God Delights to Bless Us

The Kirtland Temple was dedicated on March 27, 1836. In the dedicatory prayer, Joseph Smith asked God to, "accept of this house, the workmanship of the hands of us, thy servants, which thou didst command us to build" (D&C 109:4).

One week later, on Easter Sunday, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery were praying in the temple when the Savior appeared. He told them that their sins had been forgiven and that the people should rejoice because, "I have accepted this house, and my name shall be here; and I will manifest myself to my people in mercy in this house" (D&C 110:1-7). This was everything they had prayed for, but the Savior added a promise that he would appear to his servants in the temple and that "tens of thousands" would "greatly rejoice" because of the endowment he would give them there. "And this," he noted, "is the beginning of the blessing which shall be poured out upon the heads of my people" (D&C 110:7-10). Immediately following the Savior's appearance, Moses, Elias, and Elijah appeared to restore priesthood keys in fulfillment of ancient prophecy.

The Lord also gives us forgiveness, joy, revelation, and blessings to help us know that our faithful efforts have been accepted. He also delights to give his children even more than what they pray to receive.

Lehi prayed for the salvation of his people. The Lord allowed him to preach in Jerusalem for a time, but then led him to a promised land and established a new nation with Lehi at its head.

Alma prayed for help for his sinful son. That son became the first of five more generations of prophets and faithful missionaries.

Joseph Smith prayed for forgiveness and knowledge of the true church. He was blessed with the First Vision and a promise that he would lead the restoration of the gospel in this dispensation.

Of course, not every prayer is answered with a grand promise, but the pattern in these and other examples can help us know that God, "delight[s] to bless [us] with the greatest of all blessings" (D&C 41:1). As we review our lives and the prayers we have offered, we will find times when we have received of his abundance, felt his presence, been forgiven of sin, heard his voice, and been blessed beyond what we could have even dared to ask.

"If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children," the Savior taught, "how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?" (Matthew 7:11).

Courage to Go Forth

Some of the most courageous figures in all of scripture must be the sons of Mosiah. These four brothers, heirs to the throne of the Nephite nation, each refused the crown in order to move to a hostile nation and preach the gospel. They left without knowing when they would return-- it ended up being about fourteen years later-- and without means to sustain them or connections in the foreign land.

Many talks and lessons have cited the quality of the sons of Mosiah's character to explain why Ammon, Aaron, Omner and Himni would go as missionaries to the Lamanites:

They had waxed strong in the truth; for they were men of a sound understanding and they had searched the scriptures diligently, that they might know the word of God. But this is not all; they had given themselves to much prayer, and fasting; therefore they had the spirit of prophecy, and the spirit of revelation, and when they taught, they taught with the power and authority of God (Alma 17:2-3).

Although this verse comes before the account of the challenges of their respective missions-- everything from imprisonment without food and water to witnessing others be killed for their faith-- it is a narrative description of the sons of Mosiah after they had returned from their mission. Fourteen years earlier, they were very aware of the danger of the mission they had chosen and the hardness of the hearts they felt called to teach.

With some anxiety, they began their journey through the wilderness to the mission field. The scriptures say that the sons of Mosiah, and those that were with them, "fasted much and prayed much" as they traveled, asking that "that the Lord would grant unto them a portion of his Spirit to go with them, and abide with them, that they might be an instrument in the hands of God to bring... the Lamanties to the knowledge of the truth" (Alma 17:9).

And it came to pass that the Lord did visit them with his Spirit, and said unto them: Be comforted. And they were comforted.

And the Lord said unto them also: Go forth among the Lamanites, thy brethren, and establish my word; yet ye shall be patient in long-suffering and afflictions, that ye may show forth good examples unto them in me, and I will make an instrument of thee in my hands unto the salvation of many souls (Alma 17:10-11).

The Lord responded to the sons of Mosiah's pleadings with three things: comfort to calm their anxieties, instructions for success, and a promise that following the instructions would bring the outcome they had fasted and prayed to receive.

When we pray for blessings from our Heavenly Father, sometimes we can make the mistake of stopping our progress when the comfort comes. None of us likes to be troubled or anxious, so when we are worried or struggling we fast and pray diligently until we are comforted. Then, somehow, when comfort comes we seem to think that the blessings we desire will be delivered with minimal effort on our part. We say things like, "we just need to have faith," or "the Lord will deliver on his timetable," and we wait for a miracle.

Faith in the Lord, and in His timetable, is, of course, important. Miracles do happen. And sometimes there is nothing we can do but stand still, like the children of Israel trapped by Pharoah's armies against the Red Sea, and behold the Lord's mighty power. But most often, genuine faith requires us to act and do all we can do to realize the blessings we desire. The Lord then magnifies our faithful efforts, and helps us learn and grow along the way, until we obtain the things we desired from Him.

Acting with faith can cause a little anxiety, even if we're not on a mission to an enemy country. It can be hard to share the gospel with a friend, heal a relationship, stop a bad habit, move to a new place, accept a new calling, or whatever else we feel called to do. We need courage to keep moving forward.

In the moment of comfort, the Lord instructed the sons of Mosiah. First, he confirmed that they should go to serve the Lamanites. Next, he commanded them to establish his word by their example and admonished them to be patient in affliction. Despite the moment of comfort they were enjoying, the blessings they desired could only be achieved through a great deal more discomfort. Finally, he promised that if they would keep this commandment, he would grant them the blessing they desired.

And it came to pass that the hearts of the sons of Mosiah, and also those who were with them, took courage to go forth unto the Lamanites to declare unto them the word of God (Alma 17:12, emphasis added).

Like the sons of Mosiah, we can fast much and pray much to know from the Lord whether we are on the right path. We can learn what we need to do to receive the blessings we desire and receive assurances that, if we will be faithful to the commandments the Lord gives to each of us, the Lord will ensure our success.

With the Lord's assurances, and trust that God will prepare the way, we can find the courage we need to save the kings flocks from marauders, endure an unjust imprisonment, or overcome whatever other obstacle we may face in pursuit of our desired blessings. As we do, the Lord will make us his sons and daughters-- strong in the knowledge of the truth, armed with spiritual gifts and the power and authority of God to do his work.