Chapter 42
Mortality is a
probationary time to enable man to repent and serve God—The fall brought
temporal and spiritual death upon all mankind—Redemption comes through
repentance—God himself atoneth for the sins of the world—Mercy is for those who
repent—All others are subject to God's justice—Mercy cometh because of the
atonement—Only the truly penitent are saved. About 74 B.C.
We see Corianton is concerned with justice and punishment of
God. He felt it was not just for the
sinner to be in a state of eternal misery.
It is in Chapter 42 we can infer that Corianton was influenced by
teachings of Nehor.
Although no direct reference
indicates that Corianton was familiar with Nehor’s or Korihor’s teachings, he
would likely have been exposed to the teachings of both high-profile figures.
From the questions Corianton discussed with Alma, it is evident that he was
familiar with and perhaps sympathetic to Nehor’s teachings. Corianton’s
questions can be discerned from the following texts, each of which corresponds
to the main elements of Nehor’s teaching: (1) Nehor’s followers denied prophecy
(Alma 21:8). Corianton questioned why so much emphasis was placed on the coming
of Christ so long beforehand (Alma 39:17). (2) Nehor’s followers seemed
uninformed on the subject of the resurrection (Alma 12:20–27). Corianton
evidenced concern about the resurrection and its sequence (Alma 40). (3) The
followers of Nehor taught that a person could be saved in his sins (Alma
11:34–37). Corianton asked, “Will the resurrection restore a person from
wickedness to happiness?” (Alma 41:1, 10–13; compare Alma 40:23–24). (4) Nehor
rejected postmortal punishment for sin (Alma 1:4; 11:34–37). Corianton
questioned the justice of God in punishing sinners and consigning them to a
state of misery (Alma 42:1).[1]
Abinadi had made the consequences of sin clear. “But behold, and fear, and tremble before
God, for ye ought to tremble; for the Lord redeemeth none such that rebel
against him and die in their sins; yea, even all those that have perished in
their sins ever since the world began, that have wilfully rebelled against God,
that have known the commandments of God, and would not keep them; these are
they that have no part in the first resurrection. Therefore ought ye not to
tremble? For salvation cometh to none
such; for the Lord hath redeemed none such; yea, neither can the Lord redeem
such; for he cannot deny himself; for he cannot deny justice when it has its
claim” (Mosiah 15:26-27).
Nephi saw what would happen to his people in the end. “O the
pain, and the anguish of my soul for the loss of the slain of my people! For I, Nephi, have seen it, and it well nigh
consumeth me before the presence of the Lord; but I must cry unto my God: Thy
ways are just” (2 Nephi 26:7).
After partaking of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of
good and evil, Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden. “And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is
become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his
hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: Therefore
the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from
whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the
garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep
the way of the tree of life” (Genesis 3:22-24).
Man was taken from the ground and, when cast out of the
Garden, was required to till the ground. “Do ye not suppose that such things
are abominable unto him who created all flesh?
And the one being is as precious in his sight as the other. And all flesh is of the dust; and for the
selfsame end hath he created them, that they should keep his commandments and
glorify him forever” (Jacob 2:21).
“And now I ask, can ye say aught of yourselves? I answer you, Nay. Ye cannot say that ye are even as much as the
dust of the earth; yet ye were created of the dust of the earth; but behold, it
belongeth to him who created you” (Mosiah 2:25).
“Who shall say that it was not a miracle that by his word
the heaven and the earth should be; and by the power of his word man was created
of the dust of the earth; and by the power of his word have miracles been
wrought?” (Mormon 9:17).
After having been cast out of the Garden, Adam and Eve were
granted a probationary period to repent and serve God. “For behold, this life
is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is
the day for men to perform their labors” (Alma 34:32).
There is no scriptural basis for
the idea that pleading for mercy will be a part of the final judgment. The time
and place for repentance is “the day of this life” (Alma 34:32). When the time
comes for the final assignment to kingdoms of glory, the opportunity for mercy
will have expired (see Alma 42:4). Some sins committed in mortality are
unforgivable at any stage of progression, some must be repented of in
mortality, and others may be repented of in the spirit prison; but so far as
the scriptures say, there is no possibility of effective repentance at the
final judgment. The only mercy that will satisfy the demands of justice flows
from the atonement, and it is fully beneficial only on the basis of timely
repentance and forgiveness.[2]
[1] Painting
Out the Messiah: The Theologies of Dissidents, John L. Clark, Journal of Book
of Mormon Studies 11-1 (2002), footnote 27.
[2] Keep
the Old Wine in Old Wineskins: The Pleasing (Not Pleading) Bar of God, John
S. Welch, FARMS Review 18/1 (2006): 146.
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