Alma 42:11-15

11 And now remember, my son, if it were not for the plan of redemption, (laying it aside) as soon as they were dead their souls were miserable, being cut off from the presence of the Lord.

12 And now, there was no means to reclaim men from this fallen state, which man had brought upon himself because of his own disobedience;

13 Therefore, according to justice, the plan of redemption could not be brought about, only on conditions of repentance of men in this probationary state, yea, this preparatory state; for except it were for these conditions, mercy could not take effect except it should destroy the work of justice. Now the work of justice could not be destroyed; if so, God would cease to be God.

14 And thus we see that all mankind were fallen, and they were in the grasp of justice; yea, the justice of God, which consigned them forever to be cut off from his presence.

15 And now, the plan of mercy could not be brought about except an atonement should be made; therefore God himself atoneth for the sins of the world, to bring about the plan of mercy, to appease the demands of justice, that God might be a perfect, just God, and a merciful God also. (Alma 42:11-28)

Without the plan of salvation, the dead would be cut off from the Lord’s presence. “And our spirits must have become like unto him, and we become devils, angels to a devil, to be shut out from the presence of our God, and to remain with the father of lies, in misery, like unto himself; yea, to that being who beguiled our first parents, who transformeth himself nigh unto an angel of light, and stirreth up the children of men unto secret combinations of murder and all manner of secret works of darkness” (2 Nephi 9:9).

There was no way to reclaim man from this fallen state. This fallen state was brought upon him because of his disobedience.

The only way there could be a plan of redemption is meeting the demands of justice. Only through repentance during our lives could mercy take effect, yet it would destroy the work of justice. The work of justice could not be destroyed. If it could, God would cease to be God.

“And if ye shall say there is no law, ye shall also say there is no sin. If ye shall say there is no sin, ye shall also say there is no righteousness. And if there be no righteousness there be no happiness. And if there be no righteousness nor happiness there be no punishment nor misery. And if these things are not there is no God. And if there is no God we are not, neither the earth; for there could have been no creation of things, neither to act nor to be acted upon; wherefore, all things must have vanished away” (2 Nephi 2:13).

“Justice and mercy are attributes of deity. They are also eternal principles. The ‘justice of God’ (Alma 41:2; 42:14) is a principle so fundamental that without it, ‘God would cease to be God’ (Alma 42:13). Of equivalent significance is God’s mercy, which, broadly, is the ultimate source of all of the blessings of the human race and, specifically, is the principle that allows mankind’s redemption. The competing demands of justice’s claim for punishment and mercy’s claim for forgiveness are reconciled by the unifying power of the atonement of Jesus Christ.”[1]

“There is a strong sense in LDS doctrine that Satan's coercive plan is a lie from the beginning because it is a rejection of reality itself, which is based on the agency, creativity. and coeternality of intelligences. This idea of God as noncoercive is such an important part of LDS doctrine that in the Book of Mormon the prophet Alma reminds us that, were God to coerce our repentance, even though acting out of his mercy, mercy would rob justice and God would ‘cease to be God’ (Alma 42:13. 22, 25).”[2]

Because of sin, we are fallen. “And since man had fallen he could not merit anything of himself; but the sufferings and death of Christ atone for their sins, through faith and repentance, and so forth; and that he breaketh the bands of death, that the grave shall have no victory, and that the sting of death should be swallowed up in the hopes of glory” (Alma 22:14).

We are in the grasp of justice. God’s justice requires the sinful person must be cut off from His presence. “For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins [GR sufferings, afflictions], which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death” (Romans 7:5).”[3]

“And men are instructed sufficiently that they know good from evil. And the law is given unto men. And by the law no flesh is justified; or, by the law men are cut off. Yea, by the temporal law they were cut off; and also, by the spiritual law they perish from that which is good, and become miserable forever” (2 Nephi 2:5).

“For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do” (2 Nephi 25:23).

“We learn from the prophet Alma that we are subject to divine law, which all have transgressed in some respect, making us subject to the demands of justice. God’s justice is based upon divine laws, under which we receive what we deserve according to our disobedience or obedience to the law.

“Justice affords no forgiveness for transgressors but imposes penalties. None is exempt. After all we can do to repent, we are still subject to the demands of justice and its penalties, which we cannot satisfy.

“However, we learn from Alma of our Father’s plan of mercy, whereby the Son of God would atone for the sins of the world and ‘appease the demands of justice, that God might be a perfect, just God, and a merciful God also’ (Alma 42:15).

“The Savior’s vicarious sacrifice satisfies the justice of God. Therefore, God extends his mercy, whereby we may receive forgiveness of our personal transgressions through faith in the Redeemer, followed by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel.”[4]

It is only through an atonement that mercy could be brought about. “O how great the goodness of our God, who prepareth a way for our escape from the grasp of this awful monster; yea, that monster, death and hell, which I call the death of the body, and also the death of the spirit” (2 Nephi 9:10).

God will atone for the sins of the world and bring about the plan of mercy. Mercy will satisfy the demands of justice.

“But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children” (Psalm 103:17).

“Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful” (Psalm 116:5).

“While Paul taught that men are justified by the blood of Christ, which will save them from wrath, Amulek explained the doctrine of justification by teaching that the intent of Jesus' sacrifice was to initiate a plan of mercy which would overpower justice and enable men to have faith and repent. The result of this, Amulek continued, is that mercy can satisfy justice and encircle the repentant person in the arms of safety (thus saving him from the wrath Paul mentioned), while be that exercises no faith unto repentance is exposed to the whole law of the demands of justice (Alma 34: 15-16; see Romans 5:9).

“While the apostle John spoke of Jesus as the propitiation for our sins, Alma defined propitiation by using the synonym appease: ‘And now, the plan of mercy could not be brought about except an atonement should be made; therefore God himself atoneth for the sins of the world, to bring about the plan of mercy to appease the demands of justice, that God might be a perfect, just God, and a merciful God also’ (Alma 42:15; see 1 John 4:10).”[5]

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[1] Justice and Mercy, Bruce C. Hafen, Maxwell Institute website.

[2] Knocking Over Straw Gods, James McLachlan, FARMS Review of Books 12/2 (2000), 155.

[3] “For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sin, which were not according to the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death” (JST, Romans 7:5).

[4] Divine Forgiveness, Elder Ronald E. Poelman, October 1993 General Conference.

[5] The Book of Mormon, an Interpretive Guide to the New Testament, Dennis Largey, Maxwell Institute website.