Category: works

Works and Grace

Some find the doctrines relating to works and grace to be an intimidating topic in the world of religion, particularly as it relates to the LDS faith. It needn’t be. It is a simple doctrine.

We do not believe, as some do, that Christ’s grace will save us independently of our actions.  His sacrifice on the cross did not eliminate our personal responsibility. That is not to say that His grace is not sufficient for all, because it is. However, were we saved by grace alone, what would be the point in living a lifestyle of obedience and sacrifice? We could do whatever we desired and still obtain salvation by accepting Christ. Yet God requires that His followers obey Him, whether or not we know (or understand) His reasoning.

The problem here is that we simply cannot be perfectly obedient. Only the Savior could fulfill the demands of justice and be perfectly compliant with the Father’s will. That is why works alone will not suffice. None of us would be able to achieve the expectations placed before us by only our own efforts. We are all dependent on Christ for our salvation. Thus, we need His grace. And we need repentance. We must do our part, which consists of both continuous efforts for improvement and proper repentance.

Let me share part of the explanation from the Bible dictionary:

“It is . . . through the grace of the Lord that individuals, through faith in the atonement of Jesus Christ and repentance of their sins, receive strength and assistance to do good works that they otherwise would not be able to maintain if left to their own means. This grace is an enabling power that allows men and women to lay hold on eternal life and exaltation after they have expended their own best efforts.

Divine grace is needed by every soul in consequence of the fall of Adam and also because of man’s weaknesses and shortcomings. However, grace cannot suffice without total effort on the part of the recipient.”

Christ invites all men to “Come unto me . . . and I will give you rest . . . For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matt. 11:28,30) But we must first come; He will not simply bestow His lighter burden on all. We must first knock in order to enter in to His rest. We need both to act and accept His divine grace.

Suggested readings on this topic:

The Atonement: Our Greatest Hope
by President James E. Faust (Liahona, Jan. 2002, 19-22)

Words of the Early Apostles: Grace
by Elder Christoffel Golden Jr. (Ensign, Oct. 2003, 48-52)

Beauty for Ashes: The Atonement of Jesus Christ
by Elder Bruce C. Hafen (Liahona, Apr. 1997, 39)

The Restoration’s Unique Atonement Doctrine

Every six months the heads of our Church invite us to participate in a General Conference. The prophet, his counselors, and the twelve apostles each speak to us, along with other general authorities and officers. One of my favorite talks was given by a man named Bruce C. Hafen, who currently serves as a member of the quorum of the Seventy.

authorbrucehafenjpgHis talk, called The Atonement: All for All, clarifies ideas such as the fall of Adam, the atonement of Jesus Christ, the interplay between grace and works, and the purpose of life. I’ll list some of my favorite quotations below. I encourage you to read his talk in full or listen to it, so you will better understand our position on these controversial subjects.

(Following are snippets from his talk. They are individually profound, but lack cohesion from paragraph to paragraph. See the original talk for proper context.)

As we “talk [more] of Christ” (2 Nephi 25:26), the gospel’s doctrinal fulness will come out of obscurity. For example, some of our friends can’t see how our Atonement beliefs relate to our beliefs about becoming more like our Heavenly Father. Others mistakenly think our Church is moving toward an understanding of the relationship between grace and works that draws on Protestant teachings.

Adam and Eve learned constantly from their often harsh experience. They knew how a troubled family feels. Think of Cain and Abel. Yet because of the Atonement, they could learn from their experience without being condemned by it. Christ’s sacrifice didn’t just erase their choices and return them to an Eden of innocence. That would be a story with no plot and no character growth. His plan is developmental—line upon line, step by step, grace for grace.

Only the restored gospel has the fulness of these truths! Yet the adversary is engaged in one of history’s greatest cover-ups, trying to persuade people that this Church knows least—when in fact it knows most—about how our relationship with Christ makes true Christians of us.

The rich young man had given almost everything. When the Savior told him he must sell all his possessions, that wasn’t just a story about riches (Matthew 19:16-22).  We can have eternal life if we want it, but only if there is nothing else we want more.
So we must willingly give everything, because God Himself can’t make us grow against our will and without our full participation. Yet even when we utterly spend ourselves, we lack the power to create the perfection only God can complete. Our all by itself is still only almost enough—until it is finished by the all of Him who is the “finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2).  At that point, our imperfect but consecrated almost is enough.