Religious

Thoughts on Alma 9: 15-18

"15 Nevertheless I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable for them in the day of judgment than for you, if ye remain in your sins, yea, and even more tolerable for them in this life than for you, except ye repent.

16 For there are many promises which are extended to the Lamanites; for it is because of the traditions of their fathers that caused them to remain in their state of ignorance; therefore the Lord will be merciful unto them and prolong their existence in the land.

17 And at some period of time they will be brought to believe in his word, and to know of the incorrectness of the traditions of their fathers; and many of them will be saved, for the Lord will be merciful unto all who call on his name.

18 But behold, I say unto you that if ye persist in your wickedness that your days shall not be prolonged in the land, for the Lamanites shall be sent upon you; and if ye repent not they shall come in a time when you know not, and ye shall be visited with utter destruction; and it shall be according to the fierce anger of the Lord. (Alma 9)"

Those who have received a testimony that god lives have an even greater need to repent than those who have not. I think it is important to remember that repentance is not a punishment. Repentance helps us change into more "Christ like" beings. This is done through gods grace and forgiveness, it's hard to believe it sometimes, but a lot of us think that when we sin God becomes angry with us, but I believe differently. I believe that god mourns for us, yes it offends him but all he wants is for us to be with him, and when we sin it's like us telling him that we want to leave. In a sense we are like toddlers to him, we don't know everything the way he does so when we make unguided decisions we are easily manipulated by Satan. I think when it says that: god will destroy us off the face of the earth if we do not repent, some people might misunderstand the view of who god really is from this depiction. When we sin we invite chaos into our life and unavoidably we affect those around us. Not only do we suffer but like a domino effect those around us do too. In the perfect world that is to come we know that there will be no suffering. Therefor those who cause suffering can not be a part of paradise... unless they take on Christ's atonement to change, and therefor no longer suffer, or cause suffering. Now on how Christ's atonement and how it works. I believe it is with a combination of our own recognition and remorse for what we have done and an unfathomable amount of love, understanding, and forgiveness from God and the Son. This plan is so perfect that even when we do not immediately have the penitent heart that is required for repentance, we can taste of the unavoidable repercussions of what we have done and Then hopefully from this we may begin to feel remorse for our mistake and desire to change. Once this has happened we will have received our penitent heart, and repent.