Predicated

What is the relationship between obedience and blessings? The following passage from the Doctrine and Covenants provides a simple answer:

There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated—

And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.

Doctrine and Covenants 130:20-21

To be predicated on something is to depend on it. Obey the law, and you will receive the associated blessing. Disobey it, and you won’t. The blessing depends on the law. It’s a simple principle, and we can all relate to the basic concept: choices have consequences. However, as we apply it to our daily decisions, it helps to keep in mind several other related principles.

First, the process of learning to obey God’s laws and receiving the corresponding blessings happens within a broader context of our complete dependence on Him. King Benjamin reminds us that God created us and preserves us from day to day by “lending [us] breath, that [we] may live and move and do according to [our] own will” (Mosiah 2:21). These foundational blessings are not the result of our agency but create the framework within which our agency operates. Jesus highlighted that point in the Sermon on the Mount, observing that God “maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:45; compare 3 Nephi 12:45).

But within that context, as Lehi taught, we are “free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for [ourselves] and not to be acted upon, save it be by the punishment of the law at the great and last day” (2 Nephi 2:26). Commenting on the Doctrine and Covenants passage above, President Dallin H. Oaks explained, “God’s choicest blessings are clearly contingent upon obedience to God’s laws and commandments” (“Love and Law,” October 2009 general conference). And President Russell M. Nelson distinguished between unconditional gifts and other types of blessings with an analogy of a bouquet of flowers:

The resplendent bouquet of God’s love—including eternal life—includes blessings for which we must qualify, not entitlements to be expected unworthily. Sinners cannot bend His will to theirs and require Him to bless them in sin. If they desire to enjoy every bloom in His beautiful bouquet, they must repent.

“Divine Love,” Ensign, February 2003

One reason for this is implied by the word “qualify.” As Elder Dale G. Renlund has taught, “You do not earn a blessing—that notion is false—but you do have to qualify for it” (“Abound in Blessings,” April 2019 general conference). The difference is that when you earn a blessing, you are entitled to it, but when you qualify for a blessing, you are ready to receive it. God loves us and wants to bless us, but we are not currently prepared to receive every blessing He has to give. Obeying His laws stretches us and readies us to receive every blessing He is offering.

Another important perspective is that obedience to God’s commandments is meant to be relational, not transactional. “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). That’s why Elder D. Todd Christofferson has urged us “not to think of God’s plan as a cosmic vending machine where we (1) select a desired blessing, (2) insert the required sum of good works, and (3) the order is promptly delivered.” He explained that, while we can trust God to fulfill His promises, “not every blessing predicated on obedience to law is shaped, designed, and timed according to our expectations” (“Our Relationship with God,” April 2022 general conference). We still deposit the good works, in other words, but instead of expecting immediate gratification, we are willing to let God deliver the promised blessing in His own time and in His own way.

Today, I will strive to follow God’s laws in order to receive the associated blessings. I will be grateful for His many gifts, which provide the context for me to exercise agency. I will remember that obedience doesn’t entitle me to blessings but prepares me to receive them. I will trust God to provide promised blessings, even when they don’t come when or how I would prefer.