"But behold, your days of probation are past; ye have procrastinated the day of your salvation until it is everlastingly too late, and your destruction is made sure; yea, for ye have sought all the days of your lives for that which ye could not obtain; and ye have sought for happiness in doing iniquity, which thing is contrary to the nature of that righteousness which is in our great and Eternal Head."
Helaman 13:38
This verse is Samuel the Lamanite preaching to the Nephites, and the message is definitely a scary one, likely designed to get them to wake up and repent. It expresses the same idea that we find in Alma 12:24 and Alma 34:32--that this life is the time "to prepare to meet God."
The idea of it being "everlastingly too late" after our days of probation (earth life) is one that is a little bit confusing, because we know that Christ visited the Spirit World and arranged missionary work there as well, which implies some sort of repentance and conversion after this life (D&C 138:33 also mentions repentance).
I honestly don't know how God is going to work it all out... that is obviously all up to him, but for us, perhaps something that clarifies the idea is 1 Peter 4:6: "For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit." Perhaps we're still judged based on our actions in our lives, and that isn't something we can go back and change while in the spirit world, but we do still have the ability to accept the gospel, feel remorse, and live according to God's will as spirits. The problem is that we're still the same people, and if we rejected God in this life, we are likely going to reject him later as well. Alma 34:33-35 suggests that we can completely drive away the Spirit of the Lord so much that the devil has all power over us, which is even scarier than the initial verse. :)
There is hope and goodness here as well though. First of all, we're alive, and able to repent and change, and we're also learning some important lessons. We need to use our lives wisely and not just assume that we can procrastinate and then change when we're dead. We should also remember that there is no happiness to be found in iniquity. There are a lot of ways to learn that lesson, and learning it from this verse is probably the easiest way possible. :)
Today, let's make sure we listen to the words of Samuel the Lamanite, and wake up and repent. Let's use our lives to change and improve while we have our bodies and the ability to learn to control our appetites and passions. Let's especially avoid the trap of thinking that iniquity can ever lead to happiness. As we listen and learn, God will help us avoid the destruction spoken of, and make sure that it isn't everlastingly too late for us. :)
Helaman 13:38
This verse is Samuel the Lamanite preaching to the Nephites, and the message is definitely a scary one, likely designed to get them to wake up and repent. It expresses the same idea that we find in Alma 12:24 and Alma 34:32--that this life is the time "to prepare to meet God."
The idea of it being "everlastingly too late" after our days of probation (earth life) is one that is a little bit confusing, because we know that Christ visited the Spirit World and arranged missionary work there as well, which implies some sort of repentance and conversion after this life (D&C 138:33 also mentions repentance).
I honestly don't know how God is going to work it all out... that is obviously all up to him, but for us, perhaps something that clarifies the idea is 1 Peter 4:6: "For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit." Perhaps we're still judged based on our actions in our lives, and that isn't something we can go back and change while in the spirit world, but we do still have the ability to accept the gospel, feel remorse, and live according to God's will as spirits. The problem is that we're still the same people, and if we rejected God in this life, we are likely going to reject him later as well. Alma 34:33-35 suggests that we can completely drive away the Spirit of the Lord so much that the devil has all power over us, which is even scarier than the initial verse. :)
There is hope and goodness here as well though. First of all, we're alive, and able to repent and change, and we're also learning some important lessons. We need to use our lives wisely and not just assume that we can procrastinate and then change when we're dead. We should also remember that there is no happiness to be found in iniquity. There are a lot of ways to learn that lesson, and learning it from this verse is probably the easiest way possible. :)
Today, let's make sure we listen to the words of Samuel the Lamanite, and wake up and repent. Let's use our lives to change and improve while we have our bodies and the ability to learn to control our appetites and passions. Let's especially avoid the trap of thinking that iniquity can ever lead to happiness. As we listen and learn, God will help us avoid the destruction spoken of, and make sure that it isn't everlastingly too late for us. :)
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