Grace

What is the grace of God and how does it come through Jesus Christ? 

Some say a person only needs to confess with the mouth that Jesus is their Savior.  That brings up some questions.  Did Old Testament believers, the Jews and the various tribes of Israel and the gentiles have a chance to know enough to make such a confession?  What about the other billions that have lived without access to or knowledge of the bible and its teachings?  Such a doctrine when viewed from a realistic standpoint is unjust and logically flawed if God truly is a just being.  The idea of a single confession is for the most part an invention of modern-day evangelicals since they have no real authority to oversee the word or work of God.

God created the earth and then created man and woman and everything they need to live in mortality and to live eternally after mortality. The Fall induced a state of opposition. This what the knowledge of good and evil is.  With such knowledge, freedom exists giving individuals the opportunity to actually make choices based on the element of free will that they possess.  

Without the fall, Adam and Eve lived in a state of neutrality, except for one thing, the fruit of the one tree that they were told not to partake of.  There were no other sins that they could commit.  Some seem to think though that they lusted for some power beyond what they had as they were tempted by Satan. They, however, knew the consequences of disobedience. The question is whether they understood what that meant. How could they comprehend death when no other had died? A more full evaluation of the fall indicates that it was essential to God's plan for saving and exalting his children.

As humans, we can do nothing of ourselves. Without a place and the freedom and ability to act we simply have no capability.  God has given us a place to act and the opportunity to make choices.  Surely there is accountability and therefore judgment.  Everything regarding our existence comes from God and that in and of itself constitutes ultimate grace.  Add to this the universal resurrection and atonement for sin and we see that the effects of the fall are removed from the equation. What then remains of our actions and choices?

What is the ongoing grace and how does it fulfill the purposes for which God has placed us here?

The righteousness of Jesus, even his perfect life is why he is the unblemished lamb, slain from the foundation of the world.  Because of his righteousness, he held a power that no other did.  That is the ability to suffer vicariously or on behalf of another. What obligation if any then remains to those that receive such a gift?

The gift is given as a result of perfect love, but not unconditional love. God loves every child but he cannot force them to accept a gift they choose not to receive.

This is the difference between salvation and exaltation.  Traditional Christian scholars only teach of salvation, which is an eternity in a heaven of an environment they assume to be most glorious. They teach that individuals are single and no family units exist. They teach of a limited atonement with limited power to save.  Humans in heaven are merely saved creatures going on to perform some unknown acts of worship that somehow glorify God for all of eternity. 

Latter-day Saints on the other hand teach the theology of God-exalting his literal children.  Grace is ever-present but so are the choices and decisions to covenant with God to receive it.  Every single person except for the sons of perdition will have salvation in a degree of glory that far exceeds their mortal life. Even greater blessings come according to our willingness to repent and obey beyond the gifts that most will receive.  The atonement of Jesus Christ is not limited in its power to merely saving to a limited and static position in eternity.

After the creation of the earth, mankind was placed upon it.  This was to begin the plan of salvation ordained by God before the creation of the world and for which the world was created.  By God's planning and through the setting in the Garden of Eden, Adam's choice brought mortality with death and suffering to the human family. Spiritual and physical death became very real barriers to the spiritual progress of mankind.  Earth was created with the purpose that man could act as agents with moral agency and freedom.  Sin and disobedience were are the result of this freedom to choose.  Overcoming it is our goal.

The Father of our spirits prepared the way to overcome these conditions of fallen man.  Angels visited the earth and taught Adam of his Savior and the redemption of their souls. A Savior had been prepared from before the creation of the world to come in the meridian of time.  The atonement is the central act of both redeeming grace and enabling grace in our lives.  Its infinite power extends forwards and backward through eternity. Adam and Eve were the first on earth to exercise and live by faith in Jesus Christ and they taught their children to do likewise.

Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the barrier of physical death would be removed from all mankind and all would be resurrected to eternal life.  It is a free gift with no requirements other than being born. There are no conditions on it, it is truly unconditional. It is the measure of grace that only the sons of perdition can decline.  It releases men and women from the effects of the fall of which they had no part in causing.   

It should be pointed out that our death is not a punishment for Adam's transgression but a consequence imposed by God for Adam's choice. Man's fall was prepared with the blessings that come with the resurrection and the promise of immortality and greater opportunity for spiritual development.

With the fall of man came the acquiring knowledge of good and evil. This opportunity to have knowledge of good and evil and to choose one or the other is how we have agency to act according to our free will.  

If there is no opposition to choose from then there is no agency. This is how we know if we have faith in Christ or not. By our choices in life. These things constitute the trial of our faith.  God teaches us the good and our eternal worth through divine commandments and Satan tries to gain followers through falsehoods, deceit, and selfish pleasures.  This is why salvation is an unconditional gift of grace and exaltation is by grace after all that we can do.  Both come as a result of the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

A major purpose of this creation is to place us where it is up to us to choose who we will follow without undue influence from the heavens. As we choose to follow Christ we are blessed yet still subject to troubles and trial.  This means we push forward with faith and not with perfect knowledge.  Sin and evil bring negative consequences yet not so overwhelming that people stop doing it.

Earth is the perfect testing ground for making choices by faith. This is why Adam fell from God's presence in the Garden of Eden. The rest of humanity likewise must experience the trials of death and mortality. As we choose God and make covenants with him, the Holy Ghost continuously guides us to overcome the barriers of spiritual stagnation and prepares us for communion further with God. We will all return to the presence of the Father and the Son to be judged. We can only continue to abide there if we have sufficiently prepared ourselves to be comfortable there. This is done by repentance and obedience to God's commandments. All of which is possible because of the Savior's grace.

Overcoming spiritual death requires that we make certain choices.  If the freedom of choice is not available, what do we really have? This existence would be a puppet's life. Repentance is the path to overcoming spiritual death. These are the "works" that God requires of us.  To choose to repent and serve. This is a covenant relationship. They they would better be called the acceptance of divine gifts and choosing to follow the Savior. They are the enabling grace that brings exaltation and eternal blessings to the faithful.

Our choices determine whether or not we return to God's presence for eternity or go to some other place.  Grace avails to us this opportunity like all others but we must act to receive it. Grace enables us to do things we would not be able to do on our own.

One traditional belief is that man can be saved/exalted by an act of confessing acceptance of the Savior.  It supposes that those who accept Christ are unconditionally redeemed from their sins and those that do not accept are condemned to some eternal hell. If in a single confession one is redeemed, their power of choice is effectively ended as it would not matter what they do after that.  

If deity were in fact able to save individuals in such a fashion then creation would not really be necessary because choice would not be necessary except for a single act. If such a doctrine were true then creation would not be necessary since it would indicate that God has the power to save without requiring the individual to be responsible for their choices in life.  If the individual does not need to be responsible for their acts then no creation is necessary.  God could have just created the persons in a saved condition in the first place.

Spiritual gifts lift us from the methods and madness of carnal pursuits to the more glorious endeavors of serving God and our fellow man. The scriptures speak of a final judgment where all men and women will be judged.  This means that we are accountable for our life and the choices we make.  

The parable of the talents and other passages of scripture explains this principle.  Those who do nothing to obey God will receive the free gift of the resurrection and whatever eternal glory his mercy will provide. Those who love and serve God will be prepared to receive of the most glorious kingdoms prepared for their eternal life and exaltation.