Ask Me I’m Mormon: How to Get Into Heaven

Throughout my life I’ve gotten some pretty interesting comments about how mormons get into heaven. The funniest part about some of them is the people were serious.

So today I wanted to set the record straight (and answer a question I got after the last post) by sharing a little “how to.”

Step 1: Have faith in Jesus Christ.

That’s it. You can stop reading now. That’s all you have to do.
You need to accept Jesus Christ as your Savior and Redeemer. You have to believe that He can save you and that He loves you. If you give your heart to Christ on Monday, and die on Tuesday, you’re headed to heaven.

However, if you don’t die on Tuesday, this is where it gets a little bit tricky, and some evangelicals get a little angry with us Mormons. To start, we believe that Christ is the only way to be saved. You aren’t saved because you go to church every Sunday, or because you take enough dinners to the sick, or have enough children (to the surprise of some one you). In the Book of Mormon it reads:

  “And moreover, I say unto you, that there shall be ano other name given nor any other way nor means whereby bsalvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the cLord Omnipotent.”    aka: Faith in Christ is the only way to be saved

Then why, you ask, do mormons sometimes seem to be so focused on “works” or “doing things to get into heaven”? Well in the Bible Peter talks about how “faith without works is dead.” So I stand by the fact that if you have true faith in Jesus Christ, that is only thing you need to be saved. But here’s the catch, if you have faith in Christ, and don’t die on Tuesday, then there are some things you will do: 

Step 1a. You will repent of your sins. 
Step 1b. You will be baptized in the name of Christ.
Step 1c. You will try to keep His commandments for the rest of your life. 

And so you see, all you have to do is accept Christ, truly accept him, and let Him begin to change you. As you let him in you will start doing steps 1 – 3, because you have been truly converted, not because you are trying to “save yourself” or “work your way into heaven.” 

You can see its kind of a fine line. And I think that some people, myself included, blur it every once in awhile. Its so easy to have a check list and to think that we’re all set if we can check off our items everyday. Sometimes thats easier than deep prayer, painful recognition, and unwaivering faith. But when it comes down to it, we understand that we are saved only through Christ and while we are obedient to God’s commandments out of love and conversion, we aren’t saving ourselves. 

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I know that Jesus Christ is my Lord, my Savior, my Redeemer, and my Friend. I know that He loves me, and has prepared a way for me to be with Him again. I know there is no other way I can make it back but through Him. Because of this I strive everyday to do what He has asked of me. I know showing my faith following His commandments not only allows me to be with Him again, but brings me great happiness while I’m still here on Earth. I know that He is there and listens as I speak to Him each day, that He wants to help in anyway He can. I know He lets me suffer so I can learn, and that He ultimately suffered all things so that my feeble effort and being a follower of Christ can be enough. 

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