The Blessed and Happy State

To my daughter, 

                Today I want to encourage you to strive to be obedient. King Benjamin taught us why we should be obedient to the Lord’s commandments: “And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness” (Mosiah 2:41). I love that scripture because it helps us see that keeping the commandments, even when we feel like they are restricting us, brings us joy! I know that we are happier when we are obedient than when we try to break the rules. Sometimes we are tempted to think that if we can get around the rules we will be happier, but Alma declared, “Wickedness never was happiness” (Alma 41:10). Each of us when we came to this earth was given the light of Christ, our conscience which helps us feel what is right and wrong. When we disobey or make a wrong choice, this light helps us by making us feel bad instead. It motivates us to choose what is right and to make our bad choices right when we make mistakes. Mormon taught this: “For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God” (Moroni 7:16). I know that when we choose to be obedient we have peace inside from the light of Christ, and that is far better than anything we might obtain by breaking the rules.

                Recently we read in our family scripture study about Cain who made some very bad choices. The Lord did not accept Cain’s offering because he did not do it as the Lord required. The scriptures tell us that “Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.” This is what the Lord said to him, “If thou doest well, thou shalt be accepted. And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door, and Satan desireth to have thee; and except thou shalt hearken unto my commandments, I will deliver thee up” (Moses 5:22-23). In other words, Cain learned that if he chose well, if he kept the commandments of the Lord, he would be accepted and be protected by the Lord. Unfortunately he did not choose to keep the commandments, and he suffered the consequences for that. But you can choose to keep the commandments and the Lord will bless and protect you. This doesn’t mean you have to be perfect, but as you strive to do what Jesus asks us and try to improve each time you don’t, He will bless you. You can relate keeping the commandments to wearing a seatbelt in the car. We might think they are restrictive and be tempted to ignore them, but they can protect us and even save our lives in a car accident. When I was young I was in the car and not wearing my seatbelt when our car was hit by someone else’s in a snowstorm. I was flung across the seat and broke the window with my forehead—I ended up getting sixty stitches in my head and you can still see the scar today. The seatbelt could have protected me, but it didn’t because I wasn’t wearing it. In the same way, the commandments can protect us and help us to find joy in this life, but only if we keep them. I encourage you to always strive to be obedient, and I know that you will see in your life the “blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God.”  

Love,

Dad