Do Mormons believe that they are the only people who follow the Lords Commandments?

Soooo.... Which is it, mormons? A free gift? Or works that gets one saved? Because you cannot have both. All "works" we do for God are really done in HIS strength and by His power, are they not? Or are they done in your strength and power? If they are done in His, the "work" and its results are... HIS. If they are done in your strength, they are.... as worthless as filthy rags according to Isaiah 64:6.

So, what now? Believe the mormons when their apologists attempt to twist and morph that plain spoken verse into something it was never meant to say? Go right ahead and try. Then lay away nights worrying if you are saved or not like they do. Oh, wait! They are "mormons", so they are saved to a "higher place" than the rest of us through their church membership! I forgot. (They morphed those verses as well to imply Jesus is a "mormon".) It's it odd that the worst mormon will STILL go to their "second" tier heaven in their theology, when the rest of us must stand below them? How very convenient, that. Decidedly, eh?

Because FAITH in Jesus Christ alone saves one from hell. Because Jesus Christ said so. And I believe HIM, not the LDS. They are NOT GOD. The Law never saved, or we would have no need of a Savior. So if even God's own Law could not save, or "works", what then? What need do we have for a Savior if our works "save us"?

Mormons have a decided problem with separating "salvation" and "lordship", which are part of the same wheel but still separate concepts. One cannot make Jesus Lord of their lives if they do not accept Him as Savior. One cannot also accept Jesus as Savior without making Him Lord of their lives. Mormons, however, don't believe in the Lordship of Jesus Christ in their lives. They believe in THEIR LORDSHIP and their works being banked toward their own future godhood.

I don't say you are lying, but if you are not, you surely have your facts screwed up.

There is a difference between "saved" and "exalted". And following the commandments of Jesus Christ is not something that comes easy to most people.

If Jesus Christ said to you, the only way to heaven is to sell everything you own, give the money to the poor, and follow Him, would you do it? Many Christians would say without hesitation, Oh, YES! I would!, but these same Christians will balk at giving a measly 10% to the church.

Our tithing funds do NOT go to building malls, etc. There is a business arm of the church, which does, BTW, pay taxes. This is where the money for all those things you mention comes from. Tithing money is used to run the church. Fast offerings are used to feed the poor. Did you know that every time our church builds a new chapel or temple, or other building, that said building is totally, 100% paid for before the first shovel of earth is turned? Did you know that our church has probably the best welfare and humanitarian programs of any church?

It was not the other churches that were an abomination, it was the CREEDS that are an abomination. And since I grew up with those creeds, I can say that they are not Biblical, and there is nothing that says true Christians are those who believe that they are.

Also, no Protestant church or pastor was ever "Of the devil", and I was there, too, so I know. There are such things as symbols which are used to make a point. Satan will use whomever he can, however. For instance, he uses people like you and c. and others to bring down the Church of Christ. Contention is of the devil. You all cause so much contention and hatred and fear, when you could be doing so much to promote the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus said that a house divided can't stand, and Satan uses people like you to divide the house of Christ, while Satan dances in and takes over.

For people like you to attack our church based on money is, to me, a case of sour grapes. The Methodist church I grew up in had to close down and be torn down because people didn't pay tithing like they should. 99.9% of LDS don't have a problem with tithing, even those who don't do it. If you have a problem with it, it tells me more about you than about us.

Absolutely not. The world is full of good people who have a deep conscience (heeding the voice of the Holy Spirit) and who do good for others--are kind, giving, and try to bring others up. Latter Day Saints are taught to strive for this standard, but it is a standard shared by many.

One of the dearest people I have ever known actually called himself an atheist because he had been hurt and deceived by religious people. I worked for him. He was a general contractor and, as an army veteran, found most of his projects on military bases. He made a point of hiring unfortunate people--single moms, people with low intellectual ability, older people struggling on small pensions, ect. Our workforce became a real family, and he treated us better than any employer you could ever meet--like a dad treats his kids.

Again, he was not a religious person, but he was Christ-like in every way, and I have no doubt when all is said and done, and he goes before Christ to be judged, he will be well-received and take his place in God's kingdom.

You get what I'm trying to say? This life is a blurr and a shadow. It will all be clear to us on the other side--in the mean time, we all must do our best to learn about our Saviour and what He would want us to do in the life so that we can return to the Father. There are many good paths to finding the main road of truth. We just need to heed the correct signs.

c--Yes, both. Grace AND good works. Yes, you can and should rely on both. Grace is what we get from God. Good works is what He gets from us. We it is a RELATIONSHIP, not a free-for-all.

Mormons love to point out how lip-service based many other denominations are. When they do this, it's like a person from another denomination pointing out an inactive mormon or a jack mormon and identifying them as the typical mormon member. Mormons will argue with someone who identifies as a catholic who goes to church twice a year and claims to be a christian and says believing in Jesus before you die or on your deathbed is enough to get into heaven, and think this is what a real catholic is all about, ignoring the large amount who are very active in their scriptures and are very involved in their beliefs and church membership. Or using tithe income per member as some statute for how christlike someone is.

Most denominations do this. Like others have said, people generally believe their denomination is the most correct.

re: "The “good works”/ ordinances/covenants done by the LDS come from a place of fear"

Judy, you need to stop speaking for us.

We are not motivated by fear. At least Im not. Im at ease and confident in my faith, and not driven by fear in any way. Im motivated by a love for my savior and heavenly father. Just because you think you are right and Im wrong, doesnt imply I must be motivated by fear.

You really need to stop. Everything you claim we believe or feel is wrong. On every question. Why dont you focus on living YOUR religion instead of obsessing every single Q&A on here with Mormons.

----------------------------------------

c.- re: "Soooo.... Which is it, mormons? A free gift? Or works that gets one saved? Because you cannot have both."

Yes, its both. Because faith and works are intertwined. They are part of the same thing. Faith without works is dead. Works without faith is pointless. Its not one or the other. Its like saying, "so what it is, a car or gasoline that gets you from point A to point B?? Cant need both!" Well..yeah you can.

----------------------------------------

Judy-re: "Joseph Smiths “works” are paying a 10% tithe so the church can build a billion dollar mall, property, banks, newspaper ect, it is a business."

Tithing is not used for the for-profit aspects of the church (and yes that side pays taxes). Tithing is NEVER used for them. And the mall helps the economy of the land we settled and live in, or rather, the people who live in SLC. We are self sufficient people, and that includes outside of church. But no, tithing is not used for those.

I don't know where you get your good works reasons from, but it certainly doesn't come from any Mormons I've met over the past 45 years. Mormons do the good works that James in the Bible talks about because our faith is not dead. We appreciate the gift of salvation, including living with Jesus. We serve our brothers and sisters because we love them. But as for doing good in fear of loosing your salvation - can a man refuse to do good, and still be saved? James in the Bible says no, such a one has no faith and will not be saved.

Many, but certainly not all, Christians believe that once they have accepted Jesus into their heart, they are forgiven and cannot sin. But to think that salvation and eternal life is a done deal is foolish indeed. Anyone who is "saved" can sin and loose their salvation. The gift of living with Jesus does not happen until the end - if you are alive in mortality then it is not a sure thing and can be lost. It has not yet happened.

We believe that there is genuine faith in all corners of the world and that God will recognize that faith for what it is.

However, we also believe that faith, and a love for Christ, is an active verb requiring action to go along with the declaration. James made this clear when he taught that faith without works is dead, being alone. He said "show me your faith without your works and I will show you my faith by my works".

We don't obey out of fear, we obey out of love but that love is not genuine if we don't actually do what the Lord has commanded. The ordinances and covenants of the priesthood are a part of His commandments and obedience to those commandments is required to demonstrate our faith and willingness to sacrifice for Him.

Yes, Christ already paid the price of our redemption but in order for us to collect on that payment, we have to repent, obey and endure to the end. We accept Christ as our spiritual creditor and accept His terms of payment, being obedience to all of His commandments and ordinances of the priesthood.

In order to be fully exalted, it is necessary for all of God's children to receive those priesthood ordinances. Since God's children cannot all receive the ordinances in this life, God has made it possible to offer the ordinances vicariously to our ancestors through temple work. Thus, exaltation is available to all if they will accept the fulness of the gospel, either in mortality or in the post mortal spiritual existence.

Our works were seen in Japan, Africa, Mexico, Chile, Honduras, Haiti, and in Indonesia. Don't presume to lie about us.

Of course other people follow Christ. Some to the best of their ability.

Every denomination believes they are the only ones who follow the Lords wishes.

Of course. By definition, members of a sect/religion/cult think their sect/religion/cult is following their deity correctly, and others are wrong.