The Articles of Faith #2

"We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression."

God gives us commandments.  Most notably, the Ten Commandments, but there are many others.  God gives us commandments and expects us to live by those standards.  When we disobey, God is displeased; but when we follow His commandments He is happy with us.

There is a time in the future (after we leave this earth) when we will all come before Jesus Christ and be judged.  The Book of Mormon prophet, Alma, teaches that we will "be judged according to [our] works".  If we have done good  in this life (kept the commandments, served God), then we will "be restored unto that which is good".  But if our works have been not good, or "evil", then we will be rewarded accordingly.  Alma then explains how to make sure our "works" are good: "If [you have] repented of [your] sins, and desired righteousness until the end of [your] days, even so [you] shall be rewarded unto righteousness" (Alma 41:3-6). 

This is what it means in the second Article of Faith by saying we "will be punished for [our] own sins".  God sets forth eternal laws, and violation of those laws brings sure punishment.  The only way to overcome this is through repentance and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ.  We do not believe that we will be punished for the mistakes of our fathers but for our own sins and transgressions, based on decisions we have made.

I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is available to everybody.  I know that obedience to the commandments of God, as revealed through His prophets in ancient and modern days, will bring blessings in this life and eternal joy in the life to come.

for more on the Articles of Faith, see http://mormon.org/articles-of-faith/.

God is Our Loving Heavenly Father

God loves us.  He really is our Father in Heaven.  We truly are His children.  I am grateful for this knowledge.  We lived with Him before we came to this Earth.  We are separated from Him now, and we must walk by faith if we hope to return to live with Him someday.

In the Book of Mormon today, I read an example of somebody who has felt God's love.  The prophet, Alma, attempted to teach the wicked people of Ammonihah but was rejected.  He leaves Ammonihah without intending to ever return.  He is obviously pretty upset about the whole situation.  The scriptures recordthat while Alma was "wading through much tribulation and anguish of soul ... an angel of the Lord appeared unto him".  The angel comforted him and told him that he has "great cause to rejoice; for [he had] been faithful in keeping the commandments of God" (Alma 8: 14-15).  So it is with us.  God is happy with us when we do what is right.  He is unhappy when we disobey his commandments.  However he loves us equally either way.  I so bear witness in the name of my savior Jesus Christ.