On Grace
Today's topic in Relief Society was "Grace." There are so many great things written about grace, and a number of amazing scriptures. In fact, the Bible Dictionary written by the LDS Church has a very good discussion on grace.
The teacher started out by having the following quote read aloud:
"If I were to emphasize one overarching point this morning, it would be this: I suspect that you and I are much more familiar with the nature of the redeeming power of the Atonement than we are with the enabling power of the Atonement. It is one thing to know that Jesus Christ came to earth to die for us. That is fundamental and foundational to the doctrine of Christ. But we also need to appreciate that the Lord desires, through His Atonement and by the power of the Holy Ghost, to live in us--not only to direct us but also to empower us. I think most of us know that when we do things wrong, when we need help to overcome the effects of sin in our lives, the Savior has paid the price and made it possible for us to be made clean through His redeeming power. Most of us clearly understand that the Atonement is for sinners. I am not so sure, however, that we know and understand that the Atonement is also for saints--for good men and women who are obedient and worthy and conscientious and who are striving to become better and serve more faithfully. I frankly do not think many of us "get it" concerning this enabling and strengthening aspect of the Atonement, and I wonder if we mistakenly believe we must make the journey from good to better and become a saint all by ourselves through sheer grit, willpower, and discipline, and with our obviously limited capacities."
-Elder Bednar, BYU devotional, "In the Strength of the Lord", October 23, 2001
That just lead to my friend turning to me and asking, "I always wish I understood grace better. What is it really?" I didn't have a ready answer, but as the lesson progressed I learned a few things I thought I would share with you.
Firstly, the Bible Dictionary very clearly teaches us that "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." So, here we have grace is an enabling power of the atonement.
Turning to the scriptures, we have to first remember that "And I, John, saw that he received not of the fulness at the first, but received grace for grace;
And he received not of the fulness at first, but continued from grace to grace, until he received a fulness; (Doctrine & Covenants 93:12-13)." Building on this very important passage, when discussing Christ's learning we know that He grew 'from grace to grace,' so each pairing of qualities will demonstrate to us examples of things that make up grace.
Using this, turn to John 1:17 "For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." Here we are taught that grace is truth.
And in Romans 5:2: "By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God." Faith is part of grace, as is rejoicing in hope.
John 1:16 teaches similar doctrine of stepping from grace to grace: "And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace," whereby we learn that grace is His fullness.
Back in the Book of Mormon, we read Ether 12:27: "And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and 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." Or, in other words, grace is strength
John continues, "And I, John, bear record that he received a fulness of the glory of the Father;
And he received all power, both in heaven and on earth, and the glory of the Father was with him, for he dwelt in him (Doctrine & Covenants 93:16-17)." Here John teaches us that grace is the Glory of the Father and all power, both in heaven and on earth.
So, in summation, grace, or in other words, "the enabling power of the atonement" is comprised of:
truth
faith
the Lord's fullness
strength
rejoicing in hope
the Glory of the Father
all power, both in heaven and on earth
Now I can really see how it is "by grace that we are saved, after all we can do (2 Nephi 25:23)." How could that not save us?
The teacher started out by having the following quote read aloud:
"If I were to emphasize one overarching point this morning, it would be this: I suspect that you and I are much more familiar with the nature of the redeeming power of the Atonement than we are with the enabling power of the Atonement. It is one thing to know that Jesus Christ came to earth to die for us. That is fundamental and foundational to the doctrine of Christ. But we also need to appreciate that the Lord desires, through His Atonement and by the power of the Holy Ghost, to live in us--not only to direct us but also to empower us. I think most of us know that when we do things wrong, when we need help to overcome the effects of sin in our lives, the Savior has paid the price and made it possible for us to be made clean through His redeeming power. Most of us clearly understand that the Atonement is for sinners. I am not so sure, however, that we know and understand that the Atonement is also for saints--for good men and women who are obedient and worthy and conscientious and who are striving to become better and serve more faithfully. I frankly do not think many of us "get it" concerning this enabling and strengthening aspect of the Atonement, and I wonder if we mistakenly believe we must make the journey from good to better and become a saint all by ourselves through sheer grit, willpower, and discipline, and with our obviously limited capacities."
-Elder Bednar, BYU devotional, "In the Strength of the Lord", October 23, 2001
That just lead to my friend turning to me and asking, "I always wish I understood grace better. What is it really?" I didn't have a ready answer, but as the lesson progressed I learned a few things I thought I would share with you.
Firstly, the Bible Dictionary very clearly teaches us that "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." So, here we have grace is an enabling power of the atonement.
Turning to the scriptures, we have to first remember that "And I, John, saw that he received not of the fulness at the first, but received grace for grace;
And he received not of the fulness at first, but continued from grace to grace, until he received a fulness; (Doctrine & Covenants 93:12-13)." Building on this very important passage, when discussing Christ's learning we know that He grew 'from grace to grace,' so each pairing of qualities will demonstrate to us examples of things that make up grace.
Using this, turn to John 1:17 "For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." Here we are taught that grace is truth.
And in Romans 5:2: "By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God." Faith is part of grace, as is rejoicing in hope.
John 1:16 teaches similar doctrine of stepping from grace to grace: "And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace," whereby we learn that grace is His fullness.
Back in the Book of Mormon, we read Ether 12:27: "And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and 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." Or, in other words, grace is strength
John continues, "And I, John, bear record that he received a fulness of the glory of the Father;
And he received all power, both in heaven and on earth, and the glory of the Father was with him, for he dwelt in him (Doctrine & Covenants 93:16-17)." Here John teaches us that grace is the Glory of the Father and all power, both in heaven and on earth.
So, in summation, grace, or in other words, "the enabling power of the atonement" is comprised of:
truth
faith
the Lord's fullness
strength
rejoicing in hope
the Glory of the Father
all power, both in heaven and on earth
Now I can really see how it is "by grace that we are saved, after all we can do (2 Nephi 25:23)." How could that not save us?
posted by granola girl at 7:24 pm
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