I have been very intrigued lately by how often I see a form of the word "restore" in the scriptures. I noticed it especially in a few chapters of the Book of Mormon. I will illustrate here what I found in the verses and how those verses changed my understanding of the meaning of "restore."
2 Nephi 10:2 says, "For behold, the promises which we have obtained are promises unto us according to the flesh; wherefore, as it has been shown unto me that many of our children shall perish in the flesh because of unbelief, nevertheless, God will be merciful unto many; and our children shall be restored, that they may come to that which will give them the true knowledge of their Redeemer."
As I read this verse I thought, What does it mean to be restored??
Verse 6 says that after the Jews crucify Jesus Christ and destruction comes upon them, those who are not destroyed will be scattered "among all nations." But "when the day cometh that they shall believe in me, that I am Christ, then have I covenanted with their fathers that they shall be restored in the flesh, upon the earth, unto the lands of their inheritance" (verse 7).
Restored = to be brought back; to return to a place of belonging
Verse 8 - "And it shall come to pass that they shall be gathered in from their long dispersion, from the isles of the sea, and from the four parts of the earth; and the nations of the Gentiles shall be great in the eyes of me, saith God, in carrying them forth to the lands of their inheritance."
Verse 10 - "But behold, this land, said God, shall be a land of thine inheritance, and the Gentiles shall be blessed upon the land."
Restored = brought back to something that was yours before; gathered in. This implies that you are "coming back."
I love the idea that God will "restore" us to a place where we belong as He gathers the righteous together.
Alma 41 & 42 use the idea of "restoration" in a different context. These chapters discuss the plan of restoration which includes the body and soul being restored together, and good being restored for good / evil being restored for evil:
41:2 "The plan of restoration is requisite with the justice of God; for it is requisite that all things should be restored to their proper order. Behold, it is requisite and just, according to the power and resurrection of Christ, that the soul of man should be restored to its body, and that every part of the body should be restored to itself."
41:3 "And it is requisite with the justice of God that men should be judged according to their works; and if their works were good in this life, and the desires of their hearts were good, that they should also, at the last day, be restored unto that which is good."
41:4 "And if their works are evil they shall be restored unto them for evil. Therefore, all things shall be restored to their proper order, every thing to its natural frame--mortality raised to immortality, corruption to incorruption--raised to endless happiness to inherit the kingdom of God, or to endless misery to inherit the kingdom of the devil, the one on the one hand, the other on the other--"
41:5 "The one raised to happiness according to his desires of happiness, or good according to his desires of good; and the other to evil according to his desires of evil; for as he has desired to do evil all the day long even so shall he have his reward of evil when the night cometh."
41:6 "And so it is on the other hand. If he hath repented of his sins, and desired righteousness until the end of his days, even so he shall be rewarded unto righteousness."
41:10 "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."
41:12 "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?"
41:13 "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."
41:14 "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."
41:15 "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."
Restored = to reward good for good, bad for bad, etc.
These verses introduce the idea that everything will be restored or "brought back" to its natural state. God will reward each of us according to our works and the desires of our hearts.
Alma 42 continues with this concept:
42:23 "But God ceaseth not to be God, and mercy claimeth the penitent, and mercy cometh because of the atonement; and the atonement bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead; and the resurrection of the dead bringeth back men into the presence of God; and thus they are restored into his presence, to be judged according to their works, according to the law and justice."
42:27 "Therefore, O my son, whosoever will come may come and partake of the waters of life freely; and whosoever will not come the same is not compelled to come; but in the last day it shall be restored unto him according to his deeds."
42:28 "If he has desired to do evil, and has not repented in his days, behold, evil shall be done unto him, according to the restoration of God."
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