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We are Saved by Grace after All is Said and Done
In 2 Nephi 25, the Book of Mormon follows Paul quite nicely in teaching salvation by grace. Unfortunately, we (Mormons) tend to focus only on one phrase, and that, incorrectly. Verse 23 says: “…it is by grace that we are saved, AFTER ALL WE CAN DO.” We read the last five words as if in all CAPS.
If the chapter is read carefully, we see that Nephi, like Paul, is not teaching about the importance of works, but the opposite–the deadness of the law. And we ignore the rest of the verse, where the only works mentioned consist of sharing the news of Christs grace.
“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 saved, after all we can do.”
And if we were to continue reading, we would see that the only works Nephi is talking about are the law of Moses, which “hath become dead unto us, and we are made alive in Christ because of our faith; yet we keep the law because of the commandments…Wherefore, we speak concerning the law that our children may know the deadness of the law; and they, by knowing the deadness of the law, may look forward unto that life which is in Christ. “
Protestants should love this stuff! It’s only the “after all we can do” that seems out of place. Maybe we’re just understanding it wrong. Could it mean something more like this?
“…for we know that. AFTER ALL IS SAID AND DONE, it is by grace that we are saved.”
(For a different way of looking at “after all we can do” in 2 Nephi 25, see The Centrality of Christ in Mormonism and the Mystery of Salvation by Grace after “All We Can Do”)
So, are works unnecessary? The most obvious work that is necessary for salvation is baptism. Then is salvation not free? Salvation is free (2 Nephi 2:4, “salvation is free”). But we must actively accept it, which involves intentional action and covenant. Let’s use a student grant to pay education costs as an analogy. A grant, by definition, is free money, but you generally have to fill out the application (a work) and agree to the terms (a covenant) to get the free money. No, you are not earning it by filling out the application. But you are qualifying for it. The Protestant doctrine of sola fide follows this principal. According to that doctrine, the only thing that we need TO DO to qualify ourselves for salvation is have faith in Christ. It is not faith that ultimately saves us, but grace. But we still have to have the faith to be saved because it qualifies us for (but does not earn) the grace.
See also “The Gift of Grace” by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf
Nephi’s Tree of Life Vision: The Virgin Mary as the Tree of Life
What does the Virgin Mary have to do with the Tree of Life?
She is the Tree of Life (at least for a moment), according to the Book of Mormon!
If you missed that in your reading of the Book of Mormon, it’s OK. It’s easy to miss (unless, perhaps, if you’re Catholic).
After his famous dream, Lehi tells his children of a tree with fruit that is “white, to exceed all the whiteness” and that is “desirable above all other fruit” (1 Nephi 8). After hearing his father tell about the dream, Nephi sees the same tree in a vision of his own (1 Nephi 11-14). Since a fruit tree is known by and valued for its fruit, Nephi uses the same type of language to describe the tree itself (1 Nephi 11), which he says was “precious above all,” and “the beauty thereof was far beyond, yea, exceeding of all beauty; and the whiteness thereof did exceed the whiteness of the driven snow.“ Nephi calls this beautiful tree the “tree of life.”
From Nephi’s record, we eventually learn that the tree symbolizes the “love of God” (1 Nephi 11:25) and that its precious fruit is the “greatest of all the gifts of God” (1 Nephi 15:36). But when Nephi first sees the tree and asks for the “interpretation thereof,” the Spirit doesn’t answer in words; he provides the interpretation through visual images. So what does the “love of God” look like? What Nephi is immediately shown is “a virgin, and she was exceedingly fair and white” and “most beautiful and fair above all other virgins.” It is interesting that Nephi uses nearly the same language to describe the Virgin Mary as he uses to describe the Tree of Life—they are both exceedingly white and beautiful above all. It’s unlikely that the actual Mary was particularly white or that she was the most beautiful woman who ever existed. The Bible says nothing to that effect, and, indeed, the Savior himself had “no form nor comeliness; and…no beauty that we should desire him” (Isaiah 53:2). Mary’s whiteness and beauty could, of course, be merely symbolic, representing her purity and preciousness, but Nephi could have just as well used different words, or just said that she was “pure” and “precious.” The particular words and phrases he uses suggest that he is describing Mary in this way as a reference to the Tree of Life. Her connection with the tree which “bore the fruit” that was so precious (1 Nephi 11:7; 15:36) is reinforced when she vanishes and then reappears “bearing a child” in her arms (1 Nephi 11:20). She is, for the moment, the Tree of Life, and her fruit is Christ, the most precious of all the gifts of God (John 3:16) and the perfect manifestation of his love.
Perhaps due to our Protestant tendencies, we Mormons don’t tend to notice this connection that Nephi makes between the Tree of Life and the Virgin Mary. Catholics, on the other hand, would be more appreciative of Nephi’s imagery. (Whoever produced the language of Nephi’s vision must not have shared the anti-Catholicism that was prevalent in 19th century America.) Nephi’s imagery would have also probably been familiar to many early Christians and appeared logical to ancient Hebrews (see links and notes at bottom). In any case, when we get past whatever sectarian discomfort we may have, Nephi’s imagery is beautiful and worthy of inclusion in our discussions of Nephi’s Tree of Life vision. It’s also fascinating how Nephi doesn’t just say, “Mary is like the Tree of Life,” but instead uses similar phrases (call them “phrasal allusions”) to say the same thing in a more subtle, playful way.
NOTES
A Coptic version of a record called the Apocalypse of Paul, probably from about the mid-third century, relates a vision that, in some details at least, resembles the vision of Nephi: “And he [the angel] showed me the Tree of Life, and by it was a revolving red-hot sword. And a Virgin appeared by the tree, and three angels who hymned her, and the angel told me that she was Mary, the Mother of Christ.” [see Daniel C. Peterson, “Nephi & His Asherah,” in Journal of Book of Mormon Studies , FARMS, Vol. 9, Num. 2, 2000, pp. 16-18]. In his vision, Nephi also saw a flaming fire (1 Nephi 15:30) and a “sword of the justice of the eternal God” (1 Nephi 12:18, Royal Skousen, The Book of Mormon: The Earliest Text) that together restricted access to the tree.
Nephi and His Asherah by Daniel Peterson
The Tree of Life as Mother, Son, and Love of God in 1 Nephi and The Tree of Life as Nurturing Mother, both by David Larsen
Challenging Issues, Keeping the Faith: Michael R. Ash: The tree of life and the Book of Mormon (Deseret News)
Mary and the Tree of Life by John A. Tvedtnes (BYU)
The Centrality of Christ in Mormonism and the Mystery of Salvation by Grace after “All We Can Do”
In contrast to the Old World Hebrews who rejected their prophets and scriptures, the believing Nephites were given additional spiritual knowledge, particularly about the Christ who would come bringing salvation.
A principal purpose of the Book of Mormon is to teach the descendants of the apostate Hebrews about the Christ. There are many passages in the Book of Mormon that attempt to do this, often by using Hebrew literary devices such as Biblical allusions and chiasms. Christ is often placed at the center of these chiasms to show his prime importance. Nephi’s “we rejoice in Christ” message in 2 Nephi 25:23-29 is an interesting example. Here Nephi uses a chiasm to show his fellow Hebrews how their entire system of religious law, the Law of Moses, points to Christ. Read as English prose, Nephi’s message seems repetitive and somewhat foreign:
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 saved, after all we can do. And, notwithstanding we believe in Christ, we keep the law of Moses, and look forward with steadfastness unto Christ, until the law shall be fulfilled. For, for this end was the law given; wherefore the law hath become dead unto us, and we are made alive in Christ because of our faith; yet we keep the law because of the commandments. And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins. Wherefore, we speak concerning the law that our children may know the deadness of the law; and they, by knowing the deadness of the law, may look forward unto that life which is in Christ, and know for what end the law was given. And after the law is fulfilled in Christ, that they need not harden their hearts against him when the law ought to be done away. And now behold, my people, ye are a stiffnecked people; wherefore, I have spoken plainly unto you, that ye cannot misunderstand. And the words which I have spoken shall stand as a testimony against you; for they are sufficient to teach any man the right way; for the right way is to believe in Christ and deny him not; for by denying him ye also deny the prophets and the law. And now behold, I say unto you that the right way is to believe in Christ, and deny him not; and Christ is the Holy One of Israel; wherefore ye must bow down before him, and worship him with all your might, mind, and strength, and your whole soul; and if ye do this ye shall in nowise be cast out.
But the repetitiveness has a purpose — to create a chiasm that is built around and centered on Christ. To the classical Hebrew reader, this chiasm would have served to emphasize Nephi’s message that the Law of Moses is likewise built around and centered on Christ. Here is Nephi’s message in chiastic form, with parallel elements shown in color for each level.
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 saved, after all we can do. And, notwithstanding we believe in Christ,
we keep the law of Moses,
and look forward with steadfastness unto Christ, until the law shall be fulfilled.
For, for this end was the law given;
wherefore the law hath become dead unto us, and we are made alive in Christ because of our faith; yet we keep the law because of the commandments.
And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies,
that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.
Wherefore, we speak concerning the law that our children may know the deadness of the law; and they, by knowing the deadness of the law, may look forward unto that life which is in Christ,
and know for what end the law was given.
And after the law is fulfilled in Christ, that they need not harden their hearts against him
when the law ought to be done away.
And now behold, my people, ye are a stiffnecked people; wherefore, I have spoken plainly unto you, that ye cannot misunderstand. And the words which I have spoken shall stand as a testimony against you; for they are sufficient to teach any man the right way; for the right way is to believe in Christ and deny him not; for by denying him ye also deny the prophets and the law. And now behold, I say unto you that the right way is to believe in Christ, and deny him not; and Christ is the Holy One of Israel; wherefore ye must bow down before him, and worship him with all your might, mind, and strength, and your whole soul; and if ye do this ye shall in nowise be cast out.
Nephi has effectively highlighted the important elements of his message — belief in Christ, keeping the law, the fulfillment of the law, the purpose (end) of the law, the deadness of the law, and the prime importance of Christ — by repeating them all in reverse order! And that forms a chiasm.
An interesting thing about genuine chiasms is that they usually have a logical turning point that coincides with the physical turning point at the center. In this chiasm, the turning point is the change in subject from “we” (Nephi and his fellow preachers) to “they” (Nephi’s children) and “you” (Nephi’s brethren). Everything before the center point is what Nephi and his fellow preachers do, and everything after the center point is what he hopes his children and unbelieving brethren will do. Speaking for himself and his fellow preachers, Nephi says that “we” believe in Christ” and “we” keep the law ” and “we” are made alive in Christ and “we” preach of Christ SO THAT “our children” may know Christ and so “they” can look forward to life in Christ and so “they” won’t harden their hearts, etc.
The arrangement of text in chiastic form draws the reader’s attention to the center, and that’s where the focal point of the message is usually placed. In this case, the focus is squarely on Christ as Nephi rejoices in him and hopes that his children will also. The word Christ appears 14 times throughout the message but is repeated most densely at the center, with “we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophecy of Christ.”
There is another fascinating thing about Nephi’s chiasm. Much is made in Mormonism of the phrase, “it is by grace that we are saved after all we can do,” at the beginning of Nephi’s message. Nephi is apparently saying that we are ultimately saved by grace through Christ, but we must also “do” something for that to happen. What is less clear is what exactly we must do. The parallel structure of the chiasm can help us figure out what Nephi is talking about. “All we can do” at the beginning of the chiasm is echoed by “ye do” at the end. “Ye do” in turn refers to “believe in Christ” and “bow down before him and worship him with all your might, mind, and strength” (see also Moroni 10:32). Thus, what is required of us is to believe in and worship God in Christ. This interpretation of the chiasm is verified by Moroni’s statement 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…in Christ” (Moroni 10:32). So what is required of us in order for God’s grace to be sufficient? We must stop sinning and give our hearts to him.
This belief in and worship of Christ doesn’t actually save us, however, any more than keeping “the law” does. We are saved solely “by grace”; or, in other words “salvation is free” (2 Nephi 2:4-6). That’s what “grace” means. We can’t earn salvation any more than a poor student earns a government grant for college — you can’t earn a gift. But the poor student can qualify for the free money, which at least involves having a need, making some commitments, and filling out some paperwork. Similarly, we can qualify for salvation, which is the “greatest of all the gifts of God” (1 Nephi 15:36). Our belief in and devotion to Christ is the living faith of which James spoke (James 2) that qualifies us for that gift.
The idea of salvation by grace is central to the message of the Book of Mormon. It is so important that Moroni, the last prophet, ends the Book of Mormon with this message:
Come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness, 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; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in no wise deny the power of God. And again, if ye, by the grace of God, are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, 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. And now I bid unto all, farewell. I soon go to rest in the paradise of God, until my spirit and body shall again reunite, and I am brought forth triumphant through the air, to meet you before the pleasing bar of the great Jehovah, the eternal Judge of both quick and dead. Amen.
We are commanded to be perfect. Yet it is not through works that we become that way, it is by coming unto Christ and through his grace.
Easter is a celebration of Christ’s return to life after breaking the bands of death. An Easter egg is a symbol not only of his return to life but also of our rebirth as we escape the bands of sin and find new life in him. In 2 Nephi 25:23-29, Nephi creates an Easter egg in a classical Hebrew manner by putting Christ at the center of a chiasm that teaches how we may be “made alive in Christ.”
See also “The Gift of Grace” by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf
A King’s Sacred Name Reveals an Easter Egg in the Book of Mormon
An Easter egg is a fun hidden feature or message. You get an Easter egg when you type DO A BARREL ROLL in the Google search box. There are Easter eggs hidden in the Book of Mormon, too. Who knew?
Can you find the Easter eggs in this bit of Nephite history written by Mormon (Helaman 6:7-13)?
And behold, there was peace in all the land, insomuch that the Nephites did go into whatsoever part of the land they would, whether among the Nephites or the Lamanites. And it came to pass that the Lamanites did also go whithersoever they would, whether it were among the Lamanites or among the Nephites; and thus they did have free intercourse one with another, to buy and to sell, and to get gain, according to their desire. And it came to pass that they became exceedingly rich, both the Lamanites and the Nephites; and they did have an exceeding plenty of gold, and of silver, and of all manner of precious metals, both in the land south and in the land north. Now the land south was called Lehi, and the land north was called Mulek, which was after the son of Zedekiah; for the Lord did bring Mulek into the land north, and Lehi into the land south. And behold, there was all manner of gold in both these lands, and of silver, and of precious ore of every kind; and there were also curious workmen, who did work all kinds of ore and did refine it; and thus they did become rich. They did raise grain in abundance, both in the north and in the south; and they did flourish exceedingly, both in the north and in the south. And they did multiply and wax exceedingly strong in the land. And they did raise many flocks and herds, yea, many fatlings. Behold their women did toil and spin, and did make all manner of cloth, of fine-twined linen and cloth of every kind, to clothe their nakedness. And thus the sixty and fourth year did pass away in peace.
Classical Hebrew poets loved chiasms and plays on words (especially with people’s names), and fine examples of both are found in this passage. A chiasm is a poetic structure formed when a sequence of words or ideas is repeated in reverse order. Jesus give both a definition and an example of a chiasm in Matthew 19:30:
But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.
Chiasms are often more complex, encompassing entire paragraphs or even books. Mormon’s bit of Nephite history is one of the finest examples of a chiasm in scripture:
And behold, there was peace in all the land,
insomuch that the Nephites did go into whatsoever part of the land they would, whether among the Nephites or the Lamanites. And it came to pass that the Lamanites did also go whithersoever they would, whether it were among the Lamanites or among the Nephites; and thus they did have free intercourse one with another, to buy and to sell, and to get gain, according to their desire.
And it came to pass that they became exceedingly rich, both the Lamanites and the Nephites,
and they did have an exceeding plenty of gold, and of silver, and of all manner of precious metals, both in the land south and in the land north.
Now the land south
was called Lehi,
and the land north
was called Mulek,
which was after the son of Zedekiah;
for the Lord
did bring Mulek
into the land north,
and Lehi
into the land south.
And behold, there was all manner of gold in both these lands, and of silver, and of precious ore of every kind; and there were also curious workmen, who did work all kinds of ore and did refine it;
and thus they did become rich.
They did raise grain in abundance, both in the north and in the south; and they did flourish exceedingly, both in the north and in the south. And they did multiply and wax exceedingly strong in the land. And they did raise many flocks and herds, yea, many fatlings. Behold their women did toil and spin, and did make all manner of cloth, of fine-twined linen and cloth of every kind, to clothe their nakedness
And thus the sixty and fourth year did pass away in peace.
Chiastic poetry was typically used only for writing of unusual importance. This poem may have been written as something of a political statement, emphasizing the prosperity that both groups of people enjoyed because of their peaceful relationship and free trade, and the debt both groups owed to God. This isn’t Mormon’s only political poetry.
The structure of a chiasm naturally draws the reader’s attention to its center, and that’s usually where the main literary focus is. In the case of the chiasm above, we have a slight problem. Zedekiah is placed parallel to the Lord at the center. This doesn’t appear to be a particularly good parallel–not in English anyway. Zedekiah was a failure of a king who “did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord” (2 Kings 24:19). Why pair him up with God? And why even include a reference to Zedekiah? This reference to Mulek’s father doesn’t contribute anything to the message, and there’s no similar mention of Lehi’s father.
The answer is that Zedekiah had a cool name…in Hebrew. The iah at the end of Zedekiah is a shortened form of Jehovah. In Hebrew, Zedekiah would read “my righteousness is Jehovah.” The Lord, on the other hand, is the common English translation of Jehovah in the King James Bible. By following Zedekiah with Jehovah, Mormon is engaging in classic Hebrew wordplay, and with this wordplay, the center of the chiasm becomes complete. So there you have an Easter egg — a chiasm that’s complete only if there’s a play on words, and a play on words that exists only when the text is read in Hebrew. How cool is that!
See also Jack Welch’s analysis of this chiasm at Book of Mormon Central.
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