“Grace consists of God’s gift to His children wherein He gave His Only Begotten Son in order that whosoever would believe in Him and comply with His laws and ordinances would have everlasting life.
· “By grace, the Savior accomplished His atoning sacrifice so that all mankind will attain immortality.
· “By His grace and by our faith in His atonement and our repentance of our sins, we receive the strength to do the necessary works that we otherwise could not do by our own power.
· “By His grace, we receive an endowment of blessing and spiritual strength that may eventually lead us to eternal life if we endure to the end.
· “By His grace, we become more like His divine personality.
“Yes, it is ‘by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.’ What is meant by the phrase ‘after all we can do’?
· “’After all we can do’ includes extending our best effort.
· “’After all we can do’ includes living His commandments.
· “’After all we can do’ includes loving our fellowmen and praying for those who regard us as their adversary.
· “’After all we can do’ means clothing the naked, feeding the hungry, visiting the sick, and giving ‘succor [to] those that stand in need of [our] succor’ (Mosiah 4:16), remembering that what we do unto one of the least of God’s children, we do unto Him (Matthew 25:40).
· “’After all we can do’ means leading chaste, clean, pure lives, being scrupulously honest in all our dealings, and treating others the way we would want to be treated” (Pres. Ezra T. Benson, Come Unto Christ [1983], 7-8).
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(see 2 Nephi 25:26)
“My greatest thrill and the most joyful of all realizations is that I have the opportunity, as Nephi phrased it, to ‘talk of Christ, … rejoice in Christ, … preach of Christ, [and] prophesy of Christ’ (2 Nephi 25:26) wherever I may be and with whomever I may find myself until the last breath of my life is gone…. But my greatest anxiety stems from that very same commission. A line of scripture reminds us with searing understatement that ‘they which preach the gospel should live … the gospel’ (1 Cor. 9:14). Beyond my words and teachings and spoken witness, my life must be part of that testimony of Jesus. My very being should reflect the divinity of this work. I could not bear it if anything I might ever say or do would in any way diminish your faith in Christ, your love for this church, or the esteem in which you hold the holy apostleship” (Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, Ensign, Nov. 1994, 31).
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(see 2 Nephi 26:22)
“The first wrongdoing is like a single strand of flaxen thread; it is easily broken and thrown aside. But each time the wrong is repeated another strand is intertwined around the first, and on and on it goes until an almost unbreakable cord of multi-strands is woven. ‘The chains of habit,’ said Samuel Johnson, ‘are too small to be felt until they are too strong to be broken.’” –Elder Carlos E. Asay
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(see 2 Nephi 28:7-9)
“The philosophy of ritual prodigalism is ‘eat, drink, and be merry, … [and] God will beat us with a few stripes’ (2 Nephi 28:8). This is a cynical and shallow view of God, of self, and of life. God never can justify us ‘in committing a little sin’ (v. 8). He is the God of the universe, not some night-court judge with whom we can haggle and plea bargain! Of course God is forgiving! But He knows the intents of our hearts. He also knows what good we might have done while AWOL [absent without leave]. In any case, what others do is no excuse for the discipline from whom much is required (see Alma 39:4). Besides, on the straight and narrow path, there are simply no corners to be cut (see D&C 82:3)” (Elder Neal A. Maxwell, Ensign, Nov. 1988, 33).
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(see 2 Nephi 28:7-9)
“[One deception] is what some erroneously call ‘premeditated repentance.’ There is no such doctrine in this Church. This may sound subtly appealing, but is it in fact pernicious and a false concept. Its objective is to persuade us that we can consciously and deliberately transgress with the forethought that quick repentance will permit us to enjoy the full blessings of the gospel, such as temple blessings or a mission. True repentance can be a long, painful process. This foolish doctrine was foreseen by Nephi: (see 2 Nephi 28:8). … All of our covenants must not only be received through ordinances but, to be eternal, must also be sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise. This divine stamp of approval is placed upon our ordinances and covenants only through faithfulness. The false idea of so-called premeditated repentance involves an element of deception, but the Holy Spirit of Promise cannot be deceived” (Pres. James E. Faust, Ensign, Nov. 2000, 46).
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(see 2 Nephi 28:22)
“A corollary to the pernicious falsehood that God is dead is the equally pernicious doctrine that there is no devil. Satan himself is the father of both of these lies. To believe them is to surrender to him. Such surrender has always led, is leading now, and will continue to lead men to destruction. Latter-day Saints know that there is a God. With like certainty, they know that Satan lives, that he is a powerful personage of spirit, the archenemy of God, of man, and of righteousness. The reality of the existence of both God and the devil is conclusively established by the scriptures and by human experience” (Pres. Marion G. Romney, Ensign, June 1971, 35).
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(see 2 Nephi 28:21)
“We cannot say we will sow a few wild oats in our youth or that we will just dabble a little around the fringes of sin. There are no fringes of sin. Every act, good or bad, has a consequence. Every good act improves our ability to do good and more firmly stand against sin or failure. Every transgression, regardless of how minor, makes us more susceptible to Satan’s influence the next time he tempts us. Satan takes us an inch at a time, deceiving us as to the consequences of so-called minor sins until he captures us in major transgressions. Nephi describes this technique as one of pacifying, lulling, and flattering us away until Satan ‘grasps [us] with his awful chains, from whence there is no deliverance’ (2 Nephi 28:22) (Bishop Richard C. Edgley, Ensign, Nov. 1994, 40).
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(see 2 Nephi 29)
“There are three great reasons why latter-day Saints should make the study of the Book of Mormon a lifetime pursuit.
“The first is that the Book of Mormon is the keystone of our religion. This was the Prophet Joseph Smith’s statement. He testified that ‘the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion’ (History of the Church, 4:461). A keystone is the central stone in an arch. It holds all the other stones in place, and if removed, the arch crumbles. . . .
“The second great reason why we must make the Book of Mormon a center focus of study is that it was written for our day. The Nephites never had the book; neither did the Lamanites of ancient times. It was meant for us. . .
“The third reason why the Book of Mormon is of such value to Latter-day Saints is given in the same statement by the Prophet Joseph Smith cited previously. He said, ‘I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book’ (History of the Church, 4:461). That is the third reason for studying the book. It helps us draw nearer to God. Is there not something deep in our hearts that longs to draw nearer to God, to be more like Him in our daily walk, to feel His presence with us constantly? If so, then the Book of Mormon will help us do so more than any other book.
“It is not just that the Book of Mormon teaches us truth, thought it indeed does that. It is not just that the Book of Mormon bears testimony of Christ, though it indeed does that, too. But there is something more. There is a power in the book which will begin to flow into your lives the moment you begin a serious study of the book. You will find greater power to resist temptation. You will find the power to avoid deception. You will find the power to stay on the strait and narrow path. The scriptures are called the “words of life” (D&C 84:85), and nowhere is that more true than it is of the Book of Mormon. When you begin to hunger and thirst after those words, you will find life in greater and greater abundance” (Pres. Ezra T. Benson, Ensign, Nov. 1986, 5-7).
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