Summary: As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Saints, we’ve been told that the doctrine of salvation is to believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior, repent of our sins, be baptized by someone holding the proper authority, receive the Holy Ghost, and endure to the end in keeping the commandments of God. However, the Lord has also said that those who are not valiant in the testimony of Jesus will not be saved, but what does being valiant in our testimony of Jesus mean? This article seeks to answer that question.

The scriptures tell us that Jesus told Nicodemus, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (John 3:5), and when he visited the Nephites he told them, “And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and be baptized in my name, and become as a little child, or ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God. Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine” (3 Nephi 11:38,39).

As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Saints, we’re told that the doctrine of Christ as it pertains to our salvation is to believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior, repent of our sins, be baptized by someone holding the proper authority, receive the Holy Ghost, and endure to the end in keeping the commandments of God.

But what are the commandments that God expects us to keep? The answer to that question is somewhat unknown because God has given us so many commandments that no one knows the exact number. If our salvation is dependent on us keeping God’s commandments, and no one knows what all of them are, then how is it possible for us to be saved?

It was Jesus who answered that question when he said that all the commandments could be summed up as loving God and loving our neighbor as ourselves, therefore, it would seem that as long as we believe that Jesus is our Savior, and we sincerely show our love for him, and care for others, then we will be saved in the kingdom of heaven.

However, the Lord has also revealed that those who go to the terrestrial kingdom “are they who are not valiant in the testimony of Jesus” (D&C 76:79), but what exactly does that mean? Is that the same as enduring to the end in loving God and our neighbor, or does it mean never losing our testimony of Jesus, or does it mean something else?

It’s been said that God judges the intent of our heart rather than the quality of our deeds, but how can we tell what the intent of our heart is?

The scriptures say that on the last day we will all stand before God to be judged according to our works (3 Nephi 26:4), and Jesus said that when he comes again, he will separate people into two camps which he likened to separating sheep from goats. Those who fed the hungry, took in strangers, clothed the naked, helped the poor, cared for the sick and visited those in prison are his sheep (Matthew 25:35-36).

Because of scriptures like this, there are members of Christ’s restored church who believe that once they’ve been properly baptized and have lived a decent, god-fearing life. without having committed any serious sins, and as long as they endure to the end in believing that Jesus is the Christ, this will qualify them for the celestial kingdom, but what qualifies someone to live with God in heaven is that they have prepared themselves to be there.

To illustrate this, suppose someone wants to be a doctor. Just because they have an interest in caring for people doesn’t qualify them to be a physician. To be certified to practice medicine, a person must complete the proper training and pass their state’s medical exam. If they haven’t met those requirements, no matter how much they desire to be a doctor, they cannot legally practice medicine.

The Lord has explained, “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne” (Revelation 3:21). As explained in the book of Revelation, to “overcome” means to remain faithful in the face of persecution or opposition.

In the days of the apostle John, who wrote the book of Revelation, Christians were being severely persecuted by the state for their belief in Jesus Christ, but only those who overcame the pressure to abandon their faith in Jesus and continue to honor the covenants they made with God are promised a crown of life in the kingdom of God. Anyone who fails to do that, for whatever reason, is not worthy to receive the same reward as those who have.

The apostle Peter explained, “That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:7).

Gold is refined and made pure through the process of being put in fire, where the heat causes the metal to melt into a liquid. When that happens, the impurities can then be easily removed, leaving only pure gold. What the scriptures tell us is that our faith, like gold, must be refined and purified through the trials we go through, and those who have not been properly purified by the refiner’s fire are not prepared to live with a pure and holy God. This is why the Lord told the early saints, “I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire” (Revelation 3:18).

In our day the Lord has explained that those who go to the celestial kingdom “are they who are just men made perfect through Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, who wrought out this perfect atonement through the shedding of his own blood” (D&C 76:69). It isn’t enough for us to be good people, living a god-fearing life. To sit on a throne and be crowned with eternal life requires us to be as perfect as God. The problem is that we can’t perfect ourselves.

Then how do we become perfect? The scriptures tell us to “come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, ” Jesus himself explained that the way he perfects us is “if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ” (Moroni 10:32).

It is only through the grace of Christ that we can become perfect, but to access his grace requires valiantly enduring to the end in striving to “love God with all your might, mind, and strength.” It is only those who are sincerely trying to do what God asks, and who don’t give up trying regardless of what they must endure, are the ones who will find that his grace is sufficient to perfect them. This is what it means to be valiant in the testimony of Christ.

Of course, the opposite is just as true. Those who are not continually striving to keep the commandments of God cannot live with him because they haven’t been willing to endure the purification process when things become hard for them.

Jesus taught, “If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him” (John 21.23), but those who are not willing to obey God’s word, especially during the hard times of life, will not be worthy to make their abode with God. This is why those who aren’t valiant in keeping God’s word cannot live with him in the celestial kingdom.

One of the commandments God has given is: “That thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world, thou shalt go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon my holy day; For verily this is a day appointed unto you to rest from your labors, and to pay thy devotions unto the Most High. But remember that on this, the Lord’s day, thou shalt offer thine oblations and thy sacraments unto the Most High, confessing thy sins unto thy brethren, and before the Lord. And on this day thou shalt do none other thing, only let thy food be prepared with singleness of heart that thy fasting may be perfect, or, in other words, that thy joy may be full” (D&C 59:9,10,12,13).

Those who love God with all their heart want to be with him, but when a baptized member of Christ’s restored church willfully and deliberately chooses not to come to church on Sunday, when they have been specifically commanded to do so, are showing their lack of love for the Lord by not doing as he has sked. In effect, they are saying they don’t love the Lord enough to be where he has asked us to be.

The Lord has specifically told us that on Sunday we are to come before him in his church to partake of the sacrament to show that we love him enough to weekly renew our covenant to take upon us his name and recommit to keeping the commandments he has given us. Those who choose not to do this can hardly claim they love the Lord with all their heart.

But more than this, the Lord has stated that Sunday is his day and that we are to keep it holy by dedicating it to him. Elder Russell M. Nelson has stated, “The Savior identified Himself as Lord of the Sabbath. It is His day! Repeatedly, He has asked us to keep the Sabbath or to hallow the Sabbath day. We are under covenant to do so… I learned from the scriptures that my conduct and my attitude on the Sabbath constituted a sign between me and my Heavenly Father… When I had to make a decision whether or not an activity was appropriate for the Sabbath, I simply asked myself, what sign do I want to give to God?” (2015 April General Conference).

Those who choose not to make the effort to dedicate a significant portion of their time on Sunday to worshiping God are demonstrating they are more interested in the things of the world than in the things of God. And if that’s their attitude in this life, they will be ill prepared to spend eternity doing the things that God will ask of them in the next life.

To come unto Christ requires us to “deny yourselves of all ungodliness.” That doesn’t just mean to avoid committing serious sins, but it also includes denying ourselves some of the things of the world so we can spend more time thinking about and doing things that show our love of God, and one of the ways we do that is to serve in his church and helping to build up his kingdom here on earth.

When people choose to deny Christ’s call to help him save and perfect souls because they are too busy taking care of their own worldly needs, they shouldn’t be surprised to find themselves being denied entrance into the kingdom of God that they’ve shown little interest in helping to build. If going to church and serving the Lord with all our heart is something that’s too hard for someone to do, they will not find living in heaven to be a very enjoyable place for them,

To come unto Christ means putting aside our own personal interests and showing a heart-felt interest in the things of God. Those who are not willing to at least make a sincere effort to give God an ample portion of their time now will not be prepared to live in a place where they will be required to serve God and others 100% of the time.

The reason we are counseled to come unto Christ is that he wants to perfect us but he can’t do that if we don’t come to him and then do as he asks. We don’t become perfect in an instant because Jesus waves some sort of magic wand that immediately transforms us from a sinner to a saint. We become perfected a little at a time and that happens as we continually strive to become like our Savior, and that can only happen as we sincerely strive to keep his commandments.

This principle is known as eternal progression, and if we aren’t continually striving to become more like Jesus then we will never become perfect, even if we were given all of eternity to do it in. The reason why we are saved by God’s grace is because he forgives us each time we spiritually stumble and fall, but if we are not even trying to keep moving towards perfection, then there’s nothing his grace can do for us.

To illustrate this, if a child is struggling with a school assignment, a parent can work with them and give them all the help they need, but if the child refuses to do their assignment, even with all the help that their parents are willing to give, they can’t expect to get a passing grade for not putting forth a sufficient effort to learn.

And the same principle applies to God’s grace. It’s only available to those who are making a sincere effort to improve their spirituality, but it doesn’t apply to those who aren’t even interested in trying. Since we are saved because of God’s grace, then those who don’t qualify for it cannot be saved.

Jesus taught, “For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?… Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?… So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple. Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned? It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill; but men cast it out. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.” (Luke 14:28,31,33-,35).

If we want to live with God in his kingdom, then we have to consider what it’s going to cost us to be there. Those who are not willing to pay the price by forsaking the world and spending their time doing what God asks, as we promised to do when we were baptized, then they can’t truly call themselves disciples of Christ because they’ve shown by their actions that they really don’t love him with all of their heart. And if that’s the case, then they shouldn’t be surprised that, instead of living in heaven forever with God, they find themselves being cast out.

 

Related articles can be found at The Nature of Salvation