Blessings Come from Obeying God's Commandments

                Do you know how to identify the blessings Heavenly Father promises to the obedient?  The commandments described in the scriptures as well as the words of living prophets are often accompanied by promised blessings or warnings.  When we are able to identify those blessings, we can gain inspiration for our own obedience and inspire other people to keep the commandments.  This post will identify several promised blessings.

                The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gave a special message for the youth in the booklet entitled For the Strength of Youth.  “Our dear young men and young women, we have great confidence in you.  You are beloved sons and daughters of God and He is mindful of you.  You have come to earth at a time of great opportunities and also of great challenges.  The standards in this booklet will help you with the important choices you are making now and will yet make in the future.  We promise that as you keep the covenants you have made and these standards, you will be blessed with the companionship of the Holy Ghost, your faith and testimony will grow stronger, and you will enjoy increasing happiness.

                “In all that you do, stay focused on the temple.  In the temple you will receive the greatest of all the Lord’s blessings, including marriage for time and all eternity.  Keeping the standards in this booklet will help you be worthy to attend the temple, where you can perform sacred ordinances for your ancestors now and make essential covenants for yourself in the future.

                “Our Father in Heaven has placed great trust in you.  He has a work for you to do.  Seek His guidance in prayer, and counsel with your parents and leaders.  The decisions you make now will set the course for much of what will follow during your mortal life and throughout eternity.

                “We testify that God lives.  It is our fervent prayer that you will remain steadfast and valiant throughout your lives and that you will trust in the Savior and His promises.  As you do this, you will be an influence for good in helping to build the kingdom of God and prepare the world for the Second Coming of the Savior” (emphasis added).

 

                I counted seven promises in the above statement.  Why are these promises important to the youth?  Promised blessings encourage obedience to the commandments.  Promised blessings provide courage to be obedient even when obedience is difficult.  I believe that a comparison between a blessing and a paycheck can be helpful.  We get out of bed when we might not feel like it in order to go to work to earn that paycheck.  We sacrifice time with our friends and family in order to earn that paycheck.  We are obedient to God’s commandments because He promises to bless us if we are obedient.

                Every blessing we receive comes to us because we obeyed the required commandment as explained by this counsel given to the Prophet Joseph Smith in April 1843:  “There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations 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). 

                Let’s look at several commandments and the blessings promised for obedience to them. Emphasis is added. The first law is the commandment to fast:  “Is not this the fast that I have chosen?  To loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?

                “Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house?  When thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? 

                “Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily:  and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward.

                “Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am.  If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;

                “And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday:

                “And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones:  and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not” (Isaiah 58:6-11).

                The law of tithing promises great blessings:  “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

                “And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts. 

                “And all nations shall call you blessed:  for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts” (Malachi 3:10-12).

                A latter-day scripture adds still another blessing for obedience to the law of tithing:  “Behold, now it is called today until the coming of the Son of Man, and verily it is a day of sacrifice, and a day for the tithing of my people; for he that is tithed shall not be burned at his coming” (Doctrine and Covenants 64:23).

                Let’s look at the blessings that come from keeping the Sabbath Day holy:  “And that thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world, thou shalt go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon my holy day;

                “For verily this is a day appointed unto you to rest from your labors, and to pay thy devotions unto the Most High;

                “Nevertheless thy vows shall be offered up in righteousness on all days and at all times;

                “But remember that on this, the Lord’s day, thou shalt offer thine oblations and thy sacraments unto the Most High, confessing thy sins unto thy brethren, and before the Lord.

                “And on this day thou shalt do none other thing, only let thy food be prepared with singleness of heart that they fasting may be perfect, or, in other words, that thy joy may be full.

                “Verily, this is fasting and prayer, or in other words, rejoicing and prayer.

                “And inasmuch as ye do these things with thanksgiving, with cheerful hearts and countenances, not with much laughter, for this is sin, but with a glad heart and a cheerful countenance—

                “Verily I say, that inasmuch as ye do this, the fulness of the earth is yours, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and that which climbeth upon the trees and walketh upon the earth;

                “Yea, and the herb, and the good things which come of the earth, whether for food or for raiment [clothing], or for houses, or for barns, or for orchards, or for gardens, or for vineyards;

                “Yea, all things which come of the earth, in the season thereof, are made for the benefit and the use of man, both to please the eye and to gladden the heart;

                “Yea, for food and for raiment, for taste and for smell, to strengthen the body and to enliven the soul.

                “And it pleaseth God that he hath given all these things unto man; for unto this end were they made to be used, with judgment, not to excess, neither by extortion” (Doctrine and Covenants 59:9-20).

                Our final example concerns the blessings that come from obeying the Word of Wisdom:  “And all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, shall receive health in their navel and marrow to the 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.”

                Here are two of my favorite scriptures about being obedient to God’s commandments:  “And, if you keep my commandments and endure to the end you shall have eternal life, which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God” (Doctrine and Covenants 14:7).

                “I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise” (Doctrine and Covenants 82:10).

                The Lord must give us the promised blessings if/when we keep the applicable commandment.  The ultimate blessing available to us is eternal life or living with Heavenly Father and being like Him.

                Missionaries and other teachers in the Church are counseled to tell people about the promised blessings.  “People need a reason to change their thoughts and actions.  Promised blessings often provide powerful motivation to obey God.  When the Lord gives a commandment, He often promises blessings for keeping that commandment (See Doctrine and Covenants 130:20-21).  As you prepare people to obey a specific commandment, teach them that:  [1] Living the commandments shows love for God and His Son.  [2] They demonstrate their trust in God as they obey His commandments.  [3] In return, they will receive blessings that He has promised.

                “As you testify of a commandment, talk about the blessings you have received from living that commandment.  Promise those whom you teach that they can enjoy similar blessings” (“Promise People Blessings,” Preach My Gospel (2004), 197-198).

                I know that God will give us blessings when we obey His commandments.  By keeping the Sabbath Day holy, I have brought blessings of peace and rest upon myself and my family as well as having enough money to provide shelter, food, clothing, etc. for the family. 

By keeping the Word of Wisdom, I have the health and strength to do those things that I need and want to do.  I also receive inspiration – knowledge and wisdom – in performing my duties.  I received several promptings today that made my yard work easier and more effective.  I went to Lowes where I purchased several bags of top soil and a bag of grass seed to fill some holes and low places in my lawns.  I was thinking about carrying the bags from the truck to the spots on the lawns where I needed to put the soil and pondering the distance from the driveway where I would park the truck to the other side of the yard.  The thought came to me to stop the truck and unload the soil before I drove into the driveway.  By following this prompting, I saved myself a lot of work because I had to carry the soil only ten or twenty feet rather than thirty or forty feet.  Another prompting came as I was raking the soil in place – a prompting to add compost and lime to the soil before scattering the grass seeds.  I had not previously thought about doing either of those things and consider the promptings to be “tender mercies” given to me by a loving Heavenly Father.

Almost every commandment we receive from Heavenly Father is accompanied by a promised blessing.  Obedience to the commandments brings many temporal and spiritual blessings, including freedom, personal growth, protection from danger, good health, stronger families, and many other blessings.  Eternal life is the ultimate blessing promised for obedience to the commandments.  When we can identify the promised blessings, we can inspire ourselves and others to keep the commandments of God.

Obedience Is The First Law of Heaven

                    God gives us commandments because He loves us.  We show our love for Heavenly Father by obeying His commandments.  Heavenly Father loves us and wants us to be like Him and return to His presence.  He gives us commandments in order to help us meet those goals.  We are able to receive all of the blessings of the plan of salvation by keeping God's commandments. 

                    Obedience is the first law of heaven.  "The windows of heaven are open wide to the faithful and righteous; nothing closes them faster than disobedience….

                    "… Diligent, enduring obedience to God's laws is the key that opens the windows of heaven.  Obedience enables us to be receptive to the mind and will of the Lord.  `The Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind; and the willing and obedient' are those who receive these blessings of revelation through the open windows of heaven" (Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in Ensign, Nov. 1995, 75-76; see also Doctrine and Covenants 64:34).

                    We learn much from the following two scriptures from the Doctrine and Covenants.  Elder Wirthlin quoted part of Doctrine and Covenants 64:34; the complete verse is as follows:  "Behold, the Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind; and the willing and obedient shall eat the good of the land of Zion in these last days."

                    A second important scripture about obedience is found in Doctrine and Covenants 130:20-21:  "There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations 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."

Every blessing we receive is based on our obedience.  The word irrevocable means unable to be taken back; predicate means to establish.

Two of the following three stories show the consequences of disobedience and the third shows the blessings of obedience.  The first story is about Saul, the first king of Israel.  His story is found in 1 Samuel.  The Prophet Samuel was getting old, and his sons were unworthy to follow in his footsteps.  The Israelites asked for Samuel to anoint a king for them, and Samuel warned them of the problems caused by wicked kings.  The people insisted that he give them a king:  "… Nay; but we will have a king over us;

"That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles

(1 Samuel 8:19-20).

                    Samuel did not want to anoint anyone to be king, but the people insisted; therefore, Samuel began looking for a king and found a young man named Saul who was taller than all the people:  "And when Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said unto him, Behold the man whom I spake to thee of!  This same shall reign over my people" (1 Samuel 9:17).

                    Samuel anointed Saul to be captain over the Lord's inheritance:  "And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom the lord hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people?  And all the people shouted, and said, God save the king"

(1 Samuel 10:24).

                    Saul was a righteous man before he became king, but he became wicked.  "And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly:  thou hast not kept the commandment of the Lord thy God, which he commanded thee:  for now would the Lord have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever.

                    "But now thy kingdom shall not continue:  the Lord hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the Lord hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the Lord commanded thee" (1 Samuel 13:13-14).

                    Samuel told Saul, "And Samuel said unto him, The Lord hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou" (1 Samuel 15:28)

                    In a very short period of time, Saul went from being chosen by the Lord as king to being rejected by the Lord as king.  Saul brought the consequence of losing his kingdom upon himself when he chose to disobey the Lord and His prophet.  Saul's disobedience made the difference between being a king and not being a king.

                    President Wilford Woodruff, fourth President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints shared the following experience:  "I will now give an example from my own experience of the result of not obeying the voice of the Spirit.

                    "Some years since I had part of my family living in Randolph, Rich County [Utah].  I was there on a visit, with my team [of horses], in the month of December.

                    "One Monday morning my monitor, the Spirit watching over me, said:  `Take your team and go home to Salt Lake City.'

                    "When I named it to my family who were at Randolph they urged me strongly to stop longer.

                    "Through their persuasion I stayed until Saturday morning, with the Spirit continually prompting me to go home.  I then began to feel ashamed to think that I had not obeyed the whisperings of the Spirit to me before.

                    "I took my team and started early on Saturday morning.  When I arrived at Woodruff, the Bishop urged me to stop until Monday and he would go with me.

                    "I told him, `No, I [have] tarried too long already.'

                    "I drove on sprightly, and when within fifteen miles of Wasatch, a furious snow storm overtook me, the wind blowing heavily in my face.

                    "In fifteen minutes I could not see any road whatever, and knew not how or where to guide my horses.

                    "I left my lines loosely on my animals, went inside my wagon, tied down the cover, and committed my life and guidance into the hands of the Lord, trusting my horses to find the way, as they had twice before passed over the road.

                    "I prayed to the Lord to forgive my sin in not obeying the voice of the Spirit to me, and implored Him to preserve my life.

                    "My horses brought me into the Wasatch [train] station at 9 o'clock in the evening, with the hubs of my wagon dragging in the snow.

                    "I got my horses under cover, and had to remain there until the next Monday night, with the snow six feet deep on the level, and still snowing.

                    "It was with great difficulty at last that I saved the lives of my horses by getting them into a [railroad] box car and taking them to Ogden; while if I had obeyed the revelation of the Spirit of God to me, I should have traveled to Salt Lake City over a good road without any storm.

                    "As I have received the good and the evil, the fruits of obedience and disobedience, I think I am justified in exhorting all my young friends to always obey the whisperings of the Spirit of God, and they will always be safe" (Leaves from My Journal [1881], 90-91).

                    President Woodruff's disobedience nearly caused him to lose his horses and/or his own life.

Part of obeying God is being obedient to the counsel of those He has called to lead us.  The following story was told by President Gordon B. Hinckley, fifteenth President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:

                    "Years ago I was on a mission in England.  I had been called to labor in the European Mission office in London under President Joseph F. Merrill of the Council of the Twelve, then president of the European Mission.  One day three or four of the London papers carried reviews of a reprint of an old book, snide and ugly in tone, indicating that the book was a history of the Mormons.  President Merrill said to me, `I want you to go down to the publisher and protest this.'  I looked at him and was about to say, `Surely not me.'  But I meekly said, `Yes, sir.'

                    "I do not hesitate to say that I was frightened.  I went to my room and felt something as I think Moses must have felt when the Lord asked him to go and see Pharaoh.  I offered a prayer.  My stomach was churning as I walked over to the Goodge Street station to get the underground train to Fleet Street.  I found the office of the president [of the publishing company] and presented my card to the receptionist.  She took it and went into the inner office and soon returned to say that the president was too busy to see me.  I replied that I had come five thousand miles and that I would wait.  During the next hour she made two or three trips to his office; then finally he invited me in.  I shall never forget the picture when I entered.  He was smoking a long cigar with a look that seemed to say, `Don't bother me.'

                    "I held in my hand the reviews. I do not recall what I said after that.  Another power seemed to be speaking through me.  At first he was defensive and even belligerent.  Then he began to soften.  He concluded by promising to do something.  Within an hour word went out to every book dealer in England to return the books to the publisher.  At great expense he printed and [placed] in the front of each volume a statement to the effect that the book was not to be considered a history, but only as fiction, and that no offense was intended against the respected Mormon people.  Years later he granted another favor of substantial worth to the Church, and each year until the time of his death, I received a Christmas card from him.

                    "I came to know that when we try in faith to walk in obedience to the requests of the priesthood, the Lord opens the way, even when there appears to be no way" ("If Ye Be Willing and Obedient," Ensign, July 1995, 4-5).

                    The mission president gave Elder Hinckley a very difficult assignment, but Elder Hinckley was obedient and was blessed for being obedient.  The heart of the publisher was soften by the Lord in answer to Elder Hinckley's faith and obedience.

                    God told Moses, "For behold, this is my work and my glory - to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Pearl of Great Price, Moses 1:39). 

                    God's work is to help His children to achieve immortality and eternal life.  Immortality is a state of living forever, never to die again.  Eternal life is living forever in the presence of God.  It is the gift given to those who are exalted in the highest degree of the celestial kingdom.

                    Every person who has come to earth and received a body will one day be resurrected and receive immortality.  Those people who obey the commandments of Heavenly Father will receive eternal life.  Heavenly Father gives us commandments because He loves us and wants us to become like Him and to dwell in His presence forever.

                    Another reason Heavenly Father gives us commandments is to help us to be happy.  When King Benjamin was speaking to his people, he told them:  "And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God.  For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness.  O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it" (Book of Mormon - Another Testament of Jesus Christ, Mosiah 2:41).

                    Obedience to the commandments does not guarantee that we will never experience difficulties or challenges.  However, even when we are disappointed or sad about circumstances in our lives, we can be happy about our lives in general because of our faith in God and our assurance that he is pleased with our efforts to be obedient.

                    Heavenly Father showed his great love for us when he sent his Son to atone for our sins.  By doing what Heavenly Father wanted him to do, Jesus Christ set a perfect example for complete obedience.  In John 6:38 Jesus Christ said, "For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me."

                    We read in Luke 22:41-44:  "And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed,

                    "Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me; nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.

                    "And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.

                    "And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly:  and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground."

                    Jesus Christ showed complete obedience before He suffered for our sins and afflictions in the Garden of Gethsemane.  He asked to be spared the pain but said He was willing to do the will of His Father. 

                    There are numerous reasons why people obey the commandments of God, but some of the reasons are better than others.  Some people are obedient because they are afraid of being punished for disobedience.  Some people want the rewards that come from obedience.  Some people want other people to see them and think that they are righteous.  Some people feel peace and joy when they are obedient, and some people are obedient because they love Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

                    Jesus Christ commanded in John 14:15:  "If ye love me, keep my commandments."

                    God requires our hearts and our willing minds.  When we are obedient, we are better prepared to serve God and the people around us.  Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles related the following story:

                    "Two missionaries … had spent an active day establishing a branch of the Church in a remote village.  At 5:30 that morning, they had taught a family before the husband left for the fields.  Later they struggled to plaster their adobe walls to keep out blood-sucking insects.  During the week they had laid a small cement floor and had hung a five-gallon can with a shower head to keep clean.  They had begun a sanitation facility and put new gravel and sand in their water filter.  For part of the day they had worked beside men in the fields, to later teach them.  They were exhausted and ready for welcome rest.

                    "There came an anxious knock at the crude wooden door.  A small girl was crying.  She had been running and was gasping for air.  They struggled to piece together her message, delivered amid sobs in a torrent of words.  Her father had suffered a severe head injury while riding his donkey in the darkness.  She knew he would die unless the elders saved his life.  Men of the village were at that moment carrying him to the missionaries.  She pled for her father's life, then ran to help him.

                    "The seriousness of their desperate situation began to engulf them.  They were in a village with no doctors or medical facilities.  There were no telephones.  The only means of communication was a rough road up a riverbed, and they had no vehicle.

                    "The people of the valley trusted them.  The missionaries were not trained in medicine.  They did not know how to care for a serious head wound, but they knew someone who did.  They knelt in prayer and explained their problem to an understanding Father in Heaven.  They pled for guidance, realizing that they could not save a life without His help.

                    "They felt impressed that the wound should be cleansed, closed, and the man given a blessing.  One companion asked, `How will he stand the pain?  How can we cleanse the wound and bless him while he is in such suffering?'

                    "They knelt again and explained to their Father, `We have no medicine.  We have no anesthetic.  Please help us to know what to do.  Please bless him, Father.'

                    "As they arose, friends arrived with the injured man.  Even in the subdued candlelight, they could see he had been severely hurt.  He was suffering greatly.  As they began to cleanse the wound, a very unusual thing occurred.  He fell asleep.  Carefully, anxiously, they finished the cleansing, closed the wound, and provided a makeshift bandage.  As they laid their hands on his head to bless him, he awoke peacefully.  Their prayer had been answered, and his life saved.  The trust of the people increased, and a branch of the Church flourished.

                    "The missionaries were able to save a life because they trusted the Lord.  They knew how to pray with faith for help with a problem they could not resolve themselves.  Because they were obedient to the Lord, the Lord trusted them and answered their prayer.  They had learned how to recognize the answer when it came as a quiet prompting of the Spirit.  You have that same help available to you if you live for it" (in Ensign, May 1989, 35-36).

Although our Heavenly Father always hears our prayers, we are more prepared to receive his answers when we are obedient.

                    I know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love each of us.  I am so grateful for this knowledge and for the many times that I have felt God's love.  I am grateful for the commandments of God for I know that Heavenly Father has given us commandments to help us receive eternal life and happiness.  I encourage all of us to show our love for Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ by keeping the commandments.

                     

Obedience

                    Jesus Christ was once approached by a lawyer who asked, "Master, which is the great commandment in the law?"  Jesus answered, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy god with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets" (Matthew 22:36-40).

                    When we love God we want to be obedient to His commandments.  "He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me:  and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father" (John 14:21).

                    The words of Christ teach the importance of loving the Lord and our neighbors.  Some good questions for each of us to ask ourselves are:  Why am I obedient to the commandments of God?  Do I obey out of habit or for fear of punishment or desire for the rewards?  Do I obey because I love Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and desire to serve Them?

                    Obedience is so important that even fear of punishment or desire for reward is better than disobedience.  Willing obedience because we love God and want to obey Him brings much more happiness into our lives.  When we obey His commandments freely, He then can be free with His blessings.

                    "Because love is the great commandment, it ought to be at the center of all and everything we do in our own family, in our

Church callings, and in our livelihood.  Love is the healing balm that repairs rifts in personal and family relationships.  It is the bond that unites families, communities, and nations.  Love is the power that initiates friendship, tolerance, civility, and respect.  It is the source that overcomes divisiveness and hate.  Love is the fire that warms our lives with unparalleled joy and divine hope.  Love should be our walk and our talk.

                    "When we truly understand what it means to love as Jesus Christ loves us, the confusion clears and our priorities align.  Our walk as disciples of Christ becomes more joyful.  Our lives take on new meaning.  Our relationship with our Heavenly Father becomes more profound.  Obedience becomes a joy rather than a burden."  (Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "The Love of God," Ensign, Nov. 2009, 21-24.)

                    Obedience is the first law of heaven, and willing obedience is critical.  Even though we know that obedience to commandments helps to prepare us for exaltation and eternal life, we do not always understand the reason for a particular commandment.  We show our faith and trust in God by being obedient even when we do not understand why.

Adam and Eve were commanded to offer sacrifices after they left the Garden of Eden.  One day an angel appeared to Adam and asked him why he was offering sacrifices.  Adam answered that he did not know why but was simply being obedient to God's commandment.  (See Moses 5:5-6.)   The angel then proceeded to teach Adam the gospel and the mission of the Savior.  The Holy Ghost came upon Adam and he then prophesied about his posterity down to the last generation.  (See Moses 5:7-10; Doctrine and Covenants 107:56.)  Because he was obedient, Adam received further knowledge as well as greater blessings.

"The gospel is so very simple when we understand it properly.  It is always right, it is always good, it is always uplifting.  Obedience to gospel principles brings forth joy and happiness.  Disobedience has a day of reckoning and will only bring forth heartache, misery, strife, and unhappiness."  (L. Tom Perry, "What Should We Do on the Sabbath?" New Era, July 2010, 3.)

                    There is a story in the Book of Mormon about Nephi and his older brothers receiving a very difficult assignment from the Lord (see 1 Nephi 3:1-6).  The brothers complained about it being hard, but Nephi replied, "I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them" (1 Nephi 3:7).  Remembering Nephi's words have helped me many times when I received difficult assignments.

                    All commandments from the Lord are important, even ones that seem inconsequential.  "At the moment, these four guides - prayer, obedience to God's commandments, daily scripture study, and a commitment to follow the living prophet - may seem like small and simple things.  Let me remind you of the scripture found in Alma:  `Behold I say unto you that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass' (Alma 37:6).  When applied in our everyday lives, these four `small and simple' guides … will combine to provide the most powerful source of courage and strength there is:  faith in our Heavenly Father and in His Son, Jesus Christ."  (Ann M. Dibb, "Be of Good Courage," Ensign, May 2010, 116.)

                    The Bible tells of a man named Naaman who had a terrible disease.  He learned about the prophet Elisha and decided to ask Elisha to heal him.  Naaman was an important and powerful man in Syria and was greatly offended when the prophet in Israel sent his servant with a message for Naaman.  He was offended even more by the message:  wash seven times in the river Jordan.  Naaman was very angry and demanded, "Are not [the] rivers of Damascus better than all the waters of Israel?  May I not wash in them and be clean?"  His servants were a little wiser than he and asked, "If the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it?  How much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?"  The servants' questions helped Naaman to understand the importance of obeying the prophet of God, even in a small matter.  Naaman went to the Jordan to wash and was healed.  (See 2 Kings 5:1-14.)

                    Sometimes we may consider a commandment to be a "hard thing" like the brothers of Nephi or too simple like Naaman, but we must remember that God will give us no commandments unless He prepares a way for us to be obedient to Him.  Abraham was given a hard commandment when he was told to offer his beloved son Isaac as a sacrifice (see Genesis 22:1-13).  He didn't understand why God would give him a son in his old age just to take him away, but he trusted God and chose to obey Him.  In return for his willing obedience, God provided a ram for the sacrifice and promised great blessings to Abraham, Isaac and their posterity.

                    The Prophet Joseph Smith said, "I made this my rule:  When the Lord commands, do it" (Teachings of Presidents of the Church:  Joseph Smith [2007, 160).  I want to be obedient also.  I want to be willing to do anything God requires.

                    The perfect example of obedience to God is Jesus Christ who said, "I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me" (John 6:38).  Jesus spent his entire mortal life in obedience to the will of God, even though He was asked to do hard things.  He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, "O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me:  nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt" (Matthew 26:39).  Jesus Christ made salvation available to all mankind because He obeyed His Father in all things.

                    Every blessing we receive comes from obedience to the law upon which that blessing is based because the kingdom of heaven is governed by law (see Doctrine and Covenants 130:20-21; 132:5).  We know from other scriptures that we may gain knowledge and intelligence through obedience and diligence (see Doctrine and Covenants 130:18-19) as well as grow spiritually (see Jeremiah 7:23-24).  Through other scriptures we know that disobedience brings heart break, disappointment, and forfeiture of blessings.  In Doctrine and Covenants 58:31-33 we read, "Who am I, saith the Lord, that have promised and have not fulfilled?  I command and men obey not; I revoke and they receive not the blessing. Then they say in their hearts:  This is not the work of the Lord, for his promises are not fulfilled."

                    "Spirituality yields two fruits.  The first is inspiration to know what to do.  The second is power, or the capacity to do it.  These two capacities come together.  That's why Nephi could say, `I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded' (1 Nephi 3:7).  He knew the spiritual laws upon which inspiration and power are based.  Yes, God answers prayer and gives us spiritual direction when we live obediently and exercise the required faith in Him."  (Richard G. Scott, "To Acquire Spiritual Guidance," Ensign, Nov. 2009, 7.)

                    I know personally that God fulfills His promises when we keep His commandments.  God gives us life, air to breathe, and many other blessings - and then gives blessings each time we obey Him.  In the words of King Benjamin to his people, "He doth require that ye should do as he hath commanded you; for which if ye do, he doth immediately bless you" (Mosiah 2:24). 

The ultimate blessing that comes to the obedient is eternal life.  The Lord said, "If you keep my commandments and endure to the end you shall have eternal life, which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God" (Doctrine and Covenants 14:7). 

Obedience in righteousness and truth to the end of life brings other blessings.  The Lord revealed, "Thus saith the Lord - I, the Lord, am merciful and gracious unto those who fear me, and delight to honor those who serve me in righteousness and in truth unto the end.  Great shall be their reward and eternal shall be their glory.  And to them will I reveal all mysteries, yea, all the hidden mysteries of my kingdom from days of old, and for ages to come, will I make known unto them the good pleasure of my will concerning all things pertaining to my kingdom.  Yea, even the wonders of eternity shall they know, and things to come will I show them, even the things of many generations.  And their wisdom shall be great, and their understanding reach to heaven….  For by my Spirit will I enlighten them, and by my power will I make known unto them the secrets of my will - yea, even those things which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor yet entered into the heart of man" (Doctrine and Covenants 76:5-10).

                    I know that willing obedience is important because it brings order and safety as well as shows God that we love Him.  Loving God is the greatest of all the commandments of God.  I know that God gives us blessings when we are obedient to His commandments.  I know that obedience to the end of mortal life is essential to obtain the highest of all the blessings of God.