COLETTE - I am just wondering how Mormons interpret each of these verses.

Romans 4:5
"But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness."

Titus 3:5-7 "5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life."

Romans 11:6
"And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it is no more grace: otherwise work is no more work."

It says right here that through grace (not by works of righteousness that we have done) we recieve eternal life. I know that Jesus taught some things that are different from this but that was before He died for us. It seems that He revealed to Paul that it had changed. I know it says that works are good and profitable for men but it says that they are not needed because of grace. I ain't trying to argue. I just want to know what a Mormon thinks about it. In the grace of the Lord Jesus,

JOEL - I think it is interesting that Jesus never once mentioned the word grace in regards to our salvation. But Paul was inspired by god to say what he did, so grace must be an important principle.

I don't know how people got the idea that our church does not believe in the importance of grace in salvation.
Our own Book of Mormon scriptures say:

"Wherefore, my beloved brethren, reconcile yourselves to the will of God, and not to the will of the devil and the flesh; and remember, after ye are reconciled unto God, that it is only in and through the grace of God that ye are saved. (2 Nephi 10: 24-25)

and:

"For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all that we can do." (2 Nephi 25:23)

Nephi explains that apart from all we can do (works), we still need the grace of God to be saved.
So we agree with the scriptures that say that it is by the grace of God that we are saved, but we also believe in the following scriptures:

Philippians 2: 12 - "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling"

Matthew 10:22 - "he that endureth to the end shall be saved"

Matthew 7:16-21 - Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father.

James 2:14-26 - Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.(verse 24)

1 Peter 1:17 - And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:

Revelation 20:12-13 - "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works."

The only way we can make sense of all these scriptures that say we are saved by grace and those that say works are involved, is to conclude that both our works and the grace of god are required for our salvation.

Most other Christian churches believe that salvation is an all or nothing thing; we either go to heaven or hell; and since noone deserves heaven we must rely on the grace of god to save us.
However, the LDS church believes that just about everyone who has ever lived will receive some level of reward in heaven. This is where our works come into play.
Jesus said:

"In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you." (John 14:2)

And in Corinthians Paul taught:

"There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.
So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: (1 Corinthians 15:40-42)

Paul also taught that what a man sows is what he will reap, and not to be weary in well doing, for in due season we shall reap. (Gal. 6:7, 9)
In Matthew 6:20 Jesus said,

"But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:"

How else can we lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven if not by our good works and deeds that we do for others here on earth? Our treasures in heaven(works) will determine the level of salvation or mansion(glory) that we will receive.

The LDS believe as Paul said that one will reap as one sows, that man will be saved by grace, through faith, but God will render to every man according to his deeds. (Rom. 2:6; Rev. 20:13). Or in other words we shall obtain that level of Heaven equal to what we have done and what we have become while on earth.

God wants us all to succeed and return to Him in heaven, but He also wants us to use our agency and prove ourselves worthy of salvation. If we do that He will make up the difference and through his grace we will be saved.
It's like the story where a father tells his child to work hard and save his money so he can buy a new bike. So the child works hard and earns and saves his money. The time comes to buy the bike but the child learns it costs $85.00 and he only has $10.00. The child is worried until his father says, "That's OK, because I love you so much, I will pay the difference for you".
By the grace of his father the child gets the bike plus the growth and experience of working for the money he earned.

The following Book of Mormon scripture explains this concept:

"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 ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.
And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your csins, that ye become holy, without spot." (Moroni 10: 32-33)

In order for God's grace to be sufficient, we must first deny all ungodliness and love God. How do we show our love for God?

"If ye love me keep my commandments" (John 14:15)

But more important than what we do in this life, is who we have become because of what we have done and believed in.
LDS Apostle Dallin H. Oaks said:

"From such teachings we conclude that the Final Judgment is not just an evaluation of a sum total of good and evil acts—what we have done. It is an acknowledgment of the final effect of our acts and thoughts—what we have become. It is not enough for anyone just to go through the motions. The commandments, ordinances, and covenants of the gospel are not a list of deposits required to be made in some heavenly account. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a plan that shows us how to become what our Heavenly Father desires us to become." (Dallin H. Oaks, “The Challenge to Become,” New Era, Aug. 2002, 12)

Finally, you must understand that we believe in latter-day revelation and that through our prophets we have learned more about God's plan of salvation, which might seem strange to other Christians.