Alma now addresses the topic of restoration, which he says many people have misunderstood. All things, he says, will be “restored to their proper order,” because God is just. However, this does not mean that you can willfully choose evil and have good restored to you. God will restore you to your “natural state,” so if you choose goodness, then goodness will be restored to you. Alma urges Corianton to “send out” the kinds of things he would like to receive: mercy, justice, righteousness, and goodness.
Chapter Outline
- I will explain the restoration (v. 1)
- All things must be restored to their proper order: resurrection and judgment are both kinds of restoration (v. 2-8)
- Don’t assume that you’ll be restored from sin to happiness. You will be restored to your natural state (v. 9-13)
- “That which ye do send out shall return unto you again” (v. 14-15)
My Takeaways
- The Final Judgment is not a future decision that will be imposed upon us; it is the natural result of the decisions we are each making right now.
- Find peace and joy in choosing righteously even before you see the consequences of those choices.
- Whatever you consistently send out will ultimately come back to you.
Featured Blog Posts
Alma, Samuel the Lamanite, and the Law of Restoration
Did Samuel the Lamanite study Alma’s words to his wayward son Corianton as he prepared to preach to the Nephites in Zarahemla? He doesn’t use Alma’s name anywhere in the sermon, but I see clear references to Alma’s words, particularly Alma’s explanation of the law of restoration. Alma met with Corianton immediately after they served…
❖ Question: What is the restoration? – Alma 41:1
“I Will Explain” – Alma 41:1, Alma 42:2
Corianton had done wrong. He had not only committed a serious sin, but had done so while representing the church as a missionary under the leadership of his father, Alma. His actions had embarrassed his father and had weakened the credibility of his fellow missionaries (Alma 39:1-12). As you might expect, Alma reproved his son.…
❖ Resurrection and Judgment – Alma 41:2-8
They Are Their Own Judges – Alma 41:7
5 The one raised to happiness according to his desires of happiness, or good according to his desires of good; and the other to evil according to his desires of evil; for as he has desired to do evil all the day long even so shall he have his reward of evil when the night…
❖ Restored to your natural state – Alma 41:9-13
Wickedness Never Was Happiness – Alma 41:10
10 Do not suppose, because it has been spoken concerning restoration, that ye shall be restored from sin to happiness. Behold, I say unto you, wickedness never was happiness. 11 And now, my son, all men that are in a state of nature, or I would say, in a carnal state, are in the gall…
❖ Be merciful, just, righteous, and good – Alma 41:14-15
That Which Ye Do Send Out – Alma 41:14-15
14 Therefore, my son, see that you are merciful unto your brethren; deal justly, judge righteously, and do good continually; and if ye do all these things then shall ye receive your reward; yea, ye shall have mercy restored unto you again; ye shall have justice restored unto you again; ye shall have a righteous…
Old Testament Foundations
The Valley of Decision
When Ahab, king of Israel, asked Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, to join him in battle against the Syrians, Jehoshaphat responded with solidarity: “I am as thou art, my people as thy people, my horses as thy horses” (1 Kings 22:4, see also 2 Chronicles 18:3). However, Jehoshaphat insisted on consulting with a prophet first. Ahab…
Cast Thy Bread Upon the Waters
The writer of Ecclesiastes teaches us an important principle through a vivid metaphor: Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days. Ecclesiastes 11:1 I don’t have a lot of experience throwing bread into water (other than feeding ducks) but this metaphor rings true to me. There is something uncontrollable about water,…
Do Justly, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly
In the last general conference, Elder Dale G. Renlund encouraged us to follow this counsel from the prophet Micah in order to understand what more we can do to draw closer to God: What doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? Micah 6:8 Alma gave a similar admonition to…
Restored
Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would come to fix broken things and to give people things they had lost: The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the…
New Testament Parallels
The Gall of Bitterness
Peter told Simon that he was in the “gall of bitterness.” Gall is bile. It is a bitter substance which our bodies use for digestion. Alma taught that Jesus can help us overcome spiritual bitterness. When we recognize our need and ask for help, He is there
Restoration of All Things
Malachi prophesied that Elijah the prophet would return to the earth “before the great and dreadful day of the Lord” and that he would “turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers” (Malachi 4:5-6). Peter, James, and John apparently had that prophecy in mind when…
All Posts Referencing Alma 41
- Degrees of Difficulty: Controlling What We Can (12/3/2025)
- “Take Especial Care of Your Family” (11/6/2025)
- Why Celestial Is Better (7/12/2025)
- Samuel the Lamanite on the Burden of Freedom (9/10/2024)
- Corianton and Korihor (8/10/2024)
- The Plan of Salvation (4/18/2024)
- All Scripture Is Profitable (10/25/2023)
- The Gall of Bitterness (7/12/2023)
- The Valley of Decision (11/12/2022)
- Cast Thy Bread Upon the Waters (9/1/2022)
- Grace for Grace (8/25/2021)
- Restoration of All Things (8/7/2021)
- Do Justly, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly (2/2/2021)
- “I Will Explain” – Alma 41:1, Alma 42:2 (1/12/2021)
- Alma, Samuel the Lamanite, and the Law of Restoration (9/5/2020)
- Restored (8/1/2020)
- Just and Merciful (7/31/2020)
- What Does the Book of Mormon Affirm? (12/28/2019)
- How Does the Savior Bring Us Peace? (12/25/2019)
- Will We Be Judged by the Apostles? (10/9/2019)
- What Does the Book of Mormon Add to Our Understanding of the Resurrection? (10/4/2019)
- How Can I Find Peace? (7/23/2019)
- How Can I Be a Better Father? (6/17/2019)
- What Does the Book of Mormon Teach About Happiness? (5/6/2019)
- What Does the Book of Mormon Teach About the Resurrection? (4/21/2019)
- Wickedness Never Was Happiness – Alma 41:10 (11/25/2017)
- They Are Their Own Judges – Alma 41:7 (11/24/2017)
- I Perceive That Thy Mind Is Worried – Alma 40:1, 41:1, 42:1-2 (7/19/2016)
- That Which Ye Do Send Out – Alma 41:14-15 (7/30/2015)