Romans 3

these first 18 or so verses, I think Paul is telling us that no matter how many good works we accumulate, we can never earn a place in heaven without the Savior's help (grace). If we could live a perfect life and never do anything wrong, then maybe we wouldn't need Christ's atonement. But like he says in verse 23, every single person has sinned and fallen short. We were not born sinners. But the fall of Adam placed in a fallen, mortal world where sin rules because of Satan. And we being mortal, sin. There is not one of us who has not sinned in the past and not one of us who will not sin the future. That's the whole points of the Book of Mormon. It's about a fallen people who must be redeemed by a Savior. We cannot resurrect ourselves and we cannot remove our own sin.

So then someone could ask, "If we're going to sin anyway, why bother keeping the commandments?" I think we keep the commandments so that we can become more God-like in nature. As we refine our thoughts, our speech and our actions, we become more kind, more thoughtful, more loving, more able to embrace truth and true principles, and we become more able to help bless those around us. As we make the effort to live this way, the Holy Ghost sanctifies us, cleanses us, and we begin to better understand our divine worth. Then we're better able to understand the divine worth of every person around us and see and understand them the way God sees and understands them. If God's work is totally dedicated to saving and exalting us, then our work should be to lift others in a similar manner. If it is the most fulfilling and rewarding way for God to live , it is undoubtedly the most fulfilling way we can live too.