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His Grace Is Sufficient - Brad Wilcox

Brad Wilcox discusses the sufficiency of Christ's grace in transforming weaknesses into strengths and emphasizes that grace is not about filling voids but about filling ourselves. He illustrates that while we must strive to improve, our efforts are not to 'pay back' but to show gratitude for Christ's sacrifice. Ultimately, the process of change and growth is continuous, and understanding grace allows us to embrace our imperfections while striving for progress.
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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
73 views7 pages

His Grace Is Sufficient - Brad Wilcox

Brad Wilcox discusses the sufficiency of Christ's grace in transforming weaknesses into strengths and emphasizes that grace is not about filling voids but about filling ourselves. He illustrates that while we must strive to improve, our efforts are not to 'pay back' but to show gratitude for Christ's sacrifice. Ultimately, the process of change and growth is continuous, and understanding grace allows us to embrace our imperfections while striving for progress.
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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His grace is sufficient

Brad Wilcox, Julio, 2011

I am grateful to be here with my wife, Debi, and my two younger children, who
currently they are at BYU, and many of our other relatives who have come to be
with us. It is an honor to have been invited to speak to you today.
Several years ago, I received an invitation to speak at a Women's Conference.
When I mentioned it to my wife, she asked me, 'What is the topic assigned to you?' I was so
excited that my words got mixed up and I said: Do you want me to talk about how
turn strengths into weaknesses. He pondered for a minute and said: well, they have the
the right person for the job!
And you are right about that. I could give a whole talk about that topic, but
I believe that today I will stick with the original topic and talk about changing.
our weaknesses into strengths and how the Grace of Jesus Christ is sufficient (see Ether
12:27, DyC 17:8, 2 Cor.12:9), sufficient to cover us, to transform us and sufficient
to help us regardless of how long that transformation takes.

The grace of Christ is enough to cover us


On one occasion, a student approached me and asked if we could talk. I said: "For
supposed. How can I help you?
I just don't understand how grace works,
What is it that you don't understand? I asked.
I know I must do the best I can, and then Jesus does the rest; but I can't even manage to
do the best I can.
Later she told me all the things I should be doing for being Mormon but I'm not.
I was doing.
He continued saying: "I know I must do my part and then Christ makes the difference and fills
the space that is between my part and perfection. But, who fills the void between where
What about my part now?
He told me all the things I shouldn't do for being Mormon, but out of all
ways I was doing.
Finally I told him: "Christ makes no difference, Christ makes all the difference. Grace does not
It is about filling voids, it is about filling ourselves.
Seeing that she was still confused, I took a piece of paper and drew two dots, one at the part
superior representing God and another at the bottom representing us. I said:
forward, draw a line. How far does our part reach? How much is the part of
Christ?
He placed his pencil in the center of the sheet and began to draw a line. Then, considering
About what we had been talking about, he went to the end of the page and drew a line right there.
above the lower point.
"Incorrect", I said.
I knew it, I knew it was higher up, I should have drawn it, because I knew.
I replied: "No. The truth is that there is no line. Christ fills all the space. He paid
our debt in its entirety; did not pay for everything except a few coins; paid everything; the debt
is settled.
I understand! So I don't have to do anything?
"Oh, no," I said, "you have many things to do, but you don't have to fill that space.
We will all be resurrected; we will all return to the presence of God. What remains to be
determining, according to our obedience, is what kind of body we plan to have when resurrecting,
how comfortable we plan to be in the presence of God and how much time we plan
stay there.

Christ asks us to have faith in Him, to repent, to make covenants and


let us keep, that we receive the Holy Spirit and that we persevere until the end. In obeying,
we are not meeting the demands of justice; not even the slightest part of it. In
change, we are showing gratitude for what Jesus Christ did by using His
sacrifice to live a life like Yours. Justice requires immediate perfection or a
punishment if we do not comply. Because Jesus took on that punishment, He can provide us with the
opportunity to achieve final perfection (see Matthew 5:48; 3 Nephi 12:48) and help us to
reaching that goal. He can forgive what justice could never do and now can demand from us
Your own set of requirements (see 3 Nephi 28:35).
So, what is the difference? He asked. "Let our efforts be
required by justice or by Christ, are still required.
"Sure," I replied. "But they are required for a different purpose. To comply with the
Christ's requirements are like paying the mortgage instead of rent, or making deposits in a
savings account instead of paying a debt. In either situation, you must
deliver the amount monthly, but it is for a completely different reason.

The grace of Christ is sufficient to transform us.


The agreement that Christ makes with us is similar to when a mom provides lessons on
music for her son; the mother pays the piano teacher. Because the mother pays the
full debt, he can ask the son for something in return. And what is that? That he practices! Does the
Does the child pay the teacher? No. Does the child return the money he paid to his mom?
piano teacher when practicing? No. Practicing is the way in which the child shows
gratitude for the incredible gift that his mom gives him. It is the way he takes advantage
the incredible opportunity that your mom gives you to live your life at a higher level. The joy of
the mother is not concerned with getting the money back, but rather in seeing that her gift is used; to
to see her son improve. So she keeps asking him to practice, practice, practice.
If the child sees the mother's requirement to practice as too authoritarian ('But mom,
Why do I need to practice? None of the other kids have to practice! Of all
I’m going to be a professional baseball player!"), maybe it's because he still doesn't see with the
his mother's eyes. He does not see how much better his life could be if he chose to live on a plane
higher.

In the same way, because Jesus has paid for justice, He can now turn to
us and say: 'Come follow me' (Matthew 4:19); '...keep my commandments' (John
14:15). If we consider that their requirements demand too much from us ("But why does no one
another Christian has to pay tithing, go on a mission, serve in callings, do the
"work of the temple?" Perhaps it is because we still do not see through the eyes of Christ; we do not
We have not yet understood what He is trying to make of us.
Elder Bruce C. Hafen wrote: "The great Mediator asks for our repentance not
because we should 'pay' in return for having settled our debt with justice, but
because repentance initiates a process that, along with the help of the Savior, leads us to the
"path of the holiness of character". (The Broken Heart [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1989],
149; emphasis on original).
Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has said: "The sinner who
the repentant must suffer for their sins, but that suffering has a purpose different from that of
be a punishment or a payment; its purpose is change” (The Lord’s Way, [In the Way of
Sir, 1991, p. 223; italics in the original). Let's apply that to the child pianist: the child has
to practice piano, but practicing has a different purpose than being a punishment or a
payment. Its purpose is change.
I have Christian friends who tell me: 'You Mormons are trying to deceive us.'
way to heaven
Yoles replied: "No, we are not earning heaven. We are not...
learning how the sky is. We are preparing for it (DyC 78:7), we are
practicing for it.
Then they ask me: "Have you been saved by grace?"
My answer: "Yes, absolutely, totally, completely, gratefully, yes."
So I ask you something that you may not have fully considered: "Have you gone
changed by grace? They are so excited to be saved that they may not have thought
what comes next. They are so happy that the debt was paid that they have not
considered why the debt existed in the first place. The Latter-day Saints
We know not only what Christ saved us from, but also for what He saved us.
friend Brett Sanders says: “A life impacted by grace eventually begins to
You can see the life of Christ.” Also as my friend Omar Canals has said: “While
many Christians only see Christ's suffering as a great favor he did for
we, the Saints of the Last Days also recognize it as a great investment
what it did in us." In the words of Moroni, grace is not just about being
save, but in becoming like the Savior (Moroni 7:48).
The miracle of Atonement is not simply that we can live after dying, but that
we can live more abundantly (see John 10:10). The miracle of the Atonement is not
simply that we can be cleansed and comforted, if we can be transformed
(see Romans 8). The Scriptures make it clear that no unclean thing can dwell with
God (see Alma 40:26), but brothers and sisters, nothing remains unchanged.
he really will want to do it.

I know a young man who just got out of prison, again. Whenever there are two paths
to choose, one always goes for the wrong one. When I was a teenager dealing with each
One of the habits that a young person his age faces, I told his father: 'We need to
take it to EFY.” I have been working with this program since 1985, I know how good it can be.
to do.
His dad told me: "I can't pay for it."
I said: "Me neither, but you put in a little and I'll put in another, then we'll go with my mom because
it can really help us.
We finally got the young man to go to EFY. But how long do you think it lasted? Not even
At least one day. At the end of the breaking day, he called his mom and said, 'Get me out of here.' The sky
There will be no heaven for those who have not chosen to be celestial.
In the past, I had always imagined in my mind what the day of judgment would be like, it was more
or at least like this: Jesus Christ, standing in front with a clipboard and I standing on the other side of the
living room nervously watching Christ.
Cristo sees the results on his clipboard and says: 'Oh, darn Brad, you missed it by two.'
Brad begging Christ: "please review the essay question once more,
there must be two points around that can be squeezed from that essay.” That’s how
I always saw it.
But the older I get, and the more I understand this wonderful plan of redemption,
but I realize that in the final judgment it will not be the repentant sinner asking Jesus,
Let me stay.
character of Christ, I believe that if someone is going to be pleading on that occasion, probably
it would be Jesus pleading with the repentant sinner, 'Please, choose to stay. Please, use my
Atonement, not only to be cleansed, but to be changed and to want to stay.
The miracle of Atonement is not simply that we can return to our home, but that,
miraculously, we can feel at home there. If the Heavenly Father and His Son do not
If they required faith and repentance, then there would be no desire to change. Think about
your friends and relatives who have chosen to live without faith and without repentance. They do not want
they are not trying to abandon sin and feel comfortable with God; rather,
they are trying to abandon God and feel comfortable with sin. If the Father and the Son
they would not require agreements nor grant the Holy Spirit, then there would be no way to
We would remain forever with only our own will, without access to His power.
If the Heavenly Father and His Son did not require perseverance until the end, then those changes
they would not merge over time, they would be superficial and seemingly forever in place
to have a deep effect and become part of us, part of who we are. Said in
In a simple way: if Jesus Christ did not require practice, we would never become pianists.

The grace of Christ is sufficient to help us.


But, Brother Wilcox, don't you realize how difficult it is to practice? I'm just not good at it.
with the piano. I play many wrong notes. It takes me too much time to do it right.
Wait a moment, isn't all of that part of the learning process? When a young pianist
playing a wrong note, we do not say that it is not worth continuing to practice; we do not expect
let it be perfect; we simply hope that he keeps trying. Perfection may be
that is its final goal, but for now we are happy that it is progressing in the right direction. Why
it is so easy to see that perspective in the context of learning to play the piano but so difficult
to see it in the context of learning the things of heaven?

Many renounce the Church because they are tired of constantly feeling that they do not
they manage to live up to what is expected of them. They have tried in the past, but
they continuously feel that they are not good enough. They do not understand what it is
thank you.
There are young women who know that they are daughters of a Heavenly Father who loves them and they...
man to Him. Then they graduate from high school and the values they have memorized are
put to the test. They make a mistake, let things go too far and then think
that everything is over. These young ladies do not understand what grace is.
There are young men who grow up singing 'To the mission when I grow up.'
In fact, they try to be ready and then completely ruin it. They get their medal.
From my duty to God, they graduate from high school and go to university. After this
young people realize how easy it is not to be reliable, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous,
kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean or reverent. They are wrong and say:
"I will never do it again" and then they do it again. They say again: "Never
but I will do it again and they do it once more. They say: 'This is stupid, I will never do it again.'
do it" and they do it again. The guilt is almost impossible to bear, they dare not go with him.
bishop, instead of that, they hide. Finally, they say: "He could not do this of the
Mormons, I have tried but the expectations are too high.” Then they resign.
These young people do not understand what grace is.

I know returned missionaries who go back to their homes and revert to bad habits that
they thought they had left behind. They break promises made before God, angels, and witnesses, and they
They are convinced that there is no hope for them now. They say: 'I have ruined everything.'
It doesn't make sense to even try. "Really? These young people have completed missions.
You are teaching people about Jesus Christ and His atonement, and now do you believe that there isn't
Hope for them? These returned missionaries do not understand what grace is.
I know young marriages that discover after the sealing ceremony that the
Marriage requires making adjustments. The pressures of life and stress start to take their toll.
financially, spiritually, and even sexually. Mistakes are made. The
walls go up. And very soon these husbands and wives are talking to their lawyers about
divorce instead of talking to each other. These couples do not understand the joke.

In all these cases, there should only be two options: perfection or giving up.
defeated. When you learn to play the piano, are the only options to play in a theater
famous or stop playing? No. Growing and improving takes time; learning takes time. When
we understand grace, we understand that God is long-suffering, that change is a process and
that repentance is a model to follow in our lives. When we understand grace,
we understand that the blessings of Christ's atonement are constant and that His power is
perfects in our weakness (see 2 Corinthians 12:9). When we understand grace,
we can, as stated in the Doctrine and Covenants, "[continue] with patience until
[to perfect ourselves]” (D. and C. 67:13).

A young man wrote me the following email: "I know that God has all power, and I know that He will help me.
I am worthy, but I am never worthy enough to ask for His help. I wish to have the
grace of Christ, but I always find myself trapped in the same impossible position of
self-defeat: no job = no grace.
I replied to him and testified with all my heart that Christ is not waiting for us on the line.
from the final goal after having done 'all we can do' (2 Nephi 25:23). He is
at every step of that path.
Elder Bruce C. Hafen wrote: "The gift of the Savior's grace towards us is not
limited only to a time 'after all that we can'. We can receive His
grace before, during, and after the time in which we are doing our
own efforts. (The Broken Heart [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1989], 155).
Grace is not a booster engine that works when our energy source is
it is not the light at the end of the tunnel, but the
light that moves us through that tunnel. Grace is not obtained somewhere in the future;
it is received here and now. It is not a final touch, it is the touch of the one who is the consummator of the
faith. (Hebrews 12:2).
In twelve days we celebrate Pioneer Day. The first company of the Saints entered into
the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847. Their journey was difficult and challenging; however,
they sang:
 Saints, come, without fear, without dread,
 but walk with joy.
 Although this is a cruel journey,
 God gives us His goodness.

Grace shall be as your day, what an interesting phrase.


We have sung hundreds of times, but have we stopped to consider what it means? The
grace will be like your day, grace will be like the day. As dark as the night can get
Indeed, we can always count on the sun rising. As dark as our situations may seem.
tests, sins and mistakes, we can always trust in the grace of Jesus Christ. Do we
Did we win a sunrise? No. Do we have to be worthy of a chance to start over?
New? No. We just have to accept these blessings and take advantage of them. So sure.
Like every new day, the grace, the enabling power of Jesus Christ, is constant. The pioneers.
the faithful knew that they were not alone. The task ahead of them was never as great as
the power behind them.

Conclusion
The grace of Christ is sufficient (see Ether 12:27; D&C 17:8); sufficient to settle
our debt, sufficient to transform us and sufficient to help us the time that
during the transformation process. The Book of Mormon teaches us to trust only in
the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah” (2 Nephi 2:8). In doing so, not
we discovered —as some Christians believe— that Christ requires nothing from us.
Rather, we discover the reason why He requires so much and the strength to do everything.
that He asks (see Philippians 4:13). Grace is not the absence of high expectations.
from God; grace is the presence of the power of God (see Luke 1:37).
Together with Elder Maxwell, I testify that the grace of God is sufficient; the grace of Jesus is
sufficient. It is sufficient; it is all we need. Don't give up; keep going.
trying. Do not look for escapes or excuses; seek the Lord and His perfect strength. Do not
look for someone to blame; look for someone to help you. Look for Christ and, when you
I promise you will feel the enabling power and divine help that we call His
sublime grace.
I leave you this testimony and all my love, because I truly love you. As God is my
I witness, I love the youth of the church. I believe in you, I am pulling hard for
you and I am not the only one. Your parents, your church leaders and the prophets are.
doing. Above all, Jesus Christ is doing it too In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

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