Compensatory Blessings

Elder Anderson in his recent talk in general conference spoke about those whose righteous desires, such as having children or being married in the temple, have not been fulfilled. He said this: “As the Lord’s servant, I promise you that as you are faithful to Jesus Christ and your covenants, you will receive compensating blessings in this life and your righteous desires in the eternal time line of the Lord.” In the footnote to this statement he referenced a talk he gave at BYU Education Week in 2015 entitled A Compensatory Spiritual Power for the Righteous. In it he declared, “As evil increases in the world, there is a compensatory spiritual power for the righteous. As the world slides from its spiritual moorings, the Lord prepares the way for those who seek Him, offering them greater assurance, greater confirmation, and greater confidence in the spiritual direction they are traveling. The gift of the Holy Ghost becomes a brighter light in the emerging twilight.” In other words, the Lord is not going to shield us from the prophesied challenges in the last days, but He will give us additional power to compensate and survive spiritually despite the difficulties. This is perhaps what Nephi beheld when he saw the great wickedness on the earth in the last days: “And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the power of the Lamb of God, that it descended upon the saints of the church of the Lamb, and upon the covenant people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory.” To compensate for the fact that the “whore of all the earth… had dominion over all the earth, among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people,” the Lord will send down His power upon His Saints in the last days (1 Nephi 14:11, 14).

                 A scripture story that comes to mind when thinking about this principle is that of the people of Alma at Helam who came under bondage to the Lamanites. We read that Amulon “exercised authority over them, and put tasks upon them, and put task-masters over them.”  The people of God did “did pour out their hearts to him; and he did know the thoughts of their hearts.” But the Lord did not deliver them immediately. Instead of answering their prayers to be freed from bondage, He answered it this way: “And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions.” Instead of immediately taking away the trial, He compensated by giving them extra power to endure it—they no longer felt the same burden even though that burden was there. I believe that this is what compensatory blessings are: when we do not receive from the Lord the specific blessing that we desire, He compensates with other divine means of help and support. Ultimately for this people He did provide the blessing they sought—He did deliver them from the Lamanites after they “did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord” (Mosiah 24:9, 12, 14-15). The Lord will likewise visit us in our afflictions, compensating now through the strength He gives us and ultimately providing all righteous blessings we seek through the atonement of His Son.