Beginning in September 2023, I started meeting with a Latter Day Saint at my work on my lunch breaks. We had a number of fruitful and enjoyable dialogues in the following months as well. He attended my church a few times during this period and one day said to me, “Paul, by everything I have experienced from you and your church, it sounds like our beliefs on grace are the same.” This inspired me to dig deeper into what precisely the LDS Church teaches on grace. Allow me to walk us through what I discovered.
- The gift of grace is the enabling power from God the Father to help us live out the gospel of Jesus Christ. This gift of grace is also responsible for the resurrection and everyone being saved from spiritual death and instead are given the gift of immortality.
- There apparently are different levels of God’s grace that are given to individuals. Everyone is a recipient of God’s grace…but if you want the fulness of God’s grace that will get you into his heavenly kingdom, then that burden rests on your own shoulders.
- According to the LDS Church, the degree of grace which you are given completely depends on the degree of effort you have put forth. But let’s dig a little deeper. What exactly must one do if they wish to receive enough grace to enter into the presence of God?
- We gain access to God’s grace by making covenants and receiving ordinances inside of the temple. It is also through these temple ordinances that one becomes “born again.” What exactly are some of these required ordinances that I must receive so that I can live with God forever in heaven?
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- At a minimum, you must get baptized, receive the priesthoods (for men), and also receive your endowments (go through the endowment ceremony). But there are also pre-requisites that one must first perform in order to become “worthy” to enter into the temple. In order to be declared worthy to enter into the temple and progress along the path that leads to eternal life, you must meet with your bishop and go through a temple recommend interview. Below are just a few of the questions the bishop will ask:
- If you do not give 10% of your financial earnings and you say, “no” it’s not big deal because the bishop will then ask a follow up question: “Would you like to make a tithing settlement?” This has recently been changed to the more positive wording of, “tithing declaration.” At this point, if you say “sorry, I can’t afford to give that much money to the Mormon Church,” then you will not be worthy to enter the temple and make the required higher-level covenants. All of your progress towards eternal life will come to a complete halt until you choose to pay the 10% to the LDS Church.
- If you are not consistently wearing your sacred undergarments, you are not keeping one of your temple covenants and are therefore not worthy to enter into the temple.
- This is a big dividing line. Bible based Christians know they we are sinful human beings, guilty of breaking God’s law on a daily basis (whether we realize it or not), and are therefore unworthy. Whereas the vast majority of Latter Day Saints will answer “yes” to this question. On the basis of what? Outward actions such as tithing, consistently wearing their garments, and keeping the laws and ordinances. When boiled down, whether or not someone is worthy to enter the temple and progress towards eternal life is based individual efforts and works. This is neatly summed up in the 3rd Article of Faith:
- “We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.“
Keep in mind that making covenants and ordinances are the things we must do if we want to be given access to God’s grace and become born again.
- Our eternal life and the degree of grace that we receive is critically based on works/the things we must do. Ultimately, your status of your eternal life rests in no one else’s hands but your own. This makes sense in light of the statement that Dallin Oaks made at a general conference in 2003 (Repentance and Change) when he said, “The plan of the Father and the Savior is based on individual choice and individual effort.” Later, he also states, “The gospel plan is based on individual responsibility.”
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What Does The Bible say About Grace?
Romans 5:1-2 “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.”
- Access into God’s grace is by a genuine and sincere faith/trust in Christ. It has nothing to do with works or ordinances we must perform. Grace will result in good works and giving God our best efforts. But the LDS Church has reversed this in stating that the more effort you put forth and the more covenants you make, the more grace you will receive. This is not so.
Romans 11:5-6 “So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.”
- You have to make a choice of which gospel you are claiming to be under: the gospel of grace or a gospel of works. It cannot be both because if even one little work is required, it can no longer be categorized as grace. The precise thing that makes grace what it is, is the fact that it is given freely and apart from any works. Grace is something that is completely undeserved and not dependent on anyone’s effort. It is something you fully receive when you are completely unqualified to receive it. That is how loving and compassionate this God of the Bible is.
Romans 3:24 “All are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”
- Grace is indeed an enabling power to do what is right. But it is so much more than that. It is grace alone that justifies us before God on judgement day. Grace is the only thing that qualifies us for eternal life and entering into his presence. Because according to Romans 6:23, eternal life is a free gift! That’s what makes eternal another example of grace, rather than something you have to work/progress towards.
- What does it mean to be justified? It means to be fully pardoned of all the wrong that you have done. While being justified and being forgiven are two different terms, they happen simultaneously and their end result is identical. When someone sincerely places their faith in Jesus, they are immediately both justified and forgiven of all their sins. One definition of forgiveness I’ve heard is: “when God removes everything that keeps you from enjoying Him completely.” When one is justified, another gift that a person is immediately given the assurance of living in the presence of God after this temporary life is over. It by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone that has justified me and has given me that peace and joy of knowing that my eternal life is securely in His hands and sealed by the Spirit, no matter what. Good works and obedience are simply the evidence demonstrating that I have truly been justified. But works do not play any role in how one is justified or how much grace one is due.
Ephesians 2:8-9 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works.”
- Only those who have faith will be saved. How do they become saved? By obedience to the law and ordinances/works? By our own efforts + God’s grace? Or by grace alone?
Titus 3:3-7 “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.”
- Do our righteous deeds and personal obedience play any role in our salvation, eternal life and justification? No! We are justified and saved from hell by grace alone. Contrast this with Alma 5:35 “Yea, come unto me and bring forth works of righteousness, and ye shall not be hewn down and cast into the fire.”
According to this passage in the Book of Mormon, our righteous works play a crucial role is saving us from the fire of hell. But according to the teachings of Jesus and his apostles, we are saved from hell fire when we are justified by God’s grace which is not given on the basis of works, covenants or ordinances. Having faith and trust in God’s grace alone is sufficient for your eternal life! This is what truly makes it “amazing grace.”
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How are you seeking to be justified and receive eternal life?
By grace through faith? Or By grace through works?
For a better understanding on the differences between the LDS gospel and the gospel that was taught by Jesus and his apostles, please check out my other article, “Which Gospel Are You Under?”
https://jllds.org/2024/01/12/which-gospel-are-you-under/
Please let me know your thoughts, things you appreciated or things that you disagreed with in the comment section below. Thank you for reading and God bless!
JLLDS Ministries 