Grace is the assistance to do good works that otherwise would not be able to maintain if left to own means. According to the LDS Bible Dictionary, it is an endowment of power, a divine means of help or strength, made possible only through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Theologically, grace refers to God's predisposition to empower us in our vulnerability and weakness. In the Greek, it is a gift ”freely given a divine influence upon the heart. ![]() Not of works, lest any man should boast (Ephesians 2:8-9)?įirst, let's make certain we are together on the meaning of grace. In Hebrew, the term grace means favor or goodwill. What is so confusing about grace? Why is it easy for Latter-day Saints to recite from memory and explain the doctrine in the epistle of James, Faith without works is dead (James 2:20), but difficult to proclaim Paul's writings in his epistle to the Ephesians, For by grace are ye saved through faith. Words in the first verse of a well-known sacrament hymn speak for many of us: "I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me, confused at the grace that so fully He proffers me. Why are there so many different interpretations among us about grace? After hearing so many differing explanations for the passage from various members of the Church, he was even more puzzled about the role of grace in our lives. Not long ago, I heard a new convert to the Church request clarification on Nephi's declaration, It is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do (2 Nephi 25:23). Why is the doctrine of grace so foreign to us? Since I've been at the MTC, I think of it and pray for it every day. I recently heard a missionary bear a powerful witness of Jesus Christ after being ten days at the Provo Missionary Training Center, in which she observed: I have never thought about the grace of Christ before I came on a mission. My hope today is that we can all have a greater awareness and reverence for this matchless gift from the Savior, especially as it is taught in the keystone of our religion, The Book of Mormon.Ĭonsider a few examples to illustrate that we are often uncomfortable with and sometimes ignorant about the doctrine of grace. And third, understanding what Latter-day Saints believe about salvation by grace is at the heart of every one of my discussions with my Christian friends of other faiths. Second, in all the years I have taught religion in high-school seminary and university classes, I can't remember a student expressing initial curiosity about what we as Latter-day Saints believe about the grace of Christ. We therefore mistakenly assume that His importance is apparent in everything that we believe in the Church and so we don't particularly need to include His essential power in our lessons. First, we covenant every Sunday to always remember the Savior, but too often we explain to others or think to ourselves that we don't really need to talk about Him and include what He did for us in our talks and lessons because all Christians believe in Him. I have entitled my remarks, "What Is so Amazing about Grace? I want to talk to you about the grace of Jesus Christ for three reasons. As a bonus, your aloha spirit has a delightful way of thawing the winter chill that has settled on the mountain west. ![]() It is a profound privilege and sacred obligation to be invited to speak to you today.
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