Who Will Be Saved?

"For behold, I say unto you that as many of the Gentiles as will repent are the covenant people of the Lord; and as many of the Jews as will not repent shall be cast off; for the Lord covenanteth with none save it be with them that repent and believe in his Son, who is the Holy One of Israel." (2 Nephi 30:2)

I believe this is God's way of saying that one group is no more special than another. The Jews at the time were His covenant people, and yet what He is saying here is that they will no more likely be saved than the Gentiles, or those who weren't Jews, unless they do what they individually need to do to be saved.

The same thing sometimes happens now. The Lord's covenant people, or members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, are no more likely to be saved than those who are not members of the Church. It is all based on personal righteousness. I like that the focus here is not on "not sinning", but rather on repenting and having faith in Christ. I love this because we all make mistakes, and the Lord has provided a way through the atonement to repent for our sins and mistakes.

It's just important to remember that being part of the "right" group doesn't automatically get us where we need to go. The Church helps us to get there, but it all comes down to our own individual choices in the long run. We even need the Church and the Priesthood to make sacred covenants, but it is still 100% up to us to keep those covenants.

I'm grateful for the opportunities I have to repent, because I mess up a lot. I hope to do better than I have done. I do have faith, and I know what is expected of me. So I need to work hard each day to meet those expectations, repenting along the way when I fall short.

I love the Savior and I'm so grateful for His atonement. I need it every day.