Wickedness never was happiness

Alma 41:10 is today's scripture mastery:

 10 Do not suppose, because it has been spoken concerning restoration, that ye shall be restored from sin to happiness. Behold, I say unto you, wickedness never was happiness.

This verse was originally spoken by Alma to his son Corianton.  Corianton had done some things that were against the commandments of God.  He was attempting to find reasons in the scriptures to excuse himself and to convince himself that what He did wasn't bad.  Alma was teaching him the correct doctrine.  He boiled it down to the statement "wickedness never was happiness."

There is a saying that my father taught me that goes well with what Corianton was trying to do.  When I would do something growing up that I knew to be wrong, my father would say to me "Justification by rationalisation. . ."  In other words, many try to justify the things that they think or do by rationalising that they really aren't bad, or that no one will know, or many other reasons.  They try to convince themselves that whatever they do is right.

That just is not so.  We can try to rationalise all we want, but that does not change the fact that wickedness never was happiness.  When we do things that are contrary to the commandments of God, we are not happy--the reason is that the Holy Ghost will not stay with us when we break the commandments of God.

Let me finish by quoting the remainder of what Alma taught his son Corianton
 (Alma 41:12-15):

 12 And now behold, is the meaning of the word restoration to take a thing of a natural state and place it in an unnatural state, or to place it in a state opposite to its nature?

 13 O, my son, this is not the case; but the meaning of the word restoration 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.

 14 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; ye shall have justice restored unto you again; ye shall have a righteous judgment restored unto you again; and ye shall have good rewarded unto you again.

 15 For that which ye do send out shall return unto you again, and be restored; therefore, the word restoration more fully condemneth the sinner, and justifieth him not at all.

 Let us all repent and keep the commandments, and be happy!