Grace

Grace seems to be a subject that our stake has been wanting us to understand better. Our stake president spoke about it several months ago...and helped me understand it better than I ever have before. On Sunday a member of our stake presidency spoke about grace again.

His talk came primarily from a speech given by Brad Wilcox at a BYU devotional in July of 2011. Much of what he shared I knew already (at least intellectually) but needed to be reminded of and needed it to sink down into my heart and spirit.

Brother Wilcox told of a girl who came to him and said that she didn't understand grace. She said, “I know I need to do my best and then Jesus does the rest, but I can’t even do my best.” She then explained all the things she wasn't doing that she should be and all the things she was doing that she shouldn't be. I love Brother Wilcox's response, “Jesus doesn’t make up the difference. Jesus makes all the difference. Grace is not about filling gaps. It is about filling us.”

He went on to say, "Christ asks us to show faith in Him, repent, make and keep covenants, receive the Holy Ghost, and endure to the end. By complying, we are not paying the demands of justice—not even the smallest part. Instead, we are showing appreciation for what Jesus Christ did by using it to live a life like His. Justice requires immediate perfection or a punishment when we fall short. Because Jesus took that punishment, He can offer us the chance for ultimate perfection (see Matthew 5:48, 3 Nephi 12:48) and help us reach that goal. He can forgive what justice never could, and He can turn to us now with His own set of requirements (see 3 Nephi 28:35)."

I love the analogy that Brother Wilcox shared. Grace is like a mom who pays for her child's piano lessons. The mom finds a teacher and pays the debt (the price owed for the lessons.) The mom does this because she loves the child and knows that lessons will benefit the child. The child then takes the lessons and the mom asks the child to practice. The practice does NOT pay the debt to the teacher. The practice does not repay the mom for paying the debt. But it does show appreciation to the mom for paying the debt. And it allows the child to develop a skill, a talent that will be a blessing to him/her throughout life. Perhaps the child complains about practicing. He cannot see that his mom wants his life to be enriched, to be lived on a higher plane. He needs his perspective changed. As we do when we don't want to live the gospel.

And perhaps my favorite line from the whole talk is this:
"I have born-again Christian friends who say to me, “You Mormons are trying to earn your way to heaven.” I say, “No, we are not earning heaven. We are learning heaven. We are preparing for it (see D&C 78:7). We are practicing for it.”

This is also pretty powerful. Brother Wilcox said, "The miracle of the Atonement is not just that we can live after we die but that we can live more abundantly (see John 10:10). The miracle of the Atonement is not just that we can be cleansed and consoled but that we can be transformed (see Romans 8). Scriptures make it clear that no unclean thing can dwell with God (see Alma 40:26), but, brothers and sisters, no unchanged thing will even want to."

And one more great quote, "The miracle of the Atonement is not just that we can go home but that—miraculously—we can feel at home there. If Christ did not require faith and repentance, then there would be no desire to change. Think of your friends and family members who have chosen to live without faith and without repentance. They don’t want to change. They are not trying to abandon sin and become comfortable with God. Rather, they are trying to abandon God and become comfortable with sin."
I hope I am trying much harder to abandon sin and become comfortable with God than to abandon God and become comfortable with sin. I love my Savior and my Father and want to live with them again some day. I want to feel comfortable in their presence.

Okay, I need to share one last quote: "Elder Bruce C. Hafen has written, “The Savior’s gift of grace to us is not necessarily limited in time to ‘after’ all we can do. We may receive his grace before, during and after the time when we expend our own efforts” (The Broken Heart [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1989], 155). So grace is not a booster engine that kicks in once our fuel supply is exhausted. Rather, it is our constant energy source. It is not the light at the end of the tunnel but the light that moves us through the tunnel. Grace is not achieved somewhere down the road. It is received right here and right now. It is not a finishing touch; it is the Finisher’s touch (see Hebrews 12:2)."

I have heard many of these things before, but
If you are interested in reading the whole talk, it is foundhere.
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Our high council speaker, Brother White (from my ward), also gave a wonderful talk. He talked about going to the doctor to get a physical. Among other things he had blood tests taken, and his cholesterol was checked. He was told that his cholesterol was fine, but that he should lose a little weight. He needs to eat a little better and exercise a little more. This got him thinking about his spiritual cholesterol level. How was he doing there? Is he doing the things he needs to do to be in good spiritual health? Is he praying? Studying the scriptures? Attending the temple? And so on.

I liked this analogy. I also appreciated that they talked about this being a personal introspection and not a comparison to others. I have to do MY best, not what someone else is doing. And I have to turn to the Lord daily, no at all times, to receive the help I need so I CAN do my best. Then I just keep trying and keep repenting and keep trusting. Then I will be ready to live with my Savior and my Father again. Good things to remember.