A Closer Look at Grace in the Latter-day Saint Tradition | An Interview with Adam Miller

Adam S. Miller is a professor of philosophy at Collin College in
McKinney, Texas. He earned a BA in Comparative Literature from
Brigham Young University and an MA and PhD in Philosophy from
Villanova University. He is the author of more than ten books,
including Original Grace, Letters to a Young Mormon, and An Early
Resurrection. He and his wife, Gwen, have three children.
Highlights 4:30 Adam talks about his book, Original Grace: An
Experiment in Restoration Thinking. 5:50 Grace is a very powerful
name for what it's like to interact with God. It’s where God’s life
and our lives overlap. 6:35 Kurt and Adam discuss Stephen
Robinson’s book, Believing Christ. 10:00 Grace is not God’s backup
plan. It’s God’s plan A. The means and the ends of salvation. 12:00
We attempt to save ourselves when we misuse God’s law. 13:40 Is
God’s love unconditional? 17:45 Original sin mentality vs. original
grace mentality. 21:45 Justice is only in the business of what’s
good, not evil. Justice is not there for the punishment. 22:20
Justice is to give what good is needed depending on the
circumstance. It's basically another name for grace, which is to
give good for good and good for evil. 24:00 We think that God is
coming for us with punishment when we sin but that is faulty
thinking. God is coming for us with grace. He is never trying to
punish us but give us the treatment that we need. 25:45 What about
all the scriptures about God’s anger and wrath? 28:45 Adam talks
about his earthly father in his book about grace and why he
included him. 32:55 How do we manifest this doctrine of grace in
the context of leadership? 39:00 Discussion on suffering. It can
feel like suffering is a deserved punishment but Adam explains why
suffering is needed. 49:30 Kurt and Adam share perspectives on the
subtitle of Adam’s book, an experiment in restoration thinking.
52:50 Discussion on simplicity. Adam talks about how he used to
overcomplicate religion but step by step and through experimenting
he has been able to find simplicity. Links Original Grace: An
Experiment in Restoration Thinking, by Adam S. Miller Grace Is Not
God's Backup Plan: An Urgent Paraphrase of Paul's Letter to the
Romans, by Adam S. Miller Letters to a Young Mormon, by Adam S.
Miller An Early Resurrection: life in Christ Before You Die, by
Adam S. Miller Believing Christ, by Stephen E. Robinson Read the
TRANSCRIPT of this podcast Listen on YouTube Get 14-day access to
the Core Leader Library The Leading Saints Podcast gets over
300,000 listens each month and has over 10 million total downloads
as part of nonprofit Leading Saints' mission to help latter-day
saints be better prepared to lead. Learn more and listen to any of
the past episodes for free at LeadingSaints.org. Past guests
include Emily Belle Freeman, David Butler, Hank Smith, John
Bytheway, Liz Wiseman, Stephen M. R. Covey, Julie Beck, Brad
Wilcox, Jody Moore, Tony Overbay, John H. Groberg, Elaine Dalton,
Tad R. Callister, J. Devn Cornish, Dennis B. Neuenschwander,
Anthony Sweat, John Hilton III, Barbara Morgan Gardner, Blair
Hodges, Whitney Johnson, Ryan Gottfredson, Greg McKeown, DeAnna
Murphy, Michael Goodman, Richard Ostler, Ganel-Lyn Condie, and many
more in over 500 episodes. Discover podcasts, articles, virtual
conferences, and live events related to callings such as the
bishopric, Relief Society, elders quorum, Primary, youth
leadership, stake leadership, ward mission, ward council, young
adults, ministering, and teaching.