“The
Race of Life” by
Thomas S. Monson
“Where
did we come from? Why are we here? Where do we go after this life?
No longer need these universal questions remain
unanswered.”
Compared
to the Bible by Connie Raddon
Color Key:
Quotes from the
LDS Ensign in blue.
Quotes from the
Bible in red.
All my own words
are black.
The
May issue of the Ensign contains all of the talks given by the leadership of
the LDS Church during April’s General Conference. This talk was given by the president of the
Church, Thomas S. Monson. It is found on
pg. 90-93.
Mr.
Monson explains that the LDS Church provides answers to three questions:
1.
Where did we come from? LDS
Answer: A previous existence as literal
spirit children of God.
2.
Why are we here?
LDS Answer: To be tested to see if we will qualify for
the blessings of heaven.
3.
Where do we go after this life? LDS
Answer: We want to earn a celestial glory to be in the presence of God.
For this
article, I want to focus on the second question, “Why are we here?” Monson repeats the concept many times that we
are here to become worthy for what God holds for us in the next life. He doesn’t always say the word “worthy”, but
he uses terms and phrases that mean the same thing such as “qualify”, “become
perfect”, “successfully cross the finish line”,
and “earn”.
“How grateful we should be that a wise Creator
fashioned an earth and placed us here, with a veil of forgetfulness of our
previous existence so that we might experience a time of testing, an
opportunity to prove ourselves in order
to qualify for all that God has prepared for us to receive.”
First, our
Creator actually “CREATED” the earth. To
say He “fashioned” the earth implies that He merely molded it, or gave shape to
it.
The Bible says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Gen 1:1
Second, there
was no “veil of forgetfulness” because we did NOT exist previous to our earthly
existence.
Third, and on the
topic of Monson’s “worthiness”, our purpose here is not for a “time of testing”
or to “prove ourselves”. If that is the
case, then everyone has failed. Absolutely
no one will qualify for presence in God’s glory.
“There
is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none
who seeks after God.” Romans 6:10-11
“For
all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 6:23
“By obedience to God’s commandments, we can qualify for that “house” spoken
of by Jesus when He declared: ‘In my
Father’s house are many mansions’.”
We cannot “qualify”
by keeping God’s commandments. We get
into that “house” spoken of by Jesus by grace alone – being justified through
our faith alone.
“knowing
that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus
Christ…for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.” Galatians 2:16
(“Justified”
means to be declared free of blame – in other words, God declares us blameless.)
“…for
if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.” Galatians 2:21
Monson also
says, “God, our Father, and
Jesus Christ, our Lord, have marked the way to perfection. They beckon us to follow eternal verities and
to become perfect, as They are
perfect.”
Mr. Monson
misquotes the Bible here when he says “become perfect”. The Bible says, “BE perfect”, not “become”. This is not a process, but a command to be
perfect right now. How do we do
that? Not by our own works, that’s for
sure. Jesus is the only person who lived
perfectly. When we are born again, not
only are we forgiven of all sin through Christ’s atonement, but his
righteousness is applied to us so God can look at us and count us as
perfect. Right now. When God “justifies” us, it is like declaring
us to be perfect. Keep that in mind when
reading these verses:
“Therefore,
having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus
Christ.” Romans 5:1
See how this
says we have already been justified? We
are already seen as perfect… we don’t have to “become” perfect, or “become”
justified.
“Therefore
the law was our tutor to bring us to
Christ, that we might be justified by faith.”
Galatians 3:24
Monson
continues, “…and I do not
overlook the holy scriptures, which contain the word of the Lord and the words
of the prophets – provided to us to help us successfully
cross the finish line.”
In 1 John chapter
5 is God’s witness to us that if we believe in the Son, we have eternal
life. God does not witness to us that he
will provide help for us to achieve eternal life, He says that those who
believe HAVE IT now.
“It is the celestial glory which we seek. It is in in the presence of God we desire to
dwell. It is a forever family in which
we want membership. Such blessings are earned through a lifetime of striving, seeking,
repenting, and finally succeeding.”
When the Bible
speaks of “eternal life” or being “saved”, it is referring to living in the
presence of God, with all the blessings of heaven. The Bible says these blessings cannot “be
earned” like Monson says.
“For
by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is
the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9
The
teachings in the May 2012 issue of the Ensign
are
NOT Biblical, and therefore,
NOT
consistent with Christian beliefs.
Brigham Young issued a challenge on May
18, 1873 (as recorded in the Journal of Discourses, Vol. 16 p. 46): “Take up the Bible, compare the religion of
the Latter Day Saints with it, and see if it will stand the test.”
I have accepted that challenge from
Brigham Young.
In the May 2012 issue of the Ensign,
the LDS religion FAILS this test.
Resources
used for this article:
The Word of God
(The Bible)
The LDS
magazine, “The Ensign”
