Two scriptures require our attention. The first comes from Lehi, And the days of the children of men were prolonged, according to the will of God, that they might repent while in the flesh; wherefore, their state became a state of probation, and their time was lengthened, according to the commandments which the Lord God gave unto the children of men. For he gave commandment that all men must repent; for he showed unto all men that they were lost, because of the transgression of their parents (2 Nephi 2:21). The second comes from Alma himself, there was a space granted unto man in which he might repent; therefore this life became a probationary state; a time to prepare to meet God; a time to prepare for that endless state which has been spoken of by us, which is after the resurrection of the dead (Alma 12:24).
"Time is a gift from the Lord, Alma also recorded, wherein His children can learn to become more like Him. ’And thus we see, that there was a time granted unto man to repent, yea, a probationary time, a time to repent and serve God.’ (Alma 42:4.)
"Too quickly, lives can pass away ’like as it were unto us a dream...’ (Jacob 7:26.) Each spent minute is gone forever. It should be invested more carefully than gold, one philosopher said, because a fortune lost can be reclaimed, but time lost cannot.
“There are different demands on peoples’ time at various stages of life. ’To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.’ (Ecc. 3:1.) But consistent throughout a person’s lifetime is the command: ’Thou shalt not idle away thy time...’ (D&C 60:13.)” (Church News, 12/30/89)
Hugh Nibley
“We are being tested every minute of the day by the choices we make, by the reactions we have, by the things we say, by the things we think about. It’s like the ancient Christian doctrine of the two ways, the way to the right and the way to left, whichever they are. You must make the choice, and you may have made the wrong choice every day of your life up until now, but as long as you are here it is still not too late. You can still make the right choice-every minute you can make the right choice. It’s never too late to make the right one…We have a time to repent; ’therefore this life became a probationary state.’ Well, it can’t be anything else; it’s a time to prepare to meet God. That’s why we need the gospel here.” (Teachings of the Book of Mormon, Lecture 48, p. 327)