FOOD FOR THE SPIRIT--Boomerang Principle

Today, I want to introduce the "Boomerang Principle," as found in Alma, Chapter 41:13-15:

"O, my son, this is not the case, but the meaning of the word is to bring back again evil for evil, or carnal for carnal, or devilish for devilish--good for that which is good; righteous for that which is righteous; just for that which is just; merciful for that which is merciful."

"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; yes shall have justice restored unto you again; ye shall have a righteous judgement restored unto you again; and ye shall have good rewarded unto you again."

"For that which ye do send out shall return unto you again, and be restored. . . "

You probably get the point, which is basically: what you do in this life, becomes what you will receive in the next. If you are good, your reward will be good. If you are forgiving to others, God will be more forgiving to you. If you live righteously, you will be judged accordingly.

One further point in this same chapter, that has always been a comfort to me, is found in verse 3:

". . . and if their works are good in this life, and the desires of their hearts were good, that they should also, at the last day, be restored unto that which is good."

In other words: the desires of your heart count. If you really, truly, desire to be good and do good, God takes note of that and it will be included in the final equation. Does this mean that you do not need to repent of your sins, because you desired to be good, and somehow your actions just didn't follow suit? Of course not.

Alma 41:10, as we know, reminds us that wickedness can never be restored to happiness. We all must repent in order to receive exaltation. True desire is more than just wanting something. It is a power within our hearts, that drives us to live a certain way. As Elder Jack H. Goaslind of the Seventy, so eloquently put it: "Yagottawanna. . . " (Jack H. Goaslind, "Yagottawanna," Ensign, May, 1991).