A Persistent Promise

Throughout history, many have rejected the wonderful blessings that come from striving to do as the Lord asks.  Within the Book of Mormon, the Lord continually invites us to keep his commandments for a variety of reasons.

Alma 50: 20  Blessed art thou and thy children; and they shall be blessed, inasmuch as they shall keep my commandments they shall prosper in the land. But remember, inasmuch as they will not keep my commandments they shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord.

This phrase "inasmuch as they shall keep my commandments they shall [insert blessing here]" occurs more than a dozen times in the Book of Mormon.  [See the others I've found] Of course, these aren't the only times or ways that the Book of Mormon, or scripture in general challenges us to keep commandments.  This is just one of the ways that the Lord ties in the commandments with blessings attached.

"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."  [D&C 130:20-21]

Brother Bott, one of my advisors when I was training to be a missionary, liked to illustrate this by saying "In other words, pick up one end of the stick and the other one inescapably follows." and that for every blessing you may want, you have to pick up the stick with the blessing you want at the end of it.  I see these as one of the forms in which this principle that when you keep commandments there are blessings is illustrated.
How have you seen this principle in action in your lives?

Christmas Before Christmas

As Christmas approaches, I began to ponder and compare this short time before Christmas, to the thousands of years before the first and true Christmas nativity.  Since Christmas being such an important time of year in most of our lives, I wondered how the spirit of Christmas might have been experienced before the actual advent.

From the scriptures, like the Holy Bible and the Book of Mormon, I was able to gather some of details Before Christ's birth in early April at the turn of the era, at least some of God's righteous children, had access to many of the details of the events of the nativity that we share with our families now.

This coloring page, which I did color myself, shows a sight seen by prophets long before it took place.
As you read these verses, which were each originally written almost 600 years or more before Christ's birth, compare what you know about Christ's birth, to these details here.

Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14

And it came to pass also that a new star did appear, according to the word. 3 Nephi 1:21

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6

 And I looked and beheld the virgin again, bearing a child in her arms. 1 Nephi 11:20.

And after the Messiah shall come there shall be signs given unto my people of his birth, and also of his death and resurrection... 2 Nephi 26:3