Scripture Insight: Alma 34: 34-35

34 Ye cannot say, when ye are brought to that awful crisis, that I will repent, that I will return to my God. Nay, ye cannot say this; for that same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world.

35 For behold, if ye have procrastinated the day of your repentance even until death, behold, ye have become subjected to the spirit of the devil, and he doth seal you his; therefore, the Spirit of the Lord hath withdrawn from you, and hath no place in you, and the devil hath all power over you; and this is the final state of the wicked.

Discussion
I came across this scripture reference while reading a devotional given by Clayton M. Christensen (will be posted later) and this particular passage hit home with me. The whole talk resonated with me, but this particular scripture highlighted a key part of it for me given some of the things going in my life at this time. Funny how the Lord always knows what to place before us to help when He knows we're willing to study the matter out.

What I like about this scripture is how is stresses the importance of always living the gospel 100% of the time. We have to ensure our bodies are always possessed with the true spirit of righteousness, and not that of the devil. Eternal consequences hang in the balance.

But I think what most stood out to me is the beginning of verse 35 when it addresses procrastination, because hey, that's me. In school I always waited til the last minute to study or finish writing that paper. Sure, some work was done along the way, but the bulk was done in the last 24-48 hours. Things always seemed to work out though. And work out well I might add.

I remember when I had my comprehensive finals to study for in graduate school but I waited until the last minute. I put less than 10 total hours into it (maybe 5 or less). At the end of the test it asks you to indicate how much you studied and the lowest option was 25 hours or less. I didn't even come close to that! When I got the scores a few weeks later they included the stats for your testing group. Not only did I far exceed my expectations, I had the highest score in the group.

Instead of filling elated (which I did to a certain extent of course), I felt guilty. I felt like I didn't deserve that score when so many other people put more time and effort forth than I did. I recognized that being rewarded for procrastinating my studying was not healthy.

This scripture highlights that there is no "cramming" for repentance. Forgiveness of our sins doesn't work like that. The time to act is now and not tomorrow. Recently someone at church said that the Savior has promised forgiveness to those who repent but has NOT promised tomorrow for procrastination.