Questioning Latter Day Saints Article of Faith on the Ordinances and Principles of the Gospel

LDS article of faith number four says, we believe in the first principles and ordinances of the gospel. First, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, second, repentance, third, baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, and fourth, the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Spirit.

19th century Baptist pastor Charles Spurgeon once said, discernment is not knowing the difference between right and wrong, it's knowing the difference between right and almost right. So when you look at the fourth article of faith, all the right phrases are there.

Faith in Christ is a biblical command. Repentance is a biblical command. Baptism is a biblical command. However, the way these things are presented in LDS teaching makes them into works. The Bible's clear, you cannot work your way to salvation.

Salvation by Grace Through Faith, Not Works

There's nothing you can do to get there. In Ephesians 2, 8, and 9, the apostle Paul tells us, for it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and that is not of yourselves, and not of works, lest any man should boast.

When you're in the flesh, when you're trying to work your way to God, you can't. It's clear in scripture. So what Paul is telling us in Ephesians 2, 8, and 9 is that grace of God was, is, and always will be sufficient.