"God does not save us 'just as we are,' first, because 'just as we are' we are unclean, and 'no unclean thing can dwell... in his presence; for, in the language of Adam, Man of Holiness is his name, and the name of his Only Begotten is the Son of Man [of Holiness]' (Moses 6:57). And second, God will not act to make us something we do not choose by our actions to become. Truly He loves us, and because He loves us, He neither compels nor abandons us. Rather He helps and guides us. Indeed, the real manifestation of God's love is His commandments.
"We should (and we do) rejoice in the God-ordained plan that permits us to make choices to act for ourselves and experience the consequences, or as the scriptures express it, to 'taste the bitter, that [we] may know to prize the good' (Moses 6:55). We are forever grateful that the Savior's Atonement overcame original sin so that we can be born into this world yet not be punished for Adam's transgression. Having been thus redeemed from the Fall, we begin life innocent before God and 'become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for [ourselves] and not to be acted upon' (2 Ne 2:26; see also D&C 93:38). We can choose to become the kind of person that we will, and with God's help, that can be even as He is."
- D. Todd Christofferson, "Free Forever, to Act for Themselves," Ensign, November 2011, pp. 16-19
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God "neither compels nor abandons us. Rather He helps and guides us." There is no forced salvation, no compulsion to make any choice along the way. Only the gentle invitations and promptings that allow us to choose for ourselves.
How often do we consider God's commandments as manifestations of His love for us? But they truly do help mark the path and show the way to peace, joy, and ultimate salvation.
When we have an understanding of the plan and God's love for us, we truly have reason to rejoice!
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