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What do Mormons believe concerning the doctrine of grace?

Official Answer

The prophet Joseph Smith taught ‘Therefore ye are justified of faith and works, through grace...’ (see JST Romans 4:16). The Book of Mormon teaches ‘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 we are saved after all we can do’ (2 Nephi 25:23). The Book of Mormon adds ‘all that we could do [was to] repent of all our sins’ (Alma 24:11). A Book of Mormon prophet named Lehi taught, ‘There is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah’ (2 Nephi 2:8).

  • Adam

    Grace is a gift from Heavenly Father given through His Son, Jesus Christ. The word grace, as used in the scriptures, refers primarily to enabling power and spiritual healing offered through the mercy and love of Jesus Christ. Everyone on earth experiences physical death. Through the grace of Jesus Christ, all will be resurrected and will live forever. Because of personal choices, everyone also experiences the effects of sin. These effects are called spiritual death. No one can return to the presence of God without divine grace. Through the Atonement, we all can be forgiven of our sins; we can become clean before God. To receive this enabling power, we must obey the gospel of Jesus Christ, which includes having faith in Him, repenting of our sins, being baptized, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and trying to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ for the rest of our lives. The grace of God helps us every day. It strengthens us to do good works we could not do on our own. The Lord promised that if we humble ourselves before Him and have faith in Him, His grace will help us overcome all our personal weaknesses. Show more

  • Amanda

    Grace is indeed an essential element of our salvation. In the church, we believe that we must do all we can in our power to be righteous and keep the commandments. Therefore, it is through our works, along with the mercy and grace of our Father that we can return to him. Show more

  • Carlos

    There is a passage from the Book of Mormon that can help us understand the doctrine of grace: "And the way is prepared from the fall of man, and salvation is free... there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah... he shall make intercession for all the children of men; and they that believe in him shall be saved" We fully belive in justification and reconciliation by grace - it is an essential doctrine of the Church, and is found repeatedly throughout the Bible and the Book of Mormon. Anyone who believes in Christ shall be saved and inherit all that the Father has; however, we need to understand what it means to believe - we need to understand the word "believe" as Christ intended it to be understood. The prophet Joseph Smith taught that faith is a principle of action. Yes, it's true that all we need to do to be saved is to believe, but believing isn't just a verbal declaration - true belief requires action. Knowing that the world is full of breathable air isn't enough to live - we actually need to act on that knowledge and breathe in order to keep living. Likewise, having faith in Christ isn't just something that we say we have - we have to act on that belief. I can't honestly claim that I have faith in Christ and know that His path is the path to happiness if I'm not consistantly trying to gain that happiness. We fully believe in salvation by grace, but it's possible to fall from grace if we lose our faith - and if we are not doing the things that Christ requires of us then we do not have true faith. All we need to do to attain grace is to develop faith in Jesus Christ, but developing faith unto salvation in Jesus Christ is a lifetime endeavor which requires our absolute best sacrifice. Show more

  • Andy

    It is only through the Atonement of Jesus Christ that we can return to live with our Heavenly Father. Grace is the only way that we can have eternal happiness. To acess that grace, we need to do the things that He has asked us to do: have faith in Him, repent, be baptized by someone holding His authority, recieve the gift of the Holy Ghost, and follow Him and keep His commandments throughout our lives. Show more

  • Matt Gibson

    We believe in grace 100 percent . No one can be saved, except by grace. There is nothing we ourselves can do to earn eternal life. But, we do believe that we will NOT receive grace unless we live our lives in accordance with what Christ has taught. When Christ ransomed us, became the author of our salvation, and also the perscriber of the conditions of repentance. He's told us that we need to have faith in him, repent, and be baptized for the remissions of sins, so that we may be sanctified by the Holy Ghost. He also told us that we need to endure to the end, meaning continue to strive to live by his teachings, otherwise we cannot be saved by grace. There are many today who teach that baptism is not necessary because it is a "work". We know that Christ set the example to make it perfectly clear. He also said in John chapter 3 verse 5, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." You might be thinking now, "what about those who never got a chance to be baptized?", well Heavenly Father is perfectly fair, and that opportunity will be provided for everyone to make that decision, whether in this life or in the next. The point of Baptism is making covenants. Without making these covenants Christ cannot give us grace. Hence the doctrine of grace, and doctrine of works, coinside with each other. One cannot be without the other. Show more

  • Kevin

    Mormons believe that grace is a vital part of the atonement of Jesus Christ. We believe that it is by grace that we are saved after all we can do. The good works of an individual coupled with the grace of Christ can lead us to salvation. The grace of Jesus Christ is also an "enabling power" that gives us the strength to bear up under the burdens and trials of life. I have found great strength by relying upon the grace of Christ at times in my life when there was nothing else to provide it. Many times, I have been enabled to perform daily tasks, church assignments, responsibilities as a father and husband that were well beyond my personal abilities. I know that this was the enabling power of the grace of Jesus Christ. Grace is Christ's power to save me after this life and His power to help me while still here on the earth. I must always do my part through faith repentance and good works, but I know that in the end, it will be His grace that will save me. Show more

  • Bryant

    Grace is the enable power of Christ to be cleansed of our sins. When I think of grace I like to think of a dam. Now the purpose of a dam is to create energy for a city, but how does it do that? The dam holds back the water and creates a huge amount of pressure. A portion of that pressure is released into a very large duct that flows down and spins large turbines. The spinning of these turbines is what creates the energy that we all use every day. Now without that water, could we spin these turbines by ourselves? No, manpower alone is not nearly enough to create the energy needed. There is just no possible way that a human being by themselves could turn those massive turbines. In this analogy Christ is the strong current created by the water from the dam. Without him we would be unable to turn the turbine to cleanse our lives, only he can do it! None the less we do have control of one part of this process, we can interfere. Sometimes in our lives we sin to a point that we have created so much filth to clog up the duct and not allow Christ's flow into our lives. We must be continually watching to make sure that we do not inhibit this process. Thus, "faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone." see James 15 Turbines without the pressure from the water is completely useless. Our lives without Christ? "For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." see Romans 623 Show more

  • Tamara Forsyth

    We are all saved by grace no matter how we have lived our life, as long as we believe in Christ and believe that he is our Savior. Most Christian religions believe that this is all there is to being saved. Mormons believe this for the part of being saved in which the body of flesh is reunited with the spirit. For this part of being saved, yes, Mormons believe that all people, no matter how they have lived their lives, will be saved and have their body reunited with their spirit at the resurrection through the grace of God. However, Mormons also believe there is another part to Christ's atonement and being saved, and that refers to his taking on of our sins. To be saved from our sins, and take upon us the name of Christ such that his atonement will wash away our sins and we will have everlasting life in God's presence, we must repent of our sins. After we have done all that we can do, then the grace of God will wash away our sins because of Christ's atoning sacrifice on our behalf. Show more

  • Nadja

    How could we ever hope for anything if it weren't for the grace offered by our Saviour Jesus Christ? God is just - which means His laws are just. They are eternal. This means that His dealings towards us will always be just, but it also means that He exacts justice from us, His children. Regardless of the commandment or law, justice demands a recompense for obedience, but also a punishment (or consequence) for disobedience. Jesus Christ has paid for these trespasses, and He willingly extends that payment to each one who earns or deserves it. This grace is awarded based on our repentance, a change of heart so profound, we abandon the desire to repeat the offense. That is grace: forgiveness (meaning: not having to suffer ourselves for our own mistakes and disobedience) which follows sincere repentance. What an incredible gift! Show more

  • Beau

    Mormons love grace. Why? Because we aren't perfect. In our quest to become more like God, we fail, sometimes often. It is only through God's grace that we have hope of returning to His presence. This doesn't mean that we don't need to try to become more like him. I learn the most about myself and God from trying to obey all of his commandments, failing often, learning from my mistakes, and doing better the next time. Faith gives me the confidence to try, works guide my actions, and grace makes it all possible. Show more

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