Original Grace - A Conversation with Adam Miller

[@joostvandegoor150]

Wow. I've heard several episodes of your show that were very timely for me in the moment I was listening, and very helpful. That was a great experience each time. But this one takes that experience to the next level. This episode made me sit on the edge of my chair for the full hour. Thank you so much, all three of you. Love from a non-LDS listener.

[@JaneHallstrom1]

When baking bread the first step is to “prove the yeast.” It’s not a test. It’s what the yeast is made for. The nature of the yeast is to rise and to cause the rest of the loaf to rise with it 💚🙏 When God set about to “prove us now herewith” - he knew we were designed to rise. He made us for that purpose 😇

[@micheleprice8999]

Adam's ability to think clearly and express profound thoughts in such approachable terms has touched my soul over and over again. Thanks to all three of you for touching our lives in unforgettable ways. You are definitely doing what is needful in every moment you spend making Faith Matters a reality... by providing us with great doses of love!

[@michelebbrady]

Adam has such a clear understanding of how futile it is for us to try to adjust God's perfect plan to accommodate the natural man. I thought about The Standard of Truth throughout this podcast! Loved it!!

[@9vickiSue9]

I listen to this over and over and read this book and Adam's book "An Early Resurrection" over and over, and learn something new every time. I am grateful to Adam Miller for opening our minds to that which has been needed so much.

[@millerkdm]

Thank you Adam. Your book has affected me as much as any I have ever read. Thank you Aubrey and Tim. I sometimes worry that because your channel doesn’t have a million subscribers that you will eventually lose interest. Please don’t. Your work has touched and changed me, and I am grateful for you. I know that that isn’t everything, but it is something.

[@aubreychaves]

Hey, thank you so much Kevin. We really appreciate hearing that ❤️

[@maryjomontoya2841]

This is an interesting conversation that some people might enjoy more if they go to settings and slow it down a bit to the .75 speed. Thank you for posting this. I think Adam Miller is brilliant.

[@dagneytaggart407]

This has caused a huge shift in my life's purpose. Thank you.❤

[@kathrynhays7794]

I was in the temple and looked up the word mercy in the index and found mosiah 2:36-39 and it lines up exactly with these ideas. I want to hear more form Adam about mercy. I've been thinking a lot about the phrase in how great the wisdom and the love. In the last verse it says "where justice, love and mercy meet in harmony divine".

[@brenthenry9866]

I loved this one!! This is a game changer. Thank you for the work that you do.

[@Muzzy2024]

Original Grace was an absolutely phenomenal book! I keep it by my bedside with my scriptures to re-read and remind me of eternal principles and truths I’m striving to incorporate in my life 💝 Justice and mercy are two sides of the same coin, a proving of contraries that most of us struggle to understand. Thank you for shining a clear light on a path we don’t often take in our entrenched thinking habits and unhealthy personal narratives. I firmly believe many people are desperately trying to communicate love for each other and for God, but lack understanding and tools. So grateful SO grateful for Adam’s inspired words supported by scriptures … 🙏🏻💙🙏🏻 Thank you for this brilliant interview🔥 Keep it up please!!!

[@insidelinemx]

beautiful thank you!!

[@aaronwhite6965]

Thank you for this wonderful conversation

[@georgiaborn6236]

WONDERFUL 💕!! Keep up the great work.. I love your guests and topics. Inspiring and loved❤️🎀

[@councilhealing7382]

These are true principles. I am so grateful for Adam Miller’s beautiful articulation of that which I too have come to understand. I would simply add one element that I have also discovered to be foundational in my own journey embracing the simple yet sacred space of Grace described here. “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love (Grace), which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen.” Moroni 7:48

[@LatterDaisySaint]

39:37 - Who are we to determine what good will come out of great suffering? We have the tendency to judge suffering as "bad." God lives outside of Time and His view of things is eternal. He sees what lies through and beyond the suffering. I think of the story of Elisabeth Elliot....wow, the miracles and beauty that was born of that horrific tragedy. The ripples of that event continue to this day. We cannot know the lasting GOOD effects that are produced through massive grief, pain, and horror. I myself am suffering a horrific medication injury. It's been three years and many in my condition despair and feel they are being punished. I say...I am being refined. God has given me what is GOOD and necessary. I may suffer terribly, but the growth I've had in the most important areas FAR exceed the suffering. And these are treasures I would not have obtained any other way, but THROUGH suffering. I do not call suffering "bad." We choose to label things, one way or the other. It would be easy to tell myself I "deserve" to be free of this suffering and take my life...but I choose to instead ask myself, "What do I need in this moment I'm in? How can I help myself right now...even if just for the next five minutes?": Christ is the Judge..,..it helps so much to release myself from judging the situation I am in...and letting it just be what it is. ~xoxo

[@marscann]

Wow! This was powerful! I would love to hear Adam's thoughts about how "Grace" could be involved with Temple recommend/worthiness and Church Courts.

[@austinmartineau5227]

Why do people feel it necessary to change what Nephi recorded in 2 Nephi 25: 23? What if Nephi meant exactly what is written? What if “after all we can do” means what it says? In that same verse, Nephi tells us to be reconciled to God just before the “for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.” This same doctrine is taught by Nephi’s brother, Jacob - “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). Note that pesky word “after” is also found here. In order to understand the timing of the word “after”, we need to understand what it means to be reconciled to God. So instead of an enumerated list of DOs and DON’Ts, I think the counsel of our current prophet, President Nelson, to “Get on the covenant path and stay there” is what reconciles us to God. Is it possible to wander off the covenant path? Yes, but then we get back on as we repent and are again reconciled to God. How long do we stay on the covenant path? The Lord himself tells us in 3 Nephi 27: 16 - 16 And it shall come to pass, that whoso repenteth and is baptized in my name shall be filled (Covenant relationship); and if he endureth to the end, behold, him will I hold guiltless before my Father at that day when I shall stand to judge the world (Grace). This verse would indicate, therefore, that being reconciled to God is a mortality-long effort. Enduring to the end of one’s mortal life on the Covenant path brings one to the judgment bar of God in a guiltless state because of the grace offered on our behalf as our Savior becomes our Advocate with the Father, pleading our cause before Him. (Conversely, verse 17 says those who do not endure to the end will be subject to the justice of the Father.) For me, all of this makes the phrase, “…for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do” quite literal, meaningful, and powerful.

[@johnroot838]

Great point! I don't usually expect to find what I'm looking for in the comment section, but here it is! I appreciate Adam's thoughtful comments, but after he "rethinks" everything I find that I still have questions. Thank you for your comment.

[@austinmartineau5227]

@@johnroot838 Thanks. And don't get me wrong. I think that Adam presented many great insights into grace/mercy/justice, etc., which I agree with. Some gave me the opportunity to think more deeply; other parts of this discussion had me scratching my head, and that's OK. And I think a lot of what he said has to do with how we deal with mercy and grace in mortality - for ourselves and others. As well as the constant grace and mercy that is given to us by the Lord throughout mortality. But when it comes to this verse of scripture, I just think Nephi meant exactly what he said.

[@lizeta8404]

Hey Austin. I have been trying to understand this verse too. How can I keep in touch with you. I would like to learn more. English is my second language and I am trying to understand more. I really liked your answer and I will copy and save it in my notes so I can go slow and meditate. But I have another question. Is there a way to contact you through there without disclosing personal information? Thank you.

[@janispeterson4286]

Oh boy, that was a reframing for sure on Grace and it didn’t really sit well with me as I had thought of Grace but then I realized we are ALL saved. There’s a kingdom for everyone. Everyone receives Salvation. Would it be correct to say that by grace we are saved….. but by our works or after all we can do is where we earn Exaltation or a higher degree of glory?

[@raphaelmordo3022]

Our works demonstrate our willingness to receive His grace and exaltation. We can do nothing of ourselves. He is the vine we are the branches. When we are connected to Him in a continual covenant relationship, He changes us, we in time become like Him and because of Him and through Him we gain exaltation. Our works are necessary but in themselves they are insufficient and lack the power to save or exalt us. It is in Christ only, in a continuous relationship with Him that we can ever hope to progress and become like Him.

[@raphaelmordo3022]

…for we know that it is [still] by grace that we are saved, [even] after all we can do. How many people do you know that actually do ‘all we can do’. Can we ever really measure up to doing our ‘best’? It is by His grace that will enable us to do all that we can do. We are continuously indebted to Him.

[@raphaelmordo3022]

I have appreciated reading again and again President Uchtdorf talk titled ‘The Gift of Grace’ from the April 2015 General Conference. I’ve tried to post the link here but it will not allow me to.

[@councilhealing7382]

@@raphaelmordo3022 Yes indeed my friend. Fancy meeting you here.🥰

[@blakeholt6980]

I think it’s a deep paradox of the gospel. I’m trying too earn exaltation you actually get farther away from it. The moment you try to do anything to earn anything you’ve missed the point of how your relationship with God works. It becomes a transaction which is not love. Jesus completely looses himself in the father. The father looses himself in love for the son. It’s not about doing anything per say, exaltation is about depth of relationship with the God head. I think John 17 is the best discourse on what salvation actually is like. I don’t mean to say that I’m a condemning tone at all. Paradox and mystery are really hard to grapple with.

[@davidfrey5654]

The way Adam frames, "evil will be returned for evil" as though God is going to send you evil or punish if you're evil is a mistranslation of the original scripture in my opinion. And he uses that frame to say that the church teaches the Law of Justice wrong. The scripture says, "the meaning of the word restoration is to bring back again evil for evil, or carnal for carnal, or devilish for devilish." So, we learn that the Law of Justice is more about restoration than sending evil to a person who's done evil. God does not penalize evil doers. They penalize themselves to the consequences of sin. The Law of Justice is not evil or good. It's just a law with consequences. The Law of Mercy is not bad or good. It's a law with consequences. If people repent, they are not subject to the Law of Justice. But if people choose not to repent, they are exposed to the consequences of the Law of Justice. God doesn't send evil to that person. He allows the person to experience the consequences that he chooses. And yes, this life IS a test. But Adam's mindset frame of a test is negative and so he doesn't like to use the word "test.". A test is meant to help the student. It's a tool that the teacher uses to help the students prepare and learn the information they are supposed to learn. Tests are effective instruments that help students progress. This life IS indeed a test. I don't know. Sometimes, philosophers think so deeply that they end up making up their own doctrine based on their own interpretations of the scriptures. Not to say all his work is not good. He has some very good insights and interpretations.

[@misfyresalot]

Philosophers....I'm not a fan. Their opinions blow with the wind according to their own comfort zone. There is definitely punishment in Christ's wrath....read revelations. Suffering is a part of our mortal experience. There is purpose in it....read Job. Yes...our responsibility IS to love. No question. To judge righteously is also our responsibility. Not caste judgement...but definitely judge using discernment. I suppose he is opposed to capital punishment. Hmmm..... Philosophy is just that...philosophical opinion. It's akin to emotional feel good massages. I can't think of a single philosopher who has actually made a significant difference. Aubry...you are a critical thinker 👍

[@cinnimini404]

Christ’s standing in the blood of enemies is a bad look in Revelations. There was a reason that it wasn’t included in the generally accepted canon in the first centuries of Christianity until it became politically advantageous on certain theological points. Should have never been included.

[@davidfrey5654]

The scriptures DO say that the "natural man is an enemy to God."