“We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, through his mercy and Grace, which leads us to obey the laws and principles, and obtain the ordinances of the Gospel.” -Third Article of Faith
Salvation
“…men drink damnation to their own souls except they humble themselves and become as little children, and believe that salvation was, and is, and is to come, in and through the atoning blood of Christ…” -Mosiah 1:117-118 RAV, 3:18 OPV
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the Good News that we may be saved, if we but accept Christ’s Grace and be Born Again (John 3: 5-7; Mosiah 11:187-188 RAV, 27: 25-26 OPV). Salvation is a free gift given to all those that accept Jesus, forsake their sins and move forward in Christ. This does not mean we must be perfect in all things, yet we have been asked to be perfect by loving our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 5: 43-48; 3 Nephi 5:91-92 RAV, 12: 46-48 OPV). As we grow in Christ, his works are made manifest in us, and through his Grace we are able to obey God’s commandments.
Again, each Latter Day Saint denomination will have different views on this topic. The Fellowship’s views are more general.
Exaltation
“The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.” -Romans 8: 16-17
Exaltation is what those of us that have been saved strive for. In God’s house there are many mansions, the first shall be last and the last shall be first in His Kingdom (John 14: 3, Matthew 20: 16). While every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ, we shall still be judged and given bodies of glory (Philippians 2: 20-11, 1 Corinthians 15: 40-43). These bodies will reflect our growth in the Lord’s Grace (Doctrine and Covenants 76, LDS & CoC editions). The Lord perfects us as we grow in Grace, and the more converted we become the greater His works through us will be. Once fully matured in Grace, we join the Church of the First Born and receive the Second Comforter, even Jesus Christ, with an apostolic witness of him (Hebrews 12: 23; LDS DaC 76: 54, 88: 4-7, 93: 21-22; CoC DaC 76:5:e, 85:2a-c, 90:4a).
It is the goal of the Fellowship to help one another grow in Christ until we have received the second comforter. However, it should be noted that not all Latter Day Saint denominations look forward to or believe in exaltation beyond general and/or universal Salvation.
It should be noted that not every denomination has the same idea of exaltation. Some see it as being joint heirs with Christ. Others see it as becoming Gods, creating their own planet. Others do not look forward to exaltation as all. The Fellowship focuses on the traditional Biblical view of becoming joint heirs with Christ, but we do not look down on other traditions.
Have questions? Contact us: info@cjccf.org