20 But there was one
Antionah, who was a chief ruler among them, came forth and said unto him: What
is this that thou hast said, that man should rise from the dead and be changed
from this mortal to an immortal state, that the soul can never die?
21 What does the
scripture mean, which saith that God placed cherubim and a flaming sword on the
east of the garden of Eden, lest our first parents should enter and partake of
the fruit of the tree of life, and live forever? And thus we see that there was
no possible chance that they should live forever.
22 Now Alma said unto
him: This is the thing which I was about to explain. Now we see that Adam did
fall by the partaking of the forbidden fruit, according to the word of God; and
thus we see, that by his fall, all mankind became a lost and fallen people.
23 And now behold, I
say unto you that if it had been possible for Adam to have partaken of the
fruit of the tree of life at that time, there would have been no death, and the
word would have been void, making God a liar, for he said: If thou eat thou
shalt surely die.
24 And we see that
death comes upon mankind, yea, the death which has been spoken of by Amulek,
which is the temporal death; nevertheless there was a space granted unto man in
which he might repent; therefore this life became a probationary state; a time
to prepare to meet God; a time to prepare for that endless state which has been
spoken of by us, which is after the resurrection of the dead.
25 Now, if it had not
been for the plan of redemption, which was laid from the foundation of the
world, there could have been no resurrection of the dead; but there was a plan
of redemption laid, which shall bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, of
which has been spoken.
26 And now behold, if
it were possible that our first parents could have gone forth and partaken of
the tree of life they would have been forever miserable, having no preparatory
state; and thus the plan of redemption would have been frustrated, and the word
of God would have been void, taking none effect.
27 But behold, it was
not so; but it was appointed unto men that they must die; and after death, they
must come to judgment, even that same judgment of which we have spoken, which
is the end.
28 And after God had
appointed that these things should come unto man, behold, then he saw that it
was expedient that man should know concerning the things whereof he had
appointed unto them;
29 Therefore he sent
angels to converse with them, who caused men to behold of his glory.
30 And they began from
that time forth to call on his name; therefore God conversed with men, and made
known unto them the plan of redemption, which had been prepared from the
foundation of the world; and this he made known unto them according to their faith
and repentance and their holy works.
31 Wherefore, he gave
commandments unto men, they having first transgressed the first commandments as
to things which were temporal, and becoming as gods, knowing good from evil,
placing themselves in a state to act, or being placed in a state to act
according to their wills and pleasures, whether to do evil or to do good—
32 Therefore God gave
unto them commandments, after having made known unto them the plan of
redemption, that they should not do evil, the penalty thereof being a second
death, which was an everlasting death as to things pertaining unto
righteousness; for on such the plan of redemption could have no power, for the
works of justice could not be destroyed, according to the supreme goodness of
God.
33 But God did call on
men, in the name of his Son, (this being the plan of redemption which was laid)
saying: If ye will repent, and harden not your hearts, then will I have mercy
upon you, through mine Only Begotten Son;
34 Therefore,
whosoever
(Alma 12:20-34).
One of the chief rulers, Antionah, began to question Alma.
What, he asked, was it when you said a man shall be
resurrected, being change from a mortal to an immortal state, and his soul will
never die?
He continued, asking Alma what was meant when God placed
cherubim and a flaming sword to prevent Adam and Eve from partaking of the
fruit of the tree of life and live forever? Having been cast out, there was no
way they could live forever.
Alma explained after eating of the forbidden fruit, he fell.
This led to all mankind becoming a lost and fallen people.
Had Adam ate of the fruit of the tree of life, there would
be no death, making God a liar when He said, “But of the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest
thereof thou shalt surely die” (Genesis 2:17).
Death comes to mankind, which Amulek had called the temporal
death. Time was granted unto us that we might repent. “And the days of the
children of men were prolonged, according to the will of God, that they might
repent while in the flesh; wherefore, their state became a state of probation,
and their time was lengthened, according to the commandments which the Lord God
gave unto the children of men. For he gave commandment that all men must repent;
for he showed unto all men that they were lost, because of the transgression of
their parents” (2 Nephi 2:21).
This time granted to us became a probationary state.
“For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your
faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it,
ye take it patiently, this is acceptable [GR pleasing, gracious] with God.
“For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also
suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps” (1 Peter
2:20-21).
This probationary state is a time to prepare to meet 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.
“And now, as I said unto you before, as ye have had so many
witnesses, therefore, I beseech of you that ye do not procrastinate the day of
your repentance until the end; for after this day of life, which is given us to
prepare for eternity, behold, if we do not improve our time while in this life,
then cometh the night of darkness wherein there can be no labor performed.
“Ye cannot say, when ye are brought to that awful crisis, that
I will repent, that I will return to my God. Nay, ye cannot say this; for that
same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this
life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal
world.
“For behold, if ye have procrastinated the day of your
repentance even until death, behold, ye have become subjected to the spirit of
the devil, and he doth seal you his; therefore, the Spirit of the Lord hath
withdrawn from you, and hath no place in you, and the devil hath all power over
you; and this is the final state of the wicked” (Alma 34:32-35)
“Heavenly Father knew the grave dangers we would face on our
journey through life, but He remains resolute in His desire to have each and
every one of His children return home. Therefore, He gave us time—time to work
out our mistakes, time to overcome our sins, time to prepare for reunion.”[1]
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