The Doctrine of Grace

Grace refers to divine help or strength, given through the bounteous mercy and love of Jesus Christ.

It is through the grace of the Lord Jesus, made possible by his atoning sacrifice, that mankind will be raised in immortality, every person receiving his body from the grave in a condition of everlasting life. It is likewise through the grace of the Lord that individuals, through faith in the atonement of Jesus Christ and repentance of their sins, receive strength and assistance to do good works that they otherwise would not be able to maintain if left to their own means. This grace is an enabling power that allows men and women to lay hold on eternal life and exaltation after they have expended their own best efforts.

Divine grace is needed by every soul in consequence of the fall of Adam and also because of man’s weaknesses and shortcomings. However, grace cannot suffice without total effort on the part of the recipient. Hence the explanation, ‘It is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do’ (2 Ne. 25:23). It is truly the grace of Jesus Christ that makes salvation possible. This principle is expressed in Jesus’ parable of the vine and the branches (John 15:1–11).

Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles discussed the effects of grace and how grace is an important doctrine for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:

“Some Christians accuse Latter-day Saints . . . of denying the grace of God through claiming they can earn their own salvation. We answer this accusation with the words of two Book of Mormon prophets. Nephi taught, ‘For we labor diligently . . . to persuade our children . . . to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do’ (2 Nephi 25:23). And what is ‘all we can do’? It surely includes repentance (see Alma 24:11) and baptism, keeping the commandments, and enduring to the end. Moroni pleaded, ‘Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace year may  be perfect in Christ’ (Moroni 10:32).

“We are not saved in our sins, as by being unconditionally saved through confessing Christ and then, inevitably, committing sins in our remaining lives (see Alma 11:36–37). We are saved from our sins (see  Helaman 5:10) by a weekly renewal of our repentance and cleansing through the grace of God and His blessed plan of salvation (see 3 Nephi 9:20–22)” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1998, 77; or  Ensign,May1998,56).

Born that way

Elder Dallas H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught that, regardless of a person’s susceptibility or tendency, we have an obligation to exercise our agency to overcome our personal weaknesses:

“Perhaps these persons, as the saying goes, were ‘born that way.’ But what does that mean? Does it mean that persons with susceptibilities or strong tendencies have no choice, no free agency in these matters? Our doctrine teaches us otherwise. Regardless of a person’s susceptibility or tendency, his will is unfettered. His free agency is unqualified. It is his freedom that is impaired. . . . We are all responsible for the exercise of our free agency.

“. . . Most of us are born with thorns in the flesh, some more visible, some more serious than others. We all seem to have susceptibilities to one disorder or another, but whatever our susceptibilities, we have the will and the power to control our thoughts and our actions. This must be so. God has said that he holds us accountable for what we do and what we think, so our thoughts and actions must be controllable by our agency. Once we have reached the age or condition of accountability, the claim ‘I was born that way’ does not excuse actions or thoughts that fail to conform to the commandments of God. We need to learn how to live so that a weakness that is mortal will not prevent us from achieving the goal that is eternal.

“God has promised that he will consecrate our afflictions for our gain (see 2 Nephi 2:2). The efforts we expend in overcoming any inherited weakness build a spiritual strength that will serve us throughout eternity. Thus, when Paul prayed thrice that his ‘thorn in the flesh’ would depart from him, the Lord replied, ‘My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.’ [2 Corinthians 12:9]” (“Free Agency and Freedom,” in Monte S. Nyman and Charles D. Tate Jr., ed., The Book of Mormon: Second Nephi, the Doctrinal Structure [1989], 13–14).

Murmuring

1 Nephi 2:11–15.

One reason Satan encourages murmuring is to prevent us from following living prophets, inspired leaders, and parents.

Elder H. Ross Workman of the Seventy explained that “murmuring consists of three steps, each leading to the next in a descending path to disobedience.”

First, when people murmur, they begin to question. They question “first in their own minds and then [plant] questions in the minds of others.”

Second, those who murmur begin to “rationalize and excuse themselves from doing what they [have] been instructed to do. . . . Thus, they [make] an excuse for disobedience.”

Their excuses lead to the third step: “Slothfulness in following the commandment.” “The Lord has spoken against this attitude in our day: ‘But he that doeth not anything until he is commanded, and receiveth a commandment with doubtful heart, and keepeth it with slothfulness, the same is damned’ (D&C 58:29). . . .

“I invite you to focus on the commandment from living prophets that bothers you the most. Do you question whether the commandment is applicable to you? Do you find ready excuses why you cannot now comply with the commandment? Do you feel frustrated or irritated with those who remind you of the commandment? Are you slothful in keeping it? Beware of the deception of the adversary. Beware of murmuring” (in Conference Report, Oct. 2001, 104–6; or  Ensign, Nov. 2001, 85–86.

Challenges

Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explained that God provides us with challenges that are designed to help us grow spiritually: “Just when all seems to be going right, challenges often come in multiple doses applied simultaneously. When those trials are not consequences of your disobedience, they are evidence that the Lord feels you are prepared to grow more (see Proverbs 3:11–12). He therefore gives you experiences that stimulate growth, understanding, and compassion which polish you for your everlasting benefit. To get you from where you are to where He wants you to be requires a lot of stretching, and that generally entails discomfort and pain” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1995, 18; or  Ensign, Nov. 1995, 16–17).

1-Hour Cinnamon Rolls

Oh, how I love my cinnamon rolls!  They are so easy and yummy!

I will give step by step instructions, and the complete recipe is at the end.  I also made video which shows me pressing out the dough and rolling it up so you can see how easy it is!  Look for it at the bottom of the post.

Start by putting warm water, sugar, oil, and yeast in your mixer bowl.  Mix a little bit, then let it sit for 15 minutes.

Now add salt, eggs, and flour.  Put the lid on and mix it for 10 minutes.  Turn it off and let it sit for 10 minutes.

Oil your cupboard (don’t use flour).  Dump your dough out and divide in half.

Press your dough into a basic rectangle shape with your hands.  When I talked to my mom, she told me she never uses a rolling pin.  Just her hands.

Melt 1/2 cube of butter (or margarine, whatever you have is fine) and pour it onto the dough.  Spread it out (I use my hands…much easier and faster).

Take your cinnamon-sugar mixture and spread evenly over the dough.  Don’t forget your edges!

If  you want to add raisins, at the beginning, put them in warm water to plump them up.  Then sprinkle them on at this point.

Now you need to roll up your dough.  You want it tight, but not too tight.  It just takes practice.

This roll now needs to be divided into 12 equal size sections.  Divide in half, then each section in half.  That give you 4.  Then cut each of those 2 more times to give you 3 from each.  12 total.

Place all 12 on a greased cookie sheet (I also lay a sheet of parchment paper down and then grease it.  Much easier cleanup).  When you put them down, put the ends facing into the middle.  That way you won’t have any dry ends.

Repeat with the other half of your dough.  You now have 24 rolls.

Now you let them rise.  It really doesn’t take very long.  They will raise in the oven some, so don’t let them get too big.

This is approximately how big they are when I put them in the oven today.  I normally would let them rise a bit longer.  I like them big!

Bake for 12-14 minutes at 400.  They should be a nice golden brown when you take them out.

Let them cool, and then it’s time to frost.

To make your frosting, put your powdered sugar in the bowl, along with butter, salt, and vanilla.  SLOWLY add milk until the frosting is the consistency you want.  I am still working on this one.  I always add just a touch too much, and then it is too runny.  But it still tastes good.

Now just spread the frosting on using a rubber spatula.  This recipe of frosting will cover both trays of rolls.  Be generous.  The frosting really makes it perfect!

I frosted them too soon today because we really wanted to taste them, so the frosting melted a little bit.  But they are so delicious warm that it is worth it!

So there you go!  Easy cinnamon rolls.  We started at 9:30, and by 11:30, everyone was gone.  We had made them, baked them, frosted them, and eaten them.  2 hours.  It doesn’t get much simpler than that!

******Recipe******

One Hour Cinnamon Rolls 
by Camille Paskett and Shanna Roberts

Mix and let sit for 15 minutes:
3 1/2 c. warm water
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. oil
6 T. yeast (4 1/2 Saf-Instant)

Then add:
1 T. salt
3 eggs
10 1/2 c. flour

Mix together for 10 minutes, then sit for 10 minutes. Oil cupboard, dump out dough. Divide in half. Press one half out into rectangle. Spread with ¼ c. melted butter and then with cinnamon-sugar mixture. Roll up tight, but not too tight. Divide into 12 rolls and place on greased cookie sheet. Repeat with other half of dough. Let rise. Bake for 12-15 minutes at 400.

Cinnamon-Sugar
1c. sugar
1 T. cinnamon

 Frosting

1 cube butter
2 dashes salt
2 t. vanilla
6 c. powdered sugar
milk

Orange Rolls: Add orange juice concentrate to regular frosting
Chocolate Rolls: Add baking cocoa and a few drops of water to regular frosting
Cream cheese Rolls: Add cream cheese to regular frosting


To answer questions that have come up since I first posted this:

*My mixer is a Bosch.  Hands down the best mixer available!
*1 cube of butter = 1/2 c.
*I just use regular flour, not self-rising.
*It really is 6 Tablespoons of yeast.  I personally use SafInstant.  I have never used the packets, so I don't know the conversion.
*It really is 10 and 1/2 cups of flour.
*I have never frozen the dough.
*Rising time depends on how warm the house is, the humidity, etc.  Just let them rise until they are big enough for you.
*I don't know how many calories these are.
*400 degrees Fahrenheit.
*I use the dough hook to mix it up.

I finally made a video that shows how I press out the dough and roll them up.  I hope this helps!