Q: Will Mormons Go to Heaven?

..."I was reading this blog (http://www.revelife.com/706157613/are-mormons-christians/) and the comments, but couldn't come to a conclusion; so my question is do Mormons go to heaven? And what specifically does God ask of us (ie believing Jesus died and rose again and etc)"



A: Wow, this question is one big can of worms! It opens up a lot of discussion and could be quite controversial.

Firstly, please visit THIS site. It's from CARM (Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry) and will give you an overview of Mormonism and may answer some questions you have.

I want to focus on what CARM says about the teachings of Mormonism. You can go HERE and follow along.

Salvation (point #18 on the website above) - Mormonism teaches that Jesus' sacrifice was not enough to save us from our sins (c), that good works are necessary for salvation (d), and that there is no salvation if we do not accept Joseph Smith as the prophet.

Those 3 points (among others), contradict the Protestant teachings on salvation and are directly related to the question at hand.

Firstly, Jesus' sacrifice was not only ENOUGH, it is the ONLY act that could save us from the sins that hold us captive.
Secondly, because we are were not able to save ourselves from those sins and we were not also able to keep the laws that God gave us, Jesus Christ was given to us t save us from those sins and reconnect us back to God. THUS, there is nothing we can do on our own terms to gain us salvation. The gift of salvation is just that - a gift. All we have to do is accept, and we don't work for it.
Thirdly, the cleansing of sins (atonement) can only be granted to us by someone who is without sin, and that ONLY someone is Jesus Christ. Thus, we believe in no one else because everyone is fallible, other than our Saviour.

I've also taken the time to skim through the official Mormon website (www.mormon.org). Here are some of my responses to what they are teaching:

The following is a quote from their website on Jesus Christ as their Saviour:
"Faith in Jesus Christ and repentance prepare you for baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost. Jesus Christ taught that everyone must be baptized of water and of the Spirit for the forgiveness of sins. Through baptism by one who holds God’s priesthood authority and through receiving the Holy Ghost, you will be spiritually reborn. After baptism, God promises to give you the gift of the Holy Ghost, who will guide, comfort, and help you know and recognize truth. The gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored through revelation from God to the Prophet Joseph Smith and other prophets. You can know for yourself that these things are true by asking Heavenly Father in prayer." (http://www.mormon.org/mormonorg/eng/basic-beliefs/jesus-christ-our-savior/jesus-christ-our-savior#d)

There are many things that I find wrong with this statement. Let's break it down:

Firstly, faith in Jesus Christ, yes, does prepare you for baptism as baptism should be the natural reaction of accepting Christ. However, the "gift of the Holy Ghost" (also known as the Holy Spirit) does not come AFTER accepting Christ. The Trinity comes as a whole: Father, Son the Holy Ghost and does not break down during the process of accepting Christ.

Also, the forgiveness of sin is done through believing in Jesus Christ...and NOT through baptism. For Christians, atonement comes in the form of accepting Christ as God's Son and our Saviour and does not include baptism as a prerequisite for salvation. Furthermore, it's not AFTER the baptism that you receive the gift of the Holy Ghost...that "gift" is available immediately after accepting Christ.

As Christians, we believe that Jesus and salvation is available to all of us who receive and who believe. Baptism is NOT the way to receive eternal life.


The following is another quote from their website:

"As you continue to exercise faith in Christ, repent from your sins, and renew your covenants, you will enjoy continued guidance from the Holy Ghost. If you endure to the end of your life and stay true to your covenants, you will receive eternal life." (http://www.mormon.org/mormonorg/eng/basic-beliefs/the-commandments/endure-to-the-end)

Heaven is a gift given to us through grace. As in, we are not required to do anything to receive it because we simply do not have the capacity to make our wrongs right. And so what this should actually say is: ¹⁶"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,^a]">[a] that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16).


THUS, after reading their teachings what they do in order to gain salvation, my conclusion would be that those adhering to the Mormon faith and believe in their teachings, will not end up in heaven.

Their teachings simply go against the Christian doctrine and the true teachings of the Bible. Christianity is a monotheistic faith (meaning we believe in one God), but throwing Joseph Smith, their prophet into the mix, as well as teaching good works will gain salvation is blasphemous.

Bottom line: salvation is given to anyone who believes Jesus Christ as the Saviour. We do not have to do anything to gain this free gift and we certainly do not have to believe in another person as a prophet. Christ is the ONLY Saviour who is without sin, and therefore, could take our sins away for us.


[answered by Pastor KJT]

Q: Why did God allow polygamy in the Bible (e.g. Jacob with Rachel and Leah or Solomon or David)?

This is a good example of "descriptive" versus "prescriptive" parts of Scripture. What does this mean?

Descriptive tells it like it is.
Prescriptive tells it like ought to have been, should be, and must remain.

Polygamy in the Old Testament was a description of how people lived their lives; it was not "prescriptive" - meaning God did not command it. Nowhere in the Bible did God ever tell anyone to marry more than one wife. Rather, God temporarily allowed it to happen.

In actual fact, whenever you read about polygamy in the Bible, it always leads to trouble or even disaster. Several examples are found in the following passages:

- Sarai and Hagar (Genesis 16)

- Leah and Rachel (Genesis 29-31)

- Hannah and Peninnah (1 Sam. 1)

- Solomon and his many women (1 Kings 11)

Polygamy is actually condemned once in Deut. 17:17:

And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away,

nor shall he acquire for himself

excessive silver and gold.

It is also condemned several times in the New Testament (1 Timothy 3:2 & Titus 1:6) because it degrades the value of women (see 1 Peter 3:7) and goes against God's design for marriage (Genesis 2:24). Marriage, after all, is a picture of the relationship between Christ and his Church (Eph. 5:32) where the husband represents the former and his wife (singular) the latter.

[Answered by Pastor HM]

Q: The Bible says nothing about masturbation, so is it wrong?

The first thing you must know is that the Bible does not discuss masturbation, meaning we are not told whether it is sinful or wrong. Now, we must realize that we have to be very careful to declare something as sinful or not sinful when God does not reveal it in the Scripture. Thus, we can only take general principles about sex and see if we can apply them to this controversial issue.

There have been others that have written extensively on the topic including the following links:

"Sex and the Single Person" by John Piper

"Porn Again" by Mark Driscoll

(this chapter is part of a larger e-Book that you can download for free)

"Is Masturbation Wrong?" by Matthew Slick

Please read these articles carefully. They are full of wisdom, practical advice (if you're really struggling with this issue) and Scripture.

In reading these articles myself, I found the common thing the authors all agree on is this: The goal of the Christian life is to be pure in thought and deed (Eph. 5:3). Even though there are circumstances in which masturbation is not sinful (i.e. thinking about your spouse, etc.), most masturbation would probably fall into the category of sin as it involves lusting after someone. This is the reason why masturbation is often associated with looking at pornography. Practically, fighting against masturbation is a lesson in self-control (and thus has great benefit spiritually and physically). Summarily, to answer your question, ask yourself (honestly!) these questions, posed by Pastor Mark Driscoll:

• Question #1 –
  Can you masturbate without lusting (Job 31:1)?
• Question #2 –
  Can you masturbate in a way that builds oneness with your spouse, pulling you together more intimately through the act (Gen. 2:24)?
• Question #3 –
  Can you masturbate without experiencing shame (Gen. 2:24)?
• Question #4 –
  Can you masturbate with a clear conscience (Titus 1:15)?
• Question #5 –
  Can you masturbate without capitulating to the cravings of your sinful desires and thoughts (Eph. 2:3)?
• [Answered by Pastor HM]

Q: Did God use to curse several generations at a time?

...What is the idea of original sin in the world? Does not Ezekiel 18 remove any guilty transferred from our ancestors? Will all the Chinese people before Jesus' crucification go to hell?

There are actually four separate questions here that are all related to each other Let's break our answer down.

There seems to be 2 ways of thinking about this issue.

There are verses in the Bible that would answer "YES" to your question. Look up Exodus 20:5, Deuteronomy 5:9, Exodus 24:6-7 and 1 Cor. 15:22. All these verses indicate that children do bear the sins of their fathers.

On the other hand, there are verses in the Bible that would answer "NO" to your question. These include Deuteronomy 24:16, which states "everyone shall be put to death for his own sin" and Ezekiel 18:20, which states:

The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall upon himself.

So where does this leave us? We must recognize there is a fundamental difference in what the two sets of verses are trying to say. The first set of verses (Exodus 20:5, etc.) are part of God's covenant (i.e. agreement) with humanity and deal with the consequences of sin.

Let me expand. At its core, the Bible a story about the relationship between God and mankind. How God relates to mankind is through covenantal agreement. Like all agreements, there are rewards (Exodus 20:6,12) for obedience and punishments (Exodus 20:5,7) for disobedience. These rules apply to the family unit. If a father (as the head/representative of the household) disobeys and sins against God, the children will suffer the consequences, often for several generations. If he willfully rejects God, and leads his children to live sinful lives, the children will suffer the consequences, often for several generations. You have to understand that sin has a "ripple effect" (think of person stepping into a perfectly calm pool); it has consequences that last for many generations. For instance, there are many individuals that can attest to how much of a negative influence their father's alcoholism (or any other sin) had on their family, including their own children.

On the other hand, the second set of verses (i.e. Deut. 24:16 and Ezekiel 18:20) deal with the legal aspects of the Jewish court system. So if you look at Ezekiel 18:20, what the verse is saying is that the son should not take the punishment for a crime the father committed. This is different than the first set of verses about the consequences of sin.

As for your last question, "Will all the Chinese people before Jesus' crucification go to hell?" I have answered it in a previous post HERE. Thanks for writing. Keep 'em coming.

[Answered by Pastor HM, who has one son of his own]

Q: Where in the Bible does it mention the combination of "Father, Son and the Holy Spirit...

...as being Three Persons in One God? Where does the concept of the Triune God appear biblically? There are other names in the Bible used to refer to God, such as "Lamb of God," "Love," "Sanctifier," etc. How can we be sure that God has expressed himself specifically in these three terms?

Great question. I'll try to break it down for our readers.

1. Where does the concept of the Triune God appear biblically? There are several passages of Scripture that specifically mention the three Persons of the Trinity, namely: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit.

- Matthew 28: 18-19 (click on this link and find the other verses; or you can look them up in your Bible)

- 1 Cor. 12:4-6

- 2 Cor. 13:14

- Eph. 4:4-7

- 1 Peter 1:2

- Jude 20-21

What you'll discover is that, in each of these verses, all three Persons of the Trinity are explicitly mentioned.

2. There are other names in the Bible used to refer to God, such as "Lamb of God," "Love," "Sanctifier," etc. How can we be sure that God has expressed himself specifically in these three terms?

These are attributes and descriptions for God; they are not other people in the Trinity. Let me illustrate with an example. While all Persons in the Trinity can be described as "love" (John 3:16; Eph. 5:25; Rom. 15:30), "Love" is not another Person in the Trinity. It is a description of what each Person of the Trinity is like.

For additional information, listen/read this sermon.

[Answered by Pastor HM]

Q: Will God forgive us, even if we have had an infatuated relationship?

in·fat·u·a·tion (ĭ-fāch'ōō-ā'shən):
1. A foolish, unreasoning, or extravagant passion or attraction.
2. An object of extravagant, short-lived passion.

A: God will forgive anyone for any sin as long as they repent of it and make an active decision to change their lives.

So, having said that...to answer your question, yes, God can and will forgive.

HOWEVER...(and you know that this was coming), it is important to be in relationships for the right reasons. I can't stress this enough, young people! Staying in a relationship because you are smitten by the other person (which is basically infatuation), is not a good enough reason. There must be more to the looks or even the personality that you are intrigued with.

I urge you to be in a relationship for the right reasons. If your friends are all dating, and you know you're not ready, there is NOTHING wrong with being single for the moment and waiting until you know you've matured in Christ.

Being in a relationship pre-maturely may seem safe and fun, but if you're not mature enough to realize what you want and what God wants, the consequences are quite intense.

For more information on Godly dating, please go HERE. This is a sermon that Pastor Ho-Ming and I preached on this past Valentines Day about what type of mate to look for and how to honour God in our relationships.

Q: Dear Pastor, it would be an honour for me to get the following misunderstanding cleared...

"...Assuming that all the souls that get to Earth as babies are equal, as there is only one life on Earth, after which soul either goes to Heaven or Hell; assuming that, I find it unfair for souls to be born in male and female bodies. At some time periods, men or women had more or less chances to become Spitirually Advanced and devote their lives to God. Assuming the reincarnation theory is wrong, how does such injustice happen on Earth?"

The wording used in this question is somewhat vague at points, so I'll try my best. From my understanding, it would seem you're arguing that the gender of a person determines - at least in part - whether they become "spiritually advanced and devote their lives to God." I would respond that the gender of a person is not the determinant factor for devotion to God. The Apostle Paul wrote this in his letter to the Romans (chapter 3):

What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, 10 as it is written:

“None is righteous, no, not one;
11 no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.

What Paul is saying is that no one - regardless of race, gender, ethnicity - has an advantage when it comes to seeking after and finding God. Every single person is in the same situation: We have rebelled, sinned against and are separated from God. The only way, therefore, to be in relationship with God is through faith in Christ. This means we put our faith in what God did for us, not what we can achieve ourselves.

That being said, in general, I do believe men and women can think about God and may find their faith in Christ differently because of the way they're hardwired. Women, for example, may relate, feel and ponder the love of Christ more quickly than a man might because they tend to be attuned emotionally. The main point, however, is that gender is not the crucial issue here. It is whether or not you put your faith in Jesus, believe what He did for you and repent of your sin. When you do that, you can have a relationship with God.

What I love about Christianity is that it is very fair and yet JUST. It does not depend on how good you are (or rotten you are); your ethnicity; your cultural upbringing; your talent; your wealth; or even your gender. Christianity says that we are all sinners and that God hates sin. Yet it also tells us that God loves us and sent his Son to die for the just penalty we rightfully deserve. And because of Jesus...

(1) Everyone is welcome (God loves everyone)

(2) Everyone can meet the requirement (Jesus met it for us)

(3) Everyone gets in the same way (Being in a relationship with God - in this life and the next - depends on faith in Christ; not anything you can do)

Hope this clarifies things. Keep asking questions, friend. We'll try our best to help you find answers you're seeking. Also, come to our youth service and learn more about God.

[Answered by Pastor HM]