Mormons/LDS- According to your faith does anyone receive God's grace?

Question

Ungodliness is sin. This article doesn't say that God's grace is freely given- or even that it comes by repentance. It says you have to deny ALL FORMS OF UNGODLINESS to have God's grace be sufficient.

"When we deny ourselves ‘of all ungodliness,’ then and only ‘then is his grace sufficient’ for us (Moroni 10:32)” (“Plain and Precious Truths Restored,” Ensign, October 2006, p.53).

The Bible says we all have sinned- so we haven't denied all forms of ungodliness- so it would seem that God's grace would never be sufficient.

The Bible says in 1 Cor 10:13 that God always makes a way for us to escape temptation. If we have ever not used God's escape for temptation- i.e. if we have ever sinned we can't say that we have "done all we can do (2 Nephi 25:23).

So according to your beliefs- how do you ever merit God's grace?

dritz- the article and verses don't say repent and have God's grace- it say deny all forms of ungodliness to get grace.

Dritz- have you repented of every single sin you have committed? Can you even remember every sin you have committed?

nymormon- but you can't do all you CAN do. If GOd makes away for you to avoid temptation- and you sin anyway you haven't done all you can do.

What verse shows that trying hard get's you eternal life?

Answer 1

My understanding is that none of us "merit" God's grace. The Atonement of Jesus Christ was a voluntary act for our benefit and not not something we earn.

The verse you partially quote doesn't mean we must be perfect to make God's grace active in our lives although I can understand how the words could be misunderstood. It may help to include the entire verse from the Book of Mormon.

Moroni 10:32 Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and 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; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.

I think the remainder of the verse makes it clearer that God's grace is sufficient when our hearts are pure and we're doing our best to keep the commandments. We aren't entitled to it by any act of ours -- it's a freely given gift. We must accept it through our best efforts.

Answer 2

Yes, anyone who repents of their sins and accepts that Jesus Christ paid the price for their sins. We call it the atonement where Christ atoned or paid for the punishment of sin. Also, all babies and little children are innocent and saved by Christs atonement. How can you merit God's atonement? 1. by recognizing you have done wrong 2. repent, confess and forsake the sin, 3. ask forgiveness of those affected by the sin and from God 4. commit to do better.

Of course we have all committed sin and will do so again. We are not perfect, but we are commanded to be and so we keep striving. This is what is meant by doing all we can do. It does NOT mean we are PERFECT, if means we repent when we mess up and try to do better and improve ourselves. By doing this you ARE denying all forms of ungodliness. Note it does not mean you are perfect, because you never will be in this life.

Answer 3

In the Church we are taught that as long as we try to the best of our ability, that we will be forgiven. Truthfully, I don't recall every hearing "God's grace" mentioned in any of our classes, or of being "saved". We usually use different terminology.

From the Ensign you mentioned, the author of the article also states:

The perfect relationship between the atoning grace of Christ and the obedient efforts of mankind is powerfully stated by Nephi: “We know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do” (2 Nephi 25:23).

As long as we are trying, that is what counts. It is what is in our hearts.

Answer 4

Excellent question imasis2.

I think there's a difference between God's grace and God's mercy. God's mercy basically says, do your best, do all you can do given your circumstances, repent, and I (meaning Christ) will make up the difference so you can obtain the best degree of glory you can. So God's mercy is the promise. God's grace is the promise in action. It is when He is giving us that hand up and making up the difference between the Law of Justice and the Law of Mercy. While we must rely on His mercy, and we know we can count on it (if we are trying, doing, etc), I think the Grace which is so often spoken of will only come when He actually DOES what He says He will do. Does that make sense? It does in my brain, but so often meanings get lost somewhere between my brain and my fingers as I type.

So in answer to your question, Yes there will be MANY people who receive God's grace. We are commanded to do all we can do, to strive to live the commandments and to improve ourselves so we can prove ourselves and when all is said and done and we are being judged and the Law of Justice says "She is not worthy because she has not denied ALL forms of ungodliness. She has sinned against at least one point of the Law, and is therefore guilty of sinning against ALL points of the Law. (etc.)" Then Christ will be there and hopefully He will say something like, "I have paid her debt to Justice. She may enter."

How do I merit God's grace? By trying. By trying my best in every aspect of my life. And when I fail, repenting as soon as possible. By "getting back on the horse" so to speak. By striving to do my best "in all that I do and say". All of those tried and true lessons learned in Primary.

Answer 5

It's a progressive thing.

We enter a higher and higher state of grace as we gradually deny ourselves of ungodly things. This is how the Holy Spirit eventually "seals" us with the promise of eternal life... through becoming sanctified... ie saints, through the grace and power of Jesus Christ.

We exercise faith both for forgiveness of sins, and also in believing that God will give us the power to overcome our weaknesses.

"Denying ourselves of ungodliness" simply means growing in love for the Saviour, so that we no longer wish to do anything but good. This concept of a change of heart is within mainstream Christian philosophy, too.

Answer 6

To the LDS, grace is help or strength given through the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ. Through the grace of God, everyone who has lived will be resurrected—our spirits will be reunited with our bodies, never again to be separated. Through His grace, the Lord also enables those who live His gospel to repent and be forgiven.

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 (see 1 Corinthians 15:20–22; 2 Nephi 9:6–13).

Because of personal choices, everyone also experiences the effects of sin (see 1 John 1:8–10; Mosiah 16:4). 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 (see Ephesians 2:8–9; James 2:17–22; 2 Nephi 25:23; 31:20).

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 (see Ether 12:27).

Answer 7

We must repent of our sins. When you repent, we are forgiven putting us back in the grace of God.

EDIT: We always will sin. Sinning takes us away from the grace of God. Repentance is the process that God has given us to be forgiven of our sins so that we can get back into His grace. So, while the scriptures do not say that we have to repent, what other way is there?

No, I cannot remember all my sins, and no I have not repented of all of them. I never will either. The only thing we can do is try our best. The Lord has said He will save us after al we can do. We have to strive to be as perfect as possible, and this means repenting of everything wrong we do. After all we can do, God's grace will cover the rest. We can't just sit back and hope for grace to take care of all of it, because that won't happen. We have to earn His grace through obedience.

Answer 8

People need to understand that the LDS use the Christian vocabulary with the LDS meaning behind it. What grace, and salvation mean to a Christian is not what it means to a Mormon.

Answer 9

We all can. It is the only way. No matter what we do in life we will be unprofitable servants. But if we truly believe Christ we will do what He asks. Faith, hope and charity.

Answer 10

Please refer to my answer for your other question.

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