Alma’s Letter to His Son, Modern English

My son, I can tell there is still something troubling you. Something you’re struggling to understand. You’re worried about whether God is just in punishing sin. You wonder how it could be fair for a sinner to end up in misery. Let me explain why justice works the way it does.

After God sent Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden to work the earth, He placed heavenly beings and a flaming, turning sword at the entrance to guard the tree of life. This was necessary because once Adam and Eve had gained the knowledge of good and evil, they had become like God in that respect. If they had then eaten from the tree of life, they would have lived forever in their fallen state, with no opportunity to repent or change. That would have broken God’s word and destroyed His plan to save His children.

So God allowed them to become mortal. Being cut off from the tree of life meant they would eventually die physically, and being separated from His presence meant they experienced spiritual death as well. In that condition, humanity became fallen, left to follow its own desires, separated from God both physically and spiritually.

It was not God’s plan to immediately remove physical death, because doing so would have undone the entire plan of happiness. But the soul itself cannot die, and because the Fall brought spiritual death upon all people, it became necessary for God to provide a way for humanity to be restored spiritually. Mortality became a time of preparation. A probationary period in which people could learn, choose, and repent.

Without the plan of redemption, every soul would have remained miserable after death, permanently cut off from God. And there was no way for humanity to escape this fallen condition on its own, because it was brought about by human disobedience. Justice required that redemption could only happen on the condition of repentance during this mortal life. Without repentance, mercy could not operate without destroying justice, and if justice were destroyed, God would cease to be God.

So all humanity was fallen and subject to justice, which demanded that they remain forever separated from God. The only way mercy could work was if an atonement were made. God Himself provided that atonement through His Son, satisfying the demands of justice so that He could remain perfectly just and perfectly merciful at the same time.

Repentance is only possible because punishment exists. If there were no consequences, there would be no law; without law, there would be no sin; and without sin, there would be nothing to repent of. God gave a law, attached a punishment to it, and allowed people to feel remorse so they could recognize their need to change. If there were no law saying that murderers would die, no one would fear the consequences of murder. And if there were no law against sin at all, people would have no reason to avoid sin.

Because a law exists, justice has a rightful claim on those who break it. But God also grants repentance, and mercy claims those who repent. If this were not so, justice would be destroyed, and again, God would cease to be God.

But God does not cease to be God. Mercy claims the repentant because of the atonement. The atonement makes the resurrection possible, and the resurrection brings every person back into God’s presence to be judged according to their works, under both law and justice. Justice receives what it is owed, and mercy receives those who belong to her. Only the truly repentant are saved. Mercy cannot steal from justice; if it did, God would no longer be God.

In this way, God fulfills His eternal purposes, established from the foundation of the world. Through this plan come salvation and redemption, but also destruction and misery for those who refuse it.

So, my son, anyone who desires to come to God may come freely. No one is forced. But in the end, every person will receive according to their choices. If someone has chosen evil and refused to repent, then the consequences of that choice will return to them.

Let these questions trouble you no longer. Let your sins trouble you instead, just enough to lead you to repentance. Do not deny the justice of God or excuse your sins by arguing against it. Let God’s justice, mercy, and patience work in your heart and humble you.

And now, my son, you have been called by God to preach His word. Go forward with truth and seriousness, helping others repent so that mercy may claim them as well. May God grant you strength and success in this sacred work.