God could not be God save he possessed in his nature all the attributes of godliness. God, for instance, cannot be God and not possess that attribute of justice in its perfection. If, for the sake of argument he lacked the attribute of justice, he would, by definition, cease to be God. Thus, Alma reasons, he cannot both save his children and be unjust or ignore the law of justice. The redemptive labor assures that he will be just, and the law of justice assures that men will not be saved in an unrepentant state.
Thus, Alma most appropriately states that: The plan of redemption could not be brought about, only on conditions of repentance of men in this probationary state. In so stating, he responds perfectly to the erroneous idea that men can be saved solely by the grace or mercy of God, without repentance and efforts to live a worthy life. Such a doctrine isolates one of the attributes of Deity (that of grace or mercy) at the expense of others, and thus robs our Eternal Father of the very nature of godliness.