"The one raised to happiness according to his desires of happiness, or good according to his desires of good; and the other to evil according to his desires of evil; for as he has desired to do evil all the day long even so shall he have his reward of evil when the night cometh.
And so it is on the other hand. If he hath repented of his sins, and desired righteousness until the end of his days, even so he shall be rewarded unto righteousness.
These are they that are redeemed of the Lord; yea, these are they that are taken out, that are delivered from that endless night of darkness; and thus they stand or fall; for behold, they are their own judges, whether to do good or do evil."
Alma 41:5-7
This is both amazingly cool and really scary... the idea of being our own judges, and of getting what we desire is huge. It seems like a blessing and could be awesome, if we learn to use our power wisely and temper our desires with the wisdom and advice of God, but then again, if we go off the rails, it could be the worst thing ever.
We want bad things sometimes, right? Things that are bad for us and for other people. We get angry at people in traffic and we want revenge on people who have wronged us. We want to lash out at others when they are mean, and sometimes just when we're tired. :) I mean, imagine if every time you wanted to punch someone, it actually happened. Bad. :)
On the other hand, there are so many good things that we want as well. We want to help and lift people in need. We want to be able to give blessings to others. We really do want to be kinder and gentler with others, and if we actually acted on every good urge we had, the world would be a better place.
So with the whole idea of restoration here, or of God granting us exactly what we have wanted, and making us into the people that we have worked to become... which side of ourselves is going to win? Who will we be, and what is the world like populated with that sort of person? I'm both excited and afraid to find out... because it could be so much incredible goodness... but it could also be a train wreck, depending on what we choose.
Today, let's think about what we want restored to us, and if we are really going to get what we want, what exactly IS that? Do we know? Is what we want really going to make us happy, long-term? If not, now is the time to talk to God and work on changing what we want. :) Let's do our best to lift and love, and help each other to hope and work for something better, so that in time our desires and our works will be in a place where we'll be okay with the reward of restoration.
And so it is on the other hand. If he hath repented of his sins, and desired righteousness until the end of his days, even so he shall be rewarded unto righteousness.
These are they that are redeemed of the Lord; yea, these are they that are taken out, that are delivered from that endless night of darkness; and thus they stand or fall; for behold, they are their own judges, whether to do good or do evil."
Alma 41:5-7
This is both amazingly cool and really scary... the idea of being our own judges, and of getting what we desire is huge. It seems like a blessing and could be awesome, if we learn to use our power wisely and temper our desires with the wisdom and advice of God, but then again, if we go off the rails, it could be the worst thing ever.
We want bad things sometimes, right? Things that are bad for us and for other people. We get angry at people in traffic and we want revenge on people who have wronged us. We want to lash out at others when they are mean, and sometimes just when we're tired. :) I mean, imagine if every time you wanted to punch someone, it actually happened. Bad. :)
On the other hand, there are so many good things that we want as well. We want to help and lift people in need. We want to be able to give blessings to others. We really do want to be kinder and gentler with others, and if we actually acted on every good urge we had, the world would be a better place.
So with the whole idea of restoration here, or of God granting us exactly what we have wanted, and making us into the people that we have worked to become... which side of ourselves is going to win? Who will we be, and what is the world like populated with that sort of person? I'm both excited and afraid to find out... because it could be so much incredible goodness... but it could also be a train wreck, depending on what we choose.
Today, let's think about what we want restored to us, and if we are really going to get what we want, what exactly IS that? Do we know? Is what we want really going to make us happy, long-term? If not, now is the time to talk to God and work on changing what we want. :) Let's do our best to lift and love, and help each other to hope and work for something better, so that in time our desires and our works will be in a place where we'll be okay with the reward of restoration.
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