Believing Christ

1. The Great Dilemma: God's Absolute Standard vs. Our Inherent Imperfection

For I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance.

God's absolute standard. The universe's greatest problem stems from two undeniable facts. First, God's celestial standard is absolute perfection; He cannot tolerate any sin, no matter how small. This means that if even one sin is on our record, we are disqualified from dwelling in His presence, as His standard demands complete innocence.

Our universal sinfulness. The second fact is that every human being, without exception, sins daily and falls short of this divine standard. Even the most righteous among us are imperfect and commit actions incompatible with God's presence. This creates an unbridgeable chasm between God's demands and our inherent inability to meet them, leading to a profound sense of hopelessness and alienation from our Heavenly Father.

Despair and unworthiness. This contradiction often leads to despair, making us feel unworthy and cut off from God, much like a child sent to their room, crying out, "Daddy, isn't there any way we can ever be friends again?" We experience the horrid weight of guilt and self-reproach, feeling spiritually maimed and unclean, longing for reconciliation but seeing no path forward on our own.

2. The Atonement: God's Loving Solution to Reconcile Imperfect Humanity

Imperfect people can be reconciled to a perfect God and be allowed to dwell in his presence.

The resounding "YES!" The prophets and scriptures offer a powerful affirmative answer to the Great Dilemma: imperfect people can be reconciled to a perfect God. This solution, the ultimate expression of God's love, is the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Atonement literally means "at-one-ment," bringing separated parties—like a perfect God and imperfect us—back into unity.

Sins made white as snow. The Atonement means that no matter how grievous our sins, Christ can erase them and make us innocent, pure, and worthy, today. Isaiah 1:18 promises that though our sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. This incredible good news offers immediate cleansing and the possibility of celestial worthiness, regardless of our past.

God's infinite love. Through the Atonement, God assures us of His boundless love, demonstrating that He loves us more than any mortal parent could. This divine intervention is not something we earned or deserved; it is a gift born of His compassion, designed to bridge the gap created by our imperfections and bring us back into His presence.

3. Believing Christ: Trusting His Power to Cleanse and Exalt You

Not only must we believe that he is who he says he is, we must also believe that he can do what he says he can do.

Beyond mere belief. Many members believe in Christ (His identity as the Son of God) but fail to believe Christ (His ability to save them). They accept the messenger but reject the message of their own complete forgiveness and exaltation. This often manifests as statements like, "I'm not celestial material," which is a direct contradiction of Christ's promise to make us celestial.

Faith in His ability. Genuine faith in Christ means actively accepting His power to cleanse and save us, wretched, inadequate, and imperfect as we may feel. Until we embrace the real possibility of our own exaltation, we haven't truly turned on the power of the gospel. Our spiritual problem isn't some unique sin, but a fundamental lack of faith in Christ's saving ability.

The shortcut to perfection. The good news is not that perfect people can be reconciled to God, but that imperfect people can be. We don't need to perfect ourselves first; that's an impossible task that would negate the need for a Savior. Instead, Christ offers to share His perfection, sinlessness, and merits with us, allowing us to be considered perfect by becoming one with Him through the gospel covenant.

4. The Gospel Covenant: A Divine Partnership for Perfection-in-Christ

In the covenant union, what is mine becomes his, and what is his becomes mine.

A mutual agreement. A covenant is a binding contract between God and humanity, validated by the blood of Jesus Christ. It's a mutual obligation: "if you will do A, I will do B." This new and everlasting covenant, superior to the Law of Moses, offers justification not by perfect obedience to law, but by faith in Christ and His mercy.

A spiritual merger. Entering the gospel covenant is like a spiritual merger or marriage. Christ, with infinite assets, proposes a union with us, who have finite liabilities. Our sins become His for payment, and His righteousness becomes ours for justification. This partnership immediately makes us "perfect in Christ," a new, celestial entity, even though our individual perfection comes much later.

Team Christ. This covenant is like joining a team with Jesus Christ as the captain. If we are on His team, we will go undefeated, even if we occasionally miss our blocks. Our individual efforts, however small, combined with Christ's infinite merits, ensure a 100% justified outcome. The goal is to maintain this partnership by abiding in the covenant, enduring to the end.

5. Justification by Grace: Receiving Mercy Instead of Deserved Justice

The gospel offers mercy to those who would otherwise be damned by justice.

Mercy over justice. When we stand before God, we don't want absolute fairness or justice, which would give us what we deserve (damnation). Instead, we desperately need mercy. The Atonement provides a way for God to be both just and merciful, allowing Christ to answer justice's demands on our behalf so we can receive mercy.

God's unconditional goodwill. Grace is God's inherent goodwill and positive predisposition towards us, extended even before we can earn or deserve it. It's an unearned gift, like our birth as spirit children or the salvation of those who die before accountability. This unconditional grace is the foundation of the Atonement, as God's love moved Him to provide a Savior when we could not save ourselves.

A conditional gift. While grace is freely offered, it's not random or irresistible. We must choose to accept it by entering the gospel covenant through faith, repentance, baptism, and receiving the Holy Ghost. These conditions are not about earning grace, but about acknowledging and accepting the gift, much like responding to an invitation for an all-expense-paid trip.

6. Avoiding Misconceptions: Grace is Not a License for "Easy" Sin

There is a vast difference between viewing my sins as enemies from which I'm trying with difficulty to escape and viewing my sins as comfortable old friends I'm reluctant to leave behind.

Not "easy grace." A serious misunderstanding of grace is believing it's a license to sin, allowing us to relax our efforts and cling to favorite sins while expecting Christ to do everything. Paul vehemently refuted this, stating that yielding to sin makes us servants of sin, not grace. This "easy grace" mentality violates the covenant by asking Christ to do what we could do but won't.

Honest effort required. The covenant demands our best effort, our "all that we have," not merely wishing we were better. God accepts our righteous intentions and desires, but not mere wishes. There's no forgiveness for those unwilling to try or who give up after a few failures. The partnership with Christ is not easy; it calls for our loyalty, ongoing repentance, and continual recommitment.

Pride resists grace. The belief that we must save ourselves by our own good works is prideful and evil. It places an impossible burden, keeps us from admitting our need for a Savior, and prevents us from having a broken heart and contrite spirit. Like the Pharisee in the parable, those who trust in their own righteousness cannot receive the cleansing of Christ's Atonement.

7. "After All We Can Do": Grace is Present from Beginning to End

We are still saved by grace, after all is said and done.

Grace is foundational. The phrase "after all we can do" (2 Nephi 25:23) is often misunderstood as a chronological sequence, implying grace only kicks in after we've exhausted all our efforts. This is incorrect; grace is not merely a finishing touch. It is God's active participation in our salvation from its very beginning, enabling us to even start doing what we can.

Grace enables effort. We receive countless manifestations of God's grace before we can do anything: our spiritual birth, the plan of salvation, the gift of agency, and the gospel message itself. Our efforts are the "cherry on top" of all God has already done. Grace is the power that makes our efforts possible and acceptable, not a reward for having completed them.

"Whatever we can do." "All we can do" should be understood as "everything we can do" or "whatever we can do" in our current circumstances, not every conceivable good deed. It emphasizes our commitment and sincerity. The success of our salvation is utterly dependent on Christ's grace, regardless of the magnitude of our individual contributions.

8. The Nature of Perfection: Doing Your Best, Growing Continuously

To be perfect means to be doing the best you can do under the circumstances you are in.

"Perfect" as "ripe" or "mature." The scriptural meaning of "perfect" (Greek: teleios) often means ripe, mature, ready, or complete, not "unimprovable." In this life, to be perfect means to enter the gospel covenant and receive "perfection-in-Christ." This is the perfection that allows us into the celestial kingdom.

Our best is enough (for now). Brigham Young taught that if we do the very best we know how, according to our knowledge and circumstances, we are justified and considered perfect. This fulfills our part of the covenant, and Christ makes up the rest. God measures growth, not just height, understanding that each person's "best" is different.

The spotter's role. The Church's seemingly heavy demands for more effort are like a spotter in a weight room, pushing us to our limits to help us grow stronger. The goal is perfection, and we make the most progress at the edge of our abilities. We shouldn't be embarrassed by our limits, but take satisfaction in striving, knowing our best efforts are accepted as payment in full for now.

9. The Comfort of Assurance: Knowing Your Efforts Are Accepted

When we have done what lies in our power, we may have and should have the "utmost assurance" of the salvation of God.

No "midterrestrial" fate. We need to know that if we die tomorrow, we have hope of the celestial kingdom, not some "midterrestrial" fate. This "utmost assurance" is a promised blessing of the covenant relationship. Christ promises that our mistakes will not be held against us if we maintain the covenant throughout our lives.

Guilt swept away. The Father and Son cannot lie. If we have faith, repent, are baptized, receive the Holy Ghost, and remain willing to keep our covenants, we will inherit the kingdom. Like Enos, when Christ tells us our sins are forgiven, we can know our guilt is swept away because God cannot lie.

Enduring in the covenant. "Enduring to the end" does not mean enduring in perfection, but enduring in the covenant of faith and repentance. Faith, repentance, and the Atonement's cleansing are continuous processes of rejecting mistakes, reaffirming desires, and realigning our lives to Christ. This ongoing commitment, coupled with His grace, encircles us in the "arms of safety."

10. The Savior's Sacrifice: Divine and Human, Bearing All Guilt

For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

God suffered for us. Jesus Christ was not only the Son of God but God Himself, Jehovah, the Creator. In the Atonement, God the Son took moral responsibility for all the suffering, pain, and death inherent in the plan of salvation. He suffered more than any of us, confirming His right to ask us to suffer by His willingness to suffer, bleed, and die for us.

Fully human, fully tempted. Jesus was also fully and genuinely human, "in all things" tempted like us, yet without sin. He had a carnal nature but gave no heed to its enticements. This shared humanity allows Him to understand our struggles and empathize with our infirmities, making Him a compassionate High Priest who knows our experience firsthand.

Bearing our guilt. Crucially, Jesus did not just assume the punishment for our sins; He took the guilt as well. Through the Atonement, our guilt became His, and He experienced its awful weight, vicariously learning what it felt like to commit the sins He never committed. In Gethsemane, He became guilty in our place, experiencing the withdrawal of the Spirit and abandonment by His Father, truly treading the winepress alone.

Last updated: December 20, 2025