"Yea, and there shall be many which shall say:
Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die;
and it shall be well with us."
(2 Nephi 28:7)
"Denying the doctrine of the premortal existence of man shrinks man's perspective. He begins to think, mistakenly, that this life is all there is; that the insignificant 'me' of a tiny 'now' is not only all there is, but all there ever was. The adversary is quick to use that 'what if' there is no purpose to life in order to induce some to act 'as if' such were the case. The resultant misbehavior only deepens the despair (see Moroni 10:22).
"Naturally, such a view tends to be accompanied by a diminished belief or a pronounced unbelief in the resurrection and a perpetuation of personality, which pushes a person's hope for the future down to nil. This 'no answer' attitude equates with a 'no answer-ability' concept that too often leads to the 'eat, drink, and be merry' outlook. Thus one dimensional mortality relentlessly promotes a one dimensional morality!" (Neal A. Maxwell, But for a Small Moment, p. 89)
"Some people think of anything else but annihilation. What a glorious prospect for the sinner! Then he could say, 'Let us eat, drink, and be merry, for to-morrow we die, and next day we will be annihilated, and that will be the end of our sorrow and God's judgment upon us.' Do not flatter yourselves that you are going to get out of it so easy. This Book of Mormon is replete all the way through with the testimonies of the servants of God that men are born to be immortal; that after the resurrection their bodies are live as long as their spirits, and their spirits cannot die. They are immortal beings, and they destined, if they commit the unpardonable sin, to be banished from the presence of God and endure the punishment of the devil and his angels throughout all eternity. I think the wicked would prefer annihilation to the suffering of such punishment. that would be an end to punishment -- and end to being. This view cannot be reconciled with the word of God." (Collected Discourses 1886-1898, ed. by Brian Stuy, vol. 4, Joseph F. Smith, Jan. 20, 1995)"And there shall also be many which shall say: Eat, drink and be merry; nevertheless, fear God - he will justify in committing a little sin; yea, lie a little, take the advantage of one because of his words, dig a pit for thy neighbor; there is no harm in this; and do all these things, for tomorrow we die; and if it so be that we are guilty, God will beat us with a few stripes, and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom of God." (2 Nephi 28:8)
"I want you to note that: 'He will justify in committing a little sin.' That cunning adversary knowing that if he could only get a man or woman to do a little wrong, that far they had gone into his territory, that far they were in his power.
"Nevertheless, fear God, he will justify in committing a little sin... Isn't that just exactly what the devil says to the children of men today as plainly as it is written here? Oh, commit a little sin, that won't do any harm, lie a little, that won't do any particular damage, the Lord will forgive that and you will only be beaten with a few stripes and at last you shall be saved in the kingdom of God. That is what he says to the man or the woman who has been taught the Word of Wisdom when he says, oh, drink a little tea, that won't hurt you; use a little tobacco, that won't make any difference: a little liquor won't do any harm. These are little things; he always does it a little at a time, not all at once. That is what I would like us to remember, my brethren, this morning. It is these insignificant insidious whisperings that betray mankind and that place us in the power of the devil." (George Albert Smith, Conference Report, Apr. 1918, p. 39-40)
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