If They Had Not Been Born
After speaking of the three Nephites and the great work they would do, Mormon wrote, “And wo be unto him that will not hearken unto the words of Jesus, and also to them whom he hath chosen and sent among them; for whoso receiveth not the words of Jesus and the words of those whom he hath sent receiveth not him; and therefore he will not receive them at the last day; And it would be better for them if they had not been born. For do ye suppose that ye can get rid of the justice of an offended God, who hath been trampled under feet of men, that thereby salvation might come?” (3 Nephi 28:34-35) He suggested that for some, those who would reject His words and the words of the prophets, it would have been better if they had not been born. What did He mean by this? Taken literally, if one never had been born then he or she would have never received a body and would have thus followed Satan in the premortal world. To have not kept his or her first estate—synonymous with not receiving a b...