Moroni 10:32

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.

We are perfected, or completed, only by Christ. We cannot do it on our own. All the self-help books in the world cannot change us enough to meet God's standards. Only Jesus and the atonement and the power of the Holy Ghost can make the kind of changes in us that qualify as perfection.  We must try and do our best, but we must always remember where the power to please God comes from.

Moroni 10:30

And again I would exhort you that ye would come unto Christ, and lay hold upon every good gift, and touch not the evil gift, nor the unclean thing.

When we have faith in Christ and turn ourselves over to him, he can endow us with every gift we need to serve him. He will not let us fail. We must take the offered gifts, however, and use them. A gift unused is no gift at all. God will not help us if we do not accept the help.

Moroni 10:25

And wo be unto the children of men if this be the case; for there shall be none that doeth good among you, no not one. For if there be one among you that doeth good, he shall work by the power and gifts of God.

Moroni wrote earlier that all good comes from God. Therefore, if anyone does anything truly good, he does it through God's grace, which are the gifts of the Spirit. The glory thus belongs to God. The definition, then, of a good work is something we do for God. The Savior scolded the hypocrites of his day for putting on a pious show of good for their own gain. True, they gave to the poor and prayed regularly, but they did these things for the wrong reasons. Therefore, they were not truly good works. They may have been helpful, but they were not good. According to Jesus, the widow who contributed two mites did more good than the rich man who donated a large sum, for she gave all she had to God, while the rich man kept most of his fortune for himself. If anyone does real good, it is because he or she has one goal in mind, which is to serve God with the gifts he has given them.

Ether 12:11

Wherefore, by faith was the law of Moses given. But in the gift of his Son hath God prepared a more excellent way; and it is by faith that it hath been fulfilled.

The love of God is his greatest gift, and the coming of his Son is the ultimate expression of his love.

For those who think they can obey their way into heaven, the message is clear: obedience is insufficient without faith. Faith in Christ is the most excellent way to God.

Ether 4:19

And blessed is he that is found faithful unto my name at the last day, for he shall be lifted up to dwell in the kingdom prepared for him from the foundation of the world. And behold it is I that hath spoken it. Amen.

The message of conditional salvation is repeated over and over. Salvation is a gift. We are lifted into heaven; we don't climb in on our own power. But the gift is given to those who are faithful. We don't have to be perfect, just true, constant, trustworthy keepers of covenants.

Mormon 7:7

And he hath brought to pass the redemption of the world, whereby he that is found guiltless before him at the judgment day hath it given unto him to dwell in the presence of God in his kingdom, to sing ceaseless praises with the choirs above, unto the Father, and unto the Son, and unto the Holy Ghost, which are one God, in a state of happiness which hath no end.

Because Christ has redeemed us, we can in fact pass before the judgment bar of God totally guiltless. We can be perfect in Christ. And then note the next phrase: it will be given to us to dwell with God. To live in the presence of the Father and the Son is a gift. First, Christ has to erase our sons, which is totally a gift of his love and mercy. And then when he has cleaned us all up through his perfect sacrifice, he gives us the gift of eternal life with him in the presence of Heavenly Father, which we totally do not deserve! The whole idea is beyond comprehension and truly humbling. As Elder Holland once said, how thrilling it must be for God to be merciful to those who least expect it and don't think they deserve it. Of course we won't really have time to stand around all day and sing songs of praise in a heavenly choir,  but we will feel like it as we are filled to overflowing with gratitude as we begin to comprehend the gift we have received.

3 Nephi 14:9-11

Or what man is there of you, who, if his son ask bread, will give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

This has become one of my favorite verses of scripture. God does not give us stones or serpents. He gives only bread and fish. Granted we may want something else, like cake or steak, but God always gives us what we need and what is best for us. Always!

3 Nephi 12:19

And behold, I have given you the law and the commandments of my Father, that ye shall believe in me, and that ye shall repent of your sins, and come unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit. Behold, ye have the commandments before you, and the law is fulfilled.

The law of the gospel is simple to understand. The law, however, cannot be kept without gifts from God. Belief and faith in Christ are gifts. Repentance is a gift of the Christ's atonement. We cannot come fully unto Christ without the gift of the Holy Ghost. Nor can we manufacture a broken heart and a contrite spirit. God in his mercy gives us the law of happiness and then provides the gifts and means to keep it. Our test is whether we will choose his way and then ask for help.

3 Nephi 9:17

And as many as have received me, to them have I given to become the sons of God; and even so will I to as many as shall believe on my name, for behold, by me redemption cometh, and in me is the law of Moses fulfilled.

Like so much else in the gospel of Christ, becoming a son or daughter of God is a gift -- one for which we must qualify, but a gift nonetheless. When we come unto Christ through faith and ordinances, he begins the redemption process in us. As we repent, our redemption becomes more complete. We learn to sing the song of redeeming love. Our nature changes from carnal to spiritual. When we are truly converted, we are begotten unto God, born again in Christ, and thus he makes us a son or daughter. We are still not perfected, but we are on the path, through the gate, and in the fold. We recognize our Shepherd's voice, and we accept our relationship to him. We are past the servant stage and are on our way to being his friend.

Helaman 10:4

Blessed art thou, Nephi, for those things which thou hast done; for I have beheld how thou hast with unwearyingness declared the word, which I have given unto thee, unto this people. And thou hast not feared them, and hast not sought thine own life, but hast sought my will, and to keep my commandments.

Nephi's most powerful trait was his "unwearyingness" in carrying out the will of the Lord. We often quote the Savior in Gethsemane, "the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak." Following the Savior, Nephi showed us that a willing spirit can overcome the weak flesh. He was magnificent because he made up his mind to be faithful regardless of the cost, and he persevered. He could trust himself, and God could trust him. We can receive the same blessings that Nephi received if we can develop the same "unwearyingness". It is not grit, however. It is a gift, like faith and charity. If we truly want to be strong, God will make us strong. If we ask with real intent, he will enable us to do whatever is necessary.

Helaman 5:41

And Aminadab said unto them: You must repent, and cry unto the voice, even until ye shall have faith in Christ, who was taught unto you by Alma, and Amulek, and Zeezrom; and when ye shall do this, the cloud of darkness shall be removed from overshadowing you.

Aminadab's formula for deliverance is to repent and to pray until we have faith in Christ. The typical response is to say that we must have faith first and then pray. But faith is a gift for which we must pray and ask. Therefore we truly do pray until we receive the gift of faith.

Alma 38:14

Do not say: O God, I thank thee that we are better than our brethren; but rather say: O Lord, forgive my unworthiness, and remember my brethren in mercy—yea, acknowledge your unworthiness before God at all times.

It is tempting, when things are going well, to want to think that we ourselves are somehow responsible for the good things that surround us. We may work, and we may see fruits of our labors. But we should never think that we have earned a blessing or that we are entitled. We ourselves are never truly worthy of the blessings God chooses to give us. He gives gifts, not because we have purchased them with our righteousness, but because he loves us and wants to help us. When we remember our unworthiness, especially in the face of continued blessings, we keep things in perspective. At the center of that perspective is Christ and his atonement.

Alma 34:16

And thus mercy can satisfy the demands of justice, and encircles them in the arms of safety, while he that exercises no faith unto repentance is exposed to the whole law of the demands of justice; therefore only unto him that has faith unto repentance is brought about the great and eternal plan of redemption.

Redemption is free but not without qualifications. Anyone who has faith in Christ and repents can be redeemed. Faith and repentance do not, however, buy redemption. No price can be placed on saving grace. We can never pay for salvation. We do not earn a place in heaven with all the good works in the world. It is a free gift for which we owe nothing, for we having nothing of value to exchange for the greatest of all the gifts of God. But we do have to qualify for it. God will give us the gift if we want it more than anything else. We demonstrate our desire by our faith and repentance.

Mosiah 1:17

Therefore, as they were unfaithful they did not prosper nor progress in their journey, but were driven back, and incurred the displeasure of God upon them; and therefore they were smitten with famine and sore afflictions, to stir them up in remembrance of their duty.

Afflictions play many roles in our lives. Sometimes they humble us and wrench us so that, of necessity, we feel after the Lord. Sometimes they stretch and strengthen us like a muscle lifting weights. Sometimes they test our patience and teach us endurance. Sometimes they stir our empathy and deepen our ability to lift others. Afflictions are always gifts from God because he loves us and wants to save and exalt us.

Second Nephi 5:25

And the Lord God said unto me: They shall be a scourge unto thy seed, to astir them up in remembrance of me; and inasmuch as they will not remember me, and hearken unto my words, they shall scourge them even unto destruction.

God allows hard things to come into our lives to help us and to humble us. He will not remove all evil from the world until the Millennium. In the meantime we will always have scourges to contend with. A scourge is as much a gift from God as is a blessing.

First Nephi 19:20

 For behold, I have workings in the spirit, which doth weary me even that all my joints are weak, for those who are at Jerusalem; for had not the Lord been merciful, to show unto me concerning them, even as he had prophets of old, I should have perished also.

I can understand a little of what Nephi means about "workings in the spirit" when it comes to my family. I cannot stop myself from praying for them. I also had an experience recently where I had an increase in charity for the brethren in my high priest group, which motivated me to want to pray more fervently for these men with whom I associate. I cannot imagine, however, having such powerful concerns for a whole city, and especially for one that drove my family out and threatened to kill my father. Charity is an amazing gift!

First Nephi 17:51

And now, if the Lord has such great power, and has wrought so many miracles among the children of men, how is it that he cannot instruct me, that I should build a ship?

God is not stingy with his power.  He is willing to use it constantly in our behalf.  He has preformed miracles for others, and he will perform miracles for us. He is not partial or capricious.  Anyone who exercises faith, humbles himself, trusts in Christ, and seeks diligently can receive manifestations of God's power in his life. God works by power. Whenever we see his power in action, we call it a miracle. Miracles are acts that defy limited human reason, but they do not defy God's reason. He can empower us to do anything he wants done. His power can remove the constraints by which we normally operate in the world. If we are willing to accept it, and set aside our personal fears and doubts, God can do many wonderful things through us.

First Nephi 17:9

And I said: Lord, whither shall I go that I may find ore to molten, that I may make tools to construct the ship after the manner which thou hast shown unto me?

Elder L. Tom Perry taught, "It is seldom that the Lord will do for us what we can do for ourselves." Nephi knew that he would need carpentry tools to build a ship. He could have asked the Lord to give him tools. After all, the Lord had already provided the liahona. But he knew that the Lord wants us to learn to be as self sufficient as possible. When he analyzed the situation, he knew he could make tools if he had iron, and he could smelt iron if he had ore, and he could mine ore if he just knew where to find it. Finding hidden ore was the one thing he could not do on his own. So that is what he asked for. We ought to ask only for what we cannot do for ourselves.

First Nephi 16:11

And it came to pass that we did gather together whatsoever things we should carry into the wilderness, and all the remainder of our provisions which the Lord had given unto us; and we did take seed of every kind that we might carry into the wilderness.

Nephi knew from where his blessings came. Though he had gathered the provisions, he testified they were gifts from God. No matter how hard we work, the results of our efforts are always gifts from God.