2 Nephi 2:23, 25

2:23: ...having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin.
2:25: Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.

I love the theme throughout this chapter about choice. The principle of being free to choose what we do, think, and say is so beautiful to me, and so right. Because it makes doing the right thing so much more meaningful. The flip side, and it's a hard one, is that you don't always make the right choices, and neither do the people you love.

And if it's painful to us, I can't imagine how painful it is to Heavenly Father, when His children have done the worst things imaginable. It kind of makes you see how Lucifer could gain ground with spirits in the pre-existence; the promise of no sin. But we were meant for greater things than a forced middle ground with no valleys, no hills.