The following was first published in the Mormonism Researched in July-August 2025. This is a free publication produced by Mormonism Research Ministry. To get a free subscription of the bimonthly newsletter, visit the website here.
Perhaps there is no topic more discussed or disagreed upon by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Bible-believing Christians than the meaning of “salvation by grace.”
Especially in recent years, Latter-day Saints are likely to say they agree with Ephesians 2:8-9 by insisting that they believe salvation comes by grace. Evangelical Christians who are trying to share their faith with LDS friends and family members can become easily confused. After all, they might reason, isn’t this religion supposed to be based on grace plus works?
To confuse the matter even more, Apostle Dieter F. Uchtdorf wrote a popular book published in December 2024 by a church-owned publisher (Deseret Books) titled After All We Can Do: Embracing Hope, Grace, and Joy.
Of course, the main title comes from 2 Nephi 25:23 found in the Book of Mormon, which states in part, “…for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.” It is a verse many Latter-day Saints like to cite when discussing salvation.
Practically everything contained in the book was taken from previous articles and talks from Uchtdorf during the past decade. Even though Uchtdorf is second in line (after Henry B. Eyring) to succeed Dallin H. Oakes as president, his book does have a disclaimer (as books authored by LDS general authorities often do). It states on the title page,
“This work is not an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The views expressed herein are the responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the position of the Church or Deseret Book Company.”
I believe such a disclaimer is nonsensical. After all, the publisher is the church. The author is a general authority and stands a good chance at being named the president in the next decade. From what I see, the contents of the book had been previously published in LDS publications such as the official monthly church magazine called Liahona, including general conference talks, with no such disclaimer.
In other words, this high-ranking general authority wrote a book with material offering no new insights beyond what had previously been said in his official capacity. The only reason for a disclaimer is if we shouldn’t have been able to trust him the first time!
After All We Can Do
In the book’s introduction, Uchtdorf references 2 Nephi 25:23 and then asks,
“I wonder how often we misinterpret the phrase ‘after all we can do.’” Sounding like an Evangelical Christian, he went on: “We must understand that ‘after’ does not equal ‘because.’ We are not saved ‘because’ of all that we can do. We choose to receive Christ’s grace; we don’t earn it. Salvation cannot be bought with the currency of obedience; it is purchased by the blood of the Son of God (see Acts 20:28). 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” (8-9, italics in original).
According to Mormonism, grace is God’s “enabling power” that allows followers to keep commandments given by God. In 2012, David A. Bednar—Uchtdorf’s fellow apostle—cited 2 Nephi 25:23 and said,
“I believe we can learn much about this vital aspect of the Atonement if we will insert ‘enabling and strengthening power’ each time we find the word grace in the scriptures” (“The Atonement and the Journey of Mortality,” Ensign, April 2012, 42-43. Italics in original).
Former BYU professor Stephen E. Robinson was never a general authority, but he seemingly introduced the concept used by Uchtdorf in a popular 1992 book that he wrote. Uchtdorf cites Robinson on page 46 concerning 2 Nephi 25:23: “Another acceptable paraphrase of the sense of the verse might read, ‘We are still saved by grace, after all is said and done’” (Believing Christ: The Parable of the Bicycle and Other Good News, 92).
Robinson had said on that same page,
“Moreover, ‘all we can do’ here should probably be understood in the sense of ‘everything we can do,’ or even ‘whatever we can do.’ Thus, the correct sense of 2 Nephi 25:23 would be that we are ultimately saved by grace apart from whatever we manage to do” (Ibid).
It sounds good, doesn’t it? Perhaps this is why many Latter-day Saints cling to this easier-to-digest interpretation. The argument goes like this: “Of course sinful humans are not capable of doing everything they’re supposed to. That’s why we need the grace of Jesus.”
When we consider the literal meaning of “by grace that we are saved, after all we can do,” the mishmash created by Robinson and Uchtdorf makes no sense whatsoever. Consider what Dallin H. Oaks once told an audience at the October 2010 General Conference:
“Because of what He accomplished by His atoning sacrifice, Jesus Christ has the power to prescribe the conditions we must fulfill to qualify for the blessings of His Atonement. That is why we have commandments and ordinances. That is why we make covenants. That is how we qualify for the promised blessings. They all come through the mercy and grace of the Holy One of Israel, ‘after all we can do’ (2 Nephi 25:23)” (“Two Lines of Communication,” Ensign (Conference Edition), November 2010, 84).
Did you notice how Oaks referred to “conditions we must fufill to qualify” for eternal life? Oaks said a similar thing in the April 1998 conference, citing Moroni 10:32 right after bringing up 2 Nephi 25:23. That verse says that “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.”
The idea that salvation isn’t earned certainly is rejected by previous authorities as well. Eleventh President Harold B. Lee was very clear about this in a general conference message titled “To Ease the Aching Heart” in April 1973. Under the section “ULTIMATE SALVATION COMES TO THOSE WHO OBEY,” Lee quoted 2 Nephi 25:23 on page 5 and said,
“In other words, each must do all he can to save himself from sin; then he may lay claim to the blessings of redemption by the Holy One of Israel, that all mankind may be saved by obedience to the law and ordinances of the gospel. . . . The scriptures make it clear that while a resurrection will come to all, only those who obey the Christ will receive the expanded blessing of eternal salvation” (italics mine).
In a 1970 general conference talk, Lee also said,
“Truly we are redeemed by the atoning blood of the Savior of the world, but only after each has done all he can to work out his own salvation” (Conference Reports, October 1970, p. 116).
Even though he is a layperson, albeit paid for teaching young people in the LDS Church, seminary teacher David R. Ridges interpreted the verse the way it appears to have been written when he wrote, “Good works are required, along with faith, in order to have the Savior’s grace save us from our sins (Titus 2:7; James 2:17, 20, 26; 2 Nephi 25:23)” (Mormon Beliefs and Doctrines Made Easier, 2007, 122).
Ridges added, “The Church teaches the simple truth that both grace and works are necessary for salvation (2 Nephi 25:23)” (124).
What about D&C 58?
Despite his softening of 2 Nephi 25:23, Uchtdorf brings out another passage later in the book that is in conflict with his previous view. He writes on pages 34-35, “The words of Doctrine and Covenants 58:42 are some of the most inspiring and encouraging in scripture: ‘He who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more.’”
He continued,
“What joy this gives me to know that if I continue to repent, in that future day when I shall fall on my knees before my Savior and Redeemer, He will lift me up and embrace me. My sins will not only be forgiven, they will not even be remembered. We can stand before Him pure, worthy, and sanctified” (italics in original).
Notice how Uchtdorf uses the word “if,” which is used in the next verse (D&C 58:43): “By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins—behold, he will confess them and forsake them.” Uchtdorf conveniently leaves that particular verse out. Is this a “daisy” type of love where “He loves me, He loves me not” as each petal is pulled off?
According to D&C 58, then, forgiveness can be found only with true repentance. In other words, a person must successfully “forsake” all sin. Uchtdorf also fails to acknowledge D&C 82:7, which says, “And now, verily I say unto you, I, the Lord, will not lay any sin to your charge; go your ways and sin no more; but unto that soul who sinneth shall the former sins return, saith the Lord your God.”
Uchtdorf later writes on pages 43-44,
“Salvation cannot be bought with the currency of obedience; it is purchased by the blood of the Son of God (see Acts 20:28). Thinking that we can trade our good works for salvation is like buying a plane ticket and supposing we own the airline. Or thinking that after paying rent for our home, we now hold title to the entire planet earth.”
While Uchtdorf talks a big game about the possibility of being “forgiven” so one’s sins “will not even be remembered” to be able to stand before Jesus “pure, worthy, and sanctified,” his own scripture mocks his attempt to bring peace into the mindset of the faithful Latter-day Saint.
On pages 44-45 he mimics the Protestant’s motivation for doing good works. He writes,
“So why then do we obey? We obey the commandments of God out of love for Him! . . . Grace is a gift of God, and our desire to be obedient to each of God’s commandments is the reaching out of our mortal hand to receive the sacred gift from our Heavenly Father” (italics mine).
There is not enough space to lay out the many citations from multiple LDS leaders who insist that keeping commandments is a requirement for eternal life and not just done “out of love for Him.”
Conclusion
After All We Can Do will no doubt be well received by Latter-day Saints who yearn for an assurance that their sins are forgiven; however, if Uchtdorf’s positions are to be interpreted as a move toward what evangelicals have long believed regarding unmerited grace, he and his colleagues must offer a united voice denouncing the contradictory statements of the teachings from other leaders.