2 NEPHI 25:23-24—AFTER ALL WE CAN DO
Nephi says that “we are saved by grace
after all we can do.” What does that mean? Some, including the German
translators in the 1960s, have thought it saying “in spite of all we can do,”
meaning that anything we do is inconsequential. That translation, however, was
soon corrected to say, “after all that we can do.” What we do in truly
accepting the gift of grace matters.
Verse 24 continues: “Notwithstanding
[even though we are saved by grace], we believe in Christ, we keep the law of
Moses, and look forward with steadfastness unto Christ, until the law shall be
fulfilled.” Thus, all of us must rely on grace—the Atonement, the Resurrection,
and the sustaining influence of Jesus Christ—to be made perfect. But through
our faith and faithfulness we are made alive in Christ, being willing to do
what He has commanded. Keeping the commandments is part of “all we can do.”
The story of the Ammonites, who buried
their weapons of war to have their sins remitted, bears out this understanding.
They state that this was “all that we could do (as we were the most lost
of all mankind) to repent of all our sins and the many murders which we have
committed, to get God to take them away from our hearts, for it was all we
could do to repent sufficiently before God that he would take away out
stain” (Alma 24:11). Likewise, all that we can do includes turning to Christ,
renouncing our sinful ways, and making a covenant, and He will be there for us.
So completely did the Ammonites understand this that many of them offered to give
up their lives rather than fight. (John W. Welch, Inspiration and Insights from
the Book of Mormon: A Come, Follow Me Commentary [American Fork, Utah: Covenant
Communications, Inc., 2023], 60-61)
