The Only and True Doctrine and Gospel of God, Jesus and his Church

[Amonhi]

The Doctrine and Gospel of Christ is considered a mystery that is taught in the Book of Mormon.

D&C 10 - talking about the Book of Mormon before it was translated... Christ will bring forth his true doctrine and Gospel through the Book of Mormon
61 And I will bring to light their marvelous works, which they did in my name;
62 Yea, and I will also bring to light my gospel which was ministered unto them, and, behold, they shall not deny that which you have received, but they shall build it up, and shall bring to light the true points of my doctrine, yea, and the only doctrine which is in me.
63 And this I do that I may establish my gospel, that there may not be so much contention; yea, Satan doth stir up the hearts of the people to contention concerning the points of my doctrine; and in these things they do err, for they do wrest the scriptures and do not understand them.
64 Therefore, I will unfold unto them this great mystery;


The ONLY and true Doctrine of Jesus Christ... is faith in Christ, repentance, baptism and God will give the remission of sins and the give the Gift of the Holy Ghost. This is the ONLY doctrine of Christ and the Gospel of Christ. anything taught more or less than this and declared to be Christ's Doctrine comes of evil and opens the gates of hell to receive you...

3 Nephi 11 - Jesus teaching the mystery of his doctrines and gospel.
31 Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, I will declare unto you my doctrine.
32 And this is my doctrine, and it is the doctrine which the Father hath given unto me; and I bear record of the Father, and the Father beareth record of me, and the Holy Ghost beareth record of the Father and me; and I bear record that the Father commandeth all men, everywhere, to repent and believe in me.
33 And whoso believeth in me, and is baptized, the same shall be saved; and they are they who shall inherit the kingdom of God.
34 And whoso believeth not in me, and is not baptized, shall be damned.
35 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and I bear record of it from the Father; and whoso believeth in me believeth in the Father also; and unto him will the Father bear record of me, for he will visit him with fire and with the Holy Ghost.
36 And thus will the Father bear record of me, and the Holy Ghost will bear record unto him of the Father and me; for the Father, and I, and the Holy Ghost are one.
37 And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and become as a little child, and be baptized in my name, or ye can in nowise receive these things.
38 And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and be baptized in my name, and become as a little child, or ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God.
39 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and whoso buildeth upon this buildeth upon my rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them.
40 And whoso shall declare more or less than this, and establish it for my doctrine, the same cometh of evil, and is not built upon my rock; but he buildeth upon a sandy foundation, and the gates of hell stand open to receive such when the floods come and the winds beat upon them.


2 Nephi 31 - Nephi tell us his revelations about the Gospel and Doctrines of Christ which confirm the "Only and True" doctrines of Christ and the Father
14 But, behold, my beloved brethren, thus came the voice of the Son unto me, saying: After ye have repented of your sins, and witnessed unto the Father that ye are willing to keep my commandments, by the baptism of water, and have received the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost, and can speak with a new tongue, yea, even with the tongue of angels, and after this should deny me, it would have been better for you that ye had not known me.
15 And I heard a voice from the Father, saying: Yea, the words of my Beloved are true and faithful. He that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved.
16 And now, my beloved brethren, I know by this that unless a man shall endure to the end, in following the example of the Son of the living God, he cannot be saved.
17 Wherefore, do the things which I have told you I have seen that your Lord and your Redeemer should do; for, for this cause have they been shown unto me, that ye might know the gate by which ye should enter. For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost.
18 And then are ye in this strait and narrow path which leads to eternal life; yea, ye have entered in by the gate; ye have done according to the commandments of the Father and the Son; and ye have received the Holy Ghost, which witnesses of the Father and the Son, unto the fulfilling of the promise which he hath made, that if ye entered in by the way ye should receive.
19 And now, my beloved brethren, after ye have gotten into this strait and narrow path, I would ask if all is done? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save.
20 Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.
21 And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the way; and there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God. And now, behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God, without end. Amen.


Remember that if you build on the doctrine then you cannot fall and the gates of hell cannot prevail against you. If you build on more or less than this, then the gates of hell lay open to receive you. This applies to each of us individually, but also as a church. The church must also be built on the gospel or doctrine of Christ which is the rock.

D&C 33 - The Gospel of Jesus is the same as the doctrine of Christ
11 Yea, repent and be baptized, every one of you, for a remission of your sins; yea, be baptized even by water, and then cometh the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost.
12 Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my gospel; and remember that they shall have faith in me or they can in nowise be saved;
13 And upon this rock I will build my church; yea, upon this rock ye are built, and if ye continue, the gates of hell shall not prevail against you.


Now the goal of the doctrine and gospel of Jesus Christ is to gain the Holy Ghost as our constant guide so that it can tell us all things that we should do. So, we see that the doctrine and gospel of Christ is summed up in the Sacrament with the intention of having the Holy Ghost to guide us. Those who are maintain the remission of sins and are guided by the Holy Ghost are built on the rock and those who don't aren't.

3 Nephi 18 -
11 And this shall ye always do to those who repent and are baptized in my name; and ye shall do it in remembrance of my blood, which I have shed for you, that ye may witness unto the Father that ye do always remember me. And if ye do always remember me ye shall have my Spirit to be with you.
12 And I give unto you a commandment that ye shall do these things. And if ye shall always do these things blessed are ye, for ye are built upon my rock.
13 But whoso among you shall do more or less than these are not built upon my rock, but are built upon a sandy foundation; and when the rain descends, and the floods come, and the winds blow, and beat upon them, they shall fall, and the gates of hell are ready open to receive them.


There is a clear line that says if we repent and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost which will tell us all things then we are build on the rock and protected against the gates of hell, but if we teach more or less than this and call it the doctrine or Gospel of Christ then we are spreading evil or leading people astray because we are not built on the rock and the gates of hell are open to receive us. This applies to the church as well as the individuals.

D&C 18 - The Lord speaking of the scriptures says
3 And if you know that they are true, behold, I give unto you a commandment, that you rely upon the things which are written;
4 For in them are all things written concerning the foundation of my church, my gospel, and my rock.
5 Wherefore, if you shall build up my church, upon the foundation of my gospel and my rock, the gates of hell shall not prevail against you.

D&C 10 -
67 Behold, this is my doctrine—whosoever repenteth and cometh unto me, the same is my church.
68 Whosoever declareth more or less than this, the same is not of me, but is against me; therefore he is not of my church.
69 And now, behold, whosoever is of my church, and endureth of my church to the end, him will I establish upon my rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them.


To be Christ's church, we must meet two requirements:
1 - Be called in his name
2 - Teach his doctrine or Gospel and nothing more or less

3 Nephi 27:8 - Jesus teaching the requirements to be his church
8 And how be it my church save it be called in my name? For if a church be called in Moses’ name then it be Moses’ church; or if it be called in the name of a man then it be the church of a man; but if it be called in my name then it is my church, if it so be that they are built upon my gospel.

To be built on his gospel, we cannot each more or less than what he taught and called his doctrine and his gospel or we are against him and come of evil and are not his church...

Peace,
Amonhi

PS - I didn't write this...Someone else did. That seems to be important to some people.

[rewcox]

Dang, cut out D&C 10, 3 Nephi 11, and 2 Nephi 31 and you are good to go. No idea why they put all the rest of the scriptures together, not needed. Including the calling and election parts, and the church of the firstborn parts.

You could read the whole scriptures every day. Hurray!!!

[Amonhi]

Dang, cut out D&C 10, 3 Nephi 11, and 2 Nephi 31 and you are good to go. No idea why they put all the rest of the scriptures together, not needed. Including the calling and election parts, and the church of the firstborn parts.

You could read the whole scriptures every day. Hurray!!!

Are you saying that the doctrine and Gospel of Jesus Christ includes more than what those scriptures say?

Or are you unsure as to how everything else fits into the picture if there are only a few doctrines endorsed and taught by Christ and God?

Peace,
Amonhi

[rewcox]

Gospel

The gospel is our Heavenly Father's plan of happiness. The central doctrine of the gospel is the Atonement of Jesus Christ. The Prophet Joseph Smith said, “The first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Articles of Faith 1:4).

Additional Information
In its fulness, the gospel includes all the doctrines, principles, laws, ordinances, and covenants necessary for us to be exalted in the celestial kingdom. The Savior has promised that if we endure to the end, faithfully living the gospel, He will hold us guiltless before the Father at the Final Judgment (see 3 Nephi 27:16).

The fulness of the gospel has been preached in all ages when God's children have been prepared to receive it. In the latter days, or the dispensation of the fulness of times, the gospel has been restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith.

[Amonhi]

Gospel

The gospel is our Heavenly Father's plan of happiness. The central doctrine of the gospel is the Atonement of Jesus Christ. The Prophet Joseph Smith said, “The first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Articles of Faith 1:4).

Additional Information
In its fulness, the gospel includes all the doctrines, principles, laws, ordinances, and covenants necessary for us to be exalted in the celestial kingdom. The Savior has promised that if we endure to the end, faithfully living the gospel, He will hold us guiltless before the Father at the Final Judgment (see 3 Nephi 27:16).

The fulness of the gospel has been preached in all ages when God's children have been prepared to receive it. In the latter days, or the dispensation of the fulness of times, the gospel has been restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith.

That is interesting...

Moroni told Joseph Smith that the fulness of the Gospel as taught by Jesus Christ was found in the book of Mormon.

Joseph Smith—History 1:34
34 He said there was a book deposited, written upon gold plates, giving an account of the former inhabitants of this continent, and the source from whence they sprang. He also said that the fulness of the everlasting Gospel was contained in it, as delivered by the Savior to the ancient inhabitants;

Jesus backed up Moroni by telling Joseph Smith, "rely upon the things which are written (The Book of Mormon written by Joseph Smith); For in them are all things written concerning the foundation of my church, my gospel, and my rock."

In the book of Mormon, we find exactly what Moroni said we would find where Jesus personally teaches his doctrine and his Gospel repeatedly saying exactly the same thing and telling us that it is: Faith, Repentance, baptism the remission of sins and the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost. He follows one of his teaching up by saying "this is my doctrine, and whoso buildeth upon this buildeth upon my rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them. And whoso shall declare more or less than this, and establish it for my doctrine, the same cometh of evil, and is not built upon my rock; but he buildeth upon a sandy foundation, and the gates of hell stand open to receive such" - 3 Ne. 11:39-40

Another time he teaches it, he ends by saying almost the same thing, "if ye shall always do these things blessed are ye, for ye are built upon my rock. But whoso among you shall do more or less than these are not built upon my rock, but are built upon a sandy foundation; and when the rain descends, and the floods come, and the winds blow, and beat upon them, they shall fall, and the gates of hell are ready open to receive them." 3 Ne. 18:12-13

I have show that Nephi learned/taught the exact same thing and then saying, "this is the doctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the Father".

After all this, the Lord personally tells Joseph Smith the exact same thing in D&C 33.
D&C 33 - The Gospel of Jesus is the same as the doctrine of Christ
11 Yea, repent and be baptized, every one of you, for a remission of your sins; yea, be baptized even by water, and then cometh the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost.
12 Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my gospel; and remember that they shall have faith in me or they can in nowise be saved;
13 And upon this rock I will build my church; yea, upon this rock ye are built, and if ye continue, the gates of hell shall not prevail against you.


I don't think that he could be more clear regarding what the FULNESS of the GOSPEL of Jesus Christ is. And that it IS in fact taught in its fulness by Jesus Christ in the book of Mormon exactly like Moroni said it was. And it is clearly spelled out 2 times that if we teach or do more or less than this, it comes of evil and THE GATES OF HELL ARE READY OPEN TO RECEIVE US and we are NOT built on HIS ROCK which is HIS GOSPEL.

Having seen all these witnesses, Rewcox, you contradict Christ by adding to what he taught saying that there is more that must be taught as HIS Doctrine and gospel. You contradict Moroni by saying that the Fulness of the Gospel is not contained in the Book of Mormon at all let alone as taught by Jesus Christ personally.

By virtue of the fact that Jesus said that the doctrine you are teaching opens the gates of hell to receive people, that these quotes conclude that what you are teaching leads people astray. (By astray I mean to hell.) So, if we follow your view of the Gospel, (which is that it includes everything Jesus taught but that is only the first principles and ordinances and not the fulness which includes much, much more), Jesus said that the gates of hell are opened to receive us.

I think that by blatantly contradicting the Savior regarding what his Gospel is, you place us in a position to choose between your teaching and his. We either have to agree with you or the Savior who is the author and finisher of our faith. I really feel deep down that you are not standing on solid ground... (That was puny because we are talking about being on the firm foundation of the rock vs sand and I am saying that you don't have a solid argument. ;) ).

The scary thing is that I have no doubt that you references a church published document as your response. I can forgive the church for its error because I understand that it is run by members who are fallible and really don't know what they are talking about. But I also recognize that calling it Christ's church when it doesn't teach his doctrine doesn't make it his church.

While I accept that you can be a member of the LDS Church and a member of Christ's church, I also realize that being a member of the LDS church does not mean that you are by default a member of Christ's true church or the kingdom of God. Two people doing the same thing but one is taken and the other is not. (See Luke 17:20-37) Two people can pray, one id counted good and the other evil. (See Moro. 7:7-11) Two people can be members of the LDS Church, one is a member of Christ's true church the other is not. I get that and I am satisfied with the LDS church and what it does provide because it is through my affiliation with the church in conjunction with my own effort and progression that got me where I am.

I don't care if the Prophet himself is teaching a false Gospel and leading people astray to the gates of hell by doing so, I have walked the path and returned to God. I am not speaking from a position of hope or belief but from knowledge when I say "I know and testify that the path is exactly what Jesus taught, nothing more and nothing less." I know from first hand experience. If you look at what I have been teaching since the first day I joined this forum, it has been the same message without variation. I just had not put together the connections given in the OP. This does not mean that the other principles teachings and even ordinances of the church are not useful, true or relevant, only that they are not considered "doctrines of Christ" or part of the "fulness of the Gospel". There are many scientific discoveries and philosophical and spiritual truths that are not considered part of the doctrines of Christ and have nothing to do with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is no surprise that the church is aware of and teaches many things that have nothing to do with Christ's doctrine or Gospel. And there is no line crossed until someone begins to teach those things and declare them to be part of Christ's doctrine and Gospel when they are not. At that moment when the church or individuals in the church begin to teach for doctrines the commandments of men, they are no longer built on the rock and the gates are ready open to receive them and anyone blinded by the craftiness of men enough to follow them.

PETER: Good morning.
LUCIFER: Good morning gentlemen.
PETER: What are you doing here?
LUCIFER: Observing the teachings of these people.
PETER: What is being taught?
LUCIFER: The philosophies of men, mingled with scripture.
PETER: How is this teaching received?
LUCIFER: Very well! Except this man (Amonhi) does not seem to believe what is being taught.

Peace,
Amonhi

[rewcox]

I'm with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and its Leaders. You can nit pick all you want. That must be important for Church of the Firstborn.

[Finrock]

I'm with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and its Leaders. You can nit pick all you want. That must be important for Church of the Firstborn.

I would be curious to know how do you explain the scriptures that Amonhi quoted? First, I'm curious if you recognize that there is a contradiction between what you have said versus what we can read from the words of Moroni, Jesus, and others in the scripture? If you recognize the contradiction, how do you settle that contradiction in your mind? Let's take one quote and will you please tell me in your own words what you believe Jesus means when He says the following?

Faith, Repentance, baptism the remission of sins and the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost..."this is my doctrine, and whoso buildeth upon this buildeth upon my rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them. And whoso shall declare more or less than this, and establish it for my doctrine, the same cometh of evil, and is not built upon my rock; but he buildeth upon a sandy foundation, and the gates of hell stand open to receive such"

I am genuinely and sincerely curious to know how you interpret and understand the parts in the scriptures where Jesus says that faith, repentance, baptism for the remission of sins, and the baptism by fire and the Holy Ghost is the doctrine of Christ and the fullness of the gospel? Please, no snide, sarcastic, or ridiculous remarks. Please respond with a genuine, heartfelt, sincere answer. Pretty please!

Now, if you don't recognize the contradiction, well, then I guess what more can be said at this point, but I will say that it seems pretty clear that the fullness of the gospel and the doctrine of Christ is exactly what Jesus said it was and exactly what Moroni said, and that your quote from LDS.org is saying something different than what is found in the scriptures and I personally cannot be satisfied with that contradiction.

-Finrock

[rewcox]

I'm with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and its Leaders. You can nit pick all you want. That must be important for Church of the Firstborn.

I would be curious to know how do you explain the scriptures that Amonhi quoted? First, I'm curious if you recognize that there is a contradiction between what you have said versus what we can read from the words of Moroni, Jesus, and others in the scripture? If you recognize the contradiction, how do you settle that contradiction in your mind? Let's take one quote and will you please tell me in your own words what you believe Jesus means when He says the following?

Faith, Repentance, baptism the remission of sins and the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost..."this is my doctrine, and whoso buildeth upon this buildeth upon my rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them. And whoso shall declare more or less than this, and establish it for my doctrine, the same cometh of evil, and is not built upon my rock; but he buildeth upon a sandy foundation, and the gates of hell stand open to receive such"

I am genuinely and sincerely curious to know how you interpret and understand the parts in the scriptures where Jesus says that faith, repentance, baptism for the remission of sins, and the baptism by fire and the Holy Ghost is the doctrine of Christ and the fullness of the gospel? Please, no snide, sarcastic, or ridiculous remarks. Please respond with a genuine, heartfelt, sincere answer. Pretty please!

Now, if you don't recognize the contradiction, well, then I guess what more can be said at this point, but I will say that it seems pretty clear that the fullness of the gospel and the doctrine of Christ is exactly what Jesus said it was and exactly what Moroni said, and that your quote from LDS.org is saying something different than what is found in the scriptures and I personally cannot be satisfied with that contradiction.

-Finrock

This is like wrestling tag teams....

I embrace the full Gospel of Christ.

If you just want 1 scripture, here it is:

16 ¶For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

[Finrock]

I'm with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and its Leaders. You can nit pick all you want. That must be important for Church of the Firstborn.

I would be curious to know how do you explain the scriptures that Amonhi quoted? First, I'm curious if you recognize that there is a contradiction between what you have said versus what we can read from the words of Moroni, Jesus, and others in the scripture? If you recognize the contradiction, how do you settle that contradiction in your mind? Let's take one quote and will you please tell me in your own words what you believe Jesus means when He says the following?

Faith, Repentance, baptism the remission of sins and the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost..."this is my doctrine, and whoso buildeth upon this buildeth upon my rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them. And whoso shall declare more or less than this, and establish it for my doctrine, the same cometh of evil, and is not built upon my rock; but he buildeth upon a sandy foundation, and the gates of hell stand open to receive such"

I am genuinely and sincerely curious to know how you interpret and understand the parts in the scriptures where Jesus says that faith, repentance, baptism for the remission of sins, and the baptism by fire and the Holy Ghost is the doctrine of Christ and the fullness of the gospel? Please, no snide, sarcastic, or ridiculous remarks. Please respond with a genuine, heartfelt, sincere answer. Pretty please!

Now, if you don't recognize the contradiction, well, then I guess what more can be said at this point, but I will say that it seems pretty clear that the fullness of the gospel and the doctrine of Christ is exactly what Jesus said it was and exactly what Moroni said, and that your quote from LDS.org is saying something different than what is found in the scriptures and I personally cannot be satisfied with that contradiction.

-Finrock

This is like wrestling tag teams....

I embrace the full Gospel of Christ.

If you just want 1 scripture, here it is:

16 ¶For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

In case you didn't understand the request, I was asking for you to state in your own words and based on your understanding, what did Jesus mean when He spoke the words in 3 Nephi and in the D&C? Essentially, how do you interpret and understand the scripture that I quoted and which Amonhi quoted? Please, no sarcastic remarks, slurs, snide, or ridiculous remarks. Please, I am asking genuinely and sincerely and would ask that you respond in the same fashion.

I would also extend this invitation to anyone else who does not believe that the doctrine of Christ and the fullness of the Gospel is faith, repentance, baptism for the remission of sins, and baptism by fire and the Holy Ghost. I would like to understand this other perspective and how these scriptures are interpreted. Thank you so much for your considered and sincere responses.

-Finrock

[rewcox]

D&C 76 is nice. Try it. D & C 76

[Sarah]

We have some who criticize the Church leadership for not teaching enough, and some for teaching too much. I don't know that our leaders are emphasizing that the doctrine of Christ is anything other than what was stated in the scripture. I see the majority of messages focused on those topics. Now, does that mean we should throw out everything Joseph Smith taught about Priesthood, temples, and other commandments and ordinances? Should we throw out all the visions and prophecies and stories we have in the scriptures? Of course not. So why not teach about those things too?

Haven't you ever said to yourself, "I wish my parents would have taught me that?" And it's usually because you find later in life that you were ignorant about certain things, or weren't good at something you wished you had practiced, or perhaps you wish your parents would have warned you, or explained the dangers of certain behaviors. That's what the commandments are for. They are blessings - tender mercies from our Father in Heaven to help us not make a mess of our lives. All commandments ultimately help us fulfill the doctrine of Christ. How can you repent if you don't know what behaviors, attitudes, and motivations you need to repent of? You need to not only learn but practice being like God, and he helps us beginning with our parents, blessing us with the Church, and when we do receive the Holy Ghost, we can constantly receive information from Him, about how to conform our lives, repent, have faith etc. If you have the Holy Ghost, you will have confirmed to you truth when you hear it, be it from written words, an individual, or the voice of the Lord himself. We just need to have practice listening to and obeying the right spirit.

[Amonhi]

D&C 76 is nice. Try it. D & C 76

I do not understand your response, can you clarify?

Peace,
Amonhi

[Amonhi]

We have some who criticize the Church leadership for not teaching enough, and some for teaching too much. I don't know that our leaders are emphasizing that the doctrine of Christ is anything other than what was stated in the scripture. I see the majority of messages focused on those topics. Now, does that mean we should throw out everything Joseph Smith taught about Priesthood, temples, and other commandments and ordinances? Should we throw out all the visions and prophecies and stories we have in the scriptures? Of course not. So why not teach about those things too?

I fully agree. We don't throw out gravity and say we don't believe in it or accept it just because it isn't part of the doctrine of Christ or the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We don't throw out the spirit world and premortal life because Jesus didn't teach it and declare it part of the gospel. That is not the goal or point. He never said, don't believe or accept anything else. He said, nothing else is my doctrine or Gospel.

For the benefit of others, not really addressing your comment anymore...
Christ drew a very fine line and said that this line is faith, repentance, baptism, and promised that if we did these things correctly that the Father will baptize with fire and the Holy Ghost. That is the line. He called this line the straight and narrow path that leads to eternal life. Then he said if you are teaching anything less than this and calling it my doctrine, then you are on the below the line and the gates of hell are open to receive you. And he said if you teach more than this and call it my doctrine, then you are above the line and the gates of hell are open to receive you.

He placed a high priority on this and repeated multiple times saying that if you follow any other doctrine or gospel, then the gates of hell are open to receive you. Those are VERY STRONG words! This becomes a VERY, VERY, VERY important thing to figure out and understand so that we can build our lives and our church on the rock that Christ repeatedly tells us about. It is the ONLY sure foundation and the ONLY safe place to build our lives and the ONLY way to make it to the CK.

I just don't see any wiggle room here. I don't see the grey area. Repent and get the Holy Ghost, then you are on the straight path that leads to eternal life. The Holy Ghost will guide you and if you follow its direction, you will avoid sin. If you lose the Holy Ghost because you aren't obeying it you sinned, so you need to repent and get the Holy Ghost back, then you are on the straight path again and walking toward eternal life. (Loop that concept infinitely.) At the end of that path you find eternal life which is given by promise from God and sealed by... The Holy Ghost which is the Holy Spirit of Promise. We call this having your calling and election made sure or enduring to the end of the path that leads to eternal life.

I can see that if you don't have the holy Ghost, then you need to repent or the gates of hell open wide to receive you. The Holy Ghost won't dwell in unclean temples. It's a no brainer. Of course you are not going to heaven if you don't have the Holy Ghost guiding your life! It doesn't take a genius or a Savior to see that.

The church is made up of members like you and me. IF we as members don't know and teach the doctrine, then our church doesn't know or teach the doctrine because we're the ones teaching what we know. Jesus doesn't come down to each Sunday school class and tell us his doctrine, he had it recorded in the scriptures multiple times exactly the way he taught it. We can read it as often as we like. We don't have to believe him. We can discount the book of Mormon and say that it is 2000 years old and the doctrine has changed. We can make up whatever reason we want to disbelieve Christ and his words as recorded in the scriptures. You are free to do anything you want with your life and religious worship. But realize that we are the sunday school teachers and Elders quorum presidents and Bishops and even the correlation committee. Belonging to this church doesn't mean that we know or teach true doctrine. If this is Christ's church, and it is run by us, then we had better understand his doctrine and his gospel and know that straight and narrow line so we can teach it. If we do not, then we can't claim that this church knows and teaches Christ's doctrine because WE are the church and the teachers and the leaders. We pride ourselves for having the fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and yet we don't know what it is, and we disagree with Christ when he tells us plainly! "Sorry Jesus, but you don't know the Gospel and what you said doesn't make sense so your wrong..." How brilliant are we really? (Become as a little child because they are humble enough to learn?)

Either Jesus Christ was right and teaching more or less than his doctrine will open the gates of hell or it will not. We are teaching what he taught or we are not. If we are not then we are teaching the doctrine of some other church, not his. Again, the way he worded it, doesn't allow for wiggle room regarding his doctrine and his gospel.

Haven't you ever said to yourself, "I wish my parents would have taught me that?" And it's usually because you find later in life that you were ignorant about certain things, or weren't good at something you wished you had practiced, or perhaps you wish your parents would have warned you, or explained the dangers of certain behaviors. That's what the commandments are for. They are blessings - tender mercies from our Father in Heaven to help us not make a mess of our lives. All commandments ultimately help us fulfill the doctrine of Christ. How can you repent if you don't know what behaviors, attitudes, and motivations you need to repent of? You need to not only learn but practice being like God, and he helps us beginning with our parents, blessing us with the Church, and when we do receive the Holy Ghost, we can constantly receive information from Him, about how to conform our lives, repent, have faith etc. If you have the Holy Ghost, you will have confirmed to you truth when you hear it, be it from written words, an individual, or the voice of the Lord himself. We just need to have practice listening to and obeying the right spirit.

Of course the entire system falls apart if you don't have the supporting principles like the law. Without a law there is no sin against the law. How could you have a law without a punishment for breaking the law?

Alma 42:17
17 Now, how could a man repent except he should sin? How could he sin if there was no law? How could there be a law save there was a punishment?

I loved what you said which I highlighted in red. I couldn't agree more. Wonderful post, thanks!

Peace,
Amonhi