Saved by grace or works; which of the following concepts are taught in the LDS (Mormon) church?

Question

This is a poll about what you think the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) teaches. In your opinion, which statements are taught in the LDS church? Please state whether you are an active member of the LDS church or not. Thank you.

1. The way is prepared from the fall of man, and salvation is free.

2. 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.

3. It is only in and through the grace of God that you are saved, after you are reconciled to God.

4. Salvation doth not come by the law alone; and were it not for the atonement, which God himself made for the sins and iniquities of his people, that they must unavoidably perish, notwithstanding the law of Moses.

5. And since man had fallen he could not merit anything of himself; but the sufferings and death of Christ atone for their sins, through faith and repentance, and so forth.

6. The Lord God shows us our weakness that we may know that it is by his grace, and his great condescensions unto the children of men, that we have power to do these things.

7. 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.

8. It is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.

9. And may God grant, in his great fulness, that men might be brought unto repentance and good works, that they might be restored unto grace for grace, according to their works.

10. If ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ.

11. And we know that justification through the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is just and true; And we know also, that sanctification through the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is just and true, to all those who love and serve God with all their mights, minds, and strength.

12. For I, the Lord, will judge all men according to their works, according to the desire of their hearts.

13. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.

14. And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.

15. But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.

16. For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

17. For the grace of God which bringeth salvation to all men, hath appeared.

18. We must work out our own salvation with fear and trembling.

19. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

20. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.

Very interesting answers.

I am hoping to hear more from non-LDS people who say that the Mormons teach that we are saved by works and not grace. Which of these statements do they believe the Mormons do not teach?

It is also interesting to see how the LDS characterize their beliefs.

As Brian noticed, all of these statements come from the scriptures. Here are the references:

1. Book of Mormon, 2 Ne. 2:4

2. Book of Mormon, 2 Ne. 2:8

3. Book of Mormon, 2 Ne. 10:24

4. Book of Mormon, Mosiah 13:28

5. Book of Mormon, Alma 22:14

6. Book of Mormon, Jacob 4:7

7. Book of Mormon, Ether 12:27

8. Book of Mormon, 2 Ne. 25:23

9. Book of Mormon, Hel. 12:24

10. Book of Mormon, Moro. 10:32

11. D&C 20:31

12. D&C 137:9

13. Bible, Eph. 2:8

14. Bible, Romans 11:6

15. Bible, Acts 15:11

16. Bible, Romans 3:23-24

17. Bible (JSV), Titus 2:11

18. Bible, Philip 2:12

19. Bible, Matt. 7:21

20. Bible, James 2:24

I'm pleased to see that the active LDS answerers understand that we believe in all of these statements.

Answer 1

I believe ALL of these statements are taught by the Church. In fact, I believe these are all quoted from scripture. When one has a complete understanding of the Bible, it becomes clear that salvation is dependent on both grace and works. Some verses emphasize the grace of our Lord, while others emphasize the importance of doing our part. The answer is both.

Like I taught a Sunday School class last week, if you were taking a 100-question exam, and were to get just one question wrong, there is nothing you can do to get a perfect score. The professor would have to grant you one extra credit point, out of his mercy, to give you a perfect score. Likewise, in life, just one sin is enough to keep us out of Heaven. But God through his mercy sent Jesus Christ to atone for our sins, thereby making up the difference. However, the atonement is only efficacious when we exercise faith in Jesus and repent of our sins.

By the way, it may also depend on what you mean by the word "saved". Elder Oaks taught that there are at least six different meanings of this word, depending on the context.
http://www.lds.org/portal/site/LDSOrg/menuitem.b12f9d18fae655bb69095bd3e44916a0/?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=83db605ff590c010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&hideNav=1

I am an active member of the Church.

Answer 2

Well that is a long list. I will tell you what I believe, which I think is fairly close to what my church, the LDS church, teaches. As men (and women) we all sin. None of us can live a perfect life; therefore, we can only be saved through the grace of Christ. His atonement, and resurrection is sufficient for us all. Clearly His atonement would not only cover some people. We all will be resurrected as He was, and we all have a chance to attain salvation. However, this is not a free gift, we must show our works rather than just say we have faith. As the bible says, faith is without works. Our works alone are worthless without the atonement of Christ and His grace, but we must put forth effort and show our diligence and worthiness to attain the fullness of salvation.

If it is by grace alone, why the commandments? why even believe? Believing is an act of faith. Faith will lead to works, if you don't have works, you don't have faith. The two cannot be separated.

Answer 3

We are saved by grace and judged on our works.

Almost all the verses in the Bible tat talk about grace vs. works is referring to the Law of Moses, which we LDS do not do. But, Jesus made many commandments, most notably, Feed my sheep. Love one Another. That sort of thing. And if He gives commandments then, He can give them today.

Answer 4

active LDS here.

Man cannot save himself. Without Christ and his atonement, no one could ever be saved through his own efforts.

All men will be resurrected to a state of Glory irregardless of their works. 100% grace. 0% works.

There will be varying degrees of glory. Man will be judged according to his works. His works are a token to God. They do not and cannot save him, however God will judge us by our works and reward us accordingly.

Answer 5

James said works, and Paul said grace. Paul never met Jesus, except in that nonsense of his about a vision, so I would not recommend anyone adopting Paul's versionl.

Answer 6

We are saved by grace. The Bible also says that faith without works is dead.

Answer 7

The Mormon people are told what they are supposed to do and are warned about the great consequences if they are not successful in accomplishing what has been laid out before them. Church manuals make this very clear through the words of the general authorities:

6th President Joseph F. Smith: “You must not only believe, but you must obey and do the things that [God] commands. You must not only do that, but you must give your heart, your affection and your whole soul with a willing mind to God. You must give up your will to the will of the Father, and you must do all things that He requires at your hands, if you will be saved and exalted in His presence” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, p. 244).

8th President George Albert Smith: “Being a member of the Church and holding the Priesthood will not get us anywhere unless we are worthy. The Lord has said that every blessing that we desire is predicated upon obedience to His commandments. We may deceive our neighbors, and we may deceive ourselves with the idea that we are going through all right, but unless we keep the commandments of our Heavenly Father, unless we bear worthily this holy Priesthood that is so precious, we will not find our place in the celestial kingdom” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: George Albert Smith, p. 53).

11th President Harold B. Lee: “He has given us in another revelation the formula by which we can prepare ourselves as the years pass. ‘Verily, thus saith the Lord: It shall come to pass that every soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that I am’ (D&C 93:1). Simple, isn’t it? But listen again. All you have to do is to forsake your sins, come unto Him, call on His name, obey His voice, and keep His commandments, and then you shall see His face and shall know that He is” (The Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee, p. 34).

12th President Spencer W. Kimball: “There are . . . many members of the Church who are lax and careless and who continually procrastinate. They live the gospel casually but not devoutly. They have complied with some requirements but are not valiant. They do no major crime but merely fail to do the things required—things like paying tithing, living the Word of Wisdom, having family prayers, fasting, attending meetings, serving.” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, p. 8. Ellipsis in original.).

16th President Thomas S. Monson: “Don’t put your eternal life at risk. Keep the commandments of God” (Thomas S. Monson, “Preparation Brings Blessings,” Ensign, May 2010, p. 66).

Seventy Bruce Hafen: “If we must give all that we have, then our giving only almost everything is not enough. If we almost keep the commandments, we almost receive the blessings” (Seventy Bruce C. Hafen, “The Atonement: All for All,” Ensign (Conference Edition), May 2004, p. 98. Italics in original).

A church manual teaches, "Have class members find and read Moroni 10:32. According to this verse, what must we do to ‘come unto Christ, and be perfected in him’? (‘Deny [ourselves] of all ungodliness, and love God with all [our] might, mind and strength.’) Explain that ‘deny yourselves of all ungodliness’ means ‘give up your sins.’ We must strive to give up our sins and demonstrated that we love God with all our might, mind, and strength. If we do this throughout our lives, then Jesus Christ, through his Atonement, will help us become perfect” (Preparing for Exaltation Teacher’s Manual, p. 123).

Does that help?

Answer 8

it is by grace. no matter how hard we try we can never repay Christ for what He has done for us. But that doesn't mean we can just say we accept Christ then do nothing. if we truly believe Him we will strive to do all that He has asked us to do. saying you accept Christ without changing the path you are on is not accepting Christ.

Answer 9

Take Paul out of your bible and your grace is gone.

Answer 10

All of the above. #8 is the one I hear most often as the short and simple summary. I have heard all of them in one sacrament talk or another.