These two ideas have coexisted together for thousands of years. Which one is more important? It depends on who you ask. Some religions choose to focus on "works" and believe that it is what "we" do that matters, while others believe that no matter what we "do" - the Lord's grace covers us. It is truly a complex question when looked at in the either/or mindset. I personally believe that each is important and that both "grace" and "works" combine together to bring us closer to our Heavenly Father and Savior, Jesus Christ. The best way to describe it would be to point out a part of the Disney cartoon, Mulan, where Shang shoots an arrow high up on a pole and gives the warriors two weights that they must carry while they climb to retrieve the arrow. Time and again the warriors climb the pole, with the weights in hand, only to fail in their endeavor. It is only when Mulan gets the brilliant idea to tangle the weights together, and use them to hoist her up the pole, that the challenge is met.1 In real life we are just as helpless if we try to focus our attention and efforts on either just "grace" or just "works" because neither one will ever get us anywhere by themselves.
The first few years of my marriage, my husband and I went through "growing pains" like every couple does. There were times that I felt so alone and did not know where to turn with my pain, so I turned outward to others. I have always been a caring individual who was touched by the struggle and pain of others. Since I was a child, I reached out to those who were suffering and attempted to relieve it. This is a good trait to have, but not in excess. I had a tendency to become codependent with others and gave everything that I had to them. The Way 2 Hope website defines codependency as: "...a condition that results in a dysfunctional relationship between the codependent and other people. A codependent is addicted to helping someone. They need to be needed."2 This is exactly the trap that I fell into when things were not going well in my marriage those first few years. When I did not feel "needed" by my husband, I turned to helping anyone outside my marriage who needed my help. This just escalated the problems in my marriage until everything came to a head. I was forced into individual counseling and that is where I discovered a codependency support group. The group was based on the well-established Alcohol Anonymous program. The codependency support group followed the 12-step program that both the Alcohol Anonymous program and other addiction support groups followed. The first three steps deal with admitting that "you" are powerless, that only a higher power can restore "you" to sanity, and that "you" must turn your will and your life over to God.3 These steps would change my life, but first they had to change my heart!
Growing up in the Mormon church has its good points and bad points. The overwhelming culture within the church is to be self-reliant and to continually serve others. These are worthwhile goals, but when they become the basis for our existence, then they interfere with our growth and ability to grow closer to our Savior. It is hard to break old habits, and my mind did not want to accept what my heart was beginning to believe was true. The truth was, I needed my Savior. I did not need him just on Sundays or when I said my daily prayers, but every minute of every day. This did not jive with my upbringing of needing to be self-reliant and rely on my own "works" to get me through life. My heart was troubled and I could not rest until I found the answer to my quest of which "idea" was right. For years, I had defended the importance of "works" to my Christian friends, who just as adamantly defended "grace". How could I change my paradigm, when I had believed in one way of doing things my entire life? I brought my troubled heart to my counselor and begged her to answer which idea was right. In addition, I asked her if Christians' ideas of grace were correct or not. Her answer blew me away. She said that Christians were right about grace and that "we" were nothing without the Savior. She explained that we needed him in every aspect of our lives and should turn to him instead of relying on our own merit. I was a bit confused and asked further, "If Christians are right, then what is the difference between 'us' and 'them'?" She answered that the only difference was that we had the fullness of the gospel (such as the temple endowment) but other then that, we were the same. This counseling session set my life on a course that would forever change who I was, both inside and out! Grace works! It truly does, and accordance with works, it draws us closer to our Savior then we ever could believe was possible. My husband always told me that I should write a book about my strong beliefs in "grace" and "works" and call it, "Grace Works" but I figured I would start out writing a blog instead. Life is a journey, and without the knowledge of how to grow closer to our Savior, it is a lonely one. I hope you enjoy the journey that this blog will take you on, and it is my deepest desire that each reader will find the keys to establishing a deep relationship with their Savior, Jesus Christ. He loves each one us on an individual basis, and he knows us by name. He will walk with us through the "shadow of death" if we let him. So let him in, and experience a healing and peace that can never be matched with worldly trinkets!
1. "Mulan Retrieves Arrow." Hsiao, Rita. Mulan. DVD. Directed by Tony Bancroft & Barry Cook. Orlando, FL: Disney-MGM Studios, 1998.
2. "Codependency Test and Definition," E Home Fellowship, accessed January 25, 2013, http://www.way2hope.org/codependency-test-definition.htm.
3. "The Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous." AA.org. Last modified May 9, 2002. http://www.aa.org/en_pdfs/smf-121_en.pdf.
"GRACE WORKS"
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