1
Nephi 20:19
Obedience
Brings Blessings
What
19 Thy aseed also
had been as the sand; the offspring of thy bowels like the gravel
thereof; his name [Israel's]
should not have been cut off nor destroyed from before me.
You
could have had it very good if you had been obedient,
Why
Blessings
are predicated upon obedience.
Pattern
seed
Gen.
22:17 (15–19)
15
¶And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven
the second time,
16 And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:
17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sandwhich is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
19 So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beer-sheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba.
16 And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:
17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sandwhich is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
19 So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beer-sheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba.
Isa.
48:19 (18–22)
18
O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had
thy peace been
as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea:
19 Thy seed also had been as the sand, and the offspring of thy bowels like the gravel thereof; his name should not have been cut off nor destroyed from before me.
20 ¶Go ye forth of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, with a voice of singing declare ye, tell this, utter it even to the end of the earth; say ye, The Lord hath redeemed his servant Jacob.
21 And they thirsted not when he led them through the deserts: he caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them: he clave the rock also, and the waters gushed out.
22 There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked.
19 Thy seed also had been as the sand, and the offspring of thy bowels like the gravel thereof; his name should not have been cut off nor destroyed from before me.
20 ¶Go ye forth of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, with a voice of singing declare ye, tell this, utter it even to the end of the earth; say ye, The Lord hath redeemed his servant Jacob.
21 And they thirsted not when he led them through the deserts: he caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them: he clave the rock also, and the waters gushed out.
22 There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked.
Hosea
1:10
10
¶Yet the number of
the children of Israel shall be as the sand of
the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to
pass, that in
the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not
my people, there it
shall be said unto them, Ye
are the sons of
the living
God.
Doctrine and Covenants 130:20
- .
20
There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations
of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated—
21
And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that
law upon which it is predicated
4 Then
I will agive you brain in
due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of
the field shall yield their fruit.
5 And
your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall
reach unto the sowing time: and ye shall eat your bread to the full,
and dwell in your land safely.
6 And
I will agive bpeace in
the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid:
and I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword
go through your land.
Christ
His-[Israel's]
name should not have been cut off before me [Jesus Christ
speaking]
Conference
...“He
that keepeth [God’s] commandments receiveth truth and light, until
he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things.”2
What
a glorious promise! “He that keepeth [God’s] commandments
receiveth truth and light, until he is glorified in truth and knoweth
all things.”
There
is no need for you or for me, in this enlightened age when the
fulness of the gospel has been restored, to sail uncharted seas or to
travel unmarked roads in search of truth. A loving Heavenly Father
has plotted our course and provided an unfailing
guide—even obedience. A
knowledge of truth and the answers to our greatest questions come to
us as we are obedient to the commandments of God.
We
learn obedience throughout our lives. Beginning when we are very
young, those responsible for our care set forth guidelines and rules
to ensure our safety. Life would be simpler for all of us if we would
obey such rules completely. Many of us, however, learn through
experience the wisdom of being obedient.
In
this dispensation, the Lord revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith that
He requires “the heart and a willing mind; and the willing and
obedient shall eat the good of the land of Zion in these last days.”4
All
prophets, ancient and modern, have known that obedience is essential
to our salvation. Nephi declared, “I will go and do the things
which the Lord hath commanded.”5 Though
others faltered in their faith and their obedience, never once did
Nephi fail to do that which the Lord asked of him. Untold generations
have been blessed as a result.
A
soul-stirring account of obedience is that of Abraham and Isaac. How
painfully difficult it must have been for Abraham, in obedience to
God’s command, to take his beloved Isaac into the land of Moriah to
offer him as a sacrifice. Can we imagine the heaviness of Abraham’s
heart as he journeyed to the appointed place? Surely anguish must
have racked his body and tortured his mind as he bound Isaac, laid
him on the altar, and took the knife to slay him. With unwavering
faith and implicit trust in the Lord, he responded to the Lord’s
command. How glorious was the pronouncement, and with what wondered
welcome did it come: “Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do
thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing
thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.”6
Abraham
had been tried and tested, and for his faithfulness and obedience the
Lord gave him this glorious promise: “In thy seed shall all the
nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.”7
Although
we are not asked to prove our obedience in such a dramatic and
heart-wrenching way, obedience is required of us as well.
Said
President Gordon B. Hinckley, “The happiness of the Latter-day
Saints, the peace of the Latter-day Saints, the progress of the
Latter-day Saints, the prosperity of the Latter-day Saints, and the
eternal salvation and exaltation of this people lie in walking in
obedience to the counsels of … God.”9
Obedience
is a hallmark of prophets; it has provided strength and knowledge to
them throughout the ages. It is essential for us to realize that we,
as well, are entitled to this source of strength and knowledge. It is
readily available to each of us today as we obey God’s
commandments.
My
brothers and sisters, the great test of this life is obedience. “We
will prove them herewith,” said the Lord, “to see if they will do
all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them.”10
Declared
the Savior, “For all who will have a blessing at my hands shall
abide the law which was appointed for that blessing, and the
conditions thereof, as were instituted from before the foundation of
the world.”11
The
Savior demonstrated genuine love of God by living the perfect life,
by honoring the sacred mission that was His. Never was He haughty.
Never was He puffed up with pride. Never was He disloyal. Ever was He
humble. Ever was He sincere. Ever was He obedient....
...As
the Savior instructed His early Apostles, so He instructs you and me,
“Follow thou me.”16 Are
we willing to obey?
The
knowledge which we seek, the answers for which we yearn, and the
strength which we desire today to meet the challenges of a complex
and changing world can be ours when we willingly obey the Lord’s
commandments. I quote once again the words of the Lord: “He that
keepeth [God’s] commandments receiveth truth and light, until he is
glorified in truth and knoweth all things.”17
Apply
One
has only to put the promises for the obedient to test to gain a sure
testimony of this promise that God has great blessings in store for
all of His children if they will obey His voice.
It
is like a mother who has prepared a beautiful, delicious feast for
her children but if they refuse to come to the table and to eat then
they are not nourished.
We
have our agency to be blessed or not. It depends upon our obedience.
It is sad that so many do not get that connection because the
blessings run so deep and wonderful and to be without them is like
living in starvation.
Hymns
239-Choose
The Right
237-
Do What is Right
270-
I'll Go Where You Want Me to Go
children
160-
Choose The Right Way
197-
Quickly, I'll Obey
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