“For He Is Full of Grace and Truth”
Rarely has even the inspired pen been more eloquent- “Redemption cometh in and through the Holy Messiah; for he is full of grace and truth.”
Redemption wrought by Christ is not a matter of grace alone, but rather is found in “grace and truth.” Surely, there is no salvation to be found in error or falsehood or in declarations of praise to some image of Christ that exists only in the minds of men. Without truth there is no salvation. Grace is efficacious only in the midst of truth.
“Full of Grace and Truth”
No doctrine has been more confused by modern Christianity than that of salvation by grace. This popular Christian doctrine- in which the grace of Christ is made to appear the summum bonum of the whole matter of salvation, ignoring all other principles of the gospel- is dependent on an extremely selective reading of verses from the epistles of Paul. The position is such a distortion of truth that even Christ cannot be quoted to sustain it. To our everlasting blessing, the Book of Mormon teaches the doctrine of salvation by grace in plainness and clarity. In the instance of this chapter Lehi discourses with marvelous power on the matters of obedience to the law and of the saving grace of Christ.