Obtain Any Blessing

A familiar scripture in the Doctrine and Covenants reads, “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” (D&C 130:20-21).  I’ve been thinking about this verse, and to me the simple face value interpretation doesn’t seem right.  It would seem without digging any deeper that the verse is simply saying that whenever we get any blessing from God it is because we have been obedient to some law.  This would suggest that all blessings we receive from our Father in Heaven are contingent upon us performing some action.  Certainly we know that obedience to specific commandments will bring blessings, whether that be paying tithing or following the Word of Wisdom or keeping the Sabbath Day holy.  And yet at the same time the Savior said during His mortal ministry that the Father “maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matt. 5:45).  The Father blesses even those who are evil and those who are unjust.  King Benjamin told his people: “[God is] preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another” (Mosiah 2:21).  Surely those are not blessings that we receive because of obedience, for we all receive them just like the sun and the rain.  So how do we reconcile these ideas? 

                I believe that the statement in D&C 130 has a much narrower focus than a general description about all blessings we ever receive.  The two previous verses talk about the “principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life” and how that will help us have “the advantage in the world to come.”  I believe that the statement “any blessing from God” in verse 21 is referring to the eternal, permanent blessings in the next life that we receive based upon our faithfulness to the gospel of Jesus Christ. The “law” referred to is, according to verse 20, “decreed in heaven,” and it seems to me that these “blessings” that we can obtain through obedience are also to be had in heaven.  We know that “unto every kingdom is given a law,” referring to the kingdoms of the next life (D&C 88:38).  We are taught that “he who is not able to abide the law of a celestial kingdom cannot abide a celestial glory” and similarly that “he who cannot abide the law of a terrestrial kingdom cannot abide a terrestrial glory” (D&C 88:22-23).  So in order to obtain the “blessing” of being in one of these kingdoms one must be obedient to the law associated with that kingdom.  God blesses us in countless undeserved ways in our mortal existence, but in order to dwell in His presence in the celestial kingdom we must learn, through the help and grace of the atonement of Christ, to abide the law of the celestial kingdom.  Unless we do that, we cannot receive the great blessing of eternal life that God wants to give us.  Surely the blessings of the Father on His children in this life are innumerable.  He doesn’t only provide help for those who deserve it or who have following His commandments perfectly.  He who tells us to give alms in such a way that our “left hand” knows not what our “right hand doeth” surely blesses us in ways that we don’t see or realize.  But these blessings are all in an effort to show us His love and inspire us to receive The blessing some day:  eternal life and exaltation.