8/20/20
Layton, Utah. Collecting a new state. I’ve never been here before. Honestly, I really didn’t know much about Utah.
So let me educate you on what I’ve learned.
I know Utah as a place where a lot of Mormons (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints-LDS) live. But I’ve never really heard the history of how it was settled by Mormons, who were being persecuted in the eastern US. It makes me sad to think that a nation founded on freedom from persecution turned so quickly to a land of persecution even back then, though I understand that differences are frightening, especially differences related to things like polygamy and scripture and the fear of losing your religious identity to a new religion. It’s never okay to persecute. Christianity should always be about redirecting in love.
I don’t know that much about Mormonism. I know I have some family that practices Mormonism. One thing I’ve been convicted of is the need to really learn about what they believe and see how much I truly agree and disagree with. There’s certainly a lot of similarities in our religious perspectives but the subtle differences are ones that I have to admit are a big deal to me.
A specific example is that my understanding is Mormonism believes we must be justified by the things we do in order to receive salvation. To me, that’s not the message of Jesus at all! But I know that even in Christianity there are people who believe they have to do things to be good enough to be loved and saved by Jesus.
Let me tell you my understanding:
You don’t.
What you do does not matter at all.
Our salvation has nothing to do with the things we do because the only thing that needed to be done was Jesus coming to the Earth to die as a sacrifice for our sins.
That’s it. The only work that ever needed to be done was done 2000 years ago.
All we need to do is believe it was done. All we need to do is believe that His sacrifice happened because He loved us so much He wanted to give us eternal life in heaven.
Believe in the sacrifice of Jesus and that salvation is ours.
That’s it.
Because the fact is we’ll never be good enough. We can’t be perfect. Our works will never ever measure up to the perfection of God. The sacrifice of the Son wasn’t about what we can or can’t do. It was about mercy.
Mercy: the gift of not giving us the punishment we deserve for our sins.
Our works matter not because they are the way we gain salvation but because they are evidence that we believe and trust Jesus enough to let Him help us become more like Him so we can continue the work of bringing His mercy and sacrifice to the world.
A sacrifice that big isn’t meant to be hidden. It’s meant to be shared. Jesus comes into our lives and teaches us how to love with more and more of His mercy over time.
It’s not about doing it right because we get mercy no matter what we do. But we all know the concept that you are what you believe. So I want to be as much like Jesus in this world as I can. Our lives here matter because the sacrifice and mercy of Jesus never end. We get to be a part of the movement of making sure the world knows that.
Love changes us from the inside out. The outflowing of believing in everything Jesus did for us is the works we do. But salvation comes before we ever work a day for the kingdom. And nothing on this Earth can take away the free gift of salvation by mercy.
Its my gift. It’s your gift. If you want to learn more about this gift please please comment. Please please reach out.
SALVATION IS YOUR GIFT TOO!
And there is nothing you have to do except believe that it is.
So, that’s my understanding of an important difference between Christianity and Mormonism. That’s one reason why I am Christian and not Mormon. My personal experience has been knowing beyond a doubt that this salvation is a free gift. And in my next blog I’ll tell you more about how I learned about Mormonism in my time here in Utah and what I did with that knowledge.
(Also, an update! We have gotten almost $1000 for Bibles and other needs!)
