19 O my sons, that these things might not come upon you, but that ye might be a choice and a favored people of the Lord. But behold, his will be done; for his ways are righteousness forever.
Lehi prays that his sons will make serious changes in their
lives to avoid the consequences that will unavoidably be theirs otherwise. He,
like our Heavenly Father, wants his sons to succeed. He wants them to be a
favored and covenant people of the Lord. Unfortunately, there are natural
consequences for sin. For example, Alma teaches Corianton that “wickedness
never was happiness” (see Alma 41: 10). I think that is probably a principle
that extends into the eternities. It’s a natural law that literally cannot be
broken, like gravity. Another natural consequence for sin is that justice must
claim the sinner. The rest of Alma’s correction of Corianton covers the
relationship between justice and mercy (see Alma chapters 39–42). This law is
so fundamental that there just is no way around it. If God were to break this
law of justice, this principle, He “would cease to be God” (Alma 41: 25). So he
could break the commandment, but the
natural consequence of doing so is that He would cease to be God.
By way of contrast, consider the commandment we have against
murder. The Lord has killed the mortal bodies of many people, both by his own
hand (such as the Great Flood), and by the hands of his people (such as when
Nephi was commanded to kill Laban to obtain the brass plates). He has even
authorized genocide by the hands of the Israelites as they were led to inherit
their Land of Promise. This commandment holds for us on of the stiffest
penalties possible, yet it does not cause God to cease to be God. However,
taking away the natural consequences for sin (i.e. justice) would strip Him of
his Godhood. That is why the Atonement is so critical. This loving father, who
does not want his children to suffer, literally cannot stop it from happening
without some way to satisfy the demands of justice.
It’s kind of like Newton’s Third Law of Motion, which states,
“For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” Likewise, for
every sin there has to be an equal and opposite consequence, in the form of
punishment (justice). A price must be paid that is equal to the sin. If not,
then justice would not be satisfied, and God would cease to be God. The
punishment endured by Jesus Christ during the Atonement was so great as to
potentially pay for all sins that had been or ever would be committed. The
punishment was so great that it balanced out all those sins and satisfied the
demand for justice in every case. If that were not the case, God would cease to
be God, because he must keep the law of justice, or suffer the consequences.
Lehi states that the Lord’s ways “are righteous forever.” The
commandments of a loving Father are designed to help us avoid the inevitable
Law of Justice. The Atonement is necessary because we all too often rush into
the teeth of justice and make ourselves miserable, like Satan. The misery is
what Lehi wants his sons to avoid, but knows they can’t if they will not keep
the commandments.
- Hosea 14: 9
