April 2, 2026

Grace vs works:

On the FollowHim podcast this week for Easter, the guest speaker isn't the usual Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints scholar. It's Dallas Jenkins, director of The Chosen.

One of the topics that Dallas brought up was grace vs works and how it is 100% through the grace of Jesus Christ that we are saved and our works are a result of our faith and gratitude. He talked about how the works don't earn us anything more, any additional favor, anything of the sort. To be honest, he stopped just short of saying "any higher heaven", haha.

A few years ago, I would have disagreed with him. Not that we aren't 100% saved by the grace of our Savior, but that works don't effect the level of salvation. Today, I think that past response would have been wrong. However, an understanding of the purpose of life and the plan of salvation plays such a critical role in understanding grace, works, and repentance (which is the key component missing from the standard faith vs works conversation).

We are saved through the atoning grace of Jesus Christ. Full stop. He paid the price and overcame death and sin.

Then the question becomes, why are we here? What is the point of life?

I'm a post I recently saw from Elder Bednar, he said that the purpose of this life is to put off the natural man and woman (Mosiah 3:19).

This life is a training ground for us to practice being like Heavenly Father. We repent, or as President Nelson explained it, change and become a new being, continuously as we try to become what our Heavenly Father wants for us.

Brad Wilcox, in his famous devotional "His Grace is Sufficient" talks about practicing heaven. How when we learn piano, mistakes are expected, but we keep practicing. He tells a story of a youth who was heading down the wrong path so his parents sent him to EFY hoping it would help. One day into it, the boy called his parents and said "get me out of here!". He was not comfortable in that environment and it is not where he wanted to be.

Our works don't save us, but they do CHANGE us. And that change builds momentum in wanting to be more like our Father, which is why we came to earth in the first place. It takes change, indeed "a mighty change of heart" (Mosiah 5:2), to want to move from one way of life to a better. We won't be comfortable in the Celestial Kingdom if we have not changed. And we don't have to do that alone.

We enter into a covenant relationship with our Savior. We draw power from that relationship, from Jesus Christ, for His burden is light and his yoke is easy (Matthew 11:30). His grace saves us, and the He continues to help us with the change we need to make to be comfortable living with Him and Heavenly Father again.

Today, I'd summarize these concepts like this:

His grace saves us

Our faith inspires works and covenants

Our works change us (repentance)

Our covenants yoke is with Christ so we can rent in His full help in our change

Without the knowledge of the plan of salvation and the purpose of becoming like our Father in Heaven, this understanding isn't possible. I'm grateful for this restored gospel that shines light on the truth and gives me understanding and direction. I'm grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ, and for His Grace.