Category: Grace vs. Works
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Mormonism’s Twist on John Newton’s “Amazing Grace”
The LDS Church is revising its hymnbook, including “Amazing Grace,” a song deeply cherished in Christian worship, though it carries a different understanding of grace in Mormon theology. While Christians embrace grace as a gift, Mormonism ties grace to obedience and effort.
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Christian Songs Being Incorporated Into New LDS Hymnal
Note: The following was originally printed in the September/October 2024 edition of Mormonism Researched. To request a free subscription, please visit here. Published 9/26/2024 On May 30, 2024, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced the “first wave” of 13 songs to be included in its new global hymnbook. The songs are now available in…
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Does James Contradict Sola Fides (Salvation by Faith Alone)? A Closer Look at James 2:14–26
To listen to a Viewpoint on Mormonism podcast on this topic that aired May 6-10, 2024, go to the following: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 This article includes a verse-by-verse analysis of James 2:14-26. In doing this, we will compare the King James Version (the official version of The Church…
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The “Gift” of Salvation is Not Free
Note: The following was originally printed in the January/February 2022 edition of Mormonism Researched. To request a free subscription, please visit here. Discussing the topic of salvation with a Latter-day Saint can sometimes be confusing since the word salvation is given two distinct definitions in Mormonism. General salvation, or resurrection from the dead, is something all humans will…
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Apostle Provides the Old “Bait and Switch”
Posted October 7, 2021 Note: The following was originally printed in the September/October 2021 edition of the Mormonism Researched, a bimonthly periodical of MRM that is free upon request. To request a free subscription to Mormonism Researched, please visit here. For many years, the bait and switch scam—advertising a product at an incredible bargain price but…
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The Testimonies of Two Apostles – New Testament vs. LDS
28 June 2021 The New Testament apostle Paul told the Corinthians, “And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” (1 Corinthians 2:1-2) Paul’s faith and testimony…
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Introducing Christianity to Mormons: Chapter 8
Return to Introducing Christianity main menu Chapter 8: Justification: Forgiveness of Sins by Faith Alone Chapter Preview: Christianity is all about the complete forgiveness of sins, which the Bible says is available only through faith alone in the work accomplished by Jesus on the cross. This is a different concept than having to perform certain…
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Doesn’t the book of James say that “faith without works is dead”?
The following is from chapter 19 in Answering Mormons’ Questions (Kregel, 2013). To get additional help in answering LDS questions, we recommend purchasing the book. Click here to see more. Leaders from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint throughout the years have stressed the importance of good works in order to become exalted and…
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Book Review: The Divine Gift of Forgiveness by Apostle Neil L. Andersen
The Divine Gift of Forgiveness and The Miracle of Forgiveness: Changing Mormon Theology? Or Just More of the Same? A closer look at two books written by two LDS apostles five decades apart Reviewed by Eric Johnson Article Summary Over the years some Latter-day Saints have expressed their disapproval with The Miracle of Forgiveness–one of…
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Do Latter-Day Saints Earn the “Blessing” of Eternal Life?
Note: The following was originally printed in the May/June 2019 edition of Mormonism Researched. To request a free subscription, please visit here. Blessings received by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are described in a number of ways. For example, eternal life in the celestial kingdom of God has been explained as a…
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Crash Course Mormonism: Obedience
According to Mormonism, obedience is doing God’s will by keeping all the commandments given by God as revealed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. According to unique LDS scripture, it is possible to keep these commandments. First Nephi 3:7 in the Book of Mormon says, “I will go and do the things…
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Crash Course Mormonism: Repentance
Repentance in Mormonism describes the process by which a church member receives forgiveness. The goal is to ceasing all sin. As one church manual reports, “Our Father in heaven does not sin, and He does not allow people who sin to live with Him. To live with Him, we must repent of our sins. To…
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Crash Course Mormonism: Grace
According to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, grace is provided to all people leading to a kingdom of glory. According to 2 Nephi 25:23 in the Book of Mormon, “It is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.” This teaching of grace is different from what Paul said…
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2 Nephi 25:23: Saved by Grace “In Spite Of” All We Can Do?
Note: The following was originally printed in the November/December 2018 edition of Mormonism Researched. To request a free subscription, please visit here. At a recent church meeting where I spoke about The Miracle of Forgiveness evangelistic approach described in a chapter found in Sharing the Good News with Mormons (Kregel, 2018), two young male LDS missionaries approached my…
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Citations on Obedience
The following are sections out of Bill McKeever’s book In their Own Words: A Collection of Mormon Quotations. Standard Works “I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that…
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Citations on Grace
The following are sections out of Bill McKeever’s book In their Own Words: A Collection of Mormon Quotations. Standard Works “For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are…
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Book Review: Changed Through His Grace
Book written by Brad Wilcox Reviewed by Bill McKeever Check out the two-week Viewpoint on Mormonism series that originally aired June 19-30, 2017 Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 When Brigham Young University professor, Brad Wilcox, gave his “His Grace is Sufficient” talk at…
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Only “After All We Can Do”
LDS author and blogger Mette Ivie Harrison recently addressed the question, “Can Christ Love Me In My Sins?” From a traditional Mormon perspective, the answer would be “No.” But Ms. Harrison is not a traditional Mormon. For her, unlike many other Latter-day Saints who actually hold to the teachings of the Mormon Church, the answer…
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Grace unto Works
When speaking to individuals who place a strong emphasis on personal performance when it comes to being justified before God, one can unwittingly fail to emphasize that the New Testament has much to say about how we should live our lives as Christians. When we focus solely on what it takes to justify (make right)…
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Am I Good Enough? Will I Make It?
Note: The following was originally printed in the January/February 2017 edition of Mormonism Researched. To request a free subscription, please visit here. To listen to a 5-part Viewpoint on Mormonism series that originally aired January 2-6, 2017, click the following: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 By Eric Johnson The title for this article is the actual title for…