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We fully agree with the author's assessment of the various errant LDS doctrines. But his whole presentation is predicated on the idea that what a person believes has something to do with them getting saved. Or, good doctrine is required to be saved.
We fully agree with the author's assessment of the various errant LDS doctrines. But his whole presentation is predicated on the idea that what a person believes has something to do with them getting saved. Or, good doctrine is required to be saved.
However, good doctrine does not save a person. And errant doctrine doesn't condemn a person. So of course you can't get to Heaven through Mormonism because you can't get to heaven through Christianity either.
How does one get saved? We suppose that somewhere in the author's presentation is buried the Gospel, but it is never coherently expressed. He does quote a couple of Scriptures, but none of them are about the Gospel.
Yes, Mormons certainly worship a different (or, perhaps, improperly described) Jesus, they have an mistaken view of Scripture, and they add to the Bible. This all is certainly true. But none of this speaks to someone's salvation status. It's quite possible there are many truly saved Mormons, who when sitting in their temples heard enough of the Gospel to put their faith in the one true God and His Son Jesus.
They were saved in spite of Mormonism, not because of it.
The Church of Latter-Day Saints is no longer an obscure religion confined to a small following across the west and mid-western United States. At the end of 2023, the LDS faith claims over 16 million followers across 160 nations and territories, with some 72,000 missionaries. Currently there exist 188 dedicated temples, with 52 under construction, and 95 new ones announced. Temples pepper the landscapes of North and South America. And there are more across the globe from places like Finland, France, and Fiji, to Tonga and Taiwan, and Japan, Sweden, Australia, and across Africa.
Despite the rate at which it has grown, Mormonism contains fatal doctrinal problems. Though it has attracted many, it cannot be said that adherence to it will lead one to heaven. This is no minor issue. Eternity is at stake. If we love people; truly love the soul and well-being of a person, we will be concerned about their life through eternity. If there is a truck barreling down the road at you and I don’t get you out of the way, I fail to love you. Here are a few reasons why Mormon doctrine cannot save:
1) Mormonism cannot lead you to heaven because it departs from the sufficiency of the Bible.
The LDS faith teaches that the Book of Mormon is sacred Scripture, being “another testament of Jesus Christ.” It possesses equal, if not greater, authority as the Bible, and is, therefore, the word of God. Mormonism holds that Joseph Smith discovered the Book of Mormon as a teenager in its original form in Manchester, New York on a hill called Cumorah. The book was recorded on gold plates long ago in an ancient Egyptian-type language. In 1823, Joseph Smith claimed to have been directed by the angel, Moroni, to discover and translate the contents, which became the Book of Mormon.
Mormonism teaches that Smith was a prophet like Moses and Isaiah, chosen by God to restore the true Church of Jesus Christ using the text from the plates.
The content of the Book of Mormon rejects the idea that the Bible alone is the sufficient word of God: “Thou fool, that shall say: A Bible, we have got a Bible, and we need no more Bible” (2 Nephi 29:6).
Along with the Book of Mormon and the Bible, Mormonism affirms the canonicity of two other works, The Doctrine and Covenants, and Joseph Smith’s work, The Pearl of Great Price. New revelation is also permitted, which, similar to papal authority in Roman Catholicism, can arise from the Prophet, or President of the Church.
This violates the clear teaching of the sufficiency of Scripture: “Every word of God is tested; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him. Do not add to His words or He will reprove you, and you will be proved a liar” (Prov 30:5-6; cf. Deut. 4:2, 2 Pet. 1:3, Rev. 22:18-19). Since it imposes an entire book onto the word of God, the LDS faith is on extraordinarily shaky ground.
2. Mormonism cannot lead you to heaven because it departs from the biblical teaching of the triune God.
LDS adherents insist that they believe in the God of the Bible. The language on God and Christ in the LDS faith appears nearly identical to that of biblical Christianity. Mormon doctrine claims that Jesus is the Son of God, Savior, and Redeemer who died for us. However, there are fateful differences between the God of Mormonism and Christianity.
Mormon teaching denies one of the most important biblical teachings, that God is a Triune God; one God and three Persons, God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Instead, the Persons of the Trinity are said to be three separate gods. That difference is catastrophic: it teaches polytheism, not monotheistic tri-unity, as Scripture does. Further, God the Father is said to be an exalted man who “…has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit” (Doctrine and Covenants, 130:22). The Father was once a mortal being who dwelt on earth and eventually ascended to his current god-like status. This puts the LDS god no higher than an exalted man.
Mormonism teaches that he is the father of human spirits (before creation, all humanity were spirits who lived with God the Father), among whom were Christ and the Holy Ghost. This is a different God altogether than the God of the Bible. It’s a God who is less than the eternal, immutable, infinite God, and thus, no god at all. The true God, however, was never a mortal being, but eternally an immortal, immutable, and triune Being with no beginning or end (Job 36:26; Ps. 90:2, 93:2, 102:25-27). For that reason, the god of Mormonism is an idol and a false god. Consequently, he is a god who cannot accomplish true redemption and in whom there is no salvation. To believe in a god different than that of Scripture is to adhere to an unsavable system.
3. Mormonism cannot lead you to heaven because it teaches a false view of the Person and deity of Jesus Christ.
Similar to the LDS view of God the Father, Christ and the Holy Spirit are beings whose god-like status was something that became rather than something eternally possessed. By virtue of being children of God the Father, like all human spirits, they ascended to their status of deity. Like Christ, humanity has the potential to work themselves into this god-like standing. This results in a different Jesus than that of Scripture; one who is less than eternal God, and, therefore, no God at all.
Mormonism violates the clear teaching of Scripture that, among other things, Christ is God; the uncreated, eternal, second Person of the Triune Godhead, who has eternally possessed all the attributes of God (John 1:1-2, 8:58
, 10:30; Col 2:9, Titus 2:13). The Jesus of LDS teaching is also an idol, and thus devoid of any saving power. No one can get to heaven through this Jesus both because he is impotent and fictitious.
4. Mormonism cannot lead you to heaven because it departs from the true gospel of Jesus Christ.
As with the deity of Christ, the wording on salvation appears similar to biblical Christianity. However, any belief that deviates from the deity of Christ thereby espouses an unsavable Christ and a false gospel (Gal. 1:8-9).
Tragically, this is a Jesus who cannot save. Since he is not truly God, he cannot be the sinless God-man who does not possess Adam’s sinful nature (Rom. 5:12, 1 Cor. 15:22). Since he is not the sinless God-man outside of Adam’s condemned line, his death cannot effectually atone for the sin of one sinner. The eternality and sinlessness of Christ are essential to his saving ability (Heb. 7:24-27). Mormonism speaks of the atonement, but with such a Jesus, it is fictitious. Since this Jesus cannot atone for sin, not one person who puts faith in him will be forgiven, justified, reconciled to God, and go to heaven. And since this Jesus is not the true God-man, he cannot rise from the dead, notwithstanding Mormonism’s assertion of such a thing. Thus, no one can go to heaven through the LDS Jesus.
A Christ who is not the eternal God of the Bible cannot effectually save and propitiate sin for men who are not sinless. A being who is not the God of Scripture, whether having ascended to divinity or not, is unable to ascend to a moral finesse necessary such that his substitutionary death would be sufficient to placate the wrath of God for sinners (Heb. 7:26-27, 1 John 4:10). Humanity is depraved. Unless we have an individual who is truly God and truly man, humanity remains under the wrath of God because no created individual can arise out of Adam to atone for our sin. This, sadly, is another point where Mormonism is void of any saving power.
Furthermore, since Christ is not the eternal God of the Bible, the justice of God in forgiving sinners is called into question. If God the Father is going to justly justify the unjust, then he must do so through the biblical Christ. Christ must be eternal God or we may not have eternal life.
Mormon doctrine teaches that atonement is made effectual in our lives through faith in Christ, repentance, baptism, receiving the Holy Ghost, and choosing to follow Christ’s teaching for the rest of our lives. LDS article 1:3 teaches that, “Through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel” (emphasis mine). This is a direct contradiction to the way to heaven taught in the Bible. In addition to an unsavable Christ, this is a works-based righteousness, which contradicts the teaching of Scripture (Rom. 3:20, Gal. 2:16, Eph. 2:8-9). Scripture teaches that we are not saved by our works or efforts or obedience, but by putting faith alone in the Person and finished work of the Jesus of the Bible. Salvation cannot be both by works and by grace: “But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace” (Rom. 11:6). Entrance into heaven is not by our effort, but faith alone in what Christ has done: “When the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness…” (Titus 3:4-5). “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the Law” (Rom. 3:28).
In Mormonism salvation is less about Christ’s penal substitutionary atoning work, and more about trying hard to follow Christ’s example and develop god-like attributes. But trying hard will not save (Rom. 3:19-20). Trusting in Christ’s righteous life, death, and resurrection in my place alone will (1 Pet. 2:24).
Mormonism also teaches a form of salvation offered through vicarious baptism. A deceased individual can have a baptism performed in the Temple on their behalf. The deceased then have the opportunity to embrace that vicarious work. Yet, Scripture teaches no such thing.
Objections & Final Word
Some protest, “What’s the big deal? Mormons believe in Jesus, they read the Bible, and the book of Mormon. Isn’t that sufficient?” God has revealed the one and only way to heaven through the Jesus of the 66 books of the Bible (2 Tim. 3:15-17). Words have meaning. God’s way is a system of revealed truth in the Bible which requires adherence to that revealed truth. God does not say, “Well, here’s what I’ve said in the Bible, but believe what’s comfortable for you, as long as it is similar in name.” There is salvation only through the Jesus of the Bible, and only as he is revealed in the Bible (Acts 4:12).
Mormonism’s doctrinal aberrations are far more than peripheral paperwork. The deviations of LDS teaching from the pillar doctrines of the truth are catastrophic. Tragically, the LDS faith is an unsavable system that was off from the start. No angelic apparition, no matter how convincing, is to be embraced who suggests another gospel, as Moroni did to Joseph Smith: “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!” (Gal 1:8).
Some object, “That’s unkind to say that that someone’s personal faith can’t get them to heaven.” Once again, if someone is about to get hit by a truck, and we can prevent it, would it be more unkind to get them out of the way or say nothing? What is kind is to love someone’s eternal soul and bring them the truth.
Sometimes well-meaning individuals respond, “Well, I know some wonderful, moral people who are Mormons.” I, too, know some kind people in the Mormon faith. However, the issue here is not on the kindness of a system’s adherents, but the truthfulness of its doctrine. Despite the outward morality which may exist within Mormonism, it is an unsavable system since it departs from the most essential doctrines; Scripture, God, Christ, and the gospel.
We must lovingly appeal to Mormons to turn from their false teaching and submit themselves to the word of God in the 66 books of the Bible alone. In Scripture, they will see the glorious Jesus Christ, truly God and truly man, who has existed from all eternity, yet stepped into this world to propitiate the wrath of God for our sin. By faith in him, not our works, we are justified and reconciled to God (Eph. 2:8-9).
The LDS faith teaches that the Book of Mormon is sacred Scripture, being “another testament of Jesus Christ.” It possesses equal, if not greater, authority as the Bible, and is, therefore, the word of God. Mormonism holds that Joseph Smith discovered the Book of Mormon as a teenager in its original form in Manchester, New York on a hill called Cumorah. The book was recorded on gold plates long ago in an ancient Egyptian-type language. In 1823, Joseph Smith claimed to have been directed by the angel, Moroni, to discover and translate the contents, which became the Book of Mormon.
Mormonism teaches that Smith was a prophet like Moses and Isaiah, chosen by God to restore the true Church of Jesus Christ using the text from the plates.
The content of the Book of Mormon rejects the idea that the Bible alone is the sufficient word of God: “Thou fool, that shall say: A Bible, we have got a Bible, and we need no more Bible” (2 Nephi 29:6).
Along with the Book of Mormon and the Bible, Mormonism affirms the canonicity of two other works, The Doctrine and Covenants, and Joseph Smith’s work, The Pearl of Great Price. New revelation is also permitted, which, similar to papal authority in Roman Catholicism, can arise from the Prophet, or President of the Church.
This violates the clear teaching of the sufficiency of Scripture: “Every word of God is tested; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him. Do not add to His words or He will reprove you, and you will be proved a liar” (Prov 30:5-6; cf. Deut. 4:2, 2 Pet. 1:3, Rev. 22:18-19). Since it imposes an entire book onto the word of God, the LDS faith is on extraordinarily shaky ground.
2. Mormonism cannot lead you to heaven because it departs from the biblical teaching of the triune God.
LDS adherents insist that they believe in the God of the Bible. The language on God and Christ in the LDS faith appears nearly identical to that of biblical Christianity. Mormon doctrine claims that Jesus is the Son of God, Savior, and Redeemer who died for us. However, there are fateful differences between the God of Mormonism and Christianity.
Mormon teaching denies one of the most important biblical teachings, that God is a Triune God; one God and three Persons, God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Instead, the Persons of the Trinity are said to be three separate gods. That difference is catastrophic: it teaches polytheism, not monotheistic tri-unity, as Scripture does. Further, God the Father is said to be an exalted man who “…has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit” (Doctrine and Covenants, 130:22). The Father was once a mortal being who dwelt on earth and eventually ascended to his current god-like status. This puts the LDS god no higher than an exalted man.
Mormonism teaches that he is the father of human spirits (before creation, all humanity were spirits who lived with God the Father), among whom were Christ and the Holy Ghost. This is a different God altogether than the God of the Bible. It’s a God who is less than the eternal, immutable, infinite God, and thus, no god at all. The true God, however, was never a mortal being, but eternally an immortal, immutable, and triune Being with no beginning or end (Job 36:26; Ps. 90:2, 93:2, 102:25-27). For that reason, the god of Mormonism is an idol and a false god. Consequently, he is a god who cannot accomplish true redemption and in whom there is no salvation. To believe in a god different than that of Scripture is to adhere to an unsavable system.
3. Mormonism cannot lead you to heaven because it teaches a false view of the Person and deity of Jesus Christ.
Similar to the LDS view of God the Father, Christ and the Holy Spirit are beings whose god-like status was something that became rather than something eternally possessed. By virtue of being children of God the Father, like all human spirits, they ascended to their status of deity. Like Christ, humanity has the potential to work themselves into this god-like standing. This results in a different Jesus than that of Scripture; one who is less than eternal God, and, therefore, no God at all.
Mormonism violates the clear teaching of Scripture that, among other things, Christ is God; the uncreated, eternal, second Person of the Triune Godhead, who has eternally possessed all the attributes of God (John 1:1-2, 8:58
, 10:30; Col 2:9, Titus 2:13). The Jesus of LDS teaching is also an idol, and thus devoid of any saving power. No one can get to heaven through this Jesus both because he is impotent and fictitious.4. Mormonism cannot lead you to heaven because it departs from the true gospel of Jesus Christ.
As with the deity of Christ, the wording on salvation appears similar to biblical Christianity. However, any belief that deviates from the deity of Christ thereby espouses an unsavable Christ and a false gospel (Gal. 1:8-9).
Tragically, this is a Jesus who cannot save. Since he is not truly God, he cannot be the sinless God-man who does not possess Adam’s sinful nature (Rom. 5:12, 1 Cor. 15:22). Since he is not the sinless God-man outside of Adam’s condemned line, his death cannot effectually atone for the sin of one sinner. The eternality and sinlessness of Christ are essential to his saving ability (Heb. 7:24-27). Mormonism speaks of the atonement, but with such a Jesus, it is fictitious. Since this Jesus cannot atone for sin, not one person who puts faith in him will be forgiven, justified, reconciled to God, and go to heaven. And since this Jesus is not the true God-man, he cannot rise from the dead, notwithstanding Mormonism’s assertion of such a thing. Thus, no one can go to heaven through the LDS Jesus.
A Christ who is not the eternal God of the Bible cannot effectually save and propitiate sin for men who are not sinless. A being who is not the God of Scripture, whether having ascended to divinity or not, is unable to ascend to a moral finesse necessary such that his substitutionary death would be sufficient to placate the wrath of God for sinners (Heb. 7:26-27, 1 John 4:10). Humanity is depraved. Unless we have an individual who is truly God and truly man, humanity remains under the wrath of God because no created individual can arise out of Adam to atone for our sin. This, sadly, is another point where Mormonism is void of any saving power.
Furthermore, since Christ is not the eternal God of the Bible, the justice of God in forgiving sinners is called into question. If God the Father is going to justly justify the unjust, then he must do so through the biblical Christ. Christ must be eternal God or we may not have eternal life.
Mormon doctrine teaches that atonement is made effectual in our lives through faith in Christ, repentance, baptism, receiving the Holy Ghost, and choosing to follow Christ’s teaching for the rest of our lives. LDS article 1:3 teaches that, “Through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel” (emphasis mine). This is a direct contradiction to the way to heaven taught in the Bible. In addition to an unsavable Christ, this is a works-based righteousness, which contradicts the teaching of Scripture (Rom. 3:20, Gal. 2:16, Eph. 2:8-9). Scripture teaches that we are not saved by our works or efforts or obedience, but by putting faith alone in the Person and finished work of the Jesus of the Bible. Salvation cannot be both by works and by grace: “But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace” (Rom. 11:6). Entrance into heaven is not by our effort, but faith alone in what Christ has done: “When the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness…” (Titus 3:4-5). “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the Law” (Rom. 3:28).
In Mormonism salvation is less about Christ’s penal substitutionary atoning work, and more about trying hard to follow Christ’s example and develop god-like attributes. But trying hard will not save (Rom. 3:19-20). Trusting in Christ’s righteous life, death, and resurrection in my place alone will (1 Pet. 2:24).
Mormonism also teaches a form of salvation offered through vicarious baptism. A deceased individual can have a baptism performed in the Temple on their behalf. The deceased then have the opportunity to embrace that vicarious work. Yet, Scripture teaches no such thing.
Objections & Final Word
Some protest, “What’s the big deal? Mormons believe in Jesus, they read the Bible, and the book of Mormon. Isn’t that sufficient?” God has revealed the one and only way to heaven through the Jesus of the 66 books of the Bible (2 Tim. 3:15-17). Words have meaning. God’s way is a system of revealed truth in the Bible which requires adherence to that revealed truth. God does not say, “Well, here’s what I’ve said in the Bible, but believe what’s comfortable for you, as long as it is similar in name.” There is salvation only through the Jesus of the Bible, and only as he is revealed in the Bible (Acts 4:12).
Mormonism’s doctrinal aberrations are far more than peripheral paperwork. The deviations of LDS teaching from the pillar doctrines of the truth are catastrophic. Tragically, the LDS faith is an unsavable system that was off from the start. No angelic apparition, no matter how convincing, is to be embraced who suggests another gospel, as Moroni did to Joseph Smith: “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!” (Gal 1:8).
Some object, “That’s unkind to say that that someone’s personal faith can’t get them to heaven.” Once again, if someone is about to get hit by a truck, and we can prevent it, would it be more unkind to get them out of the way or say nothing? What is kind is to love someone’s eternal soul and bring them the truth.
Sometimes well-meaning individuals respond, “Well, I know some wonderful, moral people who are Mormons.” I, too, know some kind people in the Mormon faith. However, the issue here is not on the kindness of a system’s adherents, but the truthfulness of its doctrine. Despite the outward morality which may exist within Mormonism, it is an unsavable system since it departs from the most essential doctrines; Scripture, God, Christ, and the gospel.
We must lovingly appeal to Mormons to turn from their false teaching and submit themselves to the word of God in the 66 books of the Bible alone. In Scripture, they will see the glorious Jesus Christ, truly God and truly man, who has existed from all eternity, yet stepped into this world to propitiate the wrath of God for our sin. By faith in him, not our works, we are justified and reconciled to God (Eph. 2:8-9).
Eric is the pastor of Cornerstone Church in Wyoming. He and his team planted the church in 2008. He has been married for 20 years and has 3 children.
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