"And he said unto me: If thou wilt of thyself be destroyed, seek no more to destroy the church of God."
Alma 36:9
This is part of Alma the younger's conversion experience, and this part stood out to me today because it seems to emphasize freedom. I mean, the appearance of an angel seems like a really big deal, but as we know from Laman and Lemuel, and as we see even more clearly here, God doesn't send angels to force people to believe. They still clearly get a choice, and I think that is cool.
We know that free agency is important enough to fight for because we know the war in heaven (Revelation12:7) was fought over it. I'm not sure that we can know exactly why free agency is so important to God, but I'm guessing it has to do with our spiritual maturity and that we really need to learn who we are as people, and as sons and daughters of God, in order to find our way in this life and find our happiness after this life.
It is interesting that we fight for freedom so idealistically, but are sometimes tempted to let go of our freedoms in exchange for safety... that isn't what God asks of us, and not a trade that he will make. For him, freedom is so valuable that he allows us to make mistakes and harm each other, and incorporates even our bad choices into his plan.
There are of course limits to any freedom, because what we do affects others as well as ourselves. Our ability to make our own choices is that important to God, and is important enough that Alma was allowed to keep rebelling if he wanted to. The angel was just there to protect the church.
Today, let's be thankful for our freedom, and use it wisely. And maybe also remember that if God is protecting our freedom so strongly and carefully, that there is incredible potential in it. Let's not blow off our choices and just zombie through life. Let's make some positive things happen, and change things for the better. :)
Alma 36:9
This is part of Alma the younger's conversion experience, and this part stood out to me today because it seems to emphasize freedom. I mean, the appearance of an angel seems like a really big deal, but as we know from Laman and Lemuel, and as we see even more clearly here, God doesn't send angels to force people to believe. They still clearly get a choice, and I think that is cool.
We know that free agency is important enough to fight for because we know the war in heaven (Revelation12:7) was fought over it. I'm not sure that we can know exactly why free agency is so important to God, but I'm guessing it has to do with our spiritual maturity and that we really need to learn who we are as people, and as sons and daughters of God, in order to find our way in this life and find our happiness after this life.
It is interesting that we fight for freedom so idealistically, but are sometimes tempted to let go of our freedoms in exchange for safety... that isn't what God asks of us, and not a trade that he will make. For him, freedom is so valuable that he allows us to make mistakes and harm each other, and incorporates even our bad choices into his plan.
There are of course limits to any freedom, because what we do affects others as well as ourselves. Our ability to make our own choices is that important to God, and is important enough that Alma was allowed to keep rebelling if he wanted to. The angel was just there to protect the church.
Today, let's be thankful for our freedom, and use it wisely. And maybe also remember that if God is protecting our freedom so strongly and carefully, that there is incredible potential in it. Let's not blow off our choices and just zombie through life. Let's make some positive things happen, and change things for the better. :)
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