A Christian will never talk long to a Mormon without hearing them quote a favorite passage. In fact, I believe it to be the best known and most quoted Bible passage among the Mormon people today. “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.”1 In their mind, this passage, more than any other, supports and defends Mormon doctrine. We will see, but first let us examine a few key points of that doctrine.
Mormon Works
The following are a collection of official teachings from the Mormon church. A careful examination of these passages will reveal a common theme, a consistent pattern, an unbroken thread of Mormon doctrine. When you see this commonality, your eyes will begin to open.
We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.
Mormon Third Article of Faith, emphasis added
Salvation comes only after keeping every law and every ordinance of the Mormon gospel. This begs the question; what are the laws and ordinances? Without a complete list, and there is no list, how can anyone possibly hope to comply?
Keep my commandments continually, and a crown of righteousness thou shalt receive. And except thou do this, where I am you cannot come.
Doctrine and Covenants 25:15, emphasis added
As we have already established, there is no list of all the Mormon requirements for salvation. Biblical commandments are difficult enough to track and obey, as attested to by Peter, “Now therefore why do you tempt God, that you should put a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? ”2. The key point of this Mormon doctrine is that there will be no life with God until after all these unnumbered and unnameable commandments are perfectly kept.
…for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.
Book of Mormon 2 Nephi 25:23b, emphasis added
Again we see a pattern. Grace is only available after all we can do. The Mormon prophet Ezra Taft Benson did an admirable job of describing the magnitude of exactly what after all we can do entails, so I leave it to him.
What is meant by “after all we can do”? “After all we can do” includes extending our best effort. “After all we can do” includes living His commandments. “After all we can do” includes loving our fellowmen and praying for those who regard us as their adversary. “After all we can do” means clothing the naked, feeding the hungry, visiting the sick and giving “succor [to] those who stand in need of succor” (Mosiah 4:15)-remembering that what we do unto one of the least of God’s children, we do unto Him (see Matthew 25:34-40; D&C 42:38). “After all we can do” means leading chaste, clean, pure lives, being scrupulously honest in all our dealings and treating others the way we would want to be treated
The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, p.354. Brackets in original
Adding New Commandments
Mormonism doesn’t stop with these. New demands are regularly added. Almost from the church’s inception, the terms Mormon and Mormonism have been accepted and embraced by lay members and church leaders alike. The official name of choirs, websites, public relations campaigns and so much more have proudly included the term Mormon.
In the October, 2018 General Conference, the people received a new commandment, demanding that they stop using Mormon and derivative terms. The President and Prophet of the church said, “He (Jesus) is serious. And if we allow nicknames to be used or adopt or even sponsor those nicknames ourselves, He is offended.” (President Russell M Nelson, The Correct Name of the Church) He went on to say that using terms such a Mormon and Mormonism is a major victory for Satan. And so a new commandment is born because this thing that offends Jesus and brings Satan such glee, must be sin.
Mormons Discounting Mormonism
Tragically, many in the church today step back from long-time established doctrine and rewrite the very words of their scripture and prophets. Two Mormon Guys is a popular Mormon blog that gets a lot attention these days. They are masters of redefining Mormon truths in an effort to make Mormonism more palatable to the masses.
Do you get it? Do you see the incredible gift that our Savior has given us? We are saved 100% by His grace apart from all we can do. But we are also changed by His grace so that we can do more! So that we are more! So that we can become like He is!
Two Mormon Guys, “After All We Can Do” Doesn’t Mean What You Think It Means, emphasis in the original
With a simple word insertion, Two Mormon Guys change everything. After all we can do became apart from all we can do, and I cry foul!
Biblical Works
Biblical scripture, on the same topic, provides illumination into the proper place and purpose of works. Again, we will see a constant thread flowing through each of these passages.
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
2 Corinthians 5:17, KJV, emphasis added
The first step in understanding the proper role of works is to understand ourselves. We must see what we really are as God sees us. No part of the Bible better defines our broken nature than Paul’s letter to the Romans;
There is no one righteous; no, not one. 11. There is no one who understands. There is no one who seeks after God. 12. They have all turned away. They have together become unprofitable. There is no one who does good, no, not so much as one.
Romans 3:10-12, WEB, emphasis added
IS FAITH WITHOUT WORKS DEAD?
Until Jesus is in us and we in Him, nothing good will come of us. Even when we are indwelled by the Holy Spirit, our best efforts will be seen as filthy rags3 and dung4 by our righteous and holy God. We must see and appreciate that nothing we offer to God will impress Him in the slightest. All we have to offer God is a belief in Him.5 He makes us this promise; when we turn to Him, trust in Him, lean on Him, believe in Him and surrender our will to Him, he will make us a new creation. Then, not by our strength or willpower, but by Him through us, we will begin to act as if we are something new, something different, a new creation. Belief precedes the new creation and the new creation precedes the desire to produce good works.
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9. Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 2:8-10, KJV, emphasis added
It is difficult to find a more perfectly understandable passage of scripture. Faith comes first. By faith alone, we are saved. Good works have no part in the salvation of men. Please process this; good works are valueless as an end to salvation! You must understand and internalize the truths presented here; faith saves, works will not. Faith precedes salvation, salvation precedes good works.
Consider these remaining passages and ask yourself, does the thread we have already seen continue in these?
And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
1 John 3:23, KJV, emphasis added
Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
Romans 3:28, KJV, emphasis added
Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
Romans 5:1, KJV, emphasis added
These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life…
1 John 5:13, WEB, emphasis added
The consistent and common thread of God’s unchanging pattern for us is preset in all. First, we believe in Jesus and then, having become a new creature, we are better equipped to do better things. Belief precedes the new creation which makes us better able to love.6 Faith precedes justification and peace with God.7 Belief precedes Eternal life with the Father.8
This brings us full circle. We started with James, circled through a large selection of Mormon and Biblical scripture to find ourselves back where we began, “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.” (James 2:17, KJV)
Now, having examined and contrasted Mormon doctrine biblical truths, we find illumination. James 2:17 is true but improperly understood by the Mormon people. You see, they reversed the order of things. They got it all, but they got it all backwards. Having biblical support, we can correctly and contextually understand the intended meaning. It does not start with works, it begins with faith.
Where there is faith, a sincere belief and a total surrender to Jesus, a wretched man9 becomes something better, he becomes a new creation.10 Being new in Christ, good fruit will naturally be produced in the form of a more abundant and pure love for God and neighbor.11 So, there are two very different understandings of faith, if it hath not works, is dead.
The Mormon Understanding
The people will work to exhaustion, trying and failing in an effort to keep every law and ordinance of the Mormon gospel.12 The Mormon will work in the hope of accumulating sufficient filthy rags and dung to earn God’s favor. They work in an effort to bind God to the degree that He has no choice but to save and even exalt them as Mormon gods.
I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise.
Doctrine and Covenants 8:10, emphasis added
There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated– 21. And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.
Doctrine and Covenants 130:20-21, emphasis added
Therefore, the gift of grace, leading to eternal life is only possible by obedience to that law or laws upon which it is predicated.
The Biblical Understanding
As Christians, we simply lean on, trust, and believe in Jesus. We know He bore all our sin and canceled our debt by nailing it to the cross.
13b. He made alive together with him, having forgiven you all the trespasses, 14. having blotted out the handwriting in the ordinances that is against us, that was contrary to us, and he hath taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross;
Colossians 2:13b-14, YLT, emphasis added
Because we believe, we are new. We are reconciled, forgiven, made righteous and saved by the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Because of this, we go confidently before the throne of God,13 we know that we have eternal life,14 we are reconciled with God,15 we are made righteous by the shed blood of Jesus.16
Above all, having the truth, we are made free in all things;
Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; 32. And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
John 8:31-32, KJV, emphasis added
Belief precedes every lasting gift of God.
Ask Your Bishop
- Doctrine and Covenants 25:15 clearly says that you must keep the commandments continually or you cannot enter heaven where the Mormon god is? Are you doing this? If not, how will you be saved?
- 2 Nephi 25:23 clearly states that grace is only available after all we can do. Have you even once retired at that end of a day when you literally could not have done one thing more before closing your eyes?
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