In the modern West, there is a vast work to do in rescuing people from (self-)damnation – in saving them. This is the speciality of various ‘Evangelical’ Protestant groups – indeed, I think it is a fair generalization to say that this is almost all of what such churches do: they are geared to win Christian converts (i.e. those who come to Jesus and are born-again) – and when they have done this, the new converts are enlisted to do more of the same for others.

Beyond this there is the work of individual growth as a Christian – which could be termed sanctification, theosis, divinization or spiritual progression – since it is variously conceptualized as either becoming more like a Saint, like Jesus Christ (i.e. God), or else (for Mormons) more of ‘a god’.

Mormons probably don’t usually see it in such terms, but my impression is that the CJCLDS is mostly a church of theosis rather than salvation – in the sense that the baseline is that many or most people are already saved (if only to a lower Heaven, a lower than Celestial realm of glory); and only a (presumed) small minority of Sons and daughters of Perdition are damned to the kind of Hellish post-mortal condition which many other types of Christian regard as the norm and default.

Thus Evangelical missionaries are converting people to salvation, while Mormon missionaries are converting people to begin the work of theosis: of spiritual progression (i.e. they are converting people to active membership of the church – to live by the Word of Wisdom, become Temple worthy, accept callings etc. – or at least the commitment to such active membership).

My impression is that this difference causes some confusion on both sides – since there is often a sense that the others are doing the same kind of thing as oneself.

However, under modern conditions, being saved is one thing, and staying saved is another ; and therefore there often needs to be a cyclical, indeed repetitive, process of recapitulating the salvation experience again and again – week by week.

This is very apparent in Evangelical churches, with their focus on coming to Jesus, finding more people to bring to Jesus, and staying (as far as possible) in a state resembling the immediate post-conversion experience.

In other words, there is not just salvation, but a clinging to salvation; and often enough theosis/ progression can hardly get-going at all since so many people are in daily danger of backsliding into apostasy and willed rejection of God.

It is often one step forward then one step back – with being a Christian resembling a treadmill…

The CJCLDS is not immune to this problem – and I think it can be seen that there is a greater and greater emphasis on rescue work, on fire-fighting, as the church comes under greater and greater pressure from the secular world.

The work of spiritual progression has become precarious; instead of being an incremental building, the backwards treadmill (apparently) threatens even those who are advanced in Christian growth.

I think this can be seen in various ways – such as the modern LDS recommendation always to be reading the scriptures, perhaps in annual cycles; on the basis that people are always forgetting and needing repeated remedial classes just to stay where they are – whereas in the past generations this practice would have been less frequent, and people would have moved onward and upward, with much less danger of slipping and sliding back out-of salvation.

This is unfortunate, but realistic -and a measure of the pressure that all Christian churches are under from an increasingly aggressive and influential anti-Christian culture.