Ether 9

(December 22, 2013)
I understand that it is part and parcel of the human condition to wait until there is no other option but to repent before we will repent.  I also understand that we are obligated to overcome that human weakness and humble ourselves to repent daily, hourly, and even minute by minute and moment by moment.  But what I don’t understand is why that innate rejection of God’s authority is part and parcel of the human condition.  If we who inhabit this Earth have arrived here because of an eternity of righteous striving, why then does the acquisition of a physical body (and the Fall) draw us so fully contrary to the Plan of Happiness?  What is it about our separation from our Father than leads us to sin?  Is it truly that we are so weak on our own, that we cannot obey when left to our own devices?  While I understand that we are weak, I don’t think that is it – after all, eventually we are to be sanctified and overcome this weakness.  I am trying to come up with an analogy that seems appropriate, and I am led to the thinking of first getting a driver’s license.  Everyone I know (including myself) disregarded rules once we stepped inside the car because there was a feeling of freedom and capacity that we had not had before.  I think that might be the best analogy, and though we have that same feeling of freedom and capacity we must learn anew that the laws that we followed in our spiritual childhood are still the laws we must follow to achieve happiness.