The Gifts of Salvation

Everyone who wants to can go to Heaven. It is a free gift. Jesus Christ offers it to everyone. We are not working our way to heaven by any means. Some have told me that we are walking the path to Heaven, but can only go part-way, and Jesus makes up the difference. However, our work on the earth does not in any way help us to get to Heaven. We are NOT walking closer to salvation, we are choosing which gift we will receive from Him. He has gifts of all kinds, and we spend our lives on Earth deciding which form of salvation we want.

It seems to me that "salvation" is used in four different ways in the scriptures:

1. First, we are saved from physical death, or the separation of our body and spirit. This is immortality.

2. The second is salvation from suffering for our sins and transgressions, or mercy.

3. The third is to be saved in Heaven,

4. And the fourth is to receive exaltation, or Eternal Life, the greatest of all the gifts of God.

Testing

Mortality is a test to see if we are willing to do what God wants, instead of what we want. "And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them;" (Abraham 3:25) At each level we are tested to see if we are able to move on. God puts us in situations that test our obedience. The point at which we fail determines our level of salvation. King David passed all the tests of faith, but failed the test of power, "and, therefore he hath fallen from his exaltation, and received his portion;" (D&C 132:39)

Those who continue on the path are tested to the uttermost -- the broken heart, or utter devastation -- willingly. Abraham had to sacrifice his son. Job sacrificed all, and told his friends "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him." (Job 13:15) All saints must be willing to suffer pain, torture and death. Each must offer an offering in righteousness, or the sacrifice of a broken heart. Everyone who would follow Christ into heaven must also be wiling to follow him in the depths of humility, and suffer as He suffered. We must suffer grief, pain, loss, mourning, and all manner of injustice. These are the tests.

How can we suffer and keep going? Through our faith in Him. Our pain is swallowed up in the joy of salvation. Jesus Christ has overcome the world. "In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." (John 16:33) Jesus promised even his "friends" that they would suffer, but that through Him they would come out conquerors, passing all the tests.

Salvation is a gift

Passing a test is not working to get there any more then getting an 800 on the SAT guarantees you a spot in the college of your choice. Nor does passing the BAR guarantee you a job with any law firm. Though you are qualified, the decision is not in your hands; you have no control. 

The Lord has everything to give. He's the King of kings, Lord of lords. He owns everything. His love tells us that he will give us all we are willing to take -- so we decide what we want. It is totally our choice. Those who choose everything can have it. He's the car dealer with every car. Some people only want a used Yugo. Some want a motorcycle. Some want a Lamborghini. Others want a motor home. Everyone gets what he wants, and all are gifted without money and without price. However, we must qualify for the gift. The Dealer cannot give an automobile to one who has no license. Only those with a driver's license can get one. Is the work of getting a driver's license payment in any way for the car? -- absolutely NOT.

Many mansions

The "work" we do to find our level of Heaven is the same way -- it just qualifies us to receive a gift, not payment for it. Let's look at each form of salvation and what it takes to get the various "licenses:"

1. Salvation from physical death is given to all who are born, no matter what! Immortality is absolutely free; we are all pre-qualified. Everyone will be resurrected. We cannot even do anything to prevent it. It's a done deal. "Now, this restoration shall come to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, both the wicked and the righteous; and even there shall not so much as a hair of their heads be lost; but every thing shall be restored to its perfect frame, as it is now, or in the body." (Alma 11:44) No license needed.

2. Salvation from suffering requires that we repent, or confess and forsake our sins. God is just. There is a law and a punishment for breaking it. If we break a law we will receive the punishment -- if we don't repent and ask for mercy. "For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I;" (D&C 19:16-17) The license of mercy is repentance.

3. Salvation in Heaven: There are levels of Heaven so this is more dependent on our level of commitment to Jesus Christ, or faith in Him, which is determined by our level of obedience. There are three basic levels: "There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead." (1 Corinthians 15:40-42)

Telestial (stars): Those who go to the lower level of heaven only need to confess Jesus Christ to qualify. They can be liars, cheaters and murders, or any manner of sinners and be saved in Heaven if they are just willing to kneel before Him and confess His name. "Yea, every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess before him. Yea, even at the last day, when all men shall stand to be judged of him, then shall they confess that he is God;" (Mosiah 27:31)
Terrestrial (moon): The second level is for those who are good people, but "who received not the testimony of Jesus in the flesh, but afterwards received it. These are they who are honorable men of the earth, who were blinded by the craftiness of men." (D&C 76:74-75)

Celestial (sun): The third heaven is for those who make a covenant with him through baptism -- and keep it. They are the covenant people of the Lord, who are valiant in the testimony of Jesus Christ, who endure in faith to the end. "Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." (John 3:5)

4. Exaltation: When prophets use the word "salvation" they are generally talking about this, highest form -- the best of the best. Within the Celestial Kingdom of Heaven there are three degrees, or levels. The highest is reserved for those who love. It is the only place where intimate relationships can be maintained. It is the only way families are together forever. It is the only situation where husband and wife enjoy the bonds of matrimony. The closest intimacy and the deepest love is found in marriage, which requires complete humility. Only those few who are chosen for this because they have charity, the pure love of Christ, receive all that God has to offer -- everything. The gift of being "heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ" (Romans 8:17) is the greatest of all the gifts of God. It isn't just getting a car, He gives you the whole lot!

Qualifying for my desired gift

Knowing what it takes to get a driver's license allows me to go through the steps to receive a car and drive it. Likewise, gifts of salvation don't happen without training, knowledge, and practice. I can take advantage of the gift by going through the simple steps outlined in the Gospel. For example, I don't want to suffer for my sins so I will repent of every one of them; I will gladly let them go, and receive the gift of mercy. Also, I want to go to Heaven so I will do what it takes to receive that gift. While I understand that many are happy to settle for a lesser gift, I wouldn't be happy without the best. I will therefore do all I can to get my license to receive Eternal Life, knowing that if I pass the tests and qualify, God will deliver on His promise. I will therefore humble myself, live by every word of God, and receive the gift of charity that I may qualify for Exaltation. 

His grace is so complete that He even teaches the classes, giving simple, step-by-step instructions, and then gives the license. He controls everything, and it's all ours for the asking. For this reason, "as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." (Joshua 24:15)

The Law

There are many, especially Christians, who argue about the laws of God. One side argue that Christians obey the Spirit and not the Law, while the other side says the Law is important. This is the "faith versus works" debate that has been ongoing for centuries. Paul seems to indicate that "a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ." (Galatians 2:16) On the other hand, James clearly says, "faith without works is dead." (James 2:20)

The Law is a schoolmaster

I think the Law of Moses is symbolic of the growth of every person. We begin in slavery to sin and need strict laws to help us begin to learn obedience to God. However, the law itself doesn't serve God's purposes "to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." (Moses 1:39) Salvation doesn't come by keeping the Law, as Abinadi tells us:

"And moreover, I say unto you, that salvation doth not come by the law alone; and were it not for the atonement, which God himself shall make for the sins and iniquities of his people, that they must unavoidably perish, notwithstanding the law of Moses." (Mosiah 13:28)

If the Law cannot save us, then why do we need it? Abinadi explains further:

"And now I say unto you that it was expedient that there should be a law given to the children of Israel, yea, even a very strict law; for they were a stiffnecked people, quick to do iniquity, and slow to remember the Lord their God; therefore there was a law given them, yea, a law of performances and of ordinances, a law which they were to observe strictly from day to day, to keep them in remembrance of God and their duty towards him." (Mosiah 13:29-30)

I think "The Children of Israel" refers to everyone who is baptized into the fold of the Lord. Through baptism we become subject to the law. Coming out of slavery to sin, we pass through the Red Sea, or the waters of baptism, and enter into the wilderness. There are those who are very ready and can immediately go into the Promised Land, but the congregation as a group needs help. For our instruction, then, God gives laws to follow. The law is our schoolmaster. It helps us to remember the Lord. We need the daily regimen to continually remind us of the Lord and our duty towards Him. 

Willing to keep the commandments

Many don't make it because they can't even keep the simplest laws. In the modern day there is one law that separates those who are willing versus those who are not called the "Word of Wisdom." The Lord tells us that it is, "Given for a principle with promise, adapted to the capacity of the weak and the weakest of all saints, who are or can be called saints." (D&C 89:3) In other words, this is the easiest thing to do for anyone who wants to be a disciple of Christ. People often misconstrue this law to be one of the health of the body. The fact is, it is given for the salvation of our souls -- it is our schoolmaster.

Since we are not saved by keeping the law, what can save us? The Lord. The law only instructs us on how to come to the Lord. Nephi kept the Law of Moses, even though he didn't need to because he had already learned to serve the Lord. "And, notwithstanding we believe in Christ, we keep the law of Moses, and look forward with steadfastness unto Christ, until the law shall be fulfilled. For, for this end was the law given; wherefore the law hath become dead unto us, and we are made alive in Christ because of our faith; yet we keep the law because of the commandments." (2 Nephi 25:24-25) Even though the law was "dead" they continued to keep it just because God commanded it.

By the same token, Jesus didn't need to be baptized, but He did it because God had commanded it. Nephi explains: "Know ye not that he was holy? But notwithstanding he being holy, he showeth unto the children of men that, according to the flesh he humbleth himself before the Father, and witnesseth unto the Father that he would be obedient unto him in keeping his commandments." (2 Nephi 31:7)

Righteously breaking the Law

Those who are alive in Christ continue to keep the law in all things, unless they are commanded otherwise. Even though Jacob knew of Christ and had a hope of his glory, he continued to keep the statutes of the Law of Moses.

"For, for this intent have we written these things, that they may know that we knew of Christ, and we had a hope of his glory many hundred years before his coming; and not only we ourselves had a hope of his glory, but also all the holy prophets which were before us. Behold, they believed in Christ and worshiped the Father in his name, and also we worship the Father in his name. And for this intent we keep the law of Moses, it pointing our souls to him; and for this cause it is sanctified unto us for righteousness, even as it was accounted unto Abraham in the wilderness to be obedient unto the commands of God in offering up his son Isaac, which is a similitude of God and his Only Begotten Son." (Jacob 4:4-5)

The law exists merely for our training. But, even those who are "alive in Christ" continue to keep the Law, unless directed specifically to do otherwise by God. God is above the Law. As a poet has license break the laws of grammar in order to convey a message, and a policeman or doctor can break traffic laws of in an emergency, God breaks any and all His laws in order to save His children. There are many examples in the Scriptures of prophets who were commanded to do things that were "contrary to the law." Abraham was commanded to kill his son. Nephi was commanded to kill Laban. Hosea was commanded to marry a prostitute. Peter was commanded to eat unclean meat. 

The law isn't righteousness, only the word of God is. We cannot be justified by the law, only by God's word. The written law is training for the real thing, which is obedience to the will of God. "Keeping the commandments" at times will mean breaking the law, and keeping the law can cause our destruction if we do it against the will of God.

Faith versus works

Thus, the argument about keeping the spirit or the letter of the law is moot. We are commanded to keep the laws of God in all things, unless directed otherwise by Him in a specific situation. Salvation isn't in the law, but rather in obedience to God. The "spirit of the law" isn't justification for breaking it, unless we are truly guided by the Holy Ghost in doing something contrary to the laws of God. Jesus said, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." (Matthew 4:4) Thus, if we properly exercise the laws of God to learn submission to His will, we will have His Spirit with us always to tell us when it is expedient to keep the law, and when to break it. At this point there is no contradiction between faith and works, as James points out, "I will shew thee my faith by my works." (James 2:18)

Talents and Treasures

To paraphrase the parable of the talents taken out of Matthew chapter 25: A man gave some money to his servants to take care of while he was away. To one he gave a million dollars, to another he gave a hundred-thousand, and to another a hundred, according to their abilities. When he returned he asked for an accounting, and the first was praised for making another million in trading the money. The second was also praised for making another hundred-thousand. The third, however, did not trade so he gave back the hundred he was given. The master, did a most unusual thing; he took away the money from him and gave it to the man with two-million, and then cast the servant out of his house.

"For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (Matthew 25:29-30)

I would like to consider an interpretation of this parable.

What we start with

When people are dependent on the world they sacrifice Eternity. Everything in life is a trade. We trade the only thing of value we have on this Earth: effort or the exertion we make, be it mental, emotional, physical, and so forth, to accomplish our desires. In other words, we trade our efforts to get what we want. These are the choices we make every minute of every day, trading what we have for something we value more. We can refuse to trade, just biding our time without any effort on our part to improve our situation -- this is laziness. We may do this because we don't see the value in the trade. If we don't think college will get us what we want, then we're not going to put in the effort to graduate. If we see value in a healthy body, we will put in the effort to exercise.

Whatever we are doing at any time is the most important thing to us at that moment. Our efforts, then, reveal what we really desire. Sometimes, it is important to rest, sometimes it is important to talk, sometimes it is important to work, sometimes it is important to make money, sometimes it's important to play. Wherever we use our energy indicates what is most important to us, and will determine what wealth we gain.

If we trade our efforts for the things of this world, then we can have them. What we often don't consider is what we get in return. The Macbeth's put all of their efforts into becoming king and queen and found only wasted efforts, "Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown, And put a barren scepter in my grip." This is the common lot of all those who spend their efforts in pursuit of the things of the world -- fruitless and barren. With any of the things of the world into which we put our efforts, enough is enough, and more than enough is a liability. 

The riches of Eternity

The other option is to spend your efforts in pursuit of the things of Eternity:

1. Love -- the gifts we give to others to ease their burdens

2. Intelligence -- knowledge of truth

3. Wisdom -- the application of truth

4. Faith -- belief in and evidence of the power of God

5. Charity -- the gift of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, pure love

6. Joy -- the connections with people, bringing others to God

All of these efforts connect us with God. In order to do this we must obey the will of God, submitting always to what He wants us to do, instead of we want to do. In order to do the will of God, we must first know his righteous will. In order to know His will we must have communication with Him. The beginning of the effort to gain the riches of Eternity, then, is to pray, and read the Scriptures.

The talent of prayer

Prayer is an essential communication that is learned over time. It is not easy, it requires great effort, as Enos relates in his own story: 

"And my soul hungered; and I kneeled down before my Maker, and I cried unto him in mighty prayer and supplication for mine own soul; and all the day long did I cry unto him; yea, and when the night came I did still raise my voice high that it reached the heavens.

...I did pour out my whole soul unto God...

...I was thus struggling in the spirit...

...and I prayed unto him with many long strugglings...

...After I had prayed and labored with all diligence..."

Enos 1:4-12

Enos gives us a good example of how much effort it takes to pray in faith, or "mighty prayer." This must be practiced every day, all day -- "continually," as the scripture says, "Men ought always to pray, and not to faint." (Luke 18:1) Like any talent, it is leaned through practice. And also like any talent, the more it is practiced, the better one gets. This talent is definitely worth all of the efforts we can make, for it brings us the ability to earn the riches of Eternity.

The gift of tongues

It would not be possible to earn any Eternal wealth without the written word of God. This was so important that the "exceedingly young" Nephi was told by God to kill a very important man in Jerusalem: 

"Yea, and I also thought that they could not keep the commandments of the Lord according to the law of Moses, save they should have the law. And I also knew that the law was engraven upon the plates of brass. And again, I knew that the Lord had delivered Laban into my hands for this cause that I might obtain the records according to his commandments." (1 Nephi 4:15-17) 

The commandments of the Lord are written by the prophets. The Word of the Lord is in the Scriptures. "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life." (John 5:39) Without this knowledge we would just wallow in ignorance. Without the "instruction book" of life, we can only guess. However, we also need to develop a talent to understand them: the gift of tongues.

Though Scripture is written in any Earthly language, they are not to be understood that way. People often argue over semantics of translation, or specific words used in one language compared to another, but this is an exercise in futility. The scriptures are written in the "tongue of angels," or the "language of the prophets," be it English, Spanish, or Chinese. The language we read is only the medium, the understanding comes from the Spirit. When we have the Holy Ghost, we can speak with the tongue of angels, and understand the language of the prophets. This takes a lot of effort, just like learning any foreign language. The effort to learn the language of Scripture has infinite value because it puts us in a position to know the will of God, or righteousness.

Eternal Increase

When we develop Eternal talents it lead to one thing: bringing souls to God. Those who spend their time and efforts improving their talents are able to give more. They develop something of value to give. If we have love, wisdom, knowledge, faith, hope, charity, or any other Godly talent it will help us to gain treasures in Heaven. 

Unlike the wealth of the world, the advantage of this treasure is that more is -- more! It only gets better! "And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me!" (D&C 18:16) The jewels of Heaven are the children of God. These have infinite value because they go on forever. Thus, we would do well to trade our time on the Earth for these things, giving glory to the Master and doubling what we were given stewardship over.