Alma 42:29-"And now, my son, I desire that ye should let these things trouble you no more, and only let your sins trouble you, with that trouble which shall bring you down unto repentance."
"These things" that troubled Alma's son Corianton were a few doctrinal concerns that his father had just explained. They were: the resurrection of the dead, the final restoration to all men, and the justice of God in the punishment of sinners. For the first point he wanted to know how it was that all men would be resurrected, where those that had died now reside, when it was that they should come forth, whether it was all at once, etc. We have Alma 40 thanks to this inquiry. The second concern was how it was that men were restored all things in the final judgment, which is why we have Alma 41. His final concern was basically, if all men are sinners and fall short, how is it that God can justify punishing sinners? This is a logical concern for anyone that believes that since we are all fallen there is nothing we can do to avoid judgment and thus should just live however we want to (this obviously being false and the root of the "eat, drink, and be merry" philosophy that many non-LDS Christians have today). Alma 42 was written in response to this question.
However, I find it very intriguing that after all of this scriptural and doctrinal elaboration Alma points out that none of this really matters in the long run. What really matters is that we repent so that Christ's Atonement can redeem us. I refer to this scripture whenever I can tell that I am getting too caught up in scriptural debates and logical analysis of the doctrine. For example, my last two blogs have been due to much analysis and research on two subjects that bothered me for a while. In the end I must remind myself that "these things trouble me no more" but only "let my sins trouble me". In other words, although it is good to want to know mysteries of the kingdom (for Alma told Corianton that this was one of the mysteries), it is better to want to apply the simply principles of the kingdom that even a child can understand. Repentance of our sins should always come before deep doctrinal endeavors. That being said, Alma was able to embark on a search of greater light on these mysteries and thanks to Corianton's concerns we have some of the most eye-opening chapters of scripture. So there is some good in wanting to find explanations to things that trouble us, but we can never confuse that "spiritual candy" with the "spiritual feast" that is the simple Gospel of Jesus Christ. Candy is not a necessity but can be a bonus to those that have already had their vitamins.
(It should be noted that Corianton was in a very poor spiritual state and thus had greater sins than most of us, but I believe this counsel is still applicable to me.)
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