Alma 36:9

"And he said unto me: If thou wilt of thyself be destroyed, seek no more to destroy the church of God."
Alma 36:9


I think this shows how serious God is about our free agency in our own lives. The angel, instead of commanding Alma to repent, basically says, it is your choice... you can choose whatever you want for yourself, but you need to stop attacking the church. I'm not here to save you necessarily, but I am here to save them from you. ... and what a scary message that is. To go around dismissing and then actually warring against what your father has taught you all his life, and then one day to be reminded in an incredibly dramatic way that he has been right all along, and also that you're not in a very good position. It's a lot to take in all at once. ... and although seeing an angel is huge, maybe this kind of revelation happens to us as well, although in a smaller way. God shows us *all* where the lines are very clearly, and gives us a chance to turn around and change ourselves... to stop fighting against him, to stop the pointless and petty rebellions, or the outright defiance... to humble ourselves and start working to heal the wounds and the rifts that we've created. And it isn't very fun. Just as it wasn't fun for Alma to get struck down for three days, unable to talk or move. But even though it isn't fun... what an incredible blessing to him, and to each of us, that God cares about us enough to give us those serious warnings and reminders of who we need to be. Today, let's heed the warnings, and humble ourselves. Stop fighting against so many things, and accept God's will. It probably won't be fun, especially at first... but it will make an incredible difference in our lives, our relationships with the people around us, and in our relationship with God. And it will be fun, and happy, eventually. We just have to get over ourselves first. :)