Doctrine and Covenants 29:39 -- On Bitter and Sweet

"And it must needs be that the devil should tempt the children of men, or they could not be agents unto themselves; for if they never should have bitter they could not know the sweet--"
Doctrine and Covenants 29:39


This is an interesting idea, I think, because it makes you think about how we choose and learn, and why. The taste thing is an interesting analogy... how could we describe a taste, or even really understand it, if we've never had it? And a world without evil, which must describe where God dwells and where we dwelt before this life, does sound like one where we would have been sheltered from all bitterness. So, this life introduces us to a lot of bad things, but like Adam and Eve, it also takes us out of that state of innocence and gives us the potential and the motivation to be more... to grow up and become for ourselves, outside of that protected environment. And then, ever after, it will help us know how good we have it, because none of the evil and corruption that we see in this life will be there anymore.

That's why this brief life in our eternal existence is so important... because this is the time that we have to make real choices in an environment where we are pulled both ways and face real consequences. It's not just chocolate or vanilla choices, but heavier choices that dictate who we become, and who we want to be away from that protected environment. It's like our coming of age ceremony in a way... this is how children of God grow up. We have to leave perfection and experience imperfection. The imperfection of this life is hard on us sometimes. It is necessary though in order to teach us and help us understand, and later appreciate, the difference between perfection and imperfection and to understand who we are. The happy ending is still there... God will call us home and return us to perfection if that is where we want to be. But he also is going to allow us to choose otherwise, if we want to be somewhere else, our choices now are going to be respected.

Today, maybe that's something to think about. Do we like this life the way it is, or do we crave something better? Bitter or sweet? God has something better for us, if we want it--if we choose to work for it--he can help us get back to perfection, with him. :)