In LDS theology, salvation in an eschatological sense
requires that works of Christian discipleship not be separated from Christian
faith, and Smith emended the New Testament accordingly where this seemed to be
in question. Thus Romans 4:16—“Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by
grace”—is modified to read: “Therefore ye are justified of faith and works, through
grace.” (NTOB, 483, emphasis added) Earlier in Romans 4, Smith believed
Paul had Jewish law (halakhah) rather than Christian discipleship in
mind when he wrote of “works” and their salvific insufficiency. He replaced
each instance of “works” or its cognates in verses 2-6 with “the law of works.”
(NTOB, 483) This coincides with the soteriological contrast between the ”law
of Moses” and faith in Christ set forth in Romans 3:28 where Paul avers that “a
man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law,” or, as the NRSV
renders it, “apart from works prescribed by the law.” On the other hand, Smith
made quite clear his view that Christ-prescribed works, as fruits of the
Spirit, were inextricable from saving faith. He even intensified this
affirmation in the book of James. To the famous line “faith without works is
dead,” Smith added “and cannot save you.” Then, he reinforced the idea by an additional
sentence addressed to James’s imagined, interlocutor who considered belief
sufficient for salvation: “Thou hast made thyself like unto them [the devils],
not being justified.” (NTOB, 549) These changes suggest that Joseph Smith
believed that an unadulterated Bible would have taught justification by faith,
but not by faith alone. (Grant Underwood, “Joseph
Smith’s ‘New Translation’ of the Bible,” in The Bible and the Latter-day
Saint Tradition, ed. Taylor G. Petrey, Cory Crawford, and Eric A. Eliason
[Salt Lake City: The University of Utah Press, 2023], 57-58)
Further
Reading:
Kevin L.
Barney, “Faith
Alone” in Romans 3:28 JST
