How do Latter-day Saints achieve salvation?
Read Dave’s answer
Answer 1
Ever hear of the Hindu parable of the blind men and the elephant?
That’s what every discussion of “salvation” is like to a Mormon.
Salvation is one of those words with so many meanings - in both English and Christianity - that your question can be answered correctly in a dozen ways.
But the question looks to me to be like a trap: “Let’s sucker the Mormons into showing that they don’t know that salvation is not something to be achieved.”
Good luck with that. You might catch someone napping.
So let me answer directly:
Mormons do nothing to “achieve” salvation. It is a free gift of Jesus Christ. “As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.”
“So why,” you ask, “are Mormons always trying so hard? They study, they pray, they go to church, they pay their tithing, they don’t smoke, they don’t drink,they don’t have premarital sex and if they do they treat it like a sin, they probably don’t have any fun, and, good grief - they even make work of repentance!”
Well, my answer to that is simple: Mormons aren’t trying to achieve salvation - they’re simply trying to do what Jesus said: “If you love me, keep my commandments.”
So come to church and we’ll share with you all of the many glorious aspects of salvation and exaltation - including why nobody should expect to become a joint heir with Christ without becoming Christlike - and how that took not only faith but effort and work - even for Jesus.
So can we honestly say that we love and worship Jesus without doing what He said we should do? Including taking up a cross? Including “be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father in Heaven is perfect?”
And if you find all that daunting, then examine your assumptions - why are you doing any of it? For yourself or for Jesus? Personally, I find peace in doing it out of gratitude and love for Jesus. He can send me to hell for as long as He chooses and I’ll still love Him - because I know he does nothing except that it’s for my good and improvement.
And in that knowledge I find peace of mind and heart - even while I’m doing all I can to show love for Him and gratitude for His grace.