Alma 29:4-5 -- On Desiring Goodness

"I ought not to harrow up in my desires the firm decree of a just God, for I know that he granteth unto men according to their desire, whether it be unto death or unto life; yea, I know that he allotteth unto men, yea, decreeth unto them decrees which are unalterable, according to their wills, whether they be unto salvation or unto destruction.
Yea, and I know that good and evil have come before all men; he that knoweth not good from evil is blameless; but he that knoweth good and evil, to him it is given according to his desires, whether he desireth good or evil, life or death, joy or remorse of conscience."
Alma 29:4-5


Reading about how God grants people according to their desires, on one hand it seems crazy for anyone to want destruction or remorse of conscience... but then again, thinking about our own lives, sometimes that's exactly what we are choosing, knowing ahead of time that there will be consequences and choosing it anyway, and even sometimes trying to talk ourselves into something bad by disparaging God's offers, saying that being good is boring or ... whatever it is that we tell ourselves to block the knowledge that this is wrong and we need to go the other direction.

But goodness isn't boring, and being bound to Satan with self-forged chains is infinitely worse than being chosen in the family of our Father, with access to oceans and worlds of knowledge, and his infinite and abiding love--the one thing that can actually fill the emptiness. We think sometimes that we can't change, that through nature or habit our minds and/or bodies are firmly set on the path to hell, or somewhere besides heaven, which is essentially the same thing. But there is no depth into which God cannot reach to save us, if we are willing to change. He can change our hearts. He can help us be the people we want to be rather than the people that we are. It is not too late. Today, let's reach out to him and listen to his advice, and take a step towards God rather than away. If God is going to give us what we most desire, let's let him help us change our desires into something that will make us truly happy rather than eternally miserable.