Blessed and Happy State

In President Nelson’s talk at the Christmas Devotional, he prefaced his remarks with these words, “I invite you, as King Benjamin did for Saints in his day, to ‘consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God.’ That blessing is for us here and now, but added to it is the eventual promise of ‘never-ending happiness.’ Simply stated, true followers of Jesus Christ have the privilege of experiencing unspeakable joy forever.”  It is interesting to me that he followed this up by telling the story of a family filled with faith but whose twelve-year-old daughter Lydia is “suffering from a rare, aggressive form of brain cancer.”  Surely one of the blessings they desire as a result of their keeping the commandments is the healing of their daughter, but that hasn’t happened, at least not yet.  And yet, President Nelson seemed to be saying, they are indeed in a “blessed and happy state” for their faith.  He remarked that the girl “was calm and at peace” and that “she has an eternal perspective. She knows that the Lord loves her and will care for her. Her devoted family is filled with the same peace and composure that only faith in the Lord can bring.”  In other words, the blessed and happy state that King Benjamin promised for those who keep the commandments may not mean the kind of tangible, physical blessings—health, possessions, money—we might first think of.  Rather, when he promised that the Lord “doth immediately bless you” when you keep the commandments, he was referring to the peace and joy that only comes through faith in the Lord and righteous living, the “peace of God, which passeth all understanding” (Philippians 4:7).   

               Other scriptures confirm that the greatest blessings which come through gospel living may not be the ones the world would look for.  One example of this is the experience of the sons of Mosiah.  They rejected the opportunity to rule as kings, and then they lived among strangers for 14 years in which, Ammon recorded, “we have suffered every privation….  we have suffered all manner of afflictions” (Alma 26:28, 30).  They had little to speak of in terms of worldly possessions or power, and they had endured great physical hardships, and yet they were so joyful at the end of their experiences and sufferings that Ammon “was swallowed up in the joy of his God” and he proclaimed, “Now have we not reason to rejoice? Yea, I say unto you, there never were men that had so great reason to rejoice as we, since the world began” (Alma 26:35, 27:17).  They were certainly in that “blessed and happy state” that comes to those who keep the commandments of God.  Paul was another who had great joy and peace through the gospel despite enormous physical challenges.  He summarized it this way: “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.”  He had the peace and faith of the gospel that surpassed the terrestrial difficulties he faced: he had the “spirit of faith” and had the knowledge that “he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus.”  Paul declared, “We faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (2 Corinthians 4:8-17).  He had the confidence as Lydia—he had found “peace in this life” and knew he would have “eternal life in the world to come,” a knowledge which allowed him to find joy despite mortal hardships (Doctrine and Covenants 59:23).  

The Prophet Joseph was another who showed great joy despite being in the midst of serious troubles.  When he was in hiding because people in Missouri were trying to capture him and take him back to be tried, Joseph sent a letter to the Saints that is now section 128 of the Doctrine and Covenants.  In it we can see the great joy he had in living the gospel, even in his very difficult circumstances: “Now, what do we hear in the gospel which we have received? A voice of gladness! A voice of mercy from heaven; and a voice of truth out of the earth; glad tidings for the dead; a voice of gladness for the living and the dead; glad tidings of great joy….  Let the mountains shout for joy, and all ye valleys cry aloud; and all ye seas and dry lands tell the wonders of your Eternal King! And ye rivers, and brooks, and rills, flow down with gladness. Let the woods and all the trees of the field praise the Lord; and ye solid rocks weep for joy! And let the sun, moon, and the morning stars sing together, and let all the sons of God shout for joy!” (v. 19, 23).  That is a powerful expression of joy, especially coming from one in hiding and on the run from his enemies.  The sons of Mosiah, Paul, and the Prophet Joseph Smith all showed that they could be filled with happiness despite the significant mortal struggles that they faced.