"We are a biblical church," came from President Gordon Hinckley's lips to his Mormon audience in Atlanta, Georgia, followed by his quoting Scripture relating to "baptism of the dead" etc. to prove it. Triumphant representatives proclaim that the LDS Church was recently recognized in Russia as a centralized religious organization  by  the Ministry of  Justice. A certificate of registration,  signed  in Moscow May 14,98 allows the National Religious Association of The Church  of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints  to  continue  its humanitarian and missionary efforts in the country and to provide meeting  places for its members.
Elder Dallin H. Oaks Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles discussed Mormon doctrine in  the General Conference (May  1998 LDS Ensign Magazine). He asked the audience: "Have  you been saved? As Latter-day Saints use the words saved and salvation, there are at least six different meanings. What do we  say when someone asks us, "Have you been saved?" This question.. can be puzzling to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of  Latter-day Saints because it is not our usual way of speaking. We  tend to speak of "saved" or "salvation" as a future event rather  than something that has already been realized. If we answer  according to  what our questioner probably means in asking if we have  been "saved", our answer must be "yes". If we answer according to  the various  meanings we attach to the terms saved or salvation,  our answer will be either "yes" or "yes, but with conditions."

The LDS Apostle is telling his Mormon audience that their beliefs are  not  exactly the same as Christians.  There  are  conditions attached to their being saved and having salvation and that it is a future event. Elder Oaks continued: "As I understand what is meant by the  good Christians who  speak  in these terms, we are  "saved"  when  we sincerely  declare or confess that we have accepted Jesus  Christ as our personal Lord and Savior. This meaning relies on words the Apostle Paul taught the Christians of his day: "That  if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus,  and shalt  believe in thine heart that God hath raised him  from  the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth  unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." (Romans 10:9,10)
To  the  Latter-day Saints.. we are assured  salvation  from  the consequences of sin if we are obedient. Every sincere  Latter-day Saint is "saved" according to this meaning. We have been converted to the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, we  have  experienced repentance  and  baptism, and we are renewing  our  covenants  of baptism by partaking of the sacrament."

A  Christian who doesn't have much Biblical  understanding  would see  nothing  wrong. Salvation,  obedience,  saved,  repentance, baptism  and the sacrament (Communion) all go together don't they? Aren't  we still reaping the consequences of sin after we are saved? What is salvation?  Is it a process or is it instant? If it is a  process how long does it take and what do we have to do to get saved?  Is it  a physical experience? Is there really anything we can do  to change salvation? If life is eternal and nobody dies why do we have to be saved? The answer for Christians is: it is instant and permanent. One  is sealed by the Holy Ghost to make it permanent and untouchable by anyone. None of us would make it if it were any other way. We are all sinners saved by grace.  Through Bible Scripture study there is an  awakening  to the  truth,  the light, the Holy Spirit which naturally  involves  repentance, because  the minute one's eyes are opened, one becomes  aware  of one's  sins which is a devastating realization of what one has done  to our Savior.

Remose takes over and sorrow sets in for some time.  This sorrow  is lined with great joy that one has indeed  been  sealed forever.  That knowledge is permanent. The emptiness and  longing to be filled has been satisfied because the Holy Spirit has moved into the heart. The sealing by the Holy Spirit is not  dependent  on obedience because we are but filthy rags in the physical compared to  our Lord Jesus Christ. We would absolutely not have a  chance of getting close to God on our own. God can only see us through  His Son.

The speaker Elder  Oaks  continued, that LDS have been converted to  the restored gospel  of Jesus Christ.. which does not mean  they  have converted  to  Christ as Christians have. This means  they have converted to another gospel, the restored gospel, brought forth by their prophet, Joseph Smith Jr. Their standard works consist of : The Book of Mormon, The Pearl of Great Price and The Doctrine and Covenants. They carry the Bible along with these three works, but they believe the Bible is misinterpreted, which means it is erroneous.

Apostle Oaks went on, "we have experienced repentance and baptism.." In Mormonism every member born into Mormonism, joins the church at age eight, the  age of  accountability. They are taught in Sunday School to  ask  for forgiveness  of their sins which is repentance.  Mormons believe that  they were saved before they even came to earth. Their belief is based on evolution. According to them, man had a preexistence in the spirit realm and they chose Jesus  before they were born. They were spirit brothers and  sisters of Jesus and Satan. A third of the spirits chose Satan  and the others  chose  Jesus. The only reason Mormons  are  here  on earth, they have to have physical bodies before they can  become gods. Their god has a physical body just as Jesus Christ has  a resurrected  body. Mormonism is based on progression. Obedience means progress toward godhood.
Baptism  is a formality and requirement for membership  in  their church for everyone who wants to come into their organization. All their ordinances are in the name of Jesus Christ  but their Jesus is not the only begotten Son of God who is one in God  the Father  and  the  Holy Spirit. He is God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Mormon Jesus  is  their brother  and they have the potential of becoming equal with  him. Born again believers are the "Bride of Christ" which is a subservient position. Christ Jesus will always be God and the head of the bride.

Elder Oaks said that "we are renewing our covenants of baptism by partaking of the sacrament." Here he states that baptism  carried with it promises the members made. Do Christian baptisms involve promises?  Did Jesus make promises when he was baptized  by  John the Baptist? What are the ingredients of water baptism? Repentance and forgiveness through Christ Jesus. Can we renew our covenants that we made?  no. Jesus only died once for our sins. There is noone else to do it again. In Christianity it is the very reason we need the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ, who is interceding for us continually. He purchased us and takes that responsibility for us. He is our lawyer pleading our case.

Their sacrament is bread and water and it is done in  remembrance of  Jesus Christ but they don't believe in the cross. It  doesn't fit into their theology. Elder Oaks shared the confusing aspects of three scriptures and points  out six  different meanings of the words "saved" and "salvation" confiming the confusion in the Bible he alluded to earlier and then  said: "Our third article of faith declares our belief:  "We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel"  (Articles of Faith 1:3). The problem is the Mormon atonement happened in the garden of Gethsemane where Jesus sweat blood.
Elder Oaks goes on to say: "The New Testament frequently refers  to  the grace  of God and to salvation by grace (John 1:17,  Acts  15:11; Eph. 2:8) But it also has many specific commandments on  personal behavior,  and  many  references  to  the  importance  of   works (e.g.,Matt.5:16;  Eph. 2:10; James 2:14-17)... Relying  upon  the totality  of  Bible  teachings and upon  clarification  received through  modern revelation, we testify that being  cleansed  from sin through Christ's Atonement is conditioned upon the individual sinner's  faith,  which must be manifested by  obedience  to  the Lord's  command  to  repent, be baptized, and  receive  the Holy Ghost.. Believers who have had this required rebirth at the hands of those having authority have already been saved from sin conditionally, but  they will not be saved finally until they  have completed their  mortal probation with the  required  continuing repentance, faithfulness, service, and enduring to the  end {within Mormonism, of course}. (see Ensign Magazine, May 1998 p.55)

Mormons believe that they are the only true church. No one else could possibly be saved in any other organization. Like the Roman Catholic Church, they claim that they are the only church who has the authority to ordain priests: Aaronic and Melchizedek priests. Baptism can only be performed by authorized ordained priests, therefore noone else could possibly have an authorized baptism. This situation is precisely why Mormons have the obligation to baptize and endow every human being in Mormon temples, dead or alive. This obligation is to Mormons from God through their leadership and motivates them to go on missions, to the temples and do their genealogy to perform their duty. The whole world lays on their shoulders, even though Jesus said, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30)

Remembering that we receive the Holy Spirit the minute we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and acknowledge Him as God himself in the flesh, which we can't do without the Holy Spirit, here is what the Apostle John warns us of: "Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that  abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and  the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into [your] house, neither bid him God speed:" (2 John 1:9-10)