Hello, my friends. Welcome to another Follow Him favorites. My name is Hank Smith. I'm here with the incredible John by the way. I think I John glad you're here. John this week's come follow me lesson is in the book of Romans, the first half of the book of Romans.

And it brings up an interesting question. Our latter day Saints, do they believe they're saved by works or by grace or by a mixture? How would you answer that question, John?

If Jesus did for us something we couldn't do for ourselves, then we're saved by grace. We've come to Christ and now we're invited to become like Christ, trying to be Christ like doesn't earn us salvation, but he asked us to so we try to become like him.

Yeah, right out of the book of Mormon, we rely wholly on the merits of Jesus. We do not do anything to save ourselves. We don't obey commandments, we don't serve, we don't do any of these things in the effort to save ourselves.

Maybe some of us do, but that's not scriptural. The scriptures say we are saved entirely by Christ. So why do these things, John? Why keep the commandments? If I'm saved entirely by Christ, why serve? Because I love him and I want to do what he has asked me to do.

I want to be involved in his work. He's been so good to me and offering me heaven. I want to try to create heaven while I'm here.

Yeah, those things kind of come more naturally as we learn to love the Savior and everything. It's not begrudging anymore. It's not like, oh, I got to do this. It just kind of comes more naturally, I think as we grow in the gospel.

So our friend Brad Wilcox would say, do you think you're earning heaven? No, we're learning heaven or learning what that's like. Are you saved by grace? No, are you changed by grace? The Savior is changing us and remaking us and then I think some of those good works they come more naturally.

Yeah, I think it was Brad who said it's like piano lessons. Your mom pays entirely for the piano lessons and she doesn't expect you to pay her back.

What she does hope for is that you'll practice that you'll invest your time and effort and energy into these lessons that she has provided.

Not in an effort to pay her back, not in an effort to earn her love, but as a way to show gratitude as a way to take advantage of a gift that's offered to us.

Yeah, I think it's a very good question and one that I hope people will go watch Brad's talks. I hope people will listen to Elder Hafe and there's so many who have talked about this and it's a good thing to talk about.

But I think so often the good things we do just kind of come naturally as we feel the love of God and try to share it with others.

It doesn't become a checklist or a begrudging thing. It just kind of flows.

So John, I would say and I obviously you and I don't speak for the church, but I would say Latter-day Saints believe they are 100% saved by grace.

Why do we keep the commandments because we love him because we want to take part in his work. We want to live as he lived.

Yeah, he asked us to what manner of men and women ought you to be even as I am. So I'm trying to be like Jesus. We sing this song, but it's because we love him.

We will fail in those efforts. Yeah, we will inevitably fail in those efforts. That's why repentance is one of the first principles of the gospel. If it's one of the first, I think he plans on us using it.

Yeah, I think he plans on us using it. If you love me, keep my commandments.

We hope you'll join us on our full podcast. It's called Follow Him. John and I think you'll love what Dr. Adam Miller does with these chapters.

So come join us on our full podcast and then join us next week for another Follow Him Faithfuls.