Requirements of Salvation

There are many scriptures that speak about what is required to gain eternal life or receive salvation from the Lord.  In the New Testament, for example, the Savior taught, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mark 16:16).  Paul similarly told the keeper of the prison that belief was what he needed: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house” (Acts 16:31).  Paul likewise told the Romans: “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” (Romans 10:9).  Nephi described the requirements of salvation in similar terms: “All those who shall believe on his name shall be saved in the kingdom of God” (2 Nephi 25:13).  The Savior told the Nephites, “And whoso believeth in me, and is baptized, the same shall be saved; and they are they who shall inherit the kingdom of God” (3 Nephi 11:33).  Moroni recorded in his account of the Jaredites: “All those who shall believe on his name shall be saved in the kingdom of God” (Ether 4:18).  All of these verses emphasize that believing in the Lord is the way to receive salvation. 

               And yet, despite the above verses, there are plenty of others which emphasize that we must keep the commandments of God in order to receive salvation.  Perhaps the most famous of these is what the Lord said in the Sermon on the Mount: “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matt. 7:21).  In the Book of Mormon, Abinadi said simply, “If ye keep the commandments of God ye shall be saved” (Mosiah 12:33).  In the Doctrine and Covenants the Lord spoke often of the need to keep the commandments in order to be saved.  For example, in one revelation He said, “For if you will that I give unto you a place in the celestial world, you must prepare yourselves by doing the things which I have commanded you and required of you” (D&C 78:7).  He also told the Prophet: “And, if you keep my commandments and endure to the end you shall have eternal life, which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God” (D&C 14:7).  In the revelation given at Zion the Lord said, “But learn that he who doeth the works of righteousness shall receive his reward, even peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come” (D&C 59:23).  The Savior also said, “Wherefore, give heed unto these things and be diligent in keeping my commandments, and you shall be blessed unto eternal life. Amen” (D&C 30:8).  The Lord put it in different terms when He said, “Go ye, therefore, and do the works of Abraham; enter ye into my law and ye shall be saved” (D&C 132:32).  Abraham’s most important trait was surely his obedience, and the Lord seems to be telling us here that we must learn to have that kind of obedience.  These scriptures along with many others confirm the need to keep the commandments of the Lord in order to receive His salvation. 

               So how do we reconcile the “belief” scriptures with the “commandment” scriptures that speak about salvation?  It seems to me that we have to understand the requirement to believe as one that involves much more than a profession of faith.  This kind of belief described surely means a total trust and willingness to follow the Savior.  It is the kind of belief that leads to the following of the commandments.  As Ether put it in his day, we must “believe in God unto repentance” (Ether 12:4).  It’s that kind of belief that leads to repentance and keeping the commandments and ultimately is required for salvation.