"And this to the intent that whosoever will believe might be saved, and that whosoever will not believe, a righteous judgment might come upon them; and also if they are condemned they bring upon themselves their own condemnation.
And now remember, remember, my brethren, that whosoever perisheth, perisheth unto himself; and whosoever doeth iniquity, doeth it unto himself; for behold, ye are free; ye are permitted to act for yourselves; for behold, God hath given unto you a knowledge and he hath made you free."
Helaman 14:29-30
The title is kind of heavy, and the idea here follows that. Any condemnation that happens to us is condemnation that we bring on ourselves... the verse previous to this explains that that's why God shows us signs and provides wonders... so that there won't be a cause for unbelief and so that everyone will know and have responsibility for his or her own condemnation. It's talking about a period of time before Christ appeared to the Nephites, but I think we all have space in our own lives where we don't actually know, and as we learn more then we become more responsible for our choices. God knows where that line is... and he also provides repentance, so that we never have to despair or give up, because as long as we live, at least in mortality, we have that chance to change.
It's both scary and enlightening to read that we perish unto ourselves and do iniquity unto ourselves... that just like when we do good, we do it unto God, when we do evil we're also doing it to ourselves. We don't have the luxury of doing things that don't have consequences and that don't affect others. God gives us the power to choose for ourselves, but he doesn't want us to harm ourselves by making bad choices. He wants us to realize that we are part of a whole, that the people around us are family, that we are part of a large whole with God at the head. When we realize that, and feel it through the Spirit, then that is God teaching us to not have a mind to injure one another (Mosiah 4:13, Romans 12:16, 1 Peter 3:8), but to be united--not only avoiding causing others pain, but saving *us* pain, which is really part of what God has been trying to help us with from the beginning. Some pain is necessary, but not the extent that we cause it to ourselves, much too often. Today, let's listen and learn from God how to live more in tune, to cause less pain to ourselves and to others, and also how to heal ourselves and others, even of things that we didn't cause. :) God will help us and console us as we choose to avoid bringing ourselves condemnation.
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