"Therefore, O my son, whosoever will come may come and partake of the waters of life freely; and whosoever will not come the same is not compelled to come; but in the last day it shall be restored unto him according to his deeds.
If he has desired to do evil, and has not repented in his days, behold, evil shall be done unto him, according to the restoration of God."
Alma 42:27-28
This whole chapter gets into the purpose of life and mercy and justice, and is super interesting. I chose this part because I think it shows God's emphasis on freedom. God invites us all to come to him, but he isn't going to force anyone. If we are out there looking for the good and trying to make the world a better place, that is what we are going to get as a reward... really, the natural consequences of all of those good actions has turned us into wholly good people, and we'll be lucky enough to inherit that better world that we were really trying to build. :)
And if we're out there looking for the bad, and making the world a worse place, then that, again, will be our reward. The natural consequences of our actions will have hardened us into bad people. It's what the scriptures are talking about when they say that we have become "fully ripe in iniquity" (2 Nephi 28:16). ... Which is why if we are going down that path even a little bit, we really need to turn around now, before we get into that hardened/ripened state. Going that way usually makes it harder to remember what a different life was like, and if we don't listen to God calling us back, we will get completely lost.
Today, let's accept God's invitation to partake of the waters of life. Let's not risk losing ourselves to addictions, obsessions, or lifestyles that drag us farther and farther from the safety of God until we don't even remember why we should go back. Let's exercise our freedom and choose good. :)
If he has desired to do evil, and has not repented in his days, behold, evil shall be done unto him, according to the restoration of God."
Alma 42:27-28
This whole chapter gets into the purpose of life and mercy and justice, and is super interesting. I chose this part because I think it shows God's emphasis on freedom. God invites us all to come to him, but he isn't going to force anyone. If we are out there looking for the good and trying to make the world a better place, that is what we are going to get as a reward... really, the natural consequences of all of those good actions has turned us into wholly good people, and we'll be lucky enough to inherit that better world that we were really trying to build. :)
And if we're out there looking for the bad, and making the world a worse place, then that, again, will be our reward. The natural consequences of our actions will have hardened us into bad people. It's what the scriptures are talking about when they say that we have become "fully ripe in iniquity" (2 Nephi 28:16). ... Which is why if we are going down that path even a little bit, we really need to turn around now, before we get into that hardened/ripened state. Going that way usually makes it harder to remember what a different life was like, and if we don't listen to God calling us back, we will get completely lost.
Today, let's accept God's invitation to partake of the waters of life. Let's not risk losing ourselves to addictions, obsessions, or lifestyles that drag us farther and farther from the safety of God until we don't even remember why we should go back. Let's exercise our freedom and choose good. :)
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