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Maybe All Roads Lead to Rome After All
By: GuestThis is a guest post from commenter Paul. He runs his own blog A Latter-day Voice.
I had a missionary companion who presented a paper at a forum at a local university. The title of his paper was “All Roads Do Not Lead to Rome.” His position, as one would expect from an LDS missionary, was that there is one way to heaven, namely through the ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ, performed by duly authorized holders of God’s priesthood – that is, through us.
And I agree with him that the path back to our Father in Heaven does include the ordinances of the gospel performed by proper priesthood authority.
There’s plenty of “path” imagery in the scriptures. Mostly we think of strait gates and narrow paths that lead to eternal life (see Matt 7:14; 3 Nephi 14:14). Lehi told of the strait and narrow path leading to the Tree of Life (1 Nephi 8:20). (It’s interesting that he didn’t mention the path until after his family members had already come to the tree. I don’t want to draw too much significance from the order of his telling, since he also failed to mention the filthiness of the water that Nephi later observed.)
And I don’t dispute the “one path” idea. Certainly I will not take exception with the Lord when He says, “I am the way, the truth and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by me” (John 14:6).
There is no doubt that for Christians who have cleared that gate, Christ is The Way.
I suppose the question for me is whether there is only one path to the gate. And as much as I’d like to say there is (just because I prefer a neat and well-ordered world), there isn’t.
I came to this realization a number of years ago while attending a twelve-step recovery meeting in Arizona. This was not an LDS group, and so there was reference to a Higher Power, “God as we understand him,” rather than the God I understood. This generalization of God was uncomfortable for me at first. After all, my testimony is built around my understanding of a loving and corporeal God in whose image I am created.
But I came to realize that each person in that room was on a path – maybe not my path, but a path, nonetheless – to redemption and recovery. And as each person sought a power outside himself (and outside of his addiction), he opened himself up to the possibility of God, or at least a god. I reasoned finally that if God is all powerful (and I believe He is), then He has power to make Himself known to people when they are ready to have Him made known.
The Savior exemplified this concept when he taught in parables so that he who had ears to hear could hear (and he who didn’t wouldn’t).
This realization that we each come to God in our own way was a bit of a relief, and also somewhat disconcerting at the same time. It was a relief because it meant that what my stake president had told me about some of my own children was true: Eternity is a long time, and the Lord will sort things out in His own time. It was disconcerting at the same time because I’d spent a long time in my life with an image of The Way (as I understood it), and The Way was the only way.
I still have no doubt that the path from gate to heaven is strait and narrow. But the path to the gate maybe not so much.
Elder Neil A. Anderson, in his remarks in the most recent conference, said:
“Wherever you now find yourself on the road of discipleship, you are on the right road, the road toward eternal life. Together we can lift and strengthen one another in the great and important days ahead” (“What Thinks Christ of Me?”)
I’m heartened by Elder Anderson’s words. They relieve me of any pressure I may have imposed on myself to judge another’s progress on the path, and instead allow me to lift up the hands that hang down, to comfort those who stand in need of comfort and to bear another’s burdens along the way. They allow me to observe the Lord’s grace in my life and in the lives of others as He nudges us all along the path toward him. Yes, there are those who reject Him; there are those who seek Lehi’s great and spacious building or fall into the filthy river or get lost in the fog. But even those are redeemable through the Lord’s mercy. Even those might still find a path home.
And that comforts me.
My thoughts on this have evolved as I’ve gone through life. As a missionary, I was more in line with the philosophy that “you need to join the LDS Church to have eternal life”. This is obviously a fairly highly desired attribute for a missionary, otherwise what’s the point.
Throughout life, though, I’ve met amazing people of all faiths, or of none at all. I’ve met people who are every bit as convinced that they are on the path God wants for them as anyone I’ve ever met in the LDS Church. And I have to respect their sincerity and their goodness.
Which leads to many roads – I believe in a God that is ultimately successful. Assume that even only 10% of the people alive today make it back to the “highest level” of God’s presence. Even if this small percentage were the case, since less than 0.1% of the world’s population is active LDS, that means that only 1 in 100 people who will ultimately be in the Celestial Kingdom were actually LDS in mortaliy.
My personal unsubstantiated opinion is that even more than 10% of God’s children will eventually make it back to Him in the Celestial Kingdom, so it is BY FAR more likely that people there were NOT actually LDS. So, there must ultimately be multiple paths back to our Father.
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The LDS path is just one of God’s many marketing channels.
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#1: Mike S,
I agree, you can’t talk about Mormon paths or Christian paths, without giving SOME place at the table for the rest of Mankind.
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I’ve been studying LDS doctrine for a long time. I see clearly that we’re a missionary church. We have a remarkable missionary effort on both sides of the veil.
The purpose of missionary work is to invite every soul who has or who will live on this earth to accept or reject the plan of salvation established by the Father.
What other church has a missionary effort that compares? The answer is none. Why? Because God restored His church and kingdom through the prophet Joseph Smith.
The fact that there are so many churches turns out to be a “stumbling block” (2 Nephi 26:20) for mankind. But the Lord allows for all of this and He will make it right for every soul and will use the goodness found in all churches to His end.
None will be denied what they really want and desire (D&C 137:7-10). Every soul will inherit what they really want no matter what they experienced in this life. How will this be done? By missionary work on both sides of the veil.
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#3 Bob:
My comment was meant to be fairly inclusive. For example, there are Muslim conversion stories every bit as powerful as any I have ever heard a Mormon or other Christian give. There are amazing Buddhist stories of healings and visions as profound as those experienced by Joseph Smith. Devout Hindus dedicate literally every action, from washing dishes to sweeping the house, to God.
I have been impressed by how profoundly many non-LDS and non-Christian people have truly touched the Divine. Their lives are an example of their faith. And I expect to see them all in the Celestial Kingdom (assuming I even make it there myself).
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The fact that 12 step groups work (and were built on the four-step Oxford group concepts) by letting people approach God within the limits of what they are ready to understand tells us a great deal about God and what he is willing to do, willing to respond to.
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As I read this, I thought of Ammon before King Lamoni. As Ammon talks about God, the King asks if that is the Great Spirit. Ammon says, “yea”. He meets the King where he is and goes from there.
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Couldn’t agree more, Paul. I often think there is ONE PATH, and it’s the ONE PATH that works for us to get back. Like Elder Uchtdorf’s reminder that we not look at others askance because they sin differently than we, we have a personal path of overcoming to traverse.
At the same time, we all pass the same checkpoints on that path. Faith, repentance, baptism, the gift and exercise of the Holy Ghost, further covenants, functioning as a builder in a kingdom meant to offer those checkpoints to all mankind. It’s another paradox – infinite personal paths, one path.
My ambiguity likes it.
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LDS doctrine teaches that our access to Heavenly Father is possible because of the following levels of “spirituality”:
4. Baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost
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3. Gift of the Holy Ghost
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2. Power of the Holy Ghost
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1. Light of Christ
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The forth level refers to those who have been born again (mighty change, full conversion,etc). They have received the First Comforter. The higher one goes, the greater the access one has to the things of the Spirit.
I believe that levels 1 and 2 are what Mike S. is referring to in #5. Levels 3 and 4 require priesthood ordinances by those having authority.
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Jared wrote: I believe that levels 1 and 2 are what Mike S. is referring to in #5. Levels 3 and 4 require priesthood ordinances by those having authority. It’s a comforting thought to many Mormons but that’s not how it works in practice. First authority is NOT power and it’s a mistake to conflate the two. LDS “authority” has no monopoly on the Spirit or on one’s relationship with deity or on access to them. Instead LDS “authority” is a belief aided community way to draw our attention to these powers (that are offered to all of humankind) in a special way that gives permission to take advantage of them instead of being shy or self conscious about engaging them.
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It’s official permission to engage these powers within the LDS community under certain prescribed rules.
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Is it possible that Heavenly Father created generations of people whose governments will not allow the message of missionaries to get to them and who will probably never have anyone who even knows they lived to perform the ordinance of baptism for the dead for them? Think of parts of the world where no birth records have ever existed or where people never even hear of the Atonement. Why would that be if there isn’t some alternative path for them? Didn’t Jesus make the ultimate sacrifice for them too?
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#10 Howard–
I don’t know how you feel about the LDS church, but from your comment it appears you don’t believe that priesthood authority was given to Joseph Smith from God the Father, and that the Book of Mormon is authentic.
If I’ve misunderstood your comment, please correct me. If I’m correct, it is your right to believe as you like.
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Jared,
I do believe that priesthood authority was given to Joseph Smith from God the Father and that the Book of Mormon is authentic but I do not believe in the historicity of the BoM, not that that has anything to do with this discussion. We differ on the meaning of authority as it is used here.
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#12 alice
You’ve asked several questions. LDS apostles and prophets teach that during the millennial the kinds of problems you brought up regarding records will be dealt with.
The following verse answers your question about who the atonement benefits.
40 And he shall come into the world to redeem his people; and he shall take upon him the transgressions of those who believe on his name; and these are they that shall have eternal life, and salvation cometh to none else.
(Book of Mormon | Alma 11:40)
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#14 Howard
Thanks for your response. One of these days, we might care on the conversation in more depth.
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Jared,
Sounds good, I’m looking forward to it.
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I tried commenting earlier, but for some reason my comment (on my own post!) did not post…
Thanks for the great comments and the discussion.
Mike, I have seen your analysis before, and I think it’s pretty accurate. Clearly in this life we’re not going to reach more than a very small fraction of God’s children with the ordinances of the priesthood, but God will sort that out (to the extent he deems it necessary). We know from prophets that it’s our duty to perform vicarious ordinances, and yet we know there’s no way we can perform enough (as mentioned in Alice’s (#12) comment. Still, we perform the ordinances for our own benefit and the benefit of those whose ordinances we perform.
We’re taught that there will be temple in the millennium where work will go on, and I suppose that’s where the difference will be made up. I haven’t done the math to sort out how many temples or sessions or seats in sessions would be required…
But Alice is right: the atoning sacrifice of the Jesus Christ is universal, as are the blessings of God’s kingdom for those who are prepared to receive them.
As as Mike alludes, even those who are not on a Christian path today may still be more spiritual than someone who is Christian in name only.
Jared (#9), I think you’ve got the hierarchy about right. Clearly Christ teaches of the need for ordinances to enter the gate and be on that last leg of the path, and the Lord teaches that the authority by which those ordinances happen is the priesthood.
Howard (#10), I don’t see how Jared conflated power and authority. Power (in his comment #9) clearly comes from the Holy Ghost; authority allows exercise of the priesthood to perform ordinances. The Lord Himself teaches in D&C 84 that in the ordinances of the priesthood the power of godliness is manifest. Jared (and Mike before him) allow for the power of the Holy Ghost outside ordinances, as well. But the Savior taught the requirement of ordinances.
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Paul,
My power/authority conflation comment was offered for clarity. If items 3 & 4 in Jared’s #9 add anything over 1 & 2 in the power department it isn’t addressed he only mentions authority as the difference. I’m sure there is power in ordinances it comes from the meaning we attach to the symbolism of them.
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