Cory Walker and Dr. David Paulsen, Philosophy
The doctrine of salvation by grace has been a much discussed and differently interpreted aspect of Latter-day Saint theology both within the general membership of the Church and outside it. A recent, in-depth treatment of Latter-day Saint views and cultural traditions regarding salvation, written by prominent religious scholar Douglas J. Davies, discussed the Mormon understanding of grace and provided a wonderful academic opportunity to explore the issue using the foil of an informed outsider opinion with which to set out the Latter-day Saint doctrine of grace from Joseph Smith to the present. Dr. David Paulsen and his staff prepared a response to Davies’s perception of the Mormon culture of salvation approaching specifically the doctrine of grace and its sustained presence in Latter-day Saint culture particularly through the LDS hymn tradition and the teachings of the prophets and apostles of the modern Church.
A large part of preparing the response was going through all the past LDS hymn books and finding those hymns that spoke to the Latter-day Saint doctrinal understanding of grace at the time the hymnbook was being used. This of course meant first establishing that hymns could be used to reflect LDS doctrinal understanding and certain unique belief. One current conception regarding LDS understanding of grace the paper was to challenge was the idea that grace has been a developing doctrine within the Church. That is, that members today are more willing to accept a “traditionally Christian” view of salvation by grace. The hymn tradition and words of church leaders were effective in showing a constant doctrinal teaching regarding grace. The paper also addresses issues of temple work and worship clarifying that though Latter-day Saints refer to what they do in the temple as “work” it embodies what can properly be called the highest form of worship.
My main task was to read Davies’s book and evaluate the strength of the positions he was taking. I then was to compile a draft of the response using research gathered by myself and several other students regarding the issues at hand. This meant looking through every hymnbook and reliable document containing the words of church leaders available.
My hypothesis in approaching the project was that the Latter-day Saint doctrine of grace has not been an evolving one but rather one that has been somewhat misunderstood in much of the debate regarding it. I wanted to show that Latter-day Saints have always believed, and taught, that it is only through Christ that we can find salvation. Though I did not want to diminish the differences that do exist between LDS understandings of grace and salvation and other faiths. I did want to show that the idea of “working oneself into heaven” is a misguided view of LDS doctrine, as is the idea of a developing doctrine of grace within the church.
Both the hymn tradition and the teaching of the leaders of the Church established that members of the Church have always been taught to look to Christ for salvation, that human effort has never been, and never will be, enough to obtain salvation. The doctrine is nuanced in the sense that certain things are required of people in order to have full access to the grace of God, but it is not meeting these requirements that save.
The work was, of course, not without its difficulties. Because the LDS doctrine of grace is unique and nuanced, there have been many things said regarding it that can be difficult to interpret and understand in a way that is consistent with other teachings. This difficulty was overcome by the breadth of the teaching discussed. When put together in one paper, the LDS tradition regarding grace comes together in a cohesively clear picture of God’s ability to save those who will do as he commands.
Overall, the project was an immensely valuable one to me both as a scholar and as a Latter-day Saint, it is also one that I hope will make trans-faith conversation more understandable and clear. The paper is being published and will thus hopefully allow a larger academic community to understand where the similarities and differences in Latter-day Saints’ understanding of grace and salvation lie. The project enriched my own understanding of my beliefs, making them stronger and more developed. Working on this project has been the highlight of my academic career.
The paper has been accepted for publication by the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship and should appear in an upcoming issue.