And there is a place prepared, yea, even that awful hell of which I have spoken, and the devil is the preparator of it; wherefore the final state of the souls of men is to dwell in the kingdom of God, or to be cast out because of that justice of which I have spoken.
And now remember, my son, if it were not for the plan of redemption, (laying it aside) as soon as they [all mankind] were dead their souls were miserable, being cut off from the presence of the Lord … And thus we see that all mankind were fallen, and they were in the grasp of justice; yea, the justice of God, which consigned them forever to be cut off from his presence. And now, the plan of mercy could not be brought about except an atonement should be made; therefore God himself atoneth for the sins of the world, to bring about the plan of mercy, to appease the demands of justice, that God might be a perfect, just God, and a merciful God also.
Now, if it had not been for the plan of redemption, which was laid from the foundation of the world, there could have been no resurrection of the dead; but there was a plan of redemption laid, which shall bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, of which has been spoken.
The scriptures are generally positive rather than negative in their themes, and it is a mistake to assume that anything not specifically prohibited in the “letter of the law” is somehow approved of the Lord.
All the Lord approves is not detailed in the scriptures, neither is all that is forbidden.
The Lord said, “It is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant.” (D&C 58:26.) The prophets told us in the Book of Mormon that “men are instructed sufficiently that they know good from evil.” (2 Ne. 2:5; see Hel. 14:31.)
I sometimes think that one of the best kept secrets of the kingdom is that the scriptures open the door to the receipt of revelation.
And now, behold, I say unto you: This is the plan of salvation unto all men, through the blood of mine Only Begotten, who shall come in the meridian of time.
We must keep in mind that we are presumptuous if we consider our interpretations of scripture to have the same author as scripture itself. Nobody is an infallible interpreter, and we must always stand ready to reconsider our interpretations in light of new information...We must not let our interpretations stand in the place of scripture's authority and thus risk misrepresenting God's revelation.
Let the scriptures be your guide, and you will never find yourself on the road to nowhere.