In the current (1985) Latter-day Saint hymnal, there is a hymn entitled, "Know this that every soul is free" (# 240). It also appeared in the first Latter-day Saint hymnal from 1835, prepared by Emma Smith (# 1 in the 1835 hymnal). Notwithstanding, there were some different lyrics in the 1835 hymnal that are of important theological significance. In the fifth stanza of the 1835 ed., we read the following:
It's my free will for to believe:
'Tis God's free will me to receive:
To stubborn willers this I'll tell,
It's all free grace, and all free will.
In this text, humanity not only possesses the genuine free-will capacity to accept or reject the Gospel but such free-will is a gift God has given to people. This fits nicely into the theology of the underlying Greek of Eph 2:8-10. Furthermore, it soundly refutes the claim that Latter-day Saint theology is Pelagian or semi-Pelagian. Furthermore, it does show the fine synergy between free-will and God’s free grace in the realm of salvation. For a discussion of this, see my friend Blake Ostler’s book, Exploring Mormon Thought, Vol. 2: The Problems of Theism and the Love of God (Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2006).
