I replied to a comment on the r/lds subreddit last week about Mosiah 2:41, and how King Benjamin could say that those who keep the commandments of God live in a ‘blessed and happy state’. The commenter didn’t feel ‘blessed in all things, temporal and spiritual’, despite trying to live righteously throughout their life. Why didn’t they feel happy as a result? Where was the ‘genuine peace and happiness’ they expected to feel?
Here’s the verse:
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 neverending happiness…
Mosiah 2:41 (I left off the end, because I think it applies to his whole speech, not this statement on its own).
This is what I wrote:
- ‘Blessed in all things’ doesn’t need to mean that those things are in perfect order, all happening nicely, the way you want them to. We know that’s not the case in life, because struggle exists much more commonly than not, and is essential to the growth we’re here for. For example, being blessed in something might mean that it leads to your spiritual growth, or that you end up having enough temporally. So the meaning of ‘blessed’ needs to be considered.
- Keeping the commandments is more, of course, than just trying to do all the right things – the rich young ruler in the New Testament did ‘all the right things’, and yet his heart was still lacking something. God requires the heart and a willing mind. We’re always working towards being more in line with His will, more open to the influence of Heaven, more loving and true. It’s the work of a lifetime. It’s not so much about doing the right things, but about becoming the right sort of people – those who desire most of all to follow God, to love Him and to love others. The doing both leads to this and is a result of it (the process). It’s really about our hearts: what we want to do; our will. C. S. Lewis said it nicely (paraphrasing): when a man is getting closer to God, he’s not acting right in the hopes of getting to heaven, but because a first, faint gleam of heaven is already inside of him. Why do you try?
- [The commenter had said that they didn’t live in a ‘blessed state of happiness’, as promised in this verse. But the meaning of this is as follows.] The ‘never-ending state of happiness’ is what those who ‘hold out faithful to the end’ and ‘are received into heaven’ experience while dwelling with God, not a condition during this life. This life is about learning by faith, growing, failing, repenting, and softening our hearts until our self-will – the ‘natural man’ – is overcome and we desire only good. That’s a whole-life process. This is where we’re away at boarding school; heaven is going home. The rewards we get here are more to keep us going than to make us feel settled and happy – which is likely to make us stop trying very hard to grow. The difficulties of this life are also a result, in large part, of the condition of agency for all. That won’t be stopped, because it’s essential to the fairness of the Plan.
- I’m frustrated by many of the circumstances I experience in life, and often feel discouraged or alone as a result. But the Gospel gives me hope. It depends how I look at it: am I here to experience nice things, or to learn? To receive good things, or to become something much greater? To be loved, or to love? It’s really all about how we look at the purpose of mortal life. And I think it’s impossible, or very hard, to feel joy or fulfillment or peace while believing that it should be about nice things or pleasant feelings, or everything going ‘right’. This is part of giving up our wills to God: what we think we need, or how life should be, etc., versus what it actually is for. When we see this purpose more clearly, more as it really is, that’s when we can feel joy and peace. Because those aren’t dependent on current circumstances, but on being closer to Heaven – experiencing the power of the Holy Ghost and knowing that we are fulfilling our purpose. However messy our lives look from the outside.
- I do feel genuine peace in my life. Happiness is more dependent on my attitude, but peace comes from the Gospel. From knowing why I’m here, who I am, and what is real. From feeling the comforting or testifying power of the Holy Spirit, the love of God for me or others, and the knowledge of things as they really are – not as Satan tempts me to think of them. I don’t feel peace all the time, because I’m not always in the state of mind/heart to feel it. Sundays, for example, are about the best day for experiencing peace, when I keep them holy. I think that’s a major reason why that commandment exists.
- Jesus Christ is central to this. We can’t feel peace or joy apart from Him – because it isn’t anywhere else to be found. We feel these because He is our Saviour; because the Father prepared the Plan of Salvation that hinges upon Him and His perfect love. Because the craziness and unfairness of life here – including how slowly we’re improving and how far we are from where we want and need to be – is made right through Him. Because He offers us a different way; a way out of being consumed by our weakness and weaknesses, from living only for ourselves, from being overwhelmed by what others have done to make our lives worse, and from being alone in trying to get through life. Remember that discipleship isn’t just the do’s and don’ts; it’s the gradual change of heart. That only, and I believe, always, happens with Jesus Christ – His power of redemption, of changing hearts. We can’t do it; we can never be good enough, as far as making ourselves perfect or pure by doing all the right things. Even if we could, it wouldn’t be enough. But Christ saves us from that. We’re not required to do all the right things all the time. We’re required to acknowledge Him as our Saviour, strive to do the right thing, repent continually because we mostly won’t do the right thing, and gradually learn what it means to become holy. The Saviour is essential in experiencing peace and happiness. Only He can lead us to it.
What about you? Do you feel ‘blessed in all things’ as a result of striving to keep God’s commandments and follow Christ? Do you feel immensely blessed by God, as I do, despite the difficulties of mortality, including your own weaknesses?
Peaceable Treasures 