-1

"Joseph asked, "which of all the sects was right that I might know which to join." It was Jesus Christ who answered, telling Joseph not to join any of them. The Lord explained that the churches of the day believed "in incorrect doctrines and that none of them was acknowledged of God as His Church and kingdom" (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith [2007], 28; Times and Seasons, Mar. 1, 1842, p. 706-707; see also Joseph Smith-History 1:18-19).

From the LDS church website regarding this "First Vision":

"The first vision marked the beginning of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ in this last dispensation. Joseph Smith was chosen to be the Lord's prophet in the latter days. Over time, the Lord restored His authority and Church through Joseph Smith. God's children were again blessed with revelation through prophets called of God, just as they were in biblical times. Revelation continues to this day through each of God's chosen prophets who have succeeded Joseph Smith."

How is it explained that from the time of Jesus Christ Resurrection ~2,000 years ago billions of people have been saved even to this day without the Church having to be restored?

curiousdannii
  • 20,140
  • 14
  • 58
  • 126
Mr. Bond
  • 5,138
  • 1
  • 7
  • 26
  • 5
    I’m rather confused what you are asking, can you maybe clarify? – Luke Hill Apr 07 '22 at 01:34
  • 1
    @Luke Hill. Mormon prophet Joseph Smith had a vision where God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to Smith. He ask them "which church was correct?" Jesus answered and said not to join any of them. Jesus explained the churches had incorrect doctrines and not of them acknowledged God. They wanted Smith to restore the gospel of Jesus Christ. My question is if this is true and there were all wrong, how do you explain billions of people still getting saved even to this day? – Mr. Bond Apr 07 '22 at 01:38
  • the obvious answer is that they weren’t saved? – Luke Hill Apr 07 '22 at 02:12
  • I’m not a Mormon, but from a Mormon perspective I could say that you don’t have to go to the right church to be saved. God could just save you because you acted in good faith. The necessity of having the right church is not really a part of that. Also, you could say the church was corrupted over time, so it wasn’t an immediate process. – Luke Hill Apr 07 '22 at 03:57
  • 1
    on what basis are you saying they are saved (have been saved even to this day)? What is your measuring stick? – depperm Apr 07 '22 at 10:33
  • 2
    vaguely related: Do Mormons view the LDS Church as a pure restoration of first century Christianity? and According to LDS, what principles of the gospel were corrupted in the Great Apostasy? – depperm Apr 07 '22 at 12:02
  • Related: https://christianity.stackexchange.com/q/27032/6520 – kutschkem Apr 07 '22 at 14:43
  • I did my best to edit the question to get it better focused. I think the question is good (although the premise is flawed), and a quick search didn't reveal any obvious duplicate questions. – kutschkem Apr 07 '22 at 14:53
  • @kutschkem I did not like the way you edited my question when you said the following? "For LDS, given a need of a restoration of the Church." The way it reads (at least to me) your "assuming" that I'm the one who feels the church needs a restoration and this is not the case in my opinion. I will go into greater detail when I answer my own question. – Mr. Bond Apr 07 '22 at 21:11
  • @Mr.Bond Ok, sorry for that. I felt the title was not really great before, but I had a hard time coming up with an actually good one. I understand the question to be something along the lines: If God said no church was right and he should join none of them, how does that fit with billions of people being saved in the time before? Or something like that. But I struggle a bit to summarize it for a title. – kutschkem Apr 08 '22 at 08:24
  • 1
    Not interested in debating in the comments, but Latter-day Saints have a very different understanding of the word "saved" than what is presupposed by this question. – Hold To The Rod Apr 13 '22 at 01:24

1 Answers1

3

https://abn.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/baptisms-for-the-dead?lang=eng

Jesus Christ taught that baptism is essential to the salvation of all who have lived on earth (see John 3:5). Many people, however, have died without being baptized. Others were baptized without proper authority. Because God is merciful, He has prepared a way for all people to receive the blessings of baptism. By performing proxy baptisms in behalf of those who have died, Church members offer these blessings to deceased ancestors. Individuals can then choose to accept or reject what has been done in their behalf.

In other, simple words, no baptism = no salvation. No authority = no baptism. Great Apostasy = no authority.

The premise is wrong, these billions you are talking about are still, in great part, waiting for a proper baptism being performed for them in order to be saved. At least for the meaning of "be saved" that is inheriting the kingdom of God.

kutschkem
  • 5,563
  • 2
  • 16
  • 34