The Blessing of Death

Alma 12: 26 And now behold, if it were possible that our first parents could have gone forth and partaken of the ^atree of life they would have been forever miserable, having no preparatory state; and thus the ^bplan of redemption would have been frustrated, and the word of God would have been void, taking none effect.

This is contrary to the teachings of most of Christianity today. People think that if only Adam and Eve hadn't sinned, we all could have lived forever in a state of paradise in the Garden of Eden. But if Adam and Even hadn't partaken of the fruit they never could have had children. So we wouldn't be there at all. And if they had been able to stay in the garden because of partaking of the Tree of Life, they would not have had time to repent.

The interesting alternative to save us all from that fate is death. Alma shows that introducing death to the world was a blessing to Adam and Eve, and to all of us. He says in Alma 12:27: But behold, it was not so; but it was ^aappointed unto men that they must die; and after death, they must come to ^bjudgment, even that same judgment of which we have spoken, which is the end.

Rather than have us live forever in our sins, we were blessed to have a time to repent, and then a time to die. And then a time to be judged.

Death isn't a big black monster, an end of self, a black hole of existence. It's a blessing, a "passageway to all eternity".