From my limited experience with other religions, it seems that the term salvation is somewhat of a mystery in what it actually means. A lot of emphasis is made on being saved, but what exactly is being saved? I guess I would have vaguely described it as being able to return to the presence of our Father in Heaven and His Son. But that doesn't correlate with being saved--saved from what?
Joseph Smith has been criticized for pretty much everything he did. But one thing that he cannot be accused of is doing anything in a shallow manner. He was a very deep man and his comments regarding the Great Plan of Salvation are no different--in fact I would propose that they are some of his deepest works. In terms of theology and philosophy, Joseph Smith contributed fundamental changes to current understanding. I highly recommend reading the entire chapter.
However, I will quote one of his definitions of salvation, which was one of the main points that the teacher made today:
Salvation is for a man to be saved from all his enemies; for until a man can triumph over death, he is not saved. (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, (2007), 211.)
It is interesting how a physical tabernacle is so tightly bound to that statement. But a bit more interesting is the first part--our enemies. Who and/or what are my enemies? We listed some during class on the board:
- People we don't like
- People that want to do us harm
- Myself
- The natural man
- Sin
- Satan
Many of those items are related, and strictly of Mormon theology. Thus, conquering our enemies is nothing less than changing our natures. In short, that "... we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually." (Mosiah 5:2) This makes perfect sense logically, and salvation is no longer a fuzzy idea. We cannot be saved in our sins. We cannot be saved in ignorance. But how do we get there (and ultimately conquer death)? Only in and through Jesus Christ.
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