sleepyhead wrote:
Hello Moksha,
Your free to view yourself as anything you want. The problem comes in conversing with others. We converse in the English language and it's important that each word has the same meaning to both the person speaking and to the one hearing. When someone claims to be a Christian to other people these people assume that Jesus is there savior. This appears to be pretty much the universal understanding of the word. When your salvation, or in the case of the LDS, exaltation, hinges on taking part in various ceremonies in the temple, and when in order to take part in these "saving ordinances" you need to gain approval from the church (or their representative) then the church is their savior.
Hello sleepyhead,
Yes, You are correct. LDS Members (Especially LDS Men) Need to receive certain ordinances in order to get saved.
According to LDS Theology, A Man must receive six ordinances in order to receive a fulness of salvation.
Here are the six ordinances that a man must receive in order to receive a fulness of salvation.
1. A Man must be Baptized by immersion by one holding the “Proper” Priesthood Authority.
2. A Man must be Confirmed a member of the LDS Church and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of "Authoritative" hands.
3. A Man must be ordained to the Aaronic Priesthood.
4. A Man must be ordained to the Melchizedek Priesthood.
5. A Man must receive his Temple Endowments within an "House of the Lord" (An LDS Temple).
6. A Man must be Married for time and for all of eternity within an "House of the Lord" (An LDS Temple).
As LDS President Ezra Taft Benson once stated to the
Single Adult Brethren of the Church:
Understand that temple marriage is essential to your salvation and exaltation.
"And I've said it before, you want to know what Joseph Smith looked like in Nauvoo, just look at Trump." - Fence Sitter
I can only imagine what the temple priests thought of John the Baptist.