The Gift of Grace

The Gift of Grace
Deiter F. Uchtdorf

(link to talk)

(remember I am using the "language of faith" meaning I am wording the counsel and teaching "as if" I already believe or am already doing it. All bold type is my insertion.)

• On the first Easter Sunday, my destiny changed - as the Savior of mankind burst the chains of sin and death and set me free.
• I comfort others with this knowledge of hope.
• I speak at every opportunity of the Savior's Atonement and attain a perfect knowledge of him. I:
• talk of Christ
• rejoice in Christ
• preach of Christ
• prophesy of Christ
• I never lose my sense of awe and profound gratitude for the eternal sacrifice of the Son of God. 
• I do not let it become commonplace. I keep it sacred and holy. I see with new eyes and heart the eternal significance of the Atonement.
• God loves me so deeply, perfectly, and everlastingly that I cannot begin to estimate the breadth, and length, and depth, and height of the love of Christ.
• Grace:
• is a powerful expression of God's love.
• is the divine assistance and endowment of strength by which I grow into an exalted being.
• unlocks the gates of heaven
• opens the windows of heaven through which blessings of power and strength come, allowing and enabling me to achieve things I otherwise could not.
• overcoming the temptations and deceptions of Satan
• rising above sin
• being perfected in Christ
• grants temporal blessings to enrich my life
• grants spiritual gifts to magnify my abilities
• refines me
• helps me become my best self
• is available to me as I come to Him with a broken and and contrite spirit
• Because of sin and the demands of justice, I am unworthy to return to God's presence on my own. 
• The plan of mercy (sacrifice of Christ) appeases the demands of justice and unlocks the gates of heaven through repentance.
• The path of discipleship leads me upward, not backward. 
• In the celestial kingdom:
• I am surrounded my loved ones
• I receive of God's fulness and glory
• all things are mine
• I am Christ's
• all that the Father has is given to me
• The gate is unlocked but I must enter with a desire to be changed  dramatically from my fallen state to a state of righteousness.
• I humble myself, and then by grace, weak things become strong.
• I come to Christ and soften my heart now. Now is the time and the day of my salvation. I repent and immediately the plan of redemption works in my life. (Alma 34)
• I am not too confident or too comfortable in my good deeds.
• I don't trust in my own righteousness.
• I watch and pray that I might not enter into temptation (walk through its doors) Matt 26
• I am not impatient with those who are not living up to my standards.
• I don't live on autopilot, just going through the motions of attending meetings, yawning through SS class or checking my phone during the sacrament.
• I am not completely and hopelessly lost because of my sins because I LOVE MUCH!
• I understand my indebtedness to God and plead with my soul for His grace. I confess my faults, plead for mercy, and shed tears of gratitude for the plan of redemption in my prayers.
• I obey the commandments because I love God - not to buy my salvation. It was purchased by the blood of the Son of God.
• I try to understand the gift of grace with all my heart and mind to increase my love and desire to obey with meekness and gratitude.
• Truly, I am a little child, and have not as yet understood how great blessings the Father has in his own hands and prepared for me because I love him.
• Walking the path of discipleship:
• refines me
• improves me
• helps me to become more like Him
• leads me back to His presence
• changes my desire from evil to doing good continually
• My genuine love and gratitude miraculously merges my works (obedience) with God's grace. Virtue garnishes my thoughts unceasingly and my confidence waxes strong in the presence of God.
• Living the gospel faithfully is not a burden. It is a joyful rehearsal and preparation for inheriting the grand glory of the eternities.
• I obey 
• to become more attuned to spiritual things
• to have vistas opened that me I never knew existed
• for greater enlightenment and understanding  
• to know His doctrine (John 7)
• I reach out my mortal hand to receive the sacred gift of grace from my Heavenly Father.
• I labor diligently to persuade my children, and my brethren to believe in Christ, to be reconciled to God, to understand that by grace they are saved after all they can do, not because of all they do. 
• All I can do is believe in Christ and be reconciled to God. (born again; restored to a state of harmony and unity with God)
• God does not wait until I have done all before He intervenes with grace.
• I joyfully walk in a newness of life.
  
  GENERAL CONFERENCE CHALLENGE:
  
  PRAY TO
• not walk through the door of temptation  
• understand my indebtedness to God and plead for my soul to be blessed with his grace 
• confess my faults, plead for mercy, and shed tears of gratitude for the Plan of Redemption 
• understand the gift of Grace with all my heart and mind
• increase my desire to obey with meekness and gratitude and love
  
  
  ACTIONS:
• Comfort others with the knowledge and hope of the Plan of Redemption 
• Talk, rejoice, preach, and prophesy of Christ at every opportunity 
• Stay in awe and profound gratitude for the Atonement at all times by seeing its eternal significance 
• Accept God’s profound love for me 
• Accept God’s grace 
• Repent now 
• Humbly desire to be born again – truly changed 
• Soften my heart 
• Don’t be too confident and comfortable in my good deeds or trust my own righteousness 
• Don’t be impatient with others who are not living up to my standards 
• Don’t live on autopilot 
• Obey out of LOVE 
• Walk the path of discipleship and live the gospel faithfully and joyfully 
• Labor diligently to persuade my children and brethren to believe these things