"And he shall come into the world to redeem his people; and he shall take upon him the transgressions of those who believe on his name; and these are they that shall have eternal life, and salvation cometh to none else.
Therefore the wicked remain as though there had been no redemption made, except it be the loosing of the bands of death; for behold, the day cometh that all shall rise from the dead and stand before God, and be judged according to their works.
Now, there is a death which is called a temporal death; and the death of Christ shall loose the bands of this temporal death, that all shall be raised from this temporal death.
The spirit and the body shall be reunited again in its perfect form; both limb and joint shall be restored to its proper frame, even as we now are at this time; and we shall be brought to stand before God, knowing even as we know now, and have a bright recollection of all our guilt."
Alma 11:40-43
I think the fact that everyone will be resurrected seems super cool, so it is interesting to read this--in the second verse it says "except it be the loosing of the bands of death" sort of like it is no big deal. And I guess the last verse here explains why it might seem that way, since having "a bright recollection of all our guilt" might make the whole living forever in perfect bodies thing less fun.
There is a clear difference between what it talks about as "eternal life" and merely being resurrected, since there are requirements for one and not the other. Verse 44 immediately after this selection lays out who will be resurrected, and it doesn't leave out anyone. Everyone gets resurrected, but eternal life / salvation we learn in the first verse requires belief in Christ, and also repentance (because that is how we apply the atonement to our lives... Christ gives us the chance to change and make up for our mistakes, but we have to take it, and make the changes).
It talks about temporal death here, meaning the death of the body, which everyone will overcome, and then in the next chapter (verse 16) it starts talking about spiritual death, which helps us clear up the whole confusion. Christ offers us salvation from both temporal and spiritual death. Resurrection overcomes temporal death, and nothing is required of us for that to happen. Everyone is restored to their bodies and our new bodies and perfect and incorruptible. Nice. :) Spiritual death though is different... that's the part where we choose, and our choices are restored to us. Here it seems sort of tame. I mean bright recollection of guilt is scary, sure, but in the next chapter it compares it to the whole "lake of fire and brimstone" thing, which I know is still symbolic, but seems way worse. In other places in the scriptures spiritual death refers to separation from God, and that is another thing that seems just sort of scary now, but I think when we are restored to a full knowledge of him and then have to live without him... that could very well feel like torment, especially if we haven't really realized in this life how much we depend on him every day for protection and guidance. There is absolutely nothing more lonely and isolated than being without God.
When the first verse talks about eternal life, it means a state where we have overcome temporal *and* spiritual death through Christ, and are reunited with God, to live in his presence eternally. So, today, let's remember that there is more to redemption and salvation than just resurrection... which is admittedly cool, but not enough by itself. We know we are going to be resurrected, so let's focus on quality of life beyond the grave, which is what God has been preparing us for this whole time. Let's think about whether we are ready to meet God and account for our lives. If we are worried about that, then let's address it and change. Are we ready to live in an at least near-perfect society? If not, let's work on it, and learn how to be nicer and kinder to others.
Therefore the wicked remain as though there had been no redemption made, except it be the loosing of the bands of death; for behold, the day cometh that all shall rise from the dead and stand before God, and be judged according to their works.
Now, there is a death which is called a temporal death; and the death of Christ shall loose the bands of this temporal death, that all shall be raised from this temporal death.
The spirit and the body shall be reunited again in its perfect form; both limb and joint shall be restored to its proper frame, even as we now are at this time; and we shall be brought to stand before God, knowing even as we know now, and have a bright recollection of all our guilt."
Alma 11:40-43
I think the fact that everyone will be resurrected seems super cool, so it is interesting to read this--in the second verse it says "except it be the loosing of the bands of death" sort of like it is no big deal. And I guess the last verse here explains why it might seem that way, since having "a bright recollection of all our guilt" might make the whole living forever in perfect bodies thing less fun.
There is a clear difference between what it talks about as "eternal life" and merely being resurrected, since there are requirements for one and not the other. Verse 44 immediately after this selection lays out who will be resurrected, and it doesn't leave out anyone. Everyone gets resurrected, but eternal life / salvation we learn in the first verse requires belief in Christ, and also repentance (because that is how we apply the atonement to our lives... Christ gives us the chance to change and make up for our mistakes, but we have to take it, and make the changes).
It talks about temporal death here, meaning the death of the body, which everyone will overcome, and then in the next chapter (verse 16) it starts talking about spiritual death, which helps us clear up the whole confusion. Christ offers us salvation from both temporal and spiritual death. Resurrection overcomes temporal death, and nothing is required of us for that to happen. Everyone is restored to their bodies and our new bodies and perfect and incorruptible. Nice. :) Spiritual death though is different... that's the part where we choose, and our choices are restored to us. Here it seems sort of tame. I mean bright recollection of guilt is scary, sure, but in the next chapter it compares it to the whole "lake of fire and brimstone" thing, which I know is still symbolic, but seems way worse. In other places in the scriptures spiritual death refers to separation from God, and that is another thing that seems just sort of scary now, but I think when we are restored to a full knowledge of him and then have to live without him... that could very well feel like torment, especially if we haven't really realized in this life how much we depend on him every day for protection and guidance. There is absolutely nothing more lonely and isolated than being without God.
When the first verse talks about eternal life, it means a state where we have overcome temporal *and* spiritual death through Christ, and are reunited with God, to live in his presence eternally. So, today, let's remember that there is more to redemption and salvation than just resurrection... which is admittedly cool, but not enough by itself. We know we are going to be resurrected, so let's focus on quality of life beyond the grave, which is what God has been preparing us for this whole time. Let's think about whether we are ready to meet God and account for our lives. If we are worried about that, then let's address it and change. Are we ready to live in an at least near-perfect society? If not, let's work on it, and learn how to be nicer and kinder to others.
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