Righteousness and Blessings

[Spaz]

IMO - a better question is....

Do we always receive a blessing the Lord wants to give us?

My answer is no.

[ERCougar]

Originally Posted by Spaz

Like I said above, a blessing (plural in some cases) is conveyed for obedience to a law upon which blessings are promised. It's very much like a contract with the Lord.

Unfortunately, we expect to be able to define blessings and sort them into categories..."this comes from obeying that law, and this comes from obeying that law". I don't think it's fair to expect to do that.

So what about my original question--is every blessing in my life the result of obedience to some principle? My health? My citizenship in this country? My children?

If so, that obviously raises all sorts of questions about those who haven't been similarly blessed, particularly given D&C 82:10, that Tex cited. Beyond that, I don't think I've really earned any of those (except for possibly in a very general--exercising generally leads to better health, having sex leads to kids , etc.)

[Jeff Lebowski]

Originally Posted by Tex

God is not a vending machine where you put your 50 cents in, and out comes your Diet Coke. To the extent that a member believes this, he's wrong.

On the other hand, we have some pesky scriptures that say the following:

And not to be forgotten ...

Thus it is clear that blessings are tied to obedience. That doesn't mean that attending that 7 AM meeting will result in an HDTV materializing on your front doorstep, although temporal blessings may follow. More likely the kinds of blessings the Lord intends are those that prepare us for the eternities. I can't say it better than ute4ever did.

The Vending Machine God is immature, yes. But so is the "I never got a plug nickel from God for my obedience" attitude. As usual, the truth is somewhere in between.

I agree with your main points, Tex. And I like to use the vending machine analogy myself.

But if one takes the D&C scripture "There is a law..." at face value, what does that say about bad things that happen to people? If 100% of blessing are a result of obedience, wouldn't it logically follow that 100% of trials (i.e. non-blessings) are a result of disobedience (an idea I find repulsive)? How do you reconcile that?

I am not trying to bait you. This is a topic which genuinely fascinates me.

[il Padrino Ute]

Originally Posted by El Paso Coug

One of the predominent themes in LDS Church meetings is the concept of being blessed for a righteous act. I think we all know what I'm talking about. When you go to a stake priesthood meeting that starts at 7:00 a.m. on a Sunday, the Stake President states that all of those in attendance will be richly blessed for making the sacrifice to attend. We will be blessed if we pay our tithing and fast offering. Blessings come when we do our home teaching. I could list a hundred examples and testimony meetings typically have at least one person who shares an experience where the person believes that he or she was immediately blessed after some righteous act. LDS members get pounded with the righteous act=blessings logic. There is no doubt in my mind that the primary motivation for many members to do certain actions within the church is to receive blessings.

I would just like to say that I don't believe in this concept at all and my personal life experiences regularly contradict it. I just wanted to get this off my chest and didn't want to be bombarded by holier than thou responses on cougarboard.

Sometimes we get blessings for obedience that aren't the blessings we are expecting. Perhaps you were looking for a particular blessing and ignored - either inadvertently or intentionally - what was given to you.

[Snowcat]

Originally Posted by Jeff Lebowski

I agree with your main points, Tex. And I like to use the vending machine analogy myself.

But if one takes the D&C scripture "There is a law..." at face value, what does that say about bad things that happen to people? If 100% of blessing are a result of obedience, wouldn't it logically follow that 100% of trials (i.e. non-blessings) are a result of disobedience (an idea I find repulsive)? How do you reconcile that?

I am not trying to bait you. This is a topic which genuinely fascinates me.

I don't necessarily consider trials as non-blessings. I think our concept of blessings is seriously flawed. In my mind blessing = moving me towards eternal life.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Originally Posted by Snowcat

I don't necessarily consider trials as non-blessings. I think our concept of blessings is seriously flawed. In my mind blessing = moving me towards eternal life.

Would you consider health to be a blessing? I sure do. So is all poor health the result of a lack of obedience? See what I mean?

[Snowcat]

Originally Posted by Jeff Lebowski

Would you consider health to be a blessing? I sure do. So is all poor health the result of a lack of obedience? See what I mean?

I would agree that generally health would be considered a blessing. However, in some circumstances health challenges mave prove to be a blessing for that individual.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Originally Posted by Snowcat

I would agree that generally health would be considered a blessing. However, in some circumstances health challenges mave prove to be a blessing for that individual.

I suppose, but that's a little convenient don't you think?

[Snowcat]

Originally Posted by Jeff Lebowski

I suppose, but that's a little convenient don't you think?

Probably, but it the ramifications are significant. First, there is no way I can judge someones "righteousnsess" based on outward evidence of blessings. Second, the same applies for myself so I will have to have faith that I am being blessed.

[Tex]

Originally Posted by Jeff Lebowski

I agree with your main points, Tex. And I like to use the vending machine analogy myself.

But if one takes the D&C scripture "There is a law..." at face value, what does that say about bad things that happen to people? If 100% of blessing are a result of obedience, wouldn't it logically follow that 100% of trials (i.e. non-blessings) are a result of disobedience (an idea I find repulsive)? How do you reconcile that?

I am not trying to bait you. This is a topic which genuinely fascinates me.

No, I don't feel baited.

We're dealing with two questions:

1. Do 100% of blessings come 100% from obedience? Though I recognize how it reads, I'm not sure it's intended to be interpreted as a quid pro quo. We are taught by Benjamin that if anything, we are overpaid for our righteous acts.

Now this gets a little dicey, because some folks have the El Paso Coug experience, where no matter how hard they try, they feel God has it in for them. I know many older singles who have tried to live righteous lives, have righteous desires to be married and a family, and cannot obtain that blessing. And it's a serious trial of faith.

Others have financial difficulties. Others have health problems. I have a friend of the family who was in a small plane crash recently and survived, but is still in the hospital and very much injured. Are these blessings in disguise? Maybe. Hardly.

I think we have to recognize that obedience to the gospel has its own rewards, despite the type II and type III trials (see below) we experience. Happiness can be found in the most dire of circumstances by holding fast to its principles. Wickedness (type I, see below) has it's own "reward."

And for those who are "blessed" with good health, happy family life, and temporal wealth, it is further incumbent upon them to redouble their effort toward the gospel, to "bless" the lives of those who don't.

2. Does it therefore follow that trials are a result of disobedience? No. Elder Maxwell taught there were at least 3 forms of suffering: (1) trials brought on by own our disobedience, (2) trials existing as a part of mortal probation, and (3) specific trials deliberately perpetrated/permitted by a loving God with the intent to tutor us.

Take the man blind from birth. "Who did sin, this man or his parents?" Neither, right? What about Job? The realm of trials and their sources is in my opinion an entirely separate question from the realm of blessings.