Alma 42

"And thus we see, that there was a time granted unto man to repent, yea, a probationary time, a time to repent and serve God" (Alma 42:4).

Elder L. Tom Perry said:

“The main purpose of earth life is to allow our spirits, which existed before the world was, to be united with our bodies for a time of great opportunity in mortality. The association of the two together has given us the privilege of growing, developing, and maturing as only we can with spirit and body united. With our bodies, we pass through a certain amount of trial in what is termed a probationary state of our existence. This is a time of learning and testing to prove ourselves worthy of eternal opportunities. It is all part of a divine plan our Father has for His children” ("Proclaim My Gospel from Land to Land").

I love mortality. I really do. I can't even imagine not having a body. Well, I can imagine it. But I certainly appreciate the fact that I have one. I've mentioned this briefly before back for Alma 30, but my Creative Writing teacher introduced the idea that when writing we are to describe things using all 5 senese: sight, smell, taste, touch, hearing. If we do so, the story becomes more real for the reader.

That's how everyone here on earth discovered their environment. They explored with their senses. Without a body, I wouldn't have those senses that define the world for me. I'm grateful for this probationary state to become used to my body and to learn, grow and repent of the mistakes I've made. Because I'm not perfect.