How do Christian Witches view "salvation"?

This question is difficult to answer seing how I grew up Mormon, and according the the Mormon church there is no Heaven, no Hell, and Salvation is not thought of in the same way other churches think of it.

Salvation is not often heard taught in the Mormon church. I only ever heard it mentioned in passing a couple of times. Basically, they taught that the Blood of Jesus is not what saves you, because the Blood of Jesus was what saved people who died BEFORE the Resurrection. According to them, before the Resurrection, people were cast into outer darkness as a result of Adam’s sin, and Jesus died to save them not those who came after the Resurrection. For those born after the Resurrection, we are saved by our works, which means living the teachings of Jesus and doing the things he would have done. The Church leaders get very angry if you mention the words “Salvation” or “Saved”, saying that only the lost (meaning non-Mormons) have need of those kinds of words.

So, for most of my life I had no idea what the concept of Salvation (as known to non-Mormon Christians) was.

It wasn’t until I joined up with the Pentecostals that I heard the use of the word Salvation much. The particular Pentecostal group I had joined up with were Holy Rollers “filled with the spirit”, and pretty much spent their Sundays from 9 Am until midnight, singing, dancing, speaking in tongues, rolling on the floor shouting praises, and over all acting like a bunch of crazed lunatics. At the end of it all, they’ll all run around the church, up and down each aisle, hugging each other and screaming”I’m so glad I’m Saved!” I was fascinated by these people because I had never seen anything like this before. Mormons can not even smile in Church, let alone raise their voice, and they’ll give you dirty looks if you walk faster than a snail’s pace. These people were about as opposite from the Mormons as you could get. It was from them that I learned the concept of Salvation: that Jesus died for everyone’s sins, and that by accepting Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior you are saved.

Well, after the Pentecostals, I realized, that though I had spent all of my life in the Mormon Church, I was more of a Pentecostal at heart (though not a Holy Roller!) due to the fact that I had a very strong belief in their concept of Salvation. However, I did disagree on one point: they believed that once you had accepted Jesus, you had a one way ticket to heaven, and no matter what sin you committed from that day forth, it didn’t matter because you were saved. I disagreed with them on that point.

As for what do I personally, as a Christian Witch believe? I believe that accepting Jesus into your life is THE FIRST STEP to Salvation, not the only step, and that you must work at it your entire life, because it’s possible to fall away and sin again, and that’s what repentance is for. I don’t believe you are automatically “saved” just because you say you are, but that your works, your actions, your deeds, and your words are what will determine where you will end up after death.

I view “salvation” not as going to Heaven or escaping Hell, but as a road to guide you to your next realm of existence(or realm of glory as they say in the Mormon church). You go forward or backwards depending of how you lived your life.

I do believe in a concept of degrees of glory, much different than the 3 degrees of glory and 1 outer darkness, as the Mormon church teaches it though.

What’s your take on this? I’d love to hear what you have to say about this post. Leave a comment and share your views!

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