Father is the judge of those who do not claim Jesus in their lives. Those who give their hearts to Jesus in their life will receive their judgement at the Judgement Seat of Christ. They will be rewarded for every work they do out of a heart of love towards Him, and all the other works will be burned in fire. You will not be punished for those; only rewarded for the things you truly did for Christ. Those who do not turn to God in their lives will be judged by the Father at the Great White Throne. If their name is not found in the Book of Life, a record of all those who lived their lives for God, they will be cast into the lake of fire. This can all be found in Revelation.

We believe there is a state before judgement day were you exist in the spirit world after death. This is technically still considered part of 'mortal existence' at least from what I know, even if you've already died. In the spirit world, you can repent, be converted, and receive a proxy baptism, as well as other ordinances. After Jesus comes back, everyone is resurrected and we have a millennia of peace on earth. This is still before judgement day, and still a part of 'mortal existence'. The spirit will help us complete the work of converting everyone who has died and could not receive the gospel, but are willing to now receive it. I'm simplifying things, but then, after all of that, we finally have judgement day where God judges us and Jesus advocates for us.

Basically we believe that 'mortal existence' and the time for when you can accept the gospel and repent is more an era then you're specific lifetime. Essentially giving everyone who needs it a second chance, like people who never got to hear about Jesus, or children who died right after birth.

At least that's what I think? This stuff is confusing and I'm not the most knowledgeable. Someone also from the church may correct me lol.

[Through the Living Hope]

4 minutes ago, Mag said:

We believe there is a state before judgement day were you exist in the spirit world after death. This is technically still considered part of 'mortal existence' at least from what I know, even if you've already died. In the spirit world, you can repent, be converted, and receive a proxy baptism, as well as other ordinances. After Jesus comes back, everyone is resurrected and we have a millennia of peace on earth. This is still before judgement day, and still a part of 'mortal existence'. The spirit will help us complete the work of converting everyone who has died and could not receive the gospel, but are willing to now receive it. I'm simplifying things, but then, after all of that, we finally have judgement day where God judges us and Jesus advocates for us.

Basically we believe that 'mortal existence' and the time for when you can accept the gospel and repent is more an era then you're specific lifetime. Essentially giving everyone who needs it a second chance, like people who never got to hear about Jesus, or children who died right after birth.

At least that's what I think? This stuff is confusing and I'm not the most knowledgeable. Someone also from the church may correct me lol.

I'm not going to accept that as truth, but your explanation makes sense and I thank you for that.

[Mags she/they]

5 minutes ago, Spark of Hope said:

I'm not going to accept that as truth, but your explanation makes sense and I thank you for that.

I totally understand! That's just how we believe it works because of some of our additional revelation we believe is from Christ.

Edited May 13, 2025 by Mag

[Through the Living Hope]

Just now, Mag said:

Yeah, I totally understand! That's just how we believe it works because of some of our additional revelation we believe is from Christ.

The way I see it, if it's not in the Bible I can't necessarily accept it as truth. There's a common belief that Jesus married Mary Magdelene, but it's not in the Bible so while I'm not saying it didn't happen, I'm not saying it did. It probably didn't, but, in my youth pastor's words, I'll watch the DVD when I get to heaven lol

[Mags she/they]

1 minute ago, Spark of Hope said:

The way I see it, if it's not in the Bible I can't necessarily accept it as truth. There's a common belief that Jesus married Mary Magdelene, but it's not in the Bible so while I'm not saying it didn't happen, I'm not saying it did. It probably didn't, but, in my youth pastor's words, I'll watch the DVD when I get to heaven lol

I personally think it'd be cool if Jesus married Mary Magdelene . . . cause I'm a hopeless romantic and I think it'd be sweet, but that's just me being silly lol! We have quite a lot of additional stuff aside from the bible, and I think we have some verses from the Bible that point to their validity, but I don't remember where they are . I'm not a religious scholar, lol. 

[Through the Living Hope]

Just now, Mag said:

I personally think it'd be cool if Jesus married Mary Magdelene . . . cause I'm a hopeless romantic and I think it'd be sweet, but that's just me being silly lol! We have quite a lot of additional stuff aside from the bible, and I think we have some verses from the Bible that point to their validity, but I don't remember where they are . I'm not a religious scholar, lol. 

Nor am I. The "rule" my church uses for doctrine is if the Bible says it twice, we should follow it. For example, abstaining from sexual immorality is brought up several times in the New Testament, so it is a sin. But only one Gospel says Peter walked on water, so we shouldn't necessarily all be able to. Also, only one of Paul's letters says "women be silent in the churches," so it isn't a doctrinal command but a structural one. In the Corinthian church, women and men sat on different sides of the church and women would shout to their husbands when they didn't understand something. Also, the 66 books generally agreed upon as the canon were decided by a group at a conference. Other books like Enoch and the Macabes can be read, but they shouldn't be observed as scripture based on that conference. 

Someone said something about Jesus appearing to the Americas, but the Bible only says he appeared to his disciples (not just the 12 apostles, he had 120 disciples as of Acts 1-2). Since LDS-ism (whatever we want to call it, idk) is based largely on an appearance in the Americas, I can't accept it.

[Mags she/they]

4 minutes ago, Spark of Hope said:

Nor am I. The "rule" my church uses for doctrine is if the Bible says it twice, we should follow it. For example, abstaining from sexual immorality is brought up several times in the New Testament, so it is a sin. But only one Gospel says Peter walked on water, so we shouldn't necessarily all be able to. Also, only one of Paul's letters says "women be silent in the churches," so it isn't a doctrinal command but a structural one. In the Corinthian church, women and men sat on different sides of the church and women would shout to their husbands when they didn't understand something. Also, the 66 books generally agreed upon as the canon were decided by a group at a conference. Other books like Enoch and the Macabes can be read, but they shouldn't be observed as scripture based on that conference. 

Oh cool! For us, we separate things as doctrine, and policy. The policy is case/context specific and can change, but helps us fulfill the doctrine, and the doctrine is unchanging and what we should always do.

5 minutes ago, Spark of Hope said:

Someone said something about Jesus appearing to the Americas, but the Bible only says he appeared to his disciples (not just the 12 apostles, he had 120 disciples as of Acts 1-2). Since LDS-ism (whatever we want to call it, idk) is based largely on an appearance in the Americas, I can't accept it.

I don't remember where, but I believe he does specifically tell them that while he was gone he was 'visiting my other sheep' which we think is his visit to the Americas, because the context implies it was to a different land and he went there on a separate trip. I think we also believe he went other places in the world (also because of that line), and we just don't have any records of it, but I'm not sure how 'official' of a belief that is. Growing up in Utah means I don't know what details are in the scriptures, and what stuff is member speculation/myth sometimes. I need to get better at my own studying, lol!

[Through the Living Hope]

1 minute ago, Mag said:

Oh cool! For us, we separate things as doctrine, and policy. The policy is case/context specific and can change, but helps us fulfill the doctrine, and the doctrine is unchanging and what we should always do.

I don't remember where, but I believe he does specifically tell them that while he was gone he was 'visiting my other sheep' which we think is his visit to the Americas, because the context implies it was to a different land and he went there on a separate trip. I think we also believe he went other places in the world (also because of that line), and we just don't have any records of it, but I'm not sure how 'official' of a belief that is. Growing up in Utah means I don't know what details are in the scriptures, and what stuff is member speculation/myth sometimes. I need to get better at my own studying, lol!

Jesus was only in ministry for 3 years, and before that he was a carpenter. He didn’t minister before he was baptized by John. And the Bible only talks about his time in the Mediterranean area. Can you find the verse/section where it says that?

[Mags she/they]

3 minutes ago, Spark of Hope said:

Jesus was only in ministry for 3 years, and before that he was a carpenter. He didn’t minister before he was baptized by John. And the Bible only talks about his time in the Mediterranean area. Can you find the verse/section where it says that?

After Jesus dies and is resurrected, he goes and sees God to complete to work (chat I can't remember the details I'm so sorry), during that time before he returns to his apostles, he visits the other lands specifically the Americas. So it's not during his mortal ministry, it's after his atonement. When he appears in the book of mormon, he's completed the atonement and been resurrected and everything.

I'm gonna go look for the verse now 

[Through the Living Hope]

Just now, Mag said:

After Jesus dies and is resurrected, he goes and sees God to complete to work (chat I can't remember the details I'm so sorry), during that time before he returns to his apostles, he visits the other lands specifically the Americas. So it's not during his mortal ministry, it's after his atonement. When he appears in the book of mormon, he's completed the atonement and been resurrected and everything.

I'm gonna go look for the verse now 

Double post prevention o7