Belief, humble belief, is the foundation of all righteousness and the beginning of spiritual progression, wrote Elder Bruce R. McConkie. “It goes before good works, opens the door to an eternal store of heavenly truth, and charts the course to eternal life.” With but few exceptions, belief is used in holy writ as a synonym for faith. Belief in Christ brings salvation. Failure to believe in Christ brings damnation.
False systems of religious belief close the doors of heaven, while belief in principles of truth opens those doors. “It is one thing to believe God is a personal being in whose image man is made, as the scriptures attest, and quite another to believe he is a spirit nothingness that fills the immensity of space, as the creeds of Christendom aver. What men believe is the governing force in their lives. If they truly believe the truth, they will be saved in the kingdom of God; if they truly believe a lie, they will fail to gain this high reward.”