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 atones for the sins of the world—Mercy is for those who
repent—All others are subject to God’s justice—Mercy comes because of the
Atonement—Only the truly penitent are saved. About 74 B.C.
1 And now, my son, I
perceive there is somewhat more which doth worry your mind, which ye cannot
understand—which is concerning the justice of God in the punishment of the
sinner; for ye do try to suppose that it is injustice that the sinner should be
consigned to a state of misery.
2 Now behold, my son,
I will explain this thing unto thee. For behold, after the Lord God sent our first
parents forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground, from whence they
were taken—yea, he drew out the man, and he placed at the east end of the
garden of Eden, cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep
the tree of life—
3 Now, we see that the
man had become as God, knowing good and evil; and lest he should put forth his
hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat and live forever, the Lord God
placed cherubim and the flaming sword, that he should not partake of the fruit—
4 And thus we see,
that there was a time granted unto man to repent, yea, a probationary time, a
time to repent and serve God.
5 For behold, if Adam
had put forth his hand immediately, and partaken of the tree of life, he would
have lived forever, according to the word of God, having no space for
repentance; yea, and also the word of God would have been void, and the great
plan of salvation would have been frustrated.
6 But behold, it was
appointed unto man to die—therefore, as they were cut off from the tree of life
they should be cut off from the face of the earth—and man became lost forever,
yea, they became fallen man. (Alma 42:1-6)
Alma continues speaking to Corianton.
He perceives he is worrying about things which he doesn’t
understand. This concerns God’s justice in the punishment of the sinner. “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 15:27).
“And according to the power of justice, for justice cannot
be denied, ye must go away into that lake of fire and brimstone, whose flames
are unquenchable, and whose smoke ascendeth up forever and ever, which lake of
fire and brimstone is endless torment” (Jacob 6:10).
“The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of
temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished”
(2 Peter 2:9).
“For behold, there is a wo pronounced upon him who listeth
to obey that spirit; for if he listeth to obey him, and remaineth and dieth in
his sins, the same drinketh damnation to his own soul; for he receiveth for his
wages an everlasting punishment, having transgressed the law of God contrary to
his own knowledge” (Mosiah 2:33).
He believes it is unjust that the sinner must be sent to a
state of misery. “But if our unrighteousness commend [GR recommend] the
righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous who taketh
vengeance? (I speak as a man)” (Romans 3:5).[1]
Alma explain Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden for
eating the forbidden fruit.
“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” (Genesis 3:22-23).
“Wherefore, I, the Lord God, caused that he should be cast
out from the Garden of Eden, from my presence, because of his transgression,
wherein he became spiritually dead, which is the first death, even that same
death which is the last death, which is spiritual, which shall be pronounced
upon the wicked when I shall say: Depart, ye cursed” (D&C 29:41).
They had to till the ground. “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).
“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” (Alma 12:21).
“Alma’s son thought that death was unfair. In his remarkable
sermon on repentance, Alma taught his son about death, saying: ‘Now behold, it
was not expedient that man should be reclaimed from this temporal death, for
that would destroy the great plan of happiness’ (Alma 42:8).
“Alma did not say that setting mortal death aside would
merely delay or disturb the plan of happiness; he said it would destroy it.
“The words death and happiness are
not close companions in mortality, but in the eternal sense they are essential
to one another. Death is a mechanism of rescue. Our first parents left Eden
lest they partake of the tree of life and live forever in their sins. The
mortal death they brought upon themselves, and upon us, is our journey home.”[2]
(emphasis in original)
If Adam had ate of the tree of life, he would have lived
forever. God’s word would have been void. “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” (Alma
12:23).
We were cut off from the tree of life because it was
appointed we die.
“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and
death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned…
“Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over
them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is
the figure [GR type, pattern] of him that was to come” (Romans 5:12, 14).
“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is
eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
6 But behold, it was appointed unto man to die—therefore, as
they were cut off from the tree of life they should be cut off from the face of
the earth—and man became lost forever, yea, they became fallen man.
Adam and Eve were cutoff from the tree of life. Man had
become lost and fallen.
“Thus all mankind were lost; and behold, they would have
been endlessly lost were it not that God redeemed his people from their lost
and fallen state” (Mosiah 16:4).
“And now, my brethren, behold I say unto you, that if ye
will harden your hearts ye shall not enter into the rest of the Lord; therefore
your iniquity provoketh him that he sendeth down his wrath upon you as in the
first provocation, yea, according to his word in the last provocation as well
as the first, to the everlasting destruction of your souls; therefore,
according to his word, unto the last death, as well as the first” (Alma 12:36).
[1] “But if we remain in our unrighteousness and
commend the righteousness of God, how dare we say, God is unrighteous
who taketh vengeance? (I speak as a man who fears God)” (JST Romans 3:5).
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