What scriptural support do Latter-day Saints find for their moral agency doctrine?
Upvote:2
The LDS church does not teach predestination.
To Latter-day Saints, the idea of predestination is unscriptural. Not only does it deny what Paul and other prophets taught about agency, but it also limits God’s love to only a select few. Elder Joseph Fielding Smith stated emphatically that “no person is ever predestined to salvation or damnation. Every person has free agency.” Similarly, the Book of Mormon prophet Jacob taught that “one being is as precious in [God’s] sight as the other.” (Jacob 2:21.)
The LDS church teaches about foreordination.
Foreordination is thus different from predestination. There is no divine compulsion to ensure that a person who is foreordained to a particular calling will fulfill his or her tasks.
So why does the church teach foreordination and not predestination. Predestination removes from us responsibility and agency. If a person is predestined to become a minister or sorts, nothing will stop that even if they blatantly disobey God's commands. One could be foreordained to be a minister and live in a way that is not condusive to that calling and never become a minister. Agency is central to the doctrine of God.
Agency is the ability and privilege God gives us to choose and to act for ourselves. Agency is essential in the plan of salvation. Without agency, we would not be able to learn or progress or follow the Savior. With it, we are “free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil” ( 2 Nephi 2:27).
If you read the last bullet point under sources, that will give you a solid understanding of what The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe concerning predestination and foreordination.
Sources
- https://www.lds.org/ensign/1990/12/i-have-a-question?lang=eng
- https://www.lds.org/topics/agency?lang=eng
- https://www.lds.org/topics/agency/what-the-church-teaches?lang=eng
- https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2010/10/agency-essential-to-the-plan-of-life?lang=eng&_r=1
- https://www.lds.org/ensign/1990/12/i-have-a-question?lang=eng
More post
- 📝 What is the Wesleyan Church's View of Initial, Progressive, and Entire Sanctification?
- 📝 On what basis do Evangelical apologists argue that Muhammad committed sin?
- 📝 Why is the word ‘concupiscence’ so important in understanding the difference between a Catholic view and a Protestant view of ‘Original Sin’?
- 📝 When was the "Evangelist" title first applied to the Gospel authors?
- 📝 What fancy word describing a church's stance on the Eucharist most closely applies to Mormonism?
- 📝 Was the dogma of the Immaculate Conception formulated in response to someone challenging Mary's ability to bear a perfect Son?
- 📝 Was Noah and/or his family fully or partially descendant from Cain?
- 📝 How can a theistic evolutionist account for the origin of suffering and death?
- 📝 What do "sin" and "death" mean in Romans 5:12?
- 📝 Is the Roman Catholic church condemning Protestants?
- 📝 How many persons did create the world?
- 📝 What is meant by "love covers over a multitude of sins"?
- 📝 Did Jesus die on the cross crucified or was he hung to death from a tree?
- 📝 What is the Biblical basis for saying that God can annihilate human souls?
- 📝 Why was Lot's wife judged for looking back?
- 📝 When are children held accountable for ther sins?
- 📝 For Catholics who have expressed concern about Pope Francis and are wary of his pontificate, what are the key issues?
- 📝 Are all forms of giving equally morally 'good' according to the Catholic church?
- 📝 Do Jehovah's Witnesses believe that the 1918 influenza was caused by Satan?
- 📝 What is the Bible and Christian view on Astrology?
- 📝 How did Isidore of Seville become the patron saint of the Internet and computer programmers?
- 📝 In the history of the Catholic Church, has the Sunday obligation to go to Mass ever been dispensed of due to some serious communicable disease?
- 📝 How do believers in an eternal conscious torment/separation interpret Matthew 10:28?
- 📝 Scripted Prayers
- 📝 How do proponents of sola fide explain Titus 1:16?
- 📝 Why did Protestants abandon Liturgy of the Hours?
- 📝 Why is archangel Michael portrayed with a sword in art?
- 📝 All the references where Jesus is offered worship
- 📝 How many Catholics believe in Transubstantiation?
- 📝 LDS expected future relationship with God after exaltation
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 What scriptural support do Latter-day Saints find for their moral agency doctrine?
- 📝 What biblical support do Arminians and open theists find for libertarian free will?
- 📝 What do Latter Day Saints believe happens to persons who have rejected Christ Jesus?
- 📝 What Biblical support for praying to the saints is usually cited by those Christians who practice that?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for Christians being instructed to tithe (10%) of their income to the modern day 'church'?
- 📝 What is the Scriptural support for the Catholic Church's "depositum fidei"?
- 📝 Do the Mormons/ Latter Day Saints view of the Trinity and belief in a divine Mother make a practical difference to their ethics & conduct?
- 📝 What is the Biblical basis for the doctrine of the Trinity?
- 📝 On what do Catholics base their doctrine of the eternal virginity of Mary?
- 📝 What is the Biblical support for Purgatory?
- 📝 What is the scriptural basis for clerical celibacy?
- 📝 What is the Biblical basis for disbelief in the doctrine of the Trinity?
- 📝 What is the scriptural basis for "Love God and do whatever you please"?
- 📝 What is the support for saying Jesus believed Genesis was a literal account of creation?
- 📝 What is the Biblical basis for saying that wives can divorce their physically abusive husbands?
- 📝 What support is there for the Jehovah’s Witness translation of John 1:1?
- 📝 Which Christian groups prohibit playing cards, and what is their basis for doing so?
- 📝 What is the Biblical basis for the doctrine of the Trinity consisting of different persons?
- 📝 How does the LDS Church decide what is included in their scriptural canon?
- 📝 What is the basis for the doctrine of Biblical inerrancy?
- 📝 What is the Biblical basis for annihilationism or the conditionalist doctrine of hell?
- 📝 What is the Biblical support for Hell as a singular concept?
- 📝 What support is there in the Patristic writings for Marian Devotion?
- 📝 What is the biblical support for the Nicene creed's statement of the Son being "eternally begotten"?
- 📝 What is the doctrinal or Scriptural basis for a central Church authority?
- 📝 What is the scriptural basis for the idea that salvation can still be obtained after death?
- 📝 What is the biblical support for the moral-civil-ceremonial distinction of Old Testament laws?
- 📝 Does everything happen for a reason, and what is the biblical support for the different views?
- 📝 What did the early church fathers (pre-5th c.) teach with regards to the doctrine of baptism as a necessity for salvation?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for Christians NOT to quit their jobs, sell all their possessions, and preach the gospel?