7 And now, ye see by
this that our first parents were cut off both temporally and spiritually from
the presence of the Lord; and thus we see they became subjects to follow after
their own will.
8 Now behold, it was
not expedient that man should be reclaimed from this temporal death, for that
would destroy the great plan of happiness.
9 Therefore, as the
soul could never die, and the fall had brought upon all mankind a spiritual
death as well as a temporal, that is, they were cut off from the presence of
the Lord, it was expedient that mankind should be reclaimed from this spiritual
death.
10 Therefore, as they
had become carnal, sensual, and devilish, by nature, this probationary state
became a state for them to prepare; it became a preparatory state” (Alma 42:7-10).
Alma continues to talk to Corianton about the Fall.
Because of the Fall, Adam and Eve were cutoff both
spiritually and temporally from God’s presence.
“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 as death hath passed upon all men, to fulfil the
merciful plan of the great Creator, there must needs be a power of
resurrection, and the resurrection must needs come unto man by reason of the
fall; and the fall came by reason of transgression; and because man became
fallen they were cut off from the presence of the Lord.
“ Wherefore, it must needs be an infinite atonement—save it
should be an infinite atonement this corruption could not put on incorruption.
Wherefore, the first judgment which came upon man must needs have remained to
an endless duration. And if so, this flesh must have laid down to rot and to
crumble to its mother earth, to rise no more…
“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 9:6-7, 9).
“For behold, he surely must die that salvation may come;
yea, it behooveth him and becometh expedient that he dieth, to bring to pass
the resurrection of the dead, that thereby men may be brought into the presence
of the Lord.
“Yea, behold, this death bringeth to pass the resurrection,
and redeemeth all mankind from the first death—that spiritual death; for all
mankind, by the fall of Adam being cut off from the presence of the Lord, are
considered as dead, both as to things temporal and to things spiritual.
“But behold, the resurrection of Christ redeemeth mankind,
yea, even all mankind, and bringeth them back into the presence of the Lord.
“Yea, and it bringeth to pass the condition of repentance,
that whosoever repenteth the same is not hewn down and cast into the fire; but
whosoever repenteth not is hewn down and cast into the fire; and there cometh
upon them again a spiritual death, yea, a second death, for they are cut off
again as to things pertaining to righteousness” (Helaman 14:15-18).
Having been cutoff, they had free agency to choose.
It was not possible we should be reclaimed from temporal
death.
“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).
Should we have been reclaimed from death, it would have
destroyed the plan of salvation.
“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” (Alma 12:26).
“For it is expedient that an atonement should be made; for
according to the great plan of the Eternal God there must be an atonement made,
or else all mankind must unavoidably perish; yea, all are hardened; yea, all
are fallen and are lost, and must perish except it be through the atonement
which it is expedient should be made” (Alma 34:9).
“And now, behold, I say unto you: This is the plan of
salvation unto all men, through the blood of mine Only Begotten, who shall come
in the meridian of time” (Moses 6:62).
“Latter-day Saints believe that eons ago, God, in his
infinite wisdom and never-ending mercy, formulated a plan whereby his children
could experience a physical existence, including mortality, and then return to
live in his presence in eternal felicity and glory. This plan, alternately
called ‘the plan of salvation’ (Jarom 1:2; Alma 42:5; Moses 6:62), ‘the plan of
redemption’ (Jacob 6:8; Alma 12:25; 42:11), and the ‘great plan of happiness’
(Alma 42:8), provided both the way and the means for everyone to receive
salvation and gain eternal life. Eternal life is God’s greatest gift to his
children (D&C 6:13), and the plan of salvation is his way of making it
available to them. Although the term ‘plan of salvation’ is used repeatedly in
latter-day scripture, it does not occur in the Bible, though the doctrines
pertaining to it are discoverable in its pages.
“The Father is the author of the plan of salvation; Jesus
Christ is its chief advocate; the Holy Spirit helps carry it out, communicating
God’s will to men and helping them live properly.”[1]
“[L]atter-day revelation reveals that our Heavenly Father
ordained a great plan of happiness for all of His spirit children who had kept
their first estate. It embraced the prospect that we could one day become like
our Father in Heaven and possess all of the attributes and rights He now
enjoys. The Apostle Peter reminded the Saints that our Lord’s ‘divine power
hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness,’ so that ‘by
these ye might be partakers of the divine nature’ (2 Pet. 1:3–4). Peter’s
statement may be considered bold, and we admit that it would take a lifetime,
and more, to accomplish; nevertheless, his thoughts find resonance in the
Savior’s charge, ‘Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in
heaven is perfect’ (Matt. 5:48).”[2]
The soul could never die. The fall was a spiritual death. “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).
“But by the transgression of these holy laws man became
sensual and devilish, and became fallen man” (D&C 20:20).
“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).
“And Adam and Eve, his wife, called upon the name of the
Lord, and they heard the voice of the Lord from the way toward the Garden of
Eden, speaking unto them, and they saw him not; for they were shut out from his
presence” (Moses 5:4).
“For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).
Having been cut off, man has become carnal and sensual. “For
ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and
divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men” (1 Corinthians 3:3).
“For to be carnally minded is death” (Romans 8:6).
“O, my beloved brethren, remember … to be carnally-minded is
death, and to be spiritually-minded is life eternal” (2 Nephi 9:39).
“For although a man may have many revelations, and have
power to do many mighty works, yet if he boasts in his own strength, and sets
at naught the counsels of God, and follows after the dictates of his own will
and carnal desires, he must fall and incur the vengeance of a just God upon him”
(D&C 3:4).
This is their nature. “For all have sinned, and come short
of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
“But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit
of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because
they are spiritually discerned [GR examined, tried, judged]” (1 Corinthians
2:14).
“But
remember that he that persists in his own carnal nature, and goes on in the
ways of sin and rebellion against God, remaineth in his fallen state and the devil
hath all power over him. Therefore he is as though there was no redemption
made, being an enemy to God; and also is the devil an enemy to God” (Mosiah
16:5).
Our state is a probationary state. “Wherefore, if ye
have sought to do wickedly in the days of your probation, then ye are found
unclean before the judgment-seat of God; and no unclean thing can dwell with
God; wherefore, ye must be cast off forever” (1 Nephi 10:21).
“But wo unto him that has the law given, yea, that has all
the commandments of God, like unto us, and that transgresseth them, and that
wasteth the days of his probation, for awful is his state” (2 Nephi 9:27).
We are now in a preparatory state. “All men who live in this
world, in this state of carnality, and who have not overcome the world, are themselves
carnal and sensual and devilish by nature. That is the kind of inheritance that
we have received as part of this mortality, and our object and end is to
overcome the world and develop the kind of bodies, and the attributes and
perfections, that will enable us to dwell with holy, pure, and exalted beings
in the eternal world.”[3]
No comments:
Post a Comment