Grace

The following is an essay I wrote for my religion class last week. It's long, and it's an essay, but I believe everything I wrote.

Grace

Some Christians believe that we don’t have to do anything to get to heaven, that because of grace, everyone’s already got a ticket. Others cry out, almost condemningly, “Have you been saved?” because they believe that our judgment is determined, and God has already decided who is and isn’t going to go to heaven. Considering these two views, what is grace?

The gospel of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a very different definition and understanding of grace from most other religions. Grace is not a gift given solely to those whom God has picked out as His favorites, nor is it a free ticket to exaltation. Through the Savior’s atonement, God’s grace has two vital functions in the salvation of all men and in our personal lives: saving grace and enabling grace.

It is through saving grace that we can be resurrected and freed from spiritual death. The Bible Dictionary states, “Divine grace is needed by every soul in consequence of the fall of Adam and also because of man’s weaknesses and shortcomings…. It is truly the grace of Jesus Christ that makes salvation possible.” It also gives a warning, though: “Grace cannot suffice without total effort on the part of the recipient. Hence the explanation, ‘It it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do’ (2Ne. 25:23).” We must repent. Elder Dallin H. Oaks has said, “The repenting sinner must suffer for his sins, but this suffering has a different purpose than punishment or payment. Its purpose is change” (Wilcox 26). Brad Wilcox, in a devotional address at Brigham Young University, added, “The miracle of the Atonement is not just that we can live after we die but that we can live more abundantly. The miracle of the Atonement is not just that we can be cleansed and consoled but that we can be transformed. Scriptures make is clear that no unclean thing can dwell with God, but no unchanged thing will even want to. The miracle of the Atonement is not just that we can go home but that—miraculously—we can feel at home there” (36). Without saving grace we cannot be worthy to be in God’s presence, but without grace we wouldn’t even want to be in His presence, which is perhaps the saddest thing of all. It is through grace and the atonement that we will be able to live and be comfortable in God’s presence. Through repentance, we can change. Ether 12:27 reads, “And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.” Our weakness is the natural man, or our fallen state, but grace is sufficient to change our nature, if we repent.

And we have an amazing blessing given to us to help us repent and change. That gift is called grace.

Saving grace is something we find as we repent, but the other part of grace, enabling grace, provides the strength to help us repent, overcome our weaknesses, and do our very best. Wilcox says, “Grace is not achieved somewhere down the road. It is received right here and right now” (37). I believe he means the enabling grace that can be found in our lives every day, if we trust God.

The Bible Dictionary says, “The main idea of the word [grace] is divine means of help or strength, given through the bounteous mercy and love of Jesus Christ. … It is likewise 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.” Elder David A. Bednar adds, “Thus, the enabling and strengthening aspect of the Atonement helps us to see and to do and to become good in ways that we could never recognize or accomplish with our limited mortal capacity.” If we truly put our trust and faith in Christ and endeavor to come unto Him, His atonement makes us capable of achieving all that we cannot do by ourselves. When we are meek and submit to the will of God, enabling grace helps us through the process of changing and becoming who God would have us be.

Brother Wilcox says in his address, “Grace is not the absence of God’s high expectations. Grace is the presence of God’s power” (37). In other words, grace doesn’t mean that we don’t have to do anything to achieve exaltation; it means that, while God has expectations of us and we have a hard quest to diligently pursue, God loves us so much that, if we are faithful and valiant, He will help us, strengthen us, and “shall prepare a way for [us] that [we] may accomplish the thing which he commandeth [us]” by His enabling grace (1 Ne. 3:7).

Works Cited

Bednar, David A. “In the Strength of the Lord.” Ensign Nov. 2004. Web. 30 Sept. 2013. <http://www.lds.org/liahona/2004/11/in-the-strength-of-the-lord?lang=eng>

Wilcox, Bradley R. “His Grace Is Sufficient.” Ensign Sep. 2013. Print.