There is one particular line in The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ that causes a lot of anguish for its readers. It isn’t even the entire verse, and it is certainly not a complete thought. It’s just a part of the last sentence.
In 2 Nephi 25:23, we read this…
“…for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.”
Well, there you go! In a world of sound bites and short attention spans, that must be proof that anyone who believes that The Book of Mormon is an authorized work of God must also believe in a “works-based salvation!” That believer must think that she or he can “earn heaven.” Case closed!
I say, slow down and ponder for a minute more.
Understand that Nephi is writing about 550 BC. He lives the law of Moses, with its outward laws and performances. This includes ritualistic and symbolic ceremonies and animal sacrifices. Clearly this form of worship is on his mind because he talks about it in the next two verses. Regarding the Law of Moses, he knows that “the law hath become dead unto us, and we are made alive in Christ.” With his understanding that Christ would come and do all that was prophesied, why continue to keep the Deuteronomic Code? “We keep the law,” he explained, “because of the commandments” (see 2 Nephi 25:24-25).
What I believe Nephi is saying here is that even though his people keep the law of Moses, after doing all that they do, he understands that they receive salvation by the grace of Christ.
So how does that verse apply to us today?
Instead of the Levitical Law, we live the new covenant. Jesus Christ has performed the great and eternal sacrifice! The author of Hebrews taught that “it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Hebrews 10:4 NRSV) and that “Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins” (Hebrews 10:12 NRSV).
Praise God that “for all time” (past, present, and future) Jesus was offered as “a single sacrifice for sins!”
The author of Hebrews went on to explain that the Holy Spirit testifies to us: “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days,” says the Lord. “I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds. … Where there is forgiveness of sins and iniquities, there is no longer any offering for sin” (see Hebrews 10:15-18).
Under the new covenant, today we are asked to offer our whole heart, broken free from the natural desires of men; and our spirits, repentant and contrite. In my understanding, “all we can do” is have faith, repent, obey the gospel, and receive and participate in the ordinances and covenants that God offers for us in our time and place of history.
Or as the powerful missionary Aaron taught centuries later in The Book of Mormon, “since man had fallen he could not merit anything of himself; but the sufferings and death of Christ atone for their sins, through faith and repentance, and so forth” (see Alma 22:13-14).
Beyond that, the actions we perform might be an indicator of how well we are doing at learning to be disciples of Jesus Christ. But helping a widow or leaving home to be a missionary or teaching a class at church or whatever else we can do won’t take away our sins, any more than a priest sacrificing a goat in our behalf could have done so anciently. Our actions could show our mindset and desire to turn toward the Lord in obedience, but our actions do not accomplish our salvation.
We should approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (see Hebrews 4:16). We should also take our faith seriously and keep our commitments diligently as we work out our own salvation “with fear and trembling” (see Philippians 2:12). Or as Moroni, the final writer in The Book of Mormon, put it, “…Come unto Christ, and be perfected in him…; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ…. Then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins, that ye become holy, without spot.” (Moroni 10:32-33).
We do not need to achieve some minimum level of capacity or goodness before God will help—divine aid can be ours every hour of every day, no matter where we are in the path of obedience. But I know that beyond desiring His help, we must exert ourselves, repent, and choose God for Him to be able to act in our lives consistent with justice and moral agency. My plea is simply to take responsibility and go to work so that there is something for God to help us with.
We must understand that ‘after’ does not equal ‘because.’ We are not saved ‘because’ of all that we can do. Have any of us done all that we can do? Does God wait until we’ve expended every effort before He will intervene in our lives with His saving grace?
Remember, after ye are reconciled unto God, that it is only in and through the grace of God that ye are saved.