But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of Him who knoweth all things.

Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.

And the Messiah cometh in the fulness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the fall.

And because that they are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon, save it be by the punishment of the law at the great and last day, according to the commandments which God hath given.

2 Nephi 2:24-26

God knew that Adam, Eve, and all of us would fall. This was part of the plan so that we as God’s children could obtain life experiences essential for our eternal growth. God is interested in our eternal learning, growth, and progression. One of the ways that we learn and grow is through failure. Oftentimes we learn more from our failures than our successes. It was NOT God’s plan that we should go through life never failing, never making any mistakes, and never sinning. We learn by experience what NOT to do as well as by learning what works. By experiencing both sorrow and joy, love and hate, exclusion and inclusion, we learn to discern between the good and evil. We are then more empowered to deeply cherish and choose the good.

God knew that Adam, Eve, and all of us would fall. He sent Jesus to dive in after us. Jesus fell that humankind might be free and have joy. Jesus is the true Adam and the true Eve. He is the true you, the true me, and the true us. He is the truest example of what it means to be human and to be truly alive from the inside out. Jesus descended to earth so that we could become alive in the truest sense. By learning good from evil and by becoming truly alive, we become free to choose and act. We wake up and become conscious. Through this new knowledge, new freedom, and new life, we are empowered to act rather than just watch our lives pass by. We grow from helpless infants, to toddlers, and then to children in God’s love. We learn how to love more deeply and more divinely than we could otherwise.

Love is a verb. It is a choice and an action. It requires greater love to bless our enemies than it does to bless our friends. In order to learn how to love like God, we need a mortal experience with pain, suffering, disappointment, and betrayal so that we can discern and practice how to not only choose the good, but also return good for evil. Jesus descended below everyone so that none of us would be beyond his reach. He will catch us when we stumble if we reach out to him. He will lift us up if we choose to hold onto him. He is an infinite source of mercy, goodness, and love. His love heals, changes our hearts, and saves us from punishment, evil, and our own sins. We may have joy and be truly alive if we choose Him and learn to love as he loves. He is our more abundant life today and our future resurrection tomorrow.