The Collected Works. Joseph Smith Jr.
41:4
4 And if their works are evil they shall be restored unto them
for evil. Therefore, all things shall be restored to their
proper order, every thing to its natural frame—mortality raised
to immortality, corruption to incorruption—raised to endless
happiness to inherit the kingdom of God, or to endless misery to
inherit the kingdom of the devil, the one on one hand, the other
on the other—
Alma 41:5
5 The one raised to happiness according to his desires of
happiness, or good according to his desires of good; and the
other to evil according to his desires of evil; for as he has
desired to do evil all the day long even so shall he have his
reward of evil when the night cometh.
Alma 41:6
6 And so it is on the other hand. If he hath repented of his
sins, and desired righteousness until the end of his days, even
so he shall be rewarded unto righteousness.
Alma 41:7
7 These are they that are redeemed of the Lord; yea, these are
they that are taken out, that are delivered from that endless
night of darkness; and thus they stand or fall; for behold, they
are their own judges, whether to do good or do evil.
Alma 41:8
8 Now, the decrees of God are unalterable; therefore, the way is
prepared that whosoever will may walk therein and be saved.
Alma 41:9
9 And now behold, my son, do not risk one more offense against
your God upon those points of doctrine, which ye have hitherto
risked to commit sin.
Alma 41:10
10 Do not suppose, because it has been spoken concerning
restoration, that ye shall be restored from sin to happiness.
Behold, I say unto you, wickedness never was happiness.
Alma 41:11
11 And now, my son, all men that are in a state of nature, or I
would say, in a carnal state, are in the gall of bitterness and
in the bonds of iniquity; they are without God in the world, and
they have gone contrary to the nature of God; therefore, they are
in a state contrary to the nature of happiness.
Alma 41:12
12 And now behold, is the meaning of the word restoration to
take a thing of a natural state and place it in an unnatural
state, or to place it in a state opposite to its nature?
Alma 41:13
13 O, my son, this is not the case; but the meaning of the word
restoration is to bring back again evil for evil, or carnal for
carnal, or devilish for devilish—good for that which is good;
righteous for that which is righteous; just for that which is
just; merciful for that which is merciful.
Alma 41:14
14 Therefore, my son, see that you are merciful unto your
brethren; deal justly, judge righteously, and do good
continually; and if ye do all these things then shall ye receive
your reward; yea, ye shall have mercy restored unto you again; ye
shall have justice restored unto you again; ye shall have a
righteous judgment restored unto you again; and ye shall have
good rewarded unto you again.
Alma 41:15
15 For that which ye do send out shall return unto you again,
and be restored; therefore, the word restoration more fully
condemneth the sinner, and justifieth him not at all.
Alma 42 Chapter 42
Alma 42:1
1 And now, my son, I perceive there is somewhat more which doth
worry your mind, which ye cannot understand—which is concerning
the justice of God in the punishment of the sinner; for ye do try
to suppose that it is injustice that the sinner should be
consigned to a state of misery.
Alma 42:2
2 Now behold, my son, I will explain this thing unto thee. For
behold, after the Lord God sent our first parents forth from the
garden of Eden, to till the ground, from whence they were
taken—yea, he drew out the man, and he placed at the east end of
the garden of Eden, cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned
every way, to keep the tree of life—
Alma 42:3
3 Now, we see that the man had become as God, knowing good and
evil; and lest he should put forth his hand, and take also of the
tree of life, and eat and live forever, the Lord God placed
cherubim and the flaming sword, that he should not partake of the
fruit—
Alma 42:4
4 And thus we see, that there was a time granted unto man to
repent, yea, a probationary time, a time to repent and serve God.
Alma 42:5
5 For behold, if Adam had put forth his hand immediately, and
partaken of the tree of life, he would have lived forever,
according to the word of God, having no space for repentance;
yea, and also the word of God would have been void, and the great
plan of salvation would have been frustrated.
Alma 42:6
6 But behold, it was appointed unto man to die—therefore, as
they were cut off from the tree of life they should be cut off
from the face of the earth—and man became lost forever, yea,
they became fallen man.
Alma 42:7
7 And now, ye see by this that our first parents were cut off
both temporally and spiritually from the presence of the Lord;
and thus we see they became subjects to follow after their own
will.
Alma 42:8
8 Now behold, it was not expedient that man should be reclaimed
from this temporal death, for that would destroy the great plan
of happiness.
Alma 42:9
9 Therefore, as the soul could never die, and the fall had
brought upon all mankind a spiritual death as well as a temporal,
that is, they were cut off from the presence of the Lord, it was