It is by grace that we are saved

The blog has become sort of a dumping ground for any of my religious talks or thoughts or writings. I had the chance to speak in church today and shared thoughts I had prepared for a young women's lesson the previous week.

I love teaching the gospel because of the chance it gives me to study specific doctrines or ideas with a greater purpose. This talk was the result of some time spent studying grace that helped me realize- again- how great Jesus is and how much I really do need Him.

Grace

I am grateful for the chance to speak to you today. Last week I taught the Laurel’s a lesson called “what is grace?” and if they will forgive me for the repetition I would like to pose that question for your consideration.

So- What is grace?

In the dictionary, Grace has many definitions.

It is simple elegance or refinement of movement.

It is courteous goodwill.

Grace is a period officially allowed for payment of a sum due

It is a short prayer of thanks said before or after a meal

And Grace can also be a female name

But what is Grace in the spiritual sense?

The bible dictionary declares that Grace is ...

“A word that occurs frequently in the New Testament, especially in the writings of Paul. The main idea of the word is divine means of help or strength, given through the bounteous mercy and love of Jesus Christ.

It is through the grace of the Lord Jesus, made possible by His atoning sacrifice, that mankind will be raised in immortality, every person receiving his body from the grave in a condition of everlasting life. 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.”

So in summary- grace is divine help. Grace is divine strength. Grace is the enabling power of Christ that allows us to make it through this life and eventually gain exaltation in the next.  Grace is not operable alone- it is rooted in, flows from and is effective through Jesus Christ. Jesus has the power to save, to cleanse from sin and to raise the dead and the act of Him doing so (saving us, helping us, enabling us, healing us) is called grace. Grace is the atonement of Jesus Christ in action!

Most of us are familiar with the scripture Nephi penned in 2 Nephi 25:23:

“For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children and also our brethren to believe in Christ and to be reconciled to God. For we know that it is by GRACE that we are saved, after all we can do.”

I don’t know how many times I had heard this scripture and focused so much on the phrase “after all we can do.” But somehow in my study last week a new phrase took hold in my mind- “It is by GRACE that we are saved.”

In a conference talk entitled The Gift of Grace, Elder Uchtdorf shared the following idea: “I am certain Nephi knew that the Savior’s grace allows and enables us to overcome sin. This is why Nephi labored so diligently to persuade his children and brethren “to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God.” After all, that is what we can do! And that is our task in mortality!

Stated differently- we cannot make it through this life on our own. We are all fallen, imperfect and mortal. All we can do will never be enough. We will ONLY be saved through GRACE.

Elder Uchtdorf states, “Salvation cannot be bought with the currency of obedience; it is purchased by the blood of the Son of God.”

So OUR task then is to believe in Jesus Christ and be reconciled to God. To have faith in Jesus and to repent--- that IS what we can do. That is what we can give to receive of His grace.

To share personally, in the 5 years since Jake’s diagnosis people have often asked me how I do it? How have I made it through this experience? How do I have strength? How do I go on? And I have never had an adequate answer to give them. I often stand there dumbstruck with a gaping mouth and a wondering mind.  

But through my study the answer because obvious- I have been saved through grace. It is because of the grace of Jesus Christ that I am still standing, that I have survived incredible pain and loss, that I have hope for the future. The grace of Jesus Christ has given me power and ability to do what I could never have done on my own. That is the blessing, strength and wonder of grace. It really really really is by grace that we are saved.

So how do we draw more of this saving, strengthening and healing power into our lives? How do we rely on the grace of Jesus Christ?

The laurels and I took a field trip as part of our lesson last week to a tree outside of the church building. Since it is time and logistically prohibitive to have all of you stand up and come outside I would like you to picture a tree (or vine) in your mind as I read the following verses from John 15-

1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.

           

2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

           

4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

           

5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

           

6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

           

7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

           

8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

           

9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.

           

We are the branches. We have no life in ourselves save that it is given to us through the vine- Jesus Christ. Like these branches cut off from the roots of the tree- we can withdraw from Him- In our hearts, in our belief, in our actions. We can cast ourselves off from His nourishing roots. OR we can choose to stay with Him. To remain on the vine. To persist and bear fruit even as we are purged and to always continue in His love.

In October 2017 conference Elder Holland stated “I testify of the grand destiny, made available to us by the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ, who Himself continued “from grace to grace” until in His immortality.... I testify that in this and every hour He is, with nail-scarred hands, extending to us that same grace, holding on to us and encouraging us, refusing to let us go until we are safely home in the embrace of Heavenly Parents.”

I also am a witness of the grace of Jesus Christ. I love the Savior. I know that He is real. His grace is available to me, to you and to everyone who will “abide in Him” and it is by His grace that we will, currently and eternally, be saved.