Blessings- Commandments and Obedience

Our society today can be, and has been, labeled as an "Entitlement" society. The expectation is to get something for nothing. If you can't work, don't worry because someone will be your safety net. Going to school-don't worry about- if your parents can't pay for it Uncle Sam will underwrite your 6+ years of college. Never mind that college students, combined, have in excess of $1 Trillion (that is correct- 1 Trillion) in school loan debts. What ever happened to working your way through college? What ever happened to personal responsibility? As Marcia and I have been in the Philippines for the last four months we have seen that families support each other here. There is some government assistance but not like what is happening in the United States. In order for people to eat here they need to work. (Perhaps a subject for another post)

What does this have to do with blessings? Fortunately our loving Heavenly Father doesn't quite work with entitlements. This isn't a pay as you go system either. There are, essentially, two ingredients required as one seeks Heavenly blessings. One is obedience to God's commandments. The other is faith.

Commandments and Obedience

Commandments are rules handed down through God's prophets for the welfare of His children. As children, we know who we are, growing up it was natural for us to challenge or test what the boundaries of those rules that were given to us. Either from our parents or from our Heavenly Father their is a tendency to bend those rules. Some do not do so and thus don't experience sorrows that come from breaking some of the basic of God's commandments. Examples may be not having to be incarcerated following stealing from someone; or dealing with an unwanted pregnancy or STD. (How often does one get to use STDs in a post about blessings?) There comes freedom when obedience occurs. It may only be recognized when the commandment is broken but there is freedom in obedience.

Some commandments have blessings directly connected to them. In a previous post I mentioned about the "windows of heaven" being opened when one pays tithing and offerings. Did you realize their is also a blessing directly connected to one of the BIG 10 that Moses brought down from the mountain?

     "Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee." (Exodus 20:12 KJV)

As I have posted I have mentioned that my faith believes in continuing revelation. Their is one specifically that teaches this concept about blessings. This was given to the Prophet Joseph Smith Jr. in 1843:

     "There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundation of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated-- And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated." (Doctrine and Covenants 130:20-21)

Common among active members of our faith is the adherence to what is referred to as "the Word of Wisdom," part of which is not taking into our bodies tobacco products, alcohol, tea and coffee. There are other aspects to this commandment which I won't detail at this point. What I will mention is that, just as the other blessings connected with the two commandments previously mentioned, this commandment has specific blessings associated with it:

     "And all the saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, shall receive health in their navel and marrow to their bones; And shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures; And shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint. And I, the Lord, give unto them a promise, that the destroying angel shall pass by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them. Amen." (Doctrine and Covenants 89: 18-21)

Those are some pretty awesome blessings. I have been a direct recipient of blessings from this commandment. As some of you may know 10 years ago I was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma. Because of my obedience to His commandments and because of faith of myself, Marcia, kids, family and friends I have been blessed to have lived longer than I should have...

Tomorrow...faith

jsf