In verse 4 he says, And thus we see, that there was a time granted unto men to repent, yea, a probationary time, a time to repent and serve God.
I had to look up the word probation to see if there was some meaning that I was just unaware of. It means a trial, experiment, or test. It also means to prove as in testing of a person's conduct.
If you wanted to get a job or join an organization a probation is a trial period during which your character and abilities are tested to see whether you are suitable for work or membership.
If you wanted to get a job or join an organization a probation is a trial period during which your character and abilities are tested to see whether you are suitable for work or membership.
If you have been in trouble with the law a probation is a trial period during which you have time to redeem yourself.
A probation can also be a time of testing of a candidate for membership in a religious body or order - for example if somebody was going to become a nun or a priest and they were taking their holy orders, etc.
Sometimes I just have to listen to my inner feelings and see what something feels like to me. If I compare this verse to Moses 1:19 which says, This is my work and my glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man, I feel like there is a dissonance.
Is this earth life a step on the road to becoming like God or is it a place where we weed out the ones who just aren't going to make it.
If it was presented to us in the pre-existence as a weeding out process, would we have shouted for joy?
If it is only about seeing if we will serve God, what about the billions who never even learn who he is?
In my mind I just had to do some defining and interpreting with this verse:
For this we see, that there was a time granted unto man to learn and grow to become like their Heavenly parents, yea, a time to exercise agency, to learn both from good choices and bad choices, a time to learn how to be in charge of your own life, to err and to repent or change all the while moving forward and learning which principles truly create a happy life. By so doing we become more and more like God.
When I find a scripture like this, one that just becomes a problem for me and it just doesn't feel right to me, I really am trying to understand. I want to find a way to understand the principles and not get caught in the language used to express those principles.
I like how Fiona and Terryl Givens address this in their book The Christ Who Heals. On page 121 we read the following:
However, the question may be asked: is this life not the time for repentance? Of course this life is the time to repent, for at least three reasons. First, in premortal councils this was the time of probation agreed upon by us to occur between birth and death. Earth life is apparently deliberately constructed in terms of opposition and conditions most conducive to our spiritual formation. This is the time for which we planned, prepared, and waited. We will never again encounter this particular alignment of the stars, so propitious for our advancement toward godliness. Second, repentance deferred is repentance made more arduous. As the old man admonishes a stubborn Dr. Faustus, habit can become identity. Change is easier, he tells the magus, "if sin by custom grow not into nature." Repentance deliberately deferred, wrote Talmage, is postmortal repentance made more difficult. Third, "Wickedness never was happiness." If we "consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments," it is immediately clear why now is the time to let our hearts be remolded and our souls sanctified. No sin is without pain. Now is clearly the time to commence the abundant life, to strive to open ourselves to the joy and peace to which Christ invites us."
Isn't that a better way of saying what Alma clearly meant? Why do these words inspire me while the previous do not?
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