Welcome to Honouring Eternal Life.  We're thankful you're here!

I'm Julia, married 20+ years, living in Atlantic Canada & lifetime members of the LDS church. Our purpose here is to honour & rejoice over the way to Eternal Life as it's taught in scripture, while also heeding the scriptural warnings:

-to not declare more or less than the doctrine that teaches us how to come unto Christ,

-that there's no other way, means or conditions whereby men can be saved,

-that this doctrine would be changed, broken and transfigured

-and that establishing anything else as part of this doctrine "cometh of evil and is not built upon my rock."

Building ourselves upon the doctrine on Eternal Life makes Christ our foundation. He truly is The Way, The Truth and The Life!

Here we'll be doing the uncomfortable work of talking through the times the church hasn't honoured the doctrine which brings us to Eternal Life.  We've come to realize that changes have happened often, and we have repenting to do.

2 Nephi 15
3 And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard.

4 What could have been done more to my vineyard that I have not done in it? Wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes it brought forth wild grapes.

You'll be hearing from our present understanding of the Way to Eternal Life as described in scripture, so we encourage the spirit to always be your guide as you consider our thoughts.

 

My story

 

The short version:  In 2015 I prayed to God to help me see the way to Eternal Life and becoming like Him as it's taught in scripture.  I’d asked Him sincerely because I could see how my gospel living wasn’t helping me know Him, or helping me become like Him,... in fact, I was becoming more selfish.

At this same time, my husband Justin, (who was spending hours a day listening to scripture and General Conference addresses through his head protection gear at his job in construction) came to me and said, "I think the church and the scriptures are teaching two different gospels."

It felt unbelievable, but also I could see how it was possible.

As we studied together and individually, The spirit helped me see the doctrine which brings us to the promise of Eternal Life, and that it’s commonly taught throughout scripture. I could see how it’s always been the same doctrine. The Spirit then showed me how we’re not to add or take from this doctrine. Then helped me see how we have added more to this doctrine, and how we have taken truths from this doctrine. 

I’ve learned that honouring the way to Come into Christ as taught in scripture is transformative, soul expanding, enlightening, and fills us with Christ’s joy, peace and charity.  In contrast, I’d learned the hard way that sometimes "gospel living" is insufficient to make us what Christ intends.

We're active members with callings, but also I'm trying to live the gospel by the dictates of my own conscience, (the light of Christ).
I believe what the spirit confirms as true, and have stopped believing what goes against scripture and God's nature. I believe the church has much truth, but I can no longer believe it's all true. Interestingly, the Book of Mormon feels even more true through this experience. Also I've found the Book of Mormon has much more in common with the New Testament gospel. I believe the Book of Mormon is calling us to repentance, and calling us back to the foundational teachings of Christ.

The purpose of this website is to honour the way to Eternal Life as taught in scripture, and call out the "gospel living" practices and beliefs that (though some can be meaningful and symbolic) do not have the power on their own to bring us to Christ and Christlikeness. Or in other words, we’re going to focus on coming to an understanding of the one true way to come unto Christ and talk about the deadness of any other way.

Or in other words again, we’re going to talk of Christ, rejoice in Christ, and rely wholly upon the merits of Him who IS mighty to save.

Here’s the longer story: I've loved the gospel for as long as I can remember. As a teen I felt very concerned about my spiritual state and how judgement day was going to go for me. I imagined living my life as best I could, maybe waiting dead for a thousand years, then Judgement Day. I imagined myself very near the end of a long lineup (since I was born in the latter days) and then finally getting to the moment where I would find out my Eternal fate. I imagined all the potential scenarios of my eternal outcome. I really worried about it!  It felt like the biggest tease to put the entire population into that long lineup to find their Eternal Fate (granted, some of my understanding was filled in with my imagination). I must have prayed about it, or at least the Lord heard my cries, because he gave me an answer.

When I was sixteen, I was sitting in the home of a woman who has become one of my favourite people.  She was my seminary teacher at 16, and there in her high-ceiling living room as the sun rose on a Wednesday morning I had my first experience with Heaven opening to me.  My seminary teacher was speaking and the veil opened all around me so I felt I was in a heavenly place and I saw an angel in the air, there to witness and amplify the words of my seminary teacher.  The angel didn’t speak audibly, only witnessed of my teacher’s words, by confirming their truth to me.  My teacher said,

"Did you know you don't have to wait until Judgement Day to know where you stand with God?  If you live a righteous life of consecration to God, He can come to you and give you the promise of Eternal Life.  This is the Calling and Election and it can happen for you in this life. It's like an early Judgement Day. "

I was awestruck, and so thankful to learn this. The experience faded, and I looked around the room at the three other students and my seminary teacher, and realized it had only been my experience. I had received my first sure knowledge that there is a Heaven, and God wanted me to come unto Him. I'd learned that the calling and election meant that Christ could confirm my place in His kingdom in this life. I was speechless, but I'm sure I breathed a huge sigh of relief. I could know if my life was leading me to God.

These truths became part of me, and my focus became consecration to the Lord.

I'll skip over some important experiences for now, to the age of 35.  I'm often introspective on my birthday, but I dug a little deeper this time. I'd been a textbook follower of Christ but this birthday I saw some facets of myself I didn't expect. 

In my heart I knew I wasn't improving.  I saw my selfishness and pride getting worse, and most tragic and unexpected, I realized that though I did know much about Jesus Christ, I didn't have a developing relationship with Him.

I'd even had an experience where I had seen Christ (which I'll share at another time), but even that alone hadn't developed that heart to heart living relationship I knew was essential.

I saw deep inside that there was a sinful person who needed help from her Saviour, and needed to know her Saviour.  Especially because of my experience at 16, I knew I needed to figure this out.  God wanted me to be in His presence, and that meant that I needed to become like Him.  Christlikeness.  I'm sure my gospel living was doing good things for my life, but I was also so surprised it hadn't naturally brought me to have a Christlike nature, and know my Saviour.

Repentant and humbled, that night I prayed, "Lord, I know there's a way to come unto Thee, and this is a way that changes us, and makes us more like thee, so we can receive the promise of Eternal Life.  I'm going to start at the beginning of the Book of Mormon.  Can you help me see the way to Thee, and to the promise of Eternal Life?"

I began with the intent to believe His words in scripture as wholeheartedly as I could. God then blessed me that my scripture study (which had felt like a chore) became a feast. Suddenly, I couldn't get enough of time pouring over scripture.  This was such a gift.

As I read, I found so much instruction for how to come to the promise of Eternal Life.  This message is everywhere!  It's taught so often.  But I was also getting concerned, because I was finding more instruction than I could remember, let alone implement in my life.  I read on, though, enjoying the feast. 2 1/2 years in, the spirit taught me something that resolved the overwhelm. I realized I wasn't seeing a long rolling list of instructions to come unto Christ, I was seeing different testimonies of the same simple path. In a moment, my long list sorted itself into the one way to come unto Christ.

With this understanding of "different testimonies of the same simple path," I've created the Way to Christ Scripture Project to honour the Doctrine and highlight how over 200 scripture passages are testifying of the same one way to Christ.  This project has been a feast for years, and often leaves me in awe of the love of God.  In a hundred ways, Christ's doctrine is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.

I've been amazed by Christ's confidence in His way to bring us to salvation, His aching for us to come to Him, and His continuous redirecting us from other paths, straight to Him. I've seen the protections he has put around this doctrine to keep it pure, consistent, and unwelcome to changes.  But it has been changed. The one way to come unto Christ has been added-to, taken-from, twisted, wrested, and diminished. The spirit has helped us see these changes prophesied in scripture and how they're playing out in all Christianity.

I've seen these concerning changes so frequently that I'd be a coward and unthankful for these truths if I didn't sound an alarm.  It hurts to not talk about the problems, about as much as it hurts to realize these problems. The issues addressed in these posts must be said. I'm completely okay being a small voice speaking against the widely accepted beliefs, if it means I can honour the true doctrine.

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