“Can We Earn Our Salvation?,” Liahona, Oct. 2023.
Come, Follow Me
Can We Earn Our Salvation?
Walking with Christ, by Trent Gudmundsen
The Apostle Paul told the early Christians to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12). President Dallin H. Oaks, First Counselor in the First Presidency, asked, “Could that [verse] mean that the sum total of our own righteousness will win us salvation and exaltation?” He explained, “After all our obedience and good works, we cannot be saved from the effect of our sins without the grace extended by the atonement of Jesus Christ” (“What Think Ye of Christ?,” Ensign, Nov. 1988, 67).
The scriptures and the prophets teach that we must rely on the grace of Jesus Christ and make and keep covenants with Heavenly Father in order to receive eternal life. Consider these prophetic teachings as you study Philippians 2:12–13: