The Great Contradiction: Why 2 Nephi 25:23 and Ephesians 2:8 Can’t Both Be True

As a researcher specializing in Latter-day Saint history and theology, I’ve spent countless hours navigating the intricate theological terrain of Mormonism. One of the most common and persistent claims I encounter is that the Book of Mormon’s teachings on grace are perfectly harmonious with the Bible’s. This argument, common in Sunday School lessons, official Church manuals, and on popular apologetic websites, insists that any perceived conflict is a simple misunderstanding.

My purpose here is not just to state a disagreement, but to deconstruct this apologetic claim piece by piece. We will analyze the evidence apologists present, but more importantly, we will examine the crucial evidence they consistently omit, redefine, or ignore. By placing the biblical and Mormon foundational scriptures side-by-side and scrutinizing the apologetic defenses, we can expose a chasm between two gospels that is not only wide but fundamentally irreconcilable.

The Grains of Truth

To be fair, let’s begin where the apologist has a point. It is textually correct that the Book of Mormon states, “it is by grace that we are saved.” Latter-day Saint theology does teach that Jesus Christ’s Atonement is necessary and that without it, no one could be saved. Apologists correctly point out that their scriptures use the language of grace, faith, and works. On the surface, the vocabulary appears shared. However, this superficial overlap is where the honest comparison ends and a deep dive into definitions, context, and theological structure begins.

The Core Rebuttal: Two Irreconcilable Gospels

The harmony claimed by apologists dissolves under rigorous examination of the foundational texts themselves and the theological systems built upon them.

The Unbridgeable Divide: One Verse vs. The Other

At the heart of this conflict are two passages: Ephesians 2:8-9 from the Bible and 2 Nephi 25:23 from the Book of Mormon. Apologetics seeks to blend them; a careful reading reveals they are oil and water.

The Apostle Paul writes:

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God—not because of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

The Book of Mormon prophet Nephi writes:

“…for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.” (2 Nephi 25:23)

The contradiction is stark. Paul explicitly excludes works as the basis for salvation to prevent human boasting. Nephi explicitly includes “all we can do” as a sequential prerequisite to that same salvation.

The problem for the apologist goes deeper than these clauses; it’s embedded in the very grammar of the Greek text of Ephesians. The verb phrase “you have been saved” ($\dot{\epsilon}\sigma\tau\epsilon\ \sigma\epsilon\sigma\omega\sigma\mu\acute{\epsilon}\nu o\iota$) is in the periphrastic perfect tense. This isn’t just theological jargon; it’s a grammatical fact with profound implications. The perfect tense describes a past, completed action with ongoing, present results. Paul is telling the living Ephesians that their salvation is an already accomplished reality and a present possession. This directly refutes official LDS doctrine, which states that in terms of eternal life, “no one is saved in mortality. That glorious gift comes only after the Final Judgment.” Paul’s grammar and LDS theology are on a collision course.

The Problem of Redefinition: When “Grace” Isn’t Grace

Faced with this textual conflict, the primary apologetic strategy is not to change the position on works, but to strategically redefine the word “grace.” In biblical theology, grace (charis) is consistently defined as “unmerited favor“—God’s gift to the undeserving.

The LDS Church has officially and systematically replaced this definition. According to the Church’s own Gospel Topics page, grace is not primarily unmerited favor, but “divine help or strength.” It is an “enabling power” that helps believers perform the good works required of them. This redefinition is taught so pervasively that Apostle David A. Bednar openly advised members to apply it retroactively to the Bible: “In my personal scripture study I often insert the term ‘enabling power’ whenever I encounter the word grace.”

This is a candid admission of eisegesis—reading a foreign concept from the Book of Mormon back into the Bible, fundamentally altering Paul’s meaning. For Paul, grace is the source of salvation; in the LDS redefinition, it becomes the divine energy that assists you in completing the works necessary to earn salvation.

The “Smoke and Mirrors” of Modern Apologetics

For over 150 years, LDS leaders interpreted 2 Nephi 25:23 in its plainest sense. Apostle Bruce R. McConkie was unequivocal: “Man cannot be saved by grace alone; as the Lord lives, he must keep the commandments.” This interpretation is bolstered by other Book of Mormon scriptures, like Moroni 10:32, which presents a clear “if…then” causal structure: if you deny yourselves of all ungodliness, then His grace is sufficient for you.

However, in recent years, a softer, more Christian-friendly interpretation has emerged. President Dieter F. Uchtdorf suggested, “I wonder if sometimes we misinterpret the phrase ‘after all we can do.’ We must understand that ‘after’ does not equal ‘because.’” Apologetic groups like FAIR have gone even further, arguing the 19th-century “after” should be read as “in spite of.”

This creates a state of profound internal contradiction—a “doctrinal ‘climate change’” that allows the Church to teach two mutually exclusive gospels simultaneously:

1. For critics and investigators (The “Uchtdorf Gospel”): Grace is a free gift, given “in spite of” our works.
2. For members seeking exaltation (The “McConkie Gospel”): Grace is a conditional reward, applied only after works are completed, as confirmed by official manuals which state individual salvation is conditional upon “obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel.”

Apologetic Defense #1: The “Salvation vs. Exaltation” Shell Game

The most common apologetic retort is to claim that critics are “talking past” Mormons by confusing two different types of salvation. The argument, a form of semantic shell game, goes like this:

• General Salvation: A free gift of resurrection for nearly everyone, achieved by grace alone. This, they claim, is what Christians call salvation.
• Individual Salvation (Exaltation): Dwelling in God’s presence, which is not a free gift but must be earned through works and obedience.

This distinction collapses under scriptural scrutiny. The LDS definition of “General Salvation”—a universal resurrection to face judgment—is not what the Bible calls salvation. Jesus himself taught a resurrection of both “the just…and the unjust,” the latter rising to judgment, not to life.

More importantly, the LDS definition of “Exaltation” is the exact biblical definition of salvation.

• LDS Definition of Exaltation: “to know Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and dwell with Them forever.”
• Jesus’ Definition of Eternal Life (John 17:3): “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”

They are identical. Therefore, the argument is a red herring. Since LDS Exaltation (biblical Salvation) is admittedly conditional upon works, the LDS gospel is, by its own definition, a gospel of works-righteousness in direct contradiction to Ephesians 2:8-9.

Term	Biblical Christianity (Definition)	Latter-day Saints (Definition)
Grace	God’s unmerited favor; the source of salvation. (Source)	God’s enabling power; strength to do good works. (Source)
Salvation (Individual) / Eternal Life	Conditional gift received by faith alone. It is dwelling with God. (Source)	Conditional reward earned by obedience to laws/ordinances. It is dwelling with God (Exaltation). (Source)
Works	The fruit and evidence of salvation. (Source)	The prerequisite and condition for eternal life/exaltation. (Source)

Apologetic Defense #2: Pitting Paul Against James

When pressed, apologists pivot to the Bible itself, citing James 2:24: “You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.” This, they argue, proves the Bible teaches a “Faith + Works” model, vindicating 2 Nephi 25:23.

This is a classic case of proof-texting that ignores context. Paul and James are answering two different questions:

• Paul (Romans 4): How is a sinner declared righteous before God (forensic justification)? Answer: By faith alone, apart from works. His example is Abraham being justified in Genesis 15, long before his greatest works.
• James (James 2): How can a person prove their faith is genuine and not a dead, demonic faith (demonstrative justification)? Answer: By its works. His example is Abraham offering Isaac in Genesis 22, decades after he was forensically justified.

James is not refuting Paul; he is refuting those who claim to have faith but live unchanged lives. He notes that even “the devils also believe, and tremble.” The classic Protestant formulation harmonizes them perfectly: “We are justified by faith alone, but the faith that justifies is never alone.” Paul describes the root of justification (faith); James describes the fruit (works). LDS apologetics mistakenly conflates the fruit with the root.

Apologetic Defense #3: Redefining Paul’s “Works”

A final, more sophisticated argument claims that when Paul condemned “works,” he only meant the ceremonial “works of the Mosaic Law” (circumcision, dietary laws, etc.), not moral good works like obedience and ordinances.

This argument is decisively refuted by Paul’s own logic in Romans 4. His prime example against justification by works is Abraham. As Paul himself argues, Abraham lived and was justified 430 years before the Law of Moses was even given. Therefore, the “works” that Paul excludes from Abraham’s justification cannot possibly be “works of the Mosaic Law.” Paul is excluding all works of human righteousness from the equation.

Furthermore, Paul explicitly defines grace in Romans 4:4-5 by contrasting it with an earned wage:

“Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift ($\chi\acute{\alpha}\rho\iota\nu$, charin), but as his due… But to the one who does not work, but believes… his faith is credited as righteousness.”

Paul defines grace as the absolute opposite of something earned by works. This single passage invalidates the entire LDS model of earning exaltation through obedience.

Conclusion

The apologetic claim of harmony between the LDS and biblical gospels is untenable. It is maintained only through a sophisticated framework of strategic redefinitions, historical omissions, and logical fallacies. The evidence reveals not one gospel understood differently, but two mutually exclusive soteriologies.

The biblical gospel of Ephesians 2 is one of assurance. Salvation is a free gift received by faith, based entirely on the completed work of Christ. It is a present possession, and good works are the joyful and natural result of this assurance.

The LDS gospel of 2 Nephi 25:23 is one of anxiety. Exaltation (biblical salvation) is a future prize, contingent on a lifetime of performance. Assurance in this life is impossible, because one can never know if they have truly done “all we can do.” As many members will honestly respond when asked if they are saved: “I hope so.”

In the end, the difference is one of structure. In biblical Christianity, Grace is the foundation of salvation. In Mormonism, human works are the foundation the believer must lay, and Grace is the capstone God adds at the end, but only if the human foundation is deemed sufficient. This is not a matter of semantics; it is the difference between a gospel of divine accomplishment and a gospel of human striving.

References

“‘After all we can do’: A crucial thing you might misunderstand about this verse.” LDS Living. Accessed November 17, 2025. https://www.ldsliving.com/what-we-misunderstand-about-this-book-of-mormon-verse-on-grace/s/12715

“2 Nephi 25.” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Accessed November 17, 2025. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/25?lang=eng

“2 Nephi 25: Saved by Jesus Christ.” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Accessed November 17, 2025. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/book-of-mormon-seminary-student-manual-2024/11-2-nephi-20-25/112-student?lang=eng

Bednar, David A. “In the Strength of the Lord.” BYU Speeches. Accessed November 17, 2025. https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/david-a-bednar/strength-lord/

“Chapter 43: Galatians.” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Accessed November 17, 2025. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/new-testament-student-manual/galatians/chapter-43-galatians?lang=eng

“Do Paul and James Disagree on Justification by Faith Alone?” The Gospel Coalition. Accessed November 17, 2025. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/do-paul-james-disagree-on-justification-by-faith-alone/

“Ephesians – Online Bible Commentary.” Andrew Wommack Ministries Europe. Accessed November 17, 2025. https://awme.net/online-bible-commentary/ephesians/2/8

“Faith, Grace, and Works – “Mormon” Doctrine – What Does It Take to Be Saved?” Jeff Lindsay. Accessed November 17, 2025. https://www.jefflindsay.com/faith_works.html

“Finding Grace in Mormonism.” Mormonism Research Ministry. Accessed November 17, 2025. https://mrm.org/finding-grace-in-mormonism

“Grace.” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Accessed November 17, 2025. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/grace?lang=eng

“LDS: Works/Salvation System.” Department of Christian Defense. Accessed November 17, 2025. https://christiandefense.org/mormonism/lds-works-salvation-system/

McConkie, Bruce R. “What Think Ye of Salvation by Grace?” BYU Speeches. Accessed November 17, 2025. https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/bruce-r-mcconkie/think-ye-salvation-grace/

“Mormonism and Christianity/Grace and works/Salvation by faith alone.” FAIR. Accessed November 17, 2025. https://www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/answers/Mormonism_and_Christianity/Grace_and_works/Salvation_by_faith_alone

“Salvation.” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Accessed November 17, 2025. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/salvation?lang=eng

“The Gift that Keeps on Giving” (Ephesians 2:8–10).” Razor Planet. Accessed November 17, 2025. https://media1.razorplanet.com/share/511079-7965/siteDocs/9%20Eph%202.8-10.pdf

“The Mormon View of Salvation: A Gospel That Is Truly Impossible.” EQUIP. Accessed November 17, 2025. https://www.equip.org/articles/mormon-view-salvation-gospel-truly-impossible/

“What is the meaning of Ephesians 2:8–9?” GotQuestions.org. Accessed November 17, 2025. https://www.gotquestions.org/Ephesians-2-8-9.html