It goes without saying that perhaps the most common question any former missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who served in the United States heard is “are you saved by grace?” 

The debate over whether we are saved by grace or good works is one that has haunted dialogue between mainstream Christians and Latter-day Saints for many years. The question has historically been framed incorrectly since there is no Christian sect, denomination, or movement that teaches that we are saved by our works alone. It is for this reason, as Terryl Givens has noted, that the question of “are you saved by grace or works” should be reframed as “Are we saved by grace alone or by some combination of grace and works?” What do Latter-day Saints have to say about the topic?

First, it should be understood that Latter-day Saints do not have a very well-defined theology regarding the exact relationship between grace and works. Thus, it should be stated at the outset that what this author summarizes is not necessarily an official Church position.

We do have many statements from scripture (“the law to govern the church” according to Doctrine & Covenants 42:56-60) that indicate to us that God and Christ’s grace as well as our works ride in some form of tandem to bring about our justification and sanctification. The Bible contains 200 mentions of the word grace of which 130 are found in the New Testament. The Book of Mormon contains 31 mentions of grace as does the Doctrine & Covenants. The Pearl of Great Price contains 7 mentions of grace.

There is interesting and very-informed work being done to understand exactly what the scriptures say about grace. This has been done primarily through BYU-Idaho religion and humanities professor Brent J. Schmidt. This will, in turn, help to inform the theologies of grace that we construct as we move forward as a church. What do the scriptures say about the relationship between grace and works according to scholars like Schmidt? 

Latter-day Saint Walker Wright summarized the scriptural meaning of “grace” this way:

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Paul inhabited the Greco-Roman world, so how did the Greeks and Romans understand it? In their mythology, there were three goddesses known as the Graces, generally identified as the daughters of Zeus. These Graces were often depicted as dancing hand-in-hand in a circle: one giving, one receiving, one returning to the giver. The word “grace” represented this kind of relationship. Grace wasn’t just the gift that was given. It was also the benevolence and generosity of the giver. But not only that: it was also the gratitude of the recipient.¹⁸⁵

 ‍ The Three Graces in Botticelli’s Primavera

Thus, grace represented (1) the gift given, (2) the benevolence and generosity of the giver, and (3) the gratitude of the recipient. The gratitude of the recipient had to be shown through “public gratitude, loyalty, allegiance, faithfulness (it’s the Greek word that is often translated as ‘faith’ in the New Testament).”^186I Our faithfulness includes keeping God’s commandments. 

The multifaceted, ancient meaning of grace is why we are in such a grand debate today over the meaning of grace. Grace doesn’t just refer to the giver or the gift, but also our faithfulness demonstrated by allegiance and, in the case of God especially, obedience to the giver. 

Everything from the commandments, the ordinances, the Resurrection, and everything in between are manifestations of God’s unconditional love for us. Given that God’s love is unconditional and that these are manifestations of that love, all of these can be considered operations of grace in Latter-day Saint theology. These are all acts of grace that God gives us prior to us performing any act of will to accept them and thus these acts are accurately called acts of prevenient grace: a concept taught frequently in the Book of Mormon.¹⁸⁷ As Nephi so eloquently puts it, “we are saved by grace after all we can do” (2 Nephi 25:23). Whether we will feel God’s love for us is conditional. It is conditioned upon our faithfulness to God’s grace. As Christ taught us “[if] ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love” (John 15:10). As 1 John so beautifully and poignantly tells us “God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him” (1 John 4:16). All of the acts of grace that God has given us are so that we can dwell in him and him in us. Not only that, but that we can dwell in other people and others in us. In this way, we become Zion: of one heart and one mind (Moses 7:18). This is grace. 

So are we saved by grace? Emphatically, yes–though not in the less scripturally-faithful way that most Christians understand grace.