Many scriptural passages match the following pattern: “If you do X, you will receive Y.” An example of this pattern in the Book of Mormon is the Lord’s promise to Nephi, “Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper, and shall be led to a land of promise” (1 Nephi 2:20). Here’s an example from the Ten Commandments: “Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee” (Exodus 20:12, Mosiah 13:20).
What, then, should we make of a pattern in which the Lord makes a promise and only afterward asks us to do something? This is the pattern highlighted by the apostle Paul in his epistle to the Galatians.
“Abraham believed God,” he writes, “and it was accounted to him for righteousness” (Galatians 3:6; see also Romans 4:3, Genesis 15:6). God then gave Abraham an extraordinary promise: “In thee shall all nations be blessed” (Galatians 3:8; Genesis 12:3). Or, as He later added, “In thy seed shall all nations of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 22:18; see also Genesis 26:4, Genesis 28:14, Galatians 3:16).
When did Abraham receive the law? His descendants received it more than 430 years later. (See Exodus 12:40-41, Galatians 3:17.) Obviously, Abraham received specific instructions from God, but the Law of Moses, which helped his descendants realize the promised blessing, came many generations later.
What do we conclude from this? We don’t earn promises. We align ourselves with God by exercising faith, repenting, and making covenants with Him. As part of those covenants, He makes promises to us, and then He teaches us how to become people who can receive the promised blessings.
The priests of King Noah told Abinadi that salvation came by the law of Moses (Mosiah 12:32). He responded that only Jesus Christ can save us. “Therefore, if ye teach the law of Moses, also teach that it is a shadow of those things which are to come—Teach them that redemption cometh through Christ the Lord, who is the very Eternal Father” (Mosiah 16:15).
The Lamanites who were converted by the teaching of the sons of Mosiah were obedient to the law of Moses, but “They did not suppose that salvation came by the law of Moses; but the law of Moses did serve to strengthen their faith in Christ; and thus they did retain a hope through faith, unto eternal salvation” (Alma 25:16).
When Jesus Christ visited the American continent following His death and resurrection, He reiterated the promise He had made to Abraham, and He applied it to His listeners:
Ye are the children of the prophets; and ye are of the house of Israel; and ye are of the covenant which the Father made with your fathers, saying unto Abraham: And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.
The Father having raised me up unto you first, and sent me to bless you in turning away every one of you from his iniquities; and this because ye are the children of the covenant
And after that ye were blessed then fulfilleth the Father the covenant which he made with Abraham, saying: In thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.
3 Nephi 20:25-27
There’s that promise again, a promise which predated them by nearly 2,000 years. They didn’t earn it, but Jesus came to help them learn how to receive it.
Today, I will be grateful for the promises I have received from God—promises I didn’t earn. I will be grateful that He is willing to work with me in spite of my imperfections. Because of my covenant relationship with Him, He can help me prepare myself to receive the promised blessings.
Perhaps a future article could focus on the difference between “Earning” versus “qualifying” for a reward/ a blessing/ etc.
That is a fantastic idea! A quick search indicates that the word “qualify” doesn’t appear in the Bible, the Book of Mormon, or the Pearl of Great Price. It appears four times in the Doctrine and Covenants and hundreds of times in general conference talks, particularly in the last few decades.
If you have a moment to reply to this comment, let me now what you think it means to qualify for a blessing and how it differs from earning one. I’ll give it some thought too and will plan to dedicate a future post to that topic.
Thank you for the question!