How Does Salvation work in Mormonism?

How many times have you heard a Mormon say, "Mormons are Christian"?  The immediate response should be, "If Mormons are Christians, then are Christians Mormons?"  This usually puts it into perspective pretty fast.  They can't answer yes because there are just to many differences.  The real reason they claim they are Christians is because "they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledg" (Romans 10:2).  The missionaries are telling people they are saved by grace now.  They are giving away Bibles, and doing projects with Christian denominations, but it is all very superficial.  The LDS church will not be a Christian church until it repents and turns to the real gospel as found in the Word of God, the Bible. The gospel is like a mathematical equation:

• Salvation = Jesus and the redemptive work he did on the cross.
  
  
• Salvation = trusting Jesus alone to save us from our sins. Jesus said "I am the way the truth and the life no one comes to the father but by me" John 14:6  The scripture does not say "no one comes to the father, but by me and my effort or good works."  It says BUT BY ME.
  
  
• Salvation = but by me (Christ) 1 Peter 3:18 says "for Christ hath also once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust that he might bring us to God"  The scripture does not say "that he might help us bring ourselves to God"
  
  
• Salvation = he brings us to God.  Ephesians 2:8-9 says "for by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast."  The scripture does not say "for by your works you are saved through faith completely of yourselves; it is your prize you earned from God, of your own hands so you can boast."
  
  
• Salvation = grace through faith, it is the gift from God Titus 3:4-7 "but after that the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared.  Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life."  We are saved completely by his grace. The gospel of Mormonism is 180 degrees from that of Christianity.  The LDS church teaches a far different gospel equation:
  
  
  • Salvation = saved by grace after all you can do 2 Nephi 25:23
  • Salvation = obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel (article of faith 3)
  • Salvation = grace + works

     The Book of Mormon clearly states in 2 Nephi 25:23 "for we know it is by grace that we are saved after all we can do" (italics added).  In the book Mormon Doctrine by the apostle Bruce R. McConkie it clearly spells out the LDS view of the gospel.  On pg 339 it reads "Grace is granted to men proportionately as they conform to the standards of personal righteousness that are part of the gospel plan." Again, on p. 671 it says "Salvation in the celestial kingdom of God, however, is not salvation by grace alone.  Rather, it is salvation by grace coupled with obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel."  The whole idea that you have to earn your grace is not grace at all, it's a contradiction, grace isn't grace if you have to earn it.  The concept of redeeming yourself comes from none other than Satan himself.  When you believe you can redeem yourself, you take the place of God, which is the heart of the gospel of Satanism.  Look at it this way, imagine you are on the beach in California, you and ten of your friends jump in the water and start swimming for Hawaii, sure maybe a couple of you will make fifty or a hundred miles but some of you will only last a hundred yards like me, you'll never make it!!  You will never be good enough to bridge that gap, never!  That is why we need a savior, Jesus to bridge the gap, to re-establish the relationship broken with God because of our sinful nature.

     I can remember when I was Mormon, I used to think well even though I wasn't godhood material, I would still get a decent job in heaven, just because I didn't lie or steal or kill anybody I would be in there somewhere (works).  But that was really a form of self-righteousness and a self-redeeming theology right from the pit of hell, because really I was a selfish, self-righteous, arrogant, carnally minded liar.  Today to certain degrees I am still all of those things, deep down God knows it and I know it, but I have Jesus to bridge the gap for my infirmities.  HE DIED ON THE CROSS FOR MY SINS!!  Praise the Lord!!!  We are made righteous because of what he did, not because of what we did.  It is called GRACE!