Salvation is Free

In 2 Nephi 2, Lehi is giving his final words of advice to his son Jacob. During which he focuses on the Redeemer and the atonement. In verse 4 he says, "And the way is prepared from the fall of man, and salvation is free."

This caused me to pause this morning. What did he really mean by free?

It can't be something without price or obtained without effort. Too often I have breezed past this verse and assumed he meant that it was given without charge, almost like Christ were a store clerk who never rang up a bill no matter what you carried out of the store.

That can't possibly be what he meant, for salvation was bought at a high price, and we don't access it without meeting specific requirements. In essence we must pay some dues (repentance, baptism, enduring to the end).

So I looked up the footnote - Topical Guide reference to "Grace." It didn't help too much.

Then I looked up "free" at dictionary.com - I was quite surprised. There are 49 definitions of free. 36 of them in adjective form, as used in this verse.

So here are a few that I think are more useful when reading this verse:

"at liberty to enter and enjoy at will"

"pertaining to or reserved for those who enjoy personal liberty"

"clear of obstructions or obstacles, as a road or corridor"

"given without consideration of a return or reward"

These are not all the definitions available, but they help me to think a little more clearly and carefully about the idea that "salvation is free."

I particularly like the idea of it as a path that is free of obstruction. Thus, if we take the path of salvation, it is open to us. Christ has removed the obstacles, but there is still a road that we must travel. And at the end, after all that we have done, after we have traveled as far as we can on that road, "It is by grace that we are saved" (2 Ne 25: 23).