The Saving Grace of Christ

Why are you here? If I could ask you your story, I believe you would share something very special and unique that led you here. God loves you and has a plan for you. Coming to Ensign College is part of His plan. 

I recently spoke with a man named Vinny Chellapilli, a BYU Hawaii graduate. At the beginning of our discussion, I asked him to pray. After the prayer, I felt impressed to ask if he would share his conversion story to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in India. 

Vinny shared a story of a broken home, without a father. Vinny was training to become a Hindu priest. After his father left, his family was very poor. One day, Vinny was trying to find a way to ride home on the bus and he had no money. Latter-Day Saint missionaries asked him if he would like to learn about Jesus Christ. He felt that he didn’t need Jesus, so he said “no”. 

The missionaries had an appointment but needed help finding the address. Vinny agreed to help them find it. They found that the person had rescheduled. They then asked Vinny if they could share a message with him, and he agreed. During their lesson they asked Vinny to pray. He told me that those 60 seconds of prayer changed his life. He realized that prayer was a form of communication in which God’s children can express their feelings and desires to Him. 

Soon after this experience, Vinny frequently went on exchanges with the Elders even as a non-member. He was 17-1/2 years old, and not old enough to be baptized without his mother’s permission. His mother and his sisters didn’t have good feelings about Vinny joining the Church of Jesus Christ. Vinny soon was baptized and served a full-time mission in India. His sisters and his mother were eventually converted—isn’t that a miracle? And his mission president asked him to go home to baptize his mother and then come back to his mission. He did. He later came to BYU Hawaii, and he graduated with a bachelor’s degree, and now he is working here in Utah at a software company. Or, as a software engineer at a company.

Another recent graduate from Ensign College named Yuri Zanini has his own miraculous story. Yuri was born in Brazil to a non-member family. But his ancestors came to Brazil from Italy, but he didn’t know them. Yuri wanted to know more about them, so he started using the familysearch.org website to do research. After researching, Yuri found a nearby cousin with the same last name of Zanini, which, he told me, is a very rare name in Brazil. When they met, she told Yuri why the Church of Jesus Christ does family history. It’s so we can perform ordinance work for our ancestors, in the temple. She gave Yuri a Book of Mormon. He felt something telling him to read the Book. Of course it was the Holy Ghost. The prophet Moroni has taught that the Holy Ghost will tell us the truth of all things (Moroni 10:5).

A customer entered his work and asked him if he was reading the Book of Mormon. He found out that she and her family were members of the Church of Jesus Christ. She offered to bring him to church with her family on Sunday. He said “no” the first time she asked, but the next Sunday he did go with them. When he went to church, he felt the Spirit very strongly. The missionaries started teaching him, and during the second lesson they invited him to be baptized. He said “yes.”

Later Yuri was a self-reliance facilitator in his ward and learned about Ensign College. Yuri came to study here and earned his bachelor’s degree at Ensign. While he was studying at Ensign, he did an internship at—can you guess? FamilySearch. His manager asked him to come back after graduating, so he returned and now works for FamilySearch. Yuri started in Brazil using the FamilySearch website to learn about Family History and now Heavenly Father is helping him use his talents in family history to help FamilySearch.

You may be asking yourself, “why did Heavenly Father lead me here?” Or you may be thinking “I don’t think there’s anything special about me,” or even worse, you may be thinking “I don’t think Heavenly Father loves me.” 

Moses had similar doubts, when the Lord commanded Moses to lead the people out of Israel.

The Lord showed Moses a Heavenly vision where he saw the glory of God. God compared Moses to Jesus Christ and explained: 
“I have a work for thee, Moses, my son; and thou art in the similitude of mine Only Begotten; and mine Only Begotten is and shall be the Savior, for he is full of grace and truth; but there is no God beside me, and all things are present with me, for I know them all.” (Moses 1:6)

And this is what happened, “and it came to pass that Moses looked, (And I want you to listen to what he saw. When we hear the word, ‘beheld’, that means he saw something) and beheld the world upon which he was created; and Moses beheld the world and the ends thereof, and all the children of men which are, and which were created; and of the same he greatly marveled and wondered.” (Moses 1:8)

After this wonderful vision, Moses was exhausted. “Moses did again receive his natural strength like unto man; and he said unto himself: Now, for this cause I know that man is nothing, which thing I never had supposed.” (Moses 1:10)

Heavenly Father both encouraged and taught Moses. If He was here speaking with you, Heavenly Father would tell you that He loves you, and you are his child. He would tell you he wants you to share all the blessings that Jesus Christ has in store for you.
From Moses, we learn that we were created by God, and that we are His spirit children. We didn’t come to this earth due to an accident. Heavenly Father, our literal Father, has a specific purpose for you being here. 

What is God’s purpose for you on earth? God taught Moses His main priority for us when he said, “this is my work and my glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” (Moses 1:39)

What does that mean? It means that God’s main priority is helping us return to live with Him.

Do you believe God’s main priority is to help you? Some people feel that it is hard to believe that God can help so many people.

I am still learning, but a story may help you understand my own journey in knowing God really can help each one of us. My story starts in a different place than Yuri and Vinny. When I was 14 years old, I was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I attended seminary before school every day. Some non-member friends at school approached me and told me they wanted to teach me about God. I wondered what they could teach me that I didn’t know already. I felt that I understood Him. What could they teach me that I didn’t know?

For weeks we met in the library during lunch and discussed scriptures. I brought the Book of Mormon. They brought the Bible. I, at that time, had the beginning of a testimony of the Church of Jesus Christ, of Joseph Smith, and of the Book of Mormon. They didn’t believe in the Book of Mormon, and they didn’t believe in Joseph Smith, and they didn’t believe in the Church of Jesus Christ. They did believe in Jesus. I had faith in Jesus Christ, also, and knew that without repentance we were unclean before God.

My friends told me that I didn’t trust in Jesus. That was strange to me. But the reason they thought I didn’t rust in Jesus was because I thought I had to work hard to get to Heaven.

“You don’t believe in grace,” That’s what they said to me. 

What I didn’t know at this time is that grace means “help or strength, given through the bounteous mercy and love of Jesus Christ” (Bible Dictionary, Grace).

“What do you mean by that?” I asked them.

“Well. if you really had faith in Jesus, you would understand that nothing you do can get you to Heaven.”

As I thought about this conversation, I started to understand why they thought I didn’t believe in grace. They thought that my emphasis on obedience to commandments was a sign that I didn’t understand Christ and His Atonement.

This conversation continued until my friends finally demanded that I leave the Church of Jesus Christ. That was a hard thing for me. I really believed that these friends loved me, and that they had my best interests in mind. I studied the scriptures and prayed for many weeks and gained a powerful witness by the Holy Ghost that this is Christ’s true church.

What do you think? Do you believe in grace? If so, how does your life (or does it?) demonstrate your belief in Jesus Christ’s saving power? What do you do when you don’t have enough power, time, or energy for what you need to accomplish?

Do you trust that Jesus Christ can give you the power to accomplish more than you could do on your own?

Christ spent a lot of time healing others during his time on Earth. The Pharisees, a prominent group of leaders within the Jewish religion, were very focused on strict obedience to commandments. The Savior had an interesting commentary on the way they lived. This is what He said, “do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.” (Matthew 23:3)

Jesus often showed the Pharisees that their over-emphasis on obedience, or legalism, prevented them from understanding the purpose of the commandments. One example of this is the day Jesus miraculously healed the lame man at the pool of Bethesda.

The Pharisees didn’t partake of the healing power of Christ. They instead focused on the importance of sabbath observance.  This is what the scripture says, “The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed.  He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk.” (John 5:10-11)

Is it possible that we misunderstand the purpose of commandments?

The apostle Paul compared commandments to a “schoolmaster (or a teacher, or a principal) to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith” (Galatians 3:24). So, in other words, Paul was saying that the commandments are a teacher. They play the role of a teacher. So, they’re supposed to help us learn something. So, if we don’t learn something from the commandments, we’re not letting them do the right job that God intended them to do.

Researchers “surveyed 566 young adults at BYU (most of whom are members of the Church of Jesus Christ) and found that when … young adults believe more in grace and less in legalism (or strict obedience to the rules as a means of salvation), they experience less anxiety, depression, shame, religious guilt, and perfectionism. They also found the opposite: When young adults have a more legalistic view of God (Which means, they’re too focused on the commandments as a means to an end), they experience poorer mental health “because it interrupts [their] ability to experience grace (or Christ’s helping power)”.[1] So, in other words, if we focus on the wrong thing, like the Pharisees did, when the man was healed, we’re going to miss the power that comes from Christ. That’s what we miss if we’re focused on the wrong thing. It doesn’t mean we shouldn’t obey the commandments. But, when we do, we use them to bring us to Christ.

“Young adults may feel that they are to do all that they can in order for God’s grace to be implemented in their lives. However, they may be too focused on doing good things to be saved, instead of Jesus Christ who gives them strength through His grace. Brad Wilcox [of the General Young Men’s Presidency] … taught, ‘Jesus doesn’t make up the difference. Jesus makes all the difference. Grace is not about filling gaps. It is about filling us.’” [2]

I know that Jesus Christ willingly gave His life and suffered for all mankind so that we can be made alive in Christ, growing and changing each day, and repenting as we make mistakes so that we can be forgiven and made whole. He is the Master Healer.

He has healed me, and he can and will heal you.

Recently I was riding the train to work, and as the train was coming to a stop, I was walking toward the door to exit the train. As I walked, the inertia, or the forward momentum of the train made my steps go much further, and my progress much faster than I would have been able to achieve on my own. Has this ever happened to you when riding a train or a bus? How does it feel? For me it feels like something more powerful than me is pushing me forward. I really like that feeling. The covenants we make with God before we enter the temple, and in the temple lead to this magnifying or enabling power. Joseph Smith prayed to Heavenly Father in the Kirtland Temple dedicatory prayer “Holy Father, that thy servants may go forth from this house armed with thy power, and that thy name may be upon them, and thy glory be round about them, and thine angels have charge over them” (D&C 109:22).

I enjoy taking my kids to the temple to participate in baptisms for the dead. One day as we waited for our turn to perform the ordinance, I pondered the resurrection. I imagined the dead who were in their graves being brought forth out of their graves with resurrected bodies. I felt a powerful witness from the Holy Ghost that the day will come when we will be reunited with those we have lost to death and that they will be just as alive as we are now.

Joseph F. Smith had a vision that reaffirms this belief. In Doctrine and Covenants section 138 he recorded his vision of the dead. He said,

“11… I saw the hosts of the dead, both small and great.
12 And there were gathered together in one place an innumerable company of the spirits of the just, who had been faithful in the testimony of Jesus while they lived in mortality;
14 All these had departed the mortal life, firm in the hope of a glorious resurrection, through the grace of God the Father and his Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ.”

Joseph F Smith also learned that:

“36 our Redeemer spent his time during his sojourn in the world of spirits, instructing and preparing the faithful spirits of the prophets who had testified of him in the flesh;
37 That they might carry the message of redemption unto all the dead, unto whom he could not go personally, because of their rebellion and transgression, that they through the ministration of his servants might also hear his words.”
(D&C 138:36-37)

In the New Testament Matthew records:

“52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,
53 And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.”
(Matt 27:52-53)

Can you imagine your deceased loved ones in the spirit world waiting to be resurrected? They really are there. They live in the spirit world. Can you imagine them after the resurrection with a perfect immortal body? It will happen.

The more we understand life after death, the more we understand the importance of temple ordinances. The more we understand temple ordinances, the more prepared we are for life after death.

Brigham Young taught “Your endowment is, to receive all those ordinances in the house of the Lord, which are necessary for you, after you have departed this life, to enable you to walk back to the presence of the Father, passing the angels who stand as sentinels, being enabled to give them the key words, the signs and tokens, pertaining to the holy priesthood, and gain your eternal exaltation.” [3]

Joseph Fielding Smith taught: “If we go into the temple, we raise our hands and covenant that we will serve the Lord and observe his commandments and keep ourselves unspotted from the world. If we realize what we are doing, then the endowment will be a protection to us all our lives—a protection which a man [or woman] who does not go to the temple does not have.” [4]

He added, “I have heard my father say that in the hour of trial, in the hour of temptation, he would think of the promises, the covenants that he made in the House of the Lord, and they were a protection to him. … This protection is what these ceremonies are for, in part. They save us now and they exalt us hereafter, if we will honor them. I know that this protection is given for I, too, have realized it, as have thousands of others who have remembered their obligations.” [5]

For about a year and a half, I had the special opportunity to be an Ordinance Worker in the Idaho Falls Temple. Serving there made me very happy. One thing that I have always noticed even before I started serving as an ordinance worker was that when I arrived and walked up the steps, the people leaving seemed very happy. I recognized it was the effect the ordinances had on them. It was the power of the Holy Ghost.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the only church on the earth that has the keys of the temple ordinances. We can be sealed to our spouses and families for eternity. Heavenly Father has a unique plan for you, and that plan is in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He wants to seal you his and have you return to Him in glory one day with your exalted family. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

[1] Gale, Megan, Applying Grace to Improve Mental Health for Young Adults, Family Perspectives Vol. 1 Issue 1 Article 3, 2019.

[2] Gale, Applying Grace, p.1.

[3] Discourses of Brigham Young, sel. John A Widstoe (1954), 416.

[4] Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Fielding Smith, (213), 235-36.

[5] Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 2: 252-53, Deseret Book, 1954.