The apostle Paul begins every one of his epistles except Hebrews with a similar salutation: “Grace be unto you and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.” (See Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 2:2, Galatians 1:3, Ephesians 1:2, Phillipians 1:2, Colossians 1:2, 1 Thessalonians 1:1, 2 Thessalonians 1:2, 1 Timothy 1:2, 2 Timothy 1:2, Titus 1:4, Philemon 1:3.)
He ends every epistle (including Hebrews) with a variant of the following valediction: “grace be to you.” (See Romans 16:20, 24, 1 Corinthians 16:23, 2 Corinthians 13:14, Galatians 6:18, Ephesians 6:24, Phillipians 4:23, Colossians 4:18, 1 Thessalonians 5:28, 2 Thessalonians 3:18, 1 Timothy 6:21, 2 Timothy 4:22, Titus 3:15, Philemon 1:25, Hebrews 13:25.)
What does it mean to wish grace to someone?
To have God’s grace with you is synonymous with having the companionship of the Holy Ghost. Consider the way Paul ends his second letter to church members in Corinth:
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.
2 Corinthians 13:14
Surely this is one hope, not three: If they enjoy the communion of the Holy Ghost, they will feel the love of God, and they will experience the grace of Jesus Christ.
But receiving God’s grace is not a one-time event. Paul and Barnabas persuaded church members in Antioch “to continue in the grace of God” (Acts 13:43). And Alma was grateful when he saw that church members in the city of Gideon had “humbled [themselves] before God, and…continued in the supplicating of his grace” (Alma 7:3).
Mormon ends an epistle to his son Moroni with a similar expression of hope:
And may the grace of God the Father, whose throne is high in the heavens, and our Lord Jesus Christ, who sitteth on the right hand of his power, until all things shall become subject unto him, be, and abide with you forever. Amen.
Moroni 9:26
I think it’s significant that Mormon speaks of both the present and the future in this passage. Things have gotten so bad that he feels the need to open the letter with the reassurance, “I am yet alive” (Moroni 9:1). Everything is crumbling around them. The letter contains grim news: battlefield losses, numerous deaths, and increasing depravity among their people. So Mormon’s hopes for the future rest only in Moroni. “I cannot recommend them unto God,” he writes. “But behold, my son, I recommend thee unto God” (Moroni 9:22). He wants Moroni to experience God’s grace not only today but eternally.
Following his father’s lead, Moroni expresses the same hope for us, his future readers:
I would commend you to seek this Jesus of whom the prophets and apostles have written, that the grace of God the Father, and also the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, which beareth record of them, may be and abide in you forever. Amen.
Ether 12:41
I see the following principles in these passages:
- The greatest blessing we can wish for another person is God’s grace.
- It is possible to receive grace and not keep it. We must be intentional about continuing in grace.
- When we enjoy the companionship of the Holy Ghost, we will feel the love of God, and we will experience the grace of Jesus Christ.
Today, I will continue in God’s grace. I will seek for the companionship of the Holy Ghost, which will also bring me closer to the Father and the Son. I will also pray for other people to receive His grace.