Read it here:
https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/brad-wilcox_his-grace-is-sufficient/
This offers such a refreshing perspective on grace and how it has the power to transform us. I love talks like these because they give such easily relatable parables to get a better understanding of the character of Jesus Christ and who he is, such as the one in this talk about the Lord being the mother who pays for her child's piano lessons, and takes joy not in being paid back, but in seeing her child use the gift she has given him. Yes, grace is enough, grace is sufficient, but if we want to become anything great, if we want heaven to feel like a home, we have to put in the practice and use this great gift to transform us. Some of my favorite quotes are below, but this is a talk that will truly change your perspective on progression and what grace really is. His testimony at the end is so pure and full of love and reminds you that this Church is full of such amazing men and women.
"If we see His requirements as being way too much to ask (“Gosh! None of the other Christians have to pay tithing! None of the other Christians have to go on missions, serve in callings, and do temple work!”), maybe it is because we do not yet see through Christ’s eyes. We have not yet comprehended what He is trying to make of us."
"Elder Bruce C. Hafen has written, “The great Mediator asks for our repentance not because we must ‘repay’ him in exchange for his paying our debt to justice, but because repentance initiates a developmental process that, with the Savior’s help, leads us along the path to a saintly character”"
"Elder Dallin H. Oaks has said, “The repenting sinner must suffer for his sins, but this suffering has a different purpose than punishment or payment. Its purpose is change”"
I think this is so crucial to understand in the process of repentance. Your pain has purpose. Your guilt pushes you to become someone different, someone better. Even when we have committed the one thing Christ hates (sin), he is still merciful and loving to us and uses our worst mistakes to make us more like Him. It is such an amazing gift and truly shows how repentance is full of hope and optimism, not discouragement and pessimism.
"I have born-again Christian friends who say to me, “You Mormons are trying to earn your way to heaven.”
I say, “No, we are not earning heaven. We are learning heaven. We are preparing for it. We are practicing for it.""
"A life impacted by grace eventually begins to look like Christ's life."
"The miracle of the Atonement is not just that we can live after we die but that we can live more abundantly. The miracle of the Atonement is not just that we can be cleansed and consoled but that we can be transformed. Scriptures make it clear that no unclean thing can dwell with God, but, brothers and sisters, no unchanged thing will even want to... Heaven will not be heaven for those who are not heavenly."
"In the final judgment it will not be the unrepentant sinner begging Jesus, “Let me stay.” No, he will probably be saying, “Get me out of here!” Knowing Christ’s character, I believe that if anyone is going to be begging on that occasion, it would probably be Jesus begging the unrepentant sinner, “Please, choose to stay. Please, use my Atonement—not just to be cleansed but to be changed so that you want to stay.”"
"The miracle of the Atonement is not just that we can go home but that—miraculously—we can feel at home there."
"When a young pianist hits a wrong note, we don’t say he is not worthy to keep practicing. We don’t expect him to be flawless. We just expect him to keep trying. Perfection may be his ultimate goal, but for now we can be content with progress in the right direction."
"In all of these cases there should never be just two options: perfection or giving up. When learning the piano, are the only options performing at Carnegie Hall or quitting? No. Growth and development take time. Learning takes time. When we understand grace, we understand that God is long-suffering, that change is a process, and that repentance is a pattern in our lives. When we understand grace, we understand that the blessings of Christ’s Atonement are continuous and His strength is perfect in our weakness (see 2 Corinthians 12:9). When we understand grace, we can, as it says in the Doctrine and Covenants, “continue in patience until [we] are perfected” (D&C 67:13)."
"Elder Bruce C. Hafen has written, “The Savior’s gift of grace to us is not necessarily limited in time to ‘after’ all we can do. We may receive his grace before, during and after the time when we expend our own efforts”. So grace is not a booster engine that kicks in once our fuel supply is exhausted. Rather, it is our constant energy source. It is not the light at the end of the tunnel but the light that moves us through the tunnel. Grace is not achieved somewhere down the road. It is received right here and right now. It is not a finishing touch; it is the Finisher’s touch."
"As we do, we do not discover—as some Christians believe—that Christ requires nothing of us. Rather, we discover the reason He requires so much and the strength to do all He asks. Grace is not the absence of God’s high expectations. Grace is the presence of God’s power."
