Quote:
Originally Posted by creekster
I frequently see arguments in this forum that involve directly or tangentially the notion that it is inconceivable that God would bless you for some behavior or another. For example, some express skepticism that God would bless us for following a leader even if he is wrong. This makes me wonder what we think a blessing is.
The premise for some of these types of comments seem to be that as we perform some act or another God will endow us with some attribute or perhaps some advantage. IOW, it is a supernatural occurrence. I don't think blessings are typically given to us in that manner.
In my mind, God prescribes many rules of conduct. We are told to be charitable, loving, patient, kind, to be concerned about our fellow person and so forth. These are intrinsically good acts and positive communal behaviors. Blessings flow necessarily from such actions, not by means of a supernatural endowment, but as a natural consequence of the positive act. If we are patient with someone in our lives, we develop patience and learn self control. If we act charitably we develop a charitable nature which improves lives around us and makes us happier. The blessings are inherent in the positive act. This is why anyone can obtain blessings from God, if you will, because these acts naturally lead to positive benefits.
This is not to suggest that blessings are only given to us as a natural consequence of our actions. IMO, God can and does strengthen us and assists us in pursuing these positive actions. Moreover, at times God can perform miracles both with or without humans as instruments of action. Even so, many times we are promised blessings through obedience and I think this means that the positive acts themselves lead to positive effects on us and others around us which we will recognize as blessings.
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I think it IS possible to be blessed from following a prophet in a counsel that is wrong. However, if you believe that principle, then you also have to believe that people in other religions can be blessed from following their leaders when they're wrong, a tenet I think that many in the Church wouldn't believe (i.e. what if that church leader discourages them from listening to the missionaries?). Ultimately, the single most important principle we can learn in this life that will carry us through the eternities is to submit our will to what we truly believe is right. Whether or not we're correct in our view of what "right" is is much less important than the act of following it. Thus, if people truly believe in their heart that Prop 8 is the will of God, I think they will be blessed by working for its passage. If they believe that it's against the will of God, they'll be blessed for fighting it.