The Preamble to the Gospel of Jesus Christ

Ironically, despite the fact that Jesus Christ spent much of his mortal ministry debunking myths and incorrect traditional narratives that had caused the ancient covenant people to embrace an unjustified paradigm of superiority and exclusivity, Christians (and, even more, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) have become an extremely exclusive-minded people. It seems members of the church have mistakenly replaced the correct doctrine that there is only one being (Jesus Christ) who can save humankind with the false idea that only one people (properly baptized Christians) will be saved.

I fear that if Christ were to return today, He would have to repeat much of the rebuking correction He already provided for us during his time on Earth. I fear He would confirm that He wasn't joking in DC 84 when He warned that "the whole church [was] under condemnation...[and would] remain under condemnation until they repent" and stop ignoring the clear and beautiful truths contained in the scriptures of the restoration. I fear He would exclaim, "why do you fail to understand and try to minimize the magnitude of what I have done for all humankind??"

I believe this problem could be effectively resolved, or at least limited, if we would embrace and regularly review what I will call The Preamble to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. My proposed Preamble consists of several scriptures from the Book of Mormon and Doctrine & Covenants we, collectively, seem to be "treat[ing] ligthly" and not remembering:

WE THE PEOPLE OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS, in order to not lose sight of, or inappropriately limit, the infinite goodness, mercy and justice of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, declare that the following revealed truths should be remembered and accounted for before beginning any gospel discussion:

• D&C 137:7-9 - "All who have died without a knowledge of this gospel, who would have received it if they had been permitted to tarry, shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom of God; Also all that shall die henceforth without a knowledge of it, who would have received it with all their hearts, shall be heirs of that kingdom; For I, the Lord, will judge all men according to their works, according to the desire of their hearts."

• 2 Nephi 9:25-27 - "Where there is no law given there is no punishment; and where there is no punishment there is no condemnation; and where there is no condemnation the mercies of the Holy One of Israel have claim upon them, because of the atonement; for they are delivered by the power of him. For the atonement satisfieth the demands of his justice upon all those who have not the law given to them, that they are delivered...and they are restored to that God who gave them breath, which is the Holy One of Israel. But wo unto him that has the law given, yea, that has all the commandments of God, like unto us, and that wasteth the days of his probation."

• Mosiah 3:11-12 - "His blood atoneth for the sins of those who have fallen by the transgression of Adam, who have died not knowing the will of God concerning them, or who have ignorantly sinned. But wo, wo unto him who knoweth that he rebelleth against God! For salvation cometh unto none such except it be through repentance and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ."

• Moroni 8:8, 22-23 - "Listen to the words of Christ, your Redeemer, your Lord and your God. Behold, I came into the world not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance; the whole need no physician, but they that are sick;... Behold that all little children are alive in Christ, and also all they that are without the law. For the power of redemption cometh on all them that have no law; wherefore, he that is not condemned, or he that is under no condemnation, cannot repent; and unto such baptism availeth nothing--but it is mockery before God, denying the mercies of Christ...and putting trust in dead works."

These inspiring passages are what I love most about the gospel of Jesus Christ. Don't get me wrong, I also love what it does for me and is capable of doing for all those who, for whatever reason, have been given the opportunity of learning about and understanding the gospel in mortality. However, these scriptures emphasize and highlight the incredible and universal gift Jesus Christ has made available to all men and women, as well as His perfect equity in considering the circumstances, age, knowledge, understanding, and desires of all people when determining for what they are accountable.

I fear that by insisting that there is only one possible way for people to qualify for salvation, and by suggesting that way is the ordinance of baptism rather than the Savior himself, we who claim to be the Lord's people are unintentionally denying the mercies of Christ and failing to recognize and declare with sufficient power the wonder of His grace and generosity for all humankind. If we could remember the principles in the Preamble before any discussion about how the Lord feels about baptism and / or temple ordinances, I believe it would help us be much better Christians and a much more Zion-ready people. As I understand them, these passages are not inconsistent with scriptures about the necessity of ordinances for those who are given the opportunity to hear the message of the gospel and receive a witness of its truthfulness in a way they are able to recognize and comprehend. I believe these passages help increase our understanding of how the Lord expects us to interpret and share those messages with others.

I want to make it perfectly clear that I am not in any way discrediting or disputing the many scriptures that unambiguously teach that baptism and reception of the Holy Ghost are necessary steps towards accepting the gospel of Jesus Christ in mortality for those who have a legitimate opportunity to do so. I simply want us to recognize that none of those scriptures expressly state that this requirement (let alone a requirement for endowment or sealing) applies in exactly the same manner to those who never learn about the gospel, those who are unable to accept the gospel for reasons outside of their control, those who do not understand the gospel or receive a spiritual witness of its truth despite hearing about it, those who sin in ignorance, or to any other group who could be described in any of the passages quoted above. To assume to the contrary without at least addressing the scriptures in the Preamble would be spiritually short-sited, in my opinion, and would be to ignore the question and caution declared by the Savior in 2 Nephi 29:8-9:

Wherefore murmur ye, because ye shall receive more of my word...? And because I have spoken one word ye need not suppose that I cannot speak another; for my word is not yet finished; neither shall it be until the end of man.

Imagine how different our neighbors would feel about the church if, when they ask something like: "Do you believe that only people baptized in your church can be with their families in heaven?" we were to respond as follows: "Actually, we believe Christ is so amazing that He has provided a way for all humankind to be saved with their families through His atoning sacrifice, but we also believe that He does expect those who receive a witness that our church is true to be baptized and strive to be true disciples of Christ. In fact, one of the reasons I love The Book of Mormon is that it clarifies beautiful truths such as this one."

In my opinion, that answer is perfectly consistent with the principles taught by the Savior himself as well as by Joseph Smith, Jacob, King Benjamin, and Mormon in the passages included in the Preamble proposed above. More importantly, I believe an answer such as this would serve to unite rather than divide Latter-day saints with other Christians and those of other faiths. I, therefore, invite each person who reads this post to prayerfully consider the scriptures in the Preamble and to help make sure that these doctrines are remembered and included in any discussion regarding the Lord's expectations for humankind.