Probationary State

 In Alma 34 we are taught that now is the time to prepare to meet God ( Alma 34:32 ), and we are told that, " You can not 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  at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in the eternal world. ( Alma 34:34 ) 

I appreciate the truth of these scriptures and I am thankful for added understanding as to why we must have had time to " work " before our death , in order to receive the grace necessary to allow the atonement to work in our lives. We must let the atonement work for us, and here is an explanation about how grace and His Atonement works: 

" We are like a powerhouse on a mighty river. The powerhouse has no power residing in it'self. The POTENTIAL power rest in the energy of the river. 

When that source of power flows through the generator of the power plant, power is transferred from  the river to the power plant and sent out into the homes or lives of others. So it is with faith, the power to achieve justification does not reside in man. Man requires the power of the Atonement flowing into him. If no power is being generated one does not- indeed can not turn the generator by hand. ( justification by works ) ; but rather, an effort is made to remove those things which have blocked power from flowing into generators ( working righteousness as a result of faith ) with this background then one can understand why the scriptures clearly state that faith includes works; that is obedience, commitment and repentance- these are the works of faith that open up the channels so that the power of the atoning sacrifice can flow into us, redeem us from sin and bring us back into the presence of God. Disobedience and wickedness dam those channels. ( How literal is the word damnation! ) The atoning power of God saves us, but our righteous works activated by our faith in the Savior, are the condition for our operation of that power. Thus each of us has something to say about wether we will be able to seek the gift of the power of the Atonement in his behalf. "  ( Gerald N. Lund , Salvation By Grace Or Works ? 1981 )

Now understanding these truths, I pose some questions.

 How might one go about the work of moving any boulders of sin that block the channels of repentance and the power of the Atonement, if they do not have a body to do the " work " in? 

Explaining the following line in Alma 34:32 that I stated, " this life is the day for men to perform their labors." 

Even if one desired at the very end of their life to remove the boulders blocking channels, in order to repent; would they have the strength built up or stamina that comes from daily work of removing boulders ( Behaviors that keep us from repenting ) ? Would they have the  practice and knowledge  of how to avoid sin and how to withstand temptation in order to block new boulders from stopping up their " generator " ? They would be  in a feeble position of death and about to move to the next life? Explaining the scripture in James 2:22 as it states, " Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect."

Also, much like working out or building endurance it comes over time and in this life with daily practice and commitment.

 Explaining  the scripture in 2 Corinthians 5:10 as it states, " For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that everyone may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad."  

The time that we have to repent is precious. Our lives here on earth are such a blessing to us. We are blessed to learn and grow through our experiences, but we must desire to invest our time for a better future; and not waste it for a moment on earth. 

I end with the scripture in John 9:4-5 that Christ explained himself that even He had an allotted time to do His work that the Father had sent Him to do as He said, " I must work the works of Him that sent me, while it is day; night cometh when no man can work." ( John 9: 4-5 )