Starting today August 7th, 2024, in order to post in the Married Couples, Courting Couples, or Singles forums, you will not be allowed to post if you have your Marital status designated as private. Announcements will be made in the respective forums as well but please note that if yours is currently listed as Private, you will need to submit a ticket in the Support Area to have yours changed.
Your problem is that you do not have any answers!
I agree, and yet my beliefs differ in a significant way, which certainly affects the way I answer the same questions. My understanding is that all things God doesincluding revelationpoint toward one purpose: to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of His children. So the revelation of Jesus Christ, central and pivotal and magnificent and infinitely important in God's plan as it is, is not the objective. Some may think that so say such is itself a sin. I simply would disagree. To fulfill that purposethat of exalting Heavenly Father's childrenis precisely what Christ suffered and died to bring about! That is my view. And that same end is the objective of revelation. I absolutely believe that God wants to give us all that He has, and that He will give it to us liberally and not upbraid, as He has literally promised, if we will accept and be true to what He has already given us, including the Bible and its revelations of Christ. That revelation is not the end, in my mind. It is the beginning of our journey to all that God offers us.
Again, if that very revelation were the end... if it were God's final and ultimate objective... there would be nothing left to reveal. There would also be no purpose in prolonging man's mortal existence. God's work would have been done. Complete. Nothing more needed.
I don't have a problem with apparent inconsistencies between the Restored Gospel and the Bible, since the latter is but one component of the former. But could you please reference the scripture(s) in the Bible which lead you to this conclusion?And here is where the restoration scripture differs from the Bible. According to the Bible, there is but one heaven where all believers will go, to sit on Christ's throne at the right hand of God (because we are in him, positionally). It is kind of hard to sit on Christ's throne at the right had of God if one is not in heaven (where most believers will not be, according to the LDS faith). That is just one of the problems with modern revelation where it doesn't agree with Biblical revelation.
I wholeheartedly disagree. One of the most glaring flaws in how non-LDS understand the Restored Gospel is the removal of grace (by non-LDS) in the salvation process as described in the Restored Gospel. We are not saved by our works (using the term as you understand it). We are saved because we chose to be the beneficiaries of grace, and living our lives under and responding appropriately to that grace changes us into beings prepared for salvation, this in varying degrees commensurate to the degree of our application of grace. Using the mainstream Christian definition of "works" in an LDS context, our works are the product of what we are, not the fulcrum of our salvation. Using the LDS definition of "works" in an LDS context, our works are the determinant of the glory of our salvation.On the same note, if one has to participate in his own salvation, he is not being saved by grace.
If there are LDS who believe that they are working for salvation in the sense you suggest, they have yet to fully comprehend the atonement of Jesus Christ.He is working for it.
And I have said many times in this forum (and have proven the truth and validity of my point) that LDS theology is that we all are saved by default, and that we are at all times under the grace of God. I do not know why people continue to ignore this undeniable fact. I have further stated many times that the question as to the nature of our salvation is what is being determined in mortality. And it is not determined at judgment by a tallying of the good/bad we do, as is suggested by non-LDS. It is based on the glory of our spirits at judgment, which glory is a representation of what we are—what we became through applying God's grace. You are misjudging LDS doctrine and incorrectly concluding that we "work to get" salvation.As I explained to fatboys, that is the difference between works that are required ahead of time vs. works that are done after-the-fact. That is what I meant by revelations that are "how to get ahead" in nature. When one is saved by grace, we are already saved. Our works don't count to move us closer to God. If one has to work to be close to God, then it isn't salvation by grace. At least, that is what Paul said in Romans.
Yes. I was appealing to your theology, in which God elects those who will be saved. But I see from below that my incomplete understanding of your theology led me to an incorrect conclusion in this regard.I'm not sure why you'd say that. Except that without a belief that it's God's choice who gets saved rather than our own, I guess you can say that.
I see. What is the purpose of mortality for those who will not be saved, and what is their elected fate?But, again, I believe that God chose from the foundation of the world who would be saved, and Christ won't return till all of them have been born and saved.
Wrong again. I have provided responses.
Since you do not refute you must be a follower of Newton then?
Absolutely. Rigid adherence to creeds over the Spirit, and to traditions over revelation... those are no different, in my mind. I believe Christ condemns them all.
Wow! What a leap of logic.
There are a myriad of reasons why a person might not refute what was presented in your post. That includes the decision to not waste their time responding to a series of cut and paste posts. But if there is security in thinking that I agree with Newton, then by all means, feel free to believe that.
Not at all.TasteForTruth, thanks for your reply. I'm sorry that I am so slow in responding. This thread has moved quickly in many different directions.
I hope that you don't mind if I just comment on the following for now.
Neither are the final factor. It is what we have become on account of those things that matters most. Does that mean God doesn't care what we believe or do? No, for "as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he."I'm having a hard time seeing them as one and the same.
Also, your comments surprise me because several LDS have told me that LDS tend to emphasize orthopraxy (correct actions) over orthodoxy (correct beliefs).
I believe it was both. Looking carefully at the scripture, the Savior condemned the condition of the Pharisees' heart and spirit (hypocrites, far from Him), their speech (drawing nigh unto him with their mouth), their professions (honoring him with their lips), their worship (vain...unproductive, unfruitful), and their teachings (supplanting the law with the commandments of men). And He condemned the whole of what they believed and did under the name "tradition," by which tradition they transgressed the law and stripped it of its spiritual (eternal) effectiveness. Certainly their tradition was comprised of both patterns of thought (beliefs) and patterns of action.In Matthew 15, wasn't it the actions of the Pharisees that Jesus was condemning, rather than their beliefs?
I think I may have addressed this now. I think he condemned both. The beliefs because they made God's good commandments ineffective (an abominable creed), and the actions because they were spiritually destructive to the Pharisees (and others, who potentially followed their example). I mean, acting on their corrupt traditions, they became stiffnecked (Acts 7:51), hypocritical (Matt. 15:7), adulterous (Matt. 12:39), murderous (John 8:37), covetous (Luke 16:14), and who knows what else.Or wasn't it at least beliefs that led to incorrect actions. Off of the top of my head, it seems that it was actions, rather than beliefs, that he spent his time condemning.
The creeds (traditions) were a huge part of the problem, in my mind. Jesus said that the traditions themselves stripped away the effectiveness of the commandments.The creeds seem to be focused on beliefs, rather than on actions.
What scriptures or clay tablets did you quote?
I don't have a problem with apparent inconsistencies between the Restored Gospel and the Bible, since the latter is but one component of the former. But could you please reference the scripture(s) in the Bible which lead you to this conclusion?
I wholeheartedly disagree. One of the most glaring flaws in how non-LDS understand the Restored Gospel is the removal of grace (by non-LDS) in the salvation process as described in the Restored Gospel. We are not saved by our works (using the term as you understand it). We are saved because we chose to be the beneficiaries of grace, and living our lives under and responding appropriately to that grace changes us into beings prepared for salvation, this in varying degrees commensurate to the degree of our application of grace. Using the mainstream Christian definition of "works" in an LDS context, our works are the product of what we are, not the fulcrum of our salvation. Using the LDS definition of "works" in an LDS context, our works are the determinant of the glory of our salvation. If there are LDS who believe that they are working for salvation in the sense you suggest, they have yet to fully comprehend the atonement of Jesus Christ.
And I have said many times in this forum (and have proven the truth and validity of my point) that LDS theology is that we all are saved by default, and that we are at all times under the grace of God. I do not know why people continue to ignore this undeniable fact. I have further stated many times that the question as to the nature of our salvation is what is being determined in mortality. And it is not determined at judgment by a tallying of the good/bad we do, as is suggested by non-LDS. It is based on the glory of our spirits at judgment, which glory is a representation of what we are—what we became through applying God's grace. You are misjudging LDS doctrine and incorrectly concluding that we "work to get" salvation.
Yes. I was appealing to your theology, in which God elects those who will be saved. But I see from below that my incomplete understanding of your theology led me to an incorrect conclusion in this regard.
I see. What is the purpose of mortality for those who will not be saved, and what is their elected fate?
If there are LDS who believe that they are working for salvation in the sense you suggest, they have yet to fully comprehend the atonement of Jesus Christ.
I have been down these roads with you many times. There is no need to go down them again.[/size]
In Mormonism, men are not created as equal because the pre-existing matter used in the process is made of differing intelligences. If God is omniscient, He already knows everything about each person and who will make what choices. Man doesn't have to be tested.
Contrary to the biblical teaching that all Christians have all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus, LDS teach that men are assigned to different kingdoms according to the works they chose to perform.
LDS do not work to get to the telestial kingdom. By God's grace, he assigns many of the wicked to that place. Some Christians (those who weren't valiant enough) are forever kept from Heavenly Father's presence and are assigned to the terrestrial kingdom.
The valiant Christians, according to Mormonism are those who accepted Joseph Smith's teachings.
At death, our first judgment will be based upon our obedience to laws given in mortality; 45 and in our final judgment, we will inherit the kingdom whose laws we prepared ourselves to receive. 46 We cannot enter the celestial kingdom unless we have lived the celestial law. 47
L. Lionel Kendrick, Our Moral Agency, Ensign 1996,
Our Moral Agency - Ensign Mar. 1996 - ensign
The ordinances of the temple, the endowment and sealings, pertain to exaltation in the celestial kingdom, where the sons and daughters are. The sons and daughters are not outside in some other kingdom. The sons and daughters go into the house, belong to the household, have access to the home. In my Fathers house are many mansions [John 14:2]. Sons and daughters have access to the home where he dwells, and you cannot receive that access until you go to the temple. Why? Because you must receive certain key words as well as make covenants by which you are able to enter. If you try to get into the house, and the door is locked, how are you going to enter, if you havent your key? You get your key in the temple, which will admit you.. . . You cannot find a key on the street, for that key is never lost that will open the door that enters into our Fathers mansions. You have got to go where the key is given. And each can obtain the key, if you will; but after receiving it, you may lose it, by having it taken away from you again unless you abide by the agreement which you entered into when you went into the house of the Lord.
Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 2:4041
When you say that they have yet to fully comprehend the atonement of Christ, do you not mean that they have yet to fully comprehend the atonement of Christ as taught by LDS?
GRACE AND THE ENABLING POWER OF THE ATONEMENT
I now want to describe in greater detail the enabling power of the atonement. Brothers and sisters, please notice the use of the word "grace" in the verse from 2 Nephi to which we just referred. In the Bible Dictionary in our scriptures, we learn that the word "grace" frequently is used in the scriptures to connote "enabling power." On page 697, under the word "grace," we read:
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.
David A. Bednar
Elder David A. Bednar, Devotional, January 8, 2002
When LDS speak of everlasting life they are not referring to eternal life with Heavenly Father. In the Bible, the Greek word for everlasting and eternal are one and the same.
So we see that LDS have a different definition for grace and a different definition for everlasting life than mainstream Christianity.
Now, please note these next sentences:
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 (emphasis added).
That is, grace represents that divine assistance or heavenly help each of us will desperately need to qualify for the celestial kingdom. Thus, the enabling power of the atonement strengthens us to do and be good and serve beyond our own individual desire and natural capacity.
In my personal scripture study, I often insert the term "enabling power" whenever I encounter the word grace.
David A. Bednar
Elder David A. Bednar, Devotional, January 8, 2002
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ" (Ephesians 1:3).
Who is us? How many blessings are bestowed on us?
What does that have to do with my comments that you quoted?
I don't have a problem with apparent inconsistencies between the Restored Gospel and the Bible, since the latter is but one component of the former. But could you please reference the scripture(s) in the Bible which lead you to this conclusion?
I wholeheartedly disagree. One of the most glaring flaws in how non-LDS understand the Restored Gospel is the removal of grace (by non-LDS) in the salvation process as described in the Restored Gospel. We are not saved by our works (using the term as you understand it). We are saved because we chose to be the beneficiaries of grace, and living our lives under and responding appropriately to that grace changes us into beings prepared for salvation, this in varying degrees commensurate to the degree of our application of grace. Using the mainstream Christian definition of "works" in an LDS context, our works are the product of what we are, not the fulcrum of our salvation. Using the LDS definition of "works" in an LDS context, our works are the determinant of the glory of our salvation.
If there are LDS who believe that they are working for salvation in the sense you suggest, they have yet to fully comprehend the atonement of Jesus Christ.
And I have said many times in this forum (and have proven the truth and validity of my point) that LDS theology is that we all are saved by default, and that we are at all times under the grace of God. I do not know why people continue to ignore this undeniable fact. I have further stated many times that the question as to the nature of our salvation is what is being determined in mortality. And it is not determined at judgment by a tallying of the good/bad we do, as is suggested by non-LDS. It is based on the glory of our spirits at judgment, which glory is a representation of what we are—what we became through applying God's grace. You are misjudging LDS doctrine and incorrectly concluding that we "work to get" salvation.
I see. What is the purpose of mortality for those who will not be saved, and what is their elected fate?
And here is where the restoration scripture differs from the Bible. According to the Bible, there is but one heaven where all believers will go, to sit on Christ's throne at the right hand of God (because we are in him, positionally). It is kind of hard to sit on Christ's throne at the right had of God if one is not in heaven (where most believers will not be, according to the LDS faith). That is just one of the problems with modern revelation where it doesn't agree with Biblical revelation.
I don't have a problem with apparent inconsistencies between the Restored Gospel and the Bible, since the latter is but one component of the former. But could you please reference the scripture(s) in the Bible which lead you to this conclusion?
Well, you've taken the LDS doctrine of the kingdoms of glory and overlaid it with a traditional Christian doctrine of heaven when applying the verse about overcoming and sitting in the Savior's and the Father's thrones. Then you judged the outcome to be incompatible with what you believe. That doesn't work. If you're going to condemn LDS doctrine as unBibilcal, you have to keep it LDS all the way through the chain. If that doesn't square with the Bible, then your judgment is sound (at least on a logical level).This is Christ talking to the church:
Revelation 3:21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
OK. I think you've hit on the issue at stake. You've suggested that perhaps LDS scriptures are not clear where the grace/works issue is concerned. And you've suggested that people act like we must work to get saved. And you've asked whether or not it is fair to say that the LDS scriptures muddy this issue, making it difficult to see exactly what the relationship between grace and works is. I appreciate this approach. And my answer is that I do not believe that the issue is muddied by LDS scriptures. It is as clear to me from LDS scriptures as it is clear to you from the Bible that man is saved by the grace of Jesus Christ. And it is equally clear to me that no other powerincluding man's God-given will to choosecan save him. I cannot account for the reasons others cannot or do not see this. If people act like the scriptures are confusing, that does not mean that they are. If people believe that they are forging their own salvation, that does not mean that such is what the scriptures teach. And, most importantly for our discussion, if LDS differ from mainstream Christians in our understanding of what works are and what grace is and how grace saves, that does not mean that our scriptures teach that man saves himself by his works. Nor does it mean that our doctrines are unbiblical.I am not misjudging it, I am correlating it to what the Bible teaches. The Bible teaches that works come after, and in response to, being saved. The LDS scriptures indicate (and maybe this is where the problem comes in) that one must do a litany of things before salvation can be bestowed. Maybe the problem is that the LDS scriptures are not clear on the matter, but they read like (and people act like) works are required for salvation. That salvation is granted at the end of the life based on what actions you took during your life. I mean, I read them for years, and believed them for years, so I know what they say. Would that, maybe, be a fair evaluation? That, at the very least, the LDS scriptures muddy the issue of the relationship between works and salvation?
Please be courteous and answer my questions. I am not setting a trap. I simply don't know what you believe. I will answer your questions after that, and the answer I give will not depend on or be affected by your response in any way.What is the purpose of mortality for those who choose not to be saved in your belief system?
[/size]
In Mormonism, men are not created as equals because the pre-existing matter used in the process is made of differing intelligences. If God is omniscient, He already knows everything about each person and who will make what choices. Man doesn't have to be tested.
Contrary to the biblical teaching that all Christians have all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus, LDS teach that men are assigned to different kingdoms according to the works they chose to perform.
LDS do not work to get to the telestial kingdom. By God's grace, he assigns many of the wicked to that place. Some Christians (those who weren't valiant enough) are forever kept from Heavenly Father's presence and are assigned to the terrestrial kingdom.
The valiant Christians, according to Mormonism are those who accepted Joseph Smith's teachings.
At death, our first judgment will be based upon our obedience to laws given in mortality; 45 and in our final judgment, we will inherit the kingdom whose laws we prepared ourselves to receive. 46 We cannot enter the celestial kingdom unless we have lived the celestial law. 47
L. Lionel Kendrick, Our Moral Agency, Ensign 1996,
Our Moral Agency - Ensign Mar. 1996 - ensign
The ordinances of the temple, the endowment and sealings, pertain to exaltation in the celestial kingdom, where the sons and daughters are. The sons and daughters are not outside in some other kingdom. The sons and daughters go into the house, belong to the household, have access to the home. In my Fathers house are many mansions [John 14:2]. Sons and daughters have access to the home where he dwells, and you cannot receive that access until you go to the temple. Why? Because you must receive certain key words as well as make covenants by which you are able to enter. If you try to get into the house, and the door is locked, how are you going to enter, if you havent your key? You get your key in the temple, which will admit you.. . . You cannot find a key on the street, for that key is never lost that will open the door that enters into our Fathers mansions. You have got to go where the key is given. And each can obtain the key, if you will; but after receiving it, you may lose it, by having it taken away from you again unless you abide by the agreement which you entered into when you went into the house of the Lord.
Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 2:4041
When you say that they have yet to fully comprehend the atonement of Christ, do you not mean that they have yet to fully comprehend the atonement of Christ as taught by LDS?
GRACE AND THE ENABLING POWER OF THE ATONEMENT
I now want to describe in greater detail the enabling power of the atonement. Brothers and sisters, please notice the use of the word "grace" in the verse from 2 Nephi to which we just referred. In the Bible Dictionary in our scriptures, we learn that the word "grace" frequently is used in the scriptures to connote "enabling power." On page 697, under the word "grace," we read:
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.
David A. Bednar
Elder David A. Bednar, Devotional, January 8, 2002
When LDS speak of everlasting life they are not referring to eternal life with Heavenly Father. In the Bible, the Greek word for everlasting and eternal are one and the same.
So we see that LDS have a different definition for grace and a different definition for everlasting life than mainstream Christianity.
Now, please note these next sentences:
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 (emphasis added).
That is, grace represents that divine assistance or heavenly help each of us will desperately need to qualify for the celestial kingdom. Thus, the enabling power of the atonement strengthens us to do and be good and serve beyond our own individual desire and natural capacity.
In my personal scripture study, I often insert the term "enabling power" whenever I encounter the word grace.
David A. Bednar
Elder David A. Bednar, Devotional, January 8, 2002
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ" (Ephesians 1:3).
Who is us? How many blessings are bestowed on us?
Not at all.
Neither are the final factor. It is what we have become on account of those things that matters most. Does that mean God doesn't care what we believe or do? No, for "as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he."
I believe it was both. Looking carefully at the scripture, the Savior condemned the condition of the Pharisees' heart and spirit (hypocrites, far from Him), their speech (drawing nigh unto him with their mouth), their professions (honoring him with their lips), their worship (vain...unproductive, unfruitful), and their teachings (supplanting the law with the commandments of men). And He condemned the whole of what they believed and did under the name "tradition," by which tradition they transgressed the law and stripped it of its spiritual (eternal) effectiveness. Certainly their tradition was comprised of both patterns of thought (beliefs) and patterns of action.
I think I may have addressed this now. I think he condemned both. The beliefs because they made God's good commandments ineffective (an abominable creed), and the actions because they were spiritually destructive to the Pharisees (and others, who potentially followed their example). I mean, acting on their corrupt traditions, they became stiffnecked (Acts 7:51), hypocritical (Matt. 15:7), adulterous (Matt. 12:39), murderous (John 8:37), covetous (Luke 16:14), and who knows what else.
The creeds (traditions) were a huge part of the problem, in my mind. Jesus said that the traditions themselves stripped away the effectiveness of the commandments.
So when I look at the three side by side...
...I really don't see a difference. And above all, it is the combination of rigid adherence and spurning of the Spirit that is the real problem. We can stick whatever we want to in the middle, and the result is the same, is it not?
- Rigid adherence to laws in violation of the spirit of the law
- Rigid adherence to creeds over the Spirit
- Rigid adherence to traditions over revelation
If a person is rigidly adhering to a creed and subordinating the Spirit to it, I think that would have some effect in the person. That was the context of my statement.If it was all of that Jesus was condemning, and condemnation of creeds is similar to his condemnation of the Pharisees, then would one see negative effects from following creeds?
Well, in that particular case they were justifying their greed by invoking their their creed—by calling their property "corban." That same instance was recorded in Mark, but it gave more detail:For example, in the passage that you offered from Matthew 15 the Pharisees were criticized because instead of financially supporting their parents, they kept their money saying that it was dedicated to God. This violated the commandment to honor our parents, and also the commandment that Jesus gave to love our neighbor as ourselves. It was rooted in their own greed, and that is why thier hearts were far from God. How is the result of believing in a creed comparable? I don't see the same results from doing so.
[/SIZE]
In Mormonism, men are not created as equals because the pre-existing matter used in the process is made of differing intelligences. If God is omniscient, He already knows everything about each person and who will make what choices. Man doesn't have to be tested.
Contrary to the biblical teaching that all Christians have all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus, LDS teach that men are assigned to different kingdoms according to the works they chose to perform.
LDS do not work to get to the telestial kingdom. By God's grace, he assigns many of the wicked to that place. Some Christians (those who weren't valiant enough) are forever kept from Heavenly Father's presence and are assigned to the terrestrial kingdom.
The valiant Christians, according to Mormonism are those who accepted Joseph Smith's teachings.
At death, our first judgment will be based upon our obedience to laws given in mortality; 45 and in our final judgment, we will inherit the kingdom whose laws we prepared ourselves to receive. 46 We cannot enter the celestial kingdom unless we have lived the celestial law. 47
L. Lionel Kendrick, Our Moral Agency, Ensign 1996,
Our Moral Agency - Ensign Mar. 1996 - ensign
“The ordinances of the temple, the endowment and sealings, pertain to exaltation in the celestial kingdom, where the sons and daughters are. The sons and daughters are not outside in some other kingdom. The sons and daughters go into the house, belong to the household, have access to the home. ‘In my Father’s house are many mansions’ [John 14:2]. Sons and daughters have access to the home where he dwells, and you cannot receive that access until you go to the temple. Why? Because you must receive certain key words as well as make covenants by which you are able to enter. If you try to get into the house, and the door is locked, how are you going to enter, if you haven’t your key? You get your key in the temple, which will admit you.“. . . You cannot find a key on the street, for that key is never lost that will open the door that enters into our Father’s mansions. You have got to go where the key is given. And each can obtain the key, if you will; but after receiving it, you may lose it, by having it taken away from you again unless you abide by the agreement which you entered into when you went into the house of the Lord.”
Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 2:40–41
When you say that they have yet to fully comprehend the atonement of Christ, do you not mean that they have yet to fully comprehend the atonement of Christ as taught by LDS?
GRACE AND THE ENABLING POWER OF THE ATONEMENT
I now want to describe in greater detail the enabling power of the atonement. Brothers and sisters, please notice the use of the word "grace" in the verse from 2 Nephi to which we just referred. In the Bible Dictionary in our scriptures, we learn that the word "grace" frequently is used in the scriptures to connote "enabling power." On page 697, under the word "grace," we read:
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.
David A. Bednar
Elder David A. Bednar, Devotional, January 8, 2002
When LDS speak of everlasting life they are not referring to eternal life with Heavenly Father. In the Bible, the Greek word for everlasting and eternal are one and the same.
So we see that LDS have a different definition for grace and a different definition for everlasting life than mainstream Christianity.
Now, please note these next sentences:
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 (emphasis added).
That is, grace represents that divine assistance or heavenly help each of us will desperately need to qualify for the celestial kingdom. Thus, the enabling power of the atonement strengthens us to do and be good and serve beyond our own individual desire and natural capacity.
In my personal scripture study, I often insert the term "enabling power" whenever I encounter the word grace.
David A. Bednar
Elder David A. Bednar, Devotional, January 8, 2002
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ" (Ephesians 1:3).
Who is us? How many blessings are bestowed on us?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?