Mormon 7:7

And he hath brought to pass the redemption of the world, whereby he that is found guiltless before him at the judgment day hath it given unto him to dwell in the presence of God in his kingdom, to sing ceaseless praises with the choirs above, unto the Father, and unto the Son, and unto the Holy Ghost, which are one God, in a state of happiness which hath no end.

Because Christ has redeemed us, we can in fact pass before the judgment bar of God totally guiltless. We can be perfect in Christ. And then note the next phrase: it will be given to us to dwell with God. To live in the presence of the Father and the Son is a gift. First, Christ has to erase our sons, which is totally a gift of his love and mercy. And then when he has cleaned us all up through his perfect sacrifice, he gives us the gift of eternal life with him in the presence of Heavenly Father, which we totally do not deserve! The whole idea is beyond comprehension and truly humbling. As Elder Holland once said, how thrilling it must be for God to be merciful to those who least expect it and don't think they deserve it. Of course we won't really have time to stand around all day and sing songs of praise in a heavenly choir,  but we will feel like it as we are filled to overflowing with gratitude as we begin to comprehend the gift we have received.

3 Nephi 12:20

Therefore come unto me and be ye saved; for verily I say unto you, that except ye shall keep my commandments, which I have commanded you at this time, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

We have to keep the commandments to be admitted into the heavenly kingdom where the Father and the Son dwell. But Christ knows we cannot do it on our own. So he invites us to come to him, lean on him, depend on him, draw strength from him, and accept his offer of redemption, justification, and sanctification. He will help us to qualify for eternal life. It is after all his work and glory. He can do almost everything for us except the one vital part of the equation -- we, and only we, can and must choose to come to him. If we will but make that one choice, he will do all in his infinite power to see to it that we succeed. No wonder the gospel is good news!

3 Nephi 9:17

And as many as have received me, to them have I given to become the sons of God; and even so will I to as many as shall believe on my name, for behold, by me redemption cometh, and in me is the law of Moses fulfilled.

Like so much else in the gospel of Christ, becoming a son or daughter of God is a gift -- one for which we must qualify, but a gift nonetheless. When we come unto Christ through faith and ordinances, he begins the redemption process in us. As we repent, our redemption becomes more complete. We learn to sing the song of redeeming love. Our nature changes from carnal to spiritual. When we are truly converted, we are begotten unto God, born again in Christ, and thus he makes us a son or daughter. We are still not perfected, but we are on the path, through the gate, and in the fold. We recognize our Shepherd's voice, and we accept our relationship to him. We are past the servant stage and are on our way to being his friend.

Helaman 14:30

And now remember, remember, my brethren, that whosoever perisheth, perisheth unto himself; and whosoever doeth iniquity, doeth it unto himself; for behold, ye are free; ye are permitted to act for yourselves; for behold, God hath given unto you a knowledge and he hath made you free.

We can earn our punishment, but we cannot earn our redemption. Redemption comes as a gift for which we qualify through repentance. Justice, on the other hand, will come upon us if God does nothing to stop it. We choose justice or mercy. Mercy is the result of Christ's atonement, which we must choose to accept. If we do not choose mercy, we get justice by default.

Helaman 5:11

And he hath power given unto him from the Father to redeem them from their sins because of repentance; therefore he hath sent his angels to declare the tidings of the conditions of repentance, which bringeth unto the power of the Redeemer, unto the salvation of their souls.

Of all the powers given to Jesus, the power to redeem us is the greatest. Through this power Christ can right every wrong, repair every injustice, heal every wound, and remove every sin. He can bring equality to all who have suffered the inequalities of mortality. He has the power to make us an exalted seat right next to his on the throne of heaven, as if we were his equals. That is power indeed!

Helaman 5:10

And remember also the words which Amulek spake unto Zeezrom, in the city of Ammonihah; for he said unto him that the Lord surely should come to redeem his people, but that he should not come to redeem them in their sins, but to redeem them from their sins.

To be redeemed, we have to leave our sins behind. We have to do all we can to put them away. We may not be able to do it perfectly by ourselves, but we have to turn ourselves in the right direction, which is the root of the word repentance. Only then can Christ redeem us. He can buy us back from the demands of justice only when we have made the effort to begin the transformation that he will finish. He is, after all, the Finisher of our faith. He will not save us against our will. We demonstrate our sincere desire for salvation by sincerely repenting. Every repentant sinner will be forgiven and rescued from justice. Those who knowingly turn their backs on God today with expectations that he will swoop in and save them at the last second will be sadly disappointed tomorrow when he doesn't show up. I reiterate, Christ will save every single person who truly and honestly wants to be saved in his kingdom. We cannot save ourselves, and we cannot buy a seat in heaven, but we have to prove our desires by our actions, however imperfect they may be.

Helaman 5:9

O remember, remember, my sons, the words which king Benjamin spake unto his people; yea, remember that there is no other way nor means whereby man can be saved, only through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ, who shall come; yea, remember that he cometh to redeem the world.

It is only through Christ's intervention that we are delivered from the grasp of justice. We cannot save ourselves. Nothing we can do is sufficient unless we turn our hearts over to God. Christ redeemed the whole world, not just the elect. Every single individual can choose salvation through Christ. No one has to be excluded. We may choose to exclude ourselves, but God's desire is for all his children to come back to him. He knows not everyone will choose him, but he offers everyone the opportunity through Christ's infinite and eternal atonement.

Alma 57:21

Yea, and they did obey and observe to perform every word of command with exactness; yea, and even according to their faith it was done unto them; and I did remember the words which they said unto me that their mothers had taught them.

We defeat the adversary through exact obedience. We must trust that we are receiving good instructions, and then we must do all in our power to follow those instructions. We call this being diligent in keeping the commandments. It us our only sure defense. We do not keep commandments to earn points or to buy our way into heaven, but to minimize the damages of mortality and to protect ourselves from the constant attacks of Satan from the outside and the traitorous natural man on the inside. Christ saves us and redeems us, but he can work only with a willing heart that can be taught by the Holy Spirit. Blessings are predicated on obedience to law. When we keep the commandments, we qualify ourselves to receive the Holy Ghost, who teaches us how to come unto Christ and receive salvation from his hand.

Alma 42:13

Therefore, according to justice, the plan of redemption could not be brought about, only on conditions of repentance of men in this probationary state, yea, this preparatory state; for except it were for these conditions, mercy could not take effect except it should destroy the work of justice. Now the work of justice could not be destroyed; if so, God would cease to be God.

Mercy overrides justice only when we participate in the process. We must make some sort of effort to qualify for mercy. That does not mean we earn mercy or that we can pay even a single penny towards our ransom. Christ pays the full price. He can pay for us, however, only if we ask, and we ask not just with our lips but with our hearts as demonstrated through our actions. Justice demands evidence, not just testimony.

Alma 34:16

And thus mercy can satisfy the demands of justice, and encircles them in the arms of safety, while he that exercises no faith unto repentance is exposed to the whole law of the demands of justice; therefore only unto him that has faith unto repentance is brought about the great and eternal plan of redemption.

Redemption is free but not without qualifications. Anyone who has faith in Christ and repents can be redeemed. Faith and repentance do not, however, buy redemption. No price can be placed on saving grace. We can never pay for salvation. We do not earn a place in heaven with all the good works in the world. It is a free gift for which we owe nothing, for we having nothing of value to exchange for the greatest of all the gifts of God. But we do have to qualify for it. God will give us the gift if we want it more than anything else. We demonstrate our desire by our faith and repentance.

Alma 29:11

Yea, and I also remember the captivity of my fathers; for I surely do know that the Lord did deliver them out of bondage, and by this did establish his church; yea, the Lord God, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, did deliver them out of bondage.

A pervasive theme of the Book of Mormon is remembering, especially remembering the captivity and deliverance of the House of Israel from Egyptian bondage. Their deliverance from slavery is a sign of God's power. It is also a reminder that just as God temporally redeemed his people, so he also has the power to spiritually redeem them. The miracles of the past help us believe in the miracles of the present. Redemption and rescue are always miraculous.

Alma 26:20

Oh, my soul, almost as it were, fleeth at the thought. Behold, he did not exercise his justice upon us, but in his great mercy hath brought us over that everlasting gulf of death and misery, even to the salvation of our souls.

This theme is repeated over and over throughout the scriptures, but it is particularly emphasized in the Book of Mormon. We do not save ourselves. We do not leap over the awful gulf in a single bound. Christ carries us over the gulf. It is his power, not ours, that brings us to salvation. I am awed and humbled each time I am reminded of this magnificent concept of salvation. The gift of salvation is beyond comprehension in the depth and breadth of mercy, kindness and love it represents. Oh, how blessed we are to live in a universe over which a God of love reigns supreme! And how blessed we are that this God of love could produce a Son of equal capacity and possessed of a willingness to pay the price to save us. I truly stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me.

Alma 26:17

Who could have supposed that our God would have been so merciful as to have snatched us from our awful, sinful, and polluted state?

Our God is a God who snatches us from our sins. To snatch is to quickly seize something in an eager way. God quickly seizes us from the dilemma of our sins as soon as we repent. He is eager to save us. Like the prodigal son, we have but to start on the road home, and our Savior, like the compassionate father, will run to us and throw his arms around us.  As long as we are facing in the right direction, he will use all his power to close the distance between us and him.

Alma 24:10

And I also thank my God, yea, my great God, that he hath granted unto us that we might repent of these things, and also that he hath forgiven us of those our many sins and murders which we have committed, and taken away the guilt from our hearts, through the merits of his Son.

The great gift of the atonement is to remove our guilt. This is the quest of philosophers and self-help psychologists around the world and throughout time. How can we be happy in a fallen, mortal world filled with mistakes and regrets? Their answers are generally to delude ourselves into believing there is no sin and "whatsoever a man does is right." But Christ's answer is to confess our sins, give them to him, and let him take them from us. It is far less stressful, more realistic, and more honest to deal with guilt Christ's way than the world's way.

Alma 22:14

And since man had fallen he could not merit anything of himself; but the sufferings and death of Christ atone for their sins, through faith and repentance, and so forth; and that he breaketh the bands of death, that the grave shall have no victory, and that the sting of death should be swallowed up in the hopes of glory; and Aaron did expound all these things unto the king.

The crowning glory and achievement of God's plan is the atonement of Christ. Without the redeeming power of the atonement, we would forever remain fallen and guilty. We cannot un-break a broken law, and we all break God's law sooner or later. We make ourselves unclean and unfit to be in his holy presence. We would be forever under the weight of justice. But Christ changed the outcome of mortal life. Because he could and did keep the law perfectly and without sin, he received the power to pay for all of our sins and free us from them. He satisfied justice, which enables him to extend to us mercy. Because of him, and only because of him, we can enter the presence of God as clean and worthy sons and daughters. If you think it will take a miracle to get you into heaven, you are right. The good news (i.e.,  the gospel) is that the miracle has already been done.

Alma 14:6

And it came to pass that Zeezrom was astonished at the words which had been spoken; and he also knew concerning the blindness of the minds, which he had caused among the people by his lying words; and his soul began to be harrowed up under a consciousness of his own guilt; yea, he began to be encircled about by the pains of hell.

We are all guilty. But we do not have to be torn apart by guilt if we repent and look to Christ. Zeezrom did not yet have faith in Christ, and so he had no hope. To be guilty without hope of redemption is the very definition of hell.

Alma 13:12

Now they, after being sanctified by the Holy Ghost, having their garments made white, being pure and spotless before God, could not look upon sin save it were with abhorrence; and there were many, exceedingly great many, who were made pure and entered into the rest of the Lord their God.

To be made pure is to be redeemed, and to enter into the rest of the Lord is to have one's calling and election made sure. That exceedingly many have had this experience gives us hope. It is not impossible, and it is not rare.

Alma 5:27

Have ye walked, keeping yourselves blameless before God? Could ye say, if ye were called to die at this time, within yourselves, that ye have been sufficiently humble? That your garments have been cleansed and made white through the blood of Christ, who will come to redeem his people from their sins?

To keep ourselves blameless before God is to do our best to keep the commandments and to repent quickly when we make mistakes. When we are pardoned, we are blameless. So if we repent continuously, we can be blameless continuously.

Alma 5:15

Do ye exercise faith in the redemption of him who created you? Do you look forward with an eye of faith, and view this mortal body raised in immortality, and this corruption raised in incorruption, to stand before God to be judged according to the deeds which have been done in the mortal body?

When we keep the eternal goal in mind, it is easier to make good mortal choices.

Alma 3:27

For every man receiveth wages of him whom he listeth to obey, and this according to the words of the spirit of prophecy; therefore let it be according to the truth. And thus endeth the fifth year of the reign of the judges.

To "list" is to desire. Our intentions and desires play a huge role in determining the outcome of our lives. We all sin, but not all of us want to. Mercy and redemption are offered to those who want to be obedient but fail because of mortal weakness. Justice is served to those who enjoy sin and purposefully disregard the commandments of God. It is not how many sins or the magnitude of the sins we commit but the genuine desire of our heart that is weighed in the balance. Christ can overcome every sin for us, but only if we want him to.