Keep the commandments and prosper

Precept - keep the commandments and prosper

The charge from God to keep his commandments, with the promised prosperity to those who obey, is pervasive in the Book of Mormon (e.g., 1 Nephi 4:14, 2 Nephi 1:9,20, 2 Nephi 4:4, Omni 1:6, Jarom 1:9, Mosiah 1:7, Mosiah 2:22,31, Alma 9:13, Alma 36:1,30, Alma 37:13, Alma 48:15,25, Alma 50:20, Alma 38:1, Alma 45:7-8, 3 Nephi 5:22.). The Lord gave this charge to Nephi in their first recorded interaction:

Blessed art thou, Nephi, because of thy faith, for thou hast sought me diligently, with lowliness of heart. And inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper, and shall be led to a land of promise; yea, even a land which I have prepared for you; yea, a land which is choice above all other lands. And inasmuch as thy brethren shall rebel against thee, they shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord. And inasmuch as thou shalt keep my commandments, thou shalt be made a ruler and a teacher over thy brethren. For behold, in that day that they shall rebel against me, I will curse them even with a sore curse, and they shall have no power over thy seed except they shall rebel against me also. And if it so be that they rebel against me, they shall be a scourge unto thy seed, to stir them up in the ways of remembrance” (1 Nephi 2:19-24.)

While referred to and illustrated throughout The Book of Mormon, the charge and accompanying promise is first fulfilled in the life of Nephi and his brothers. Following Lehi’s passing, Laman and Lemuel once again murmured and sought to kill Nephi. Mercifully, the Lord warned Nephi that he “should depart...and flee into the wilderness, and all those who would go with” him (2 Nephi 5:5.) These faithful souls traveled “many days” and eventually settled in a land they called Nephi where they “did observe to keep the judgments, and the statutes, and the commandments of the Lord in all things” (2 Nephi 5:7-10.) As a result, Nephi declared “the Lord was with us; and we did prosper exceedingly” (vs. 11.) It is instructive to note how Nephi described their exceeding prosperity:

• They had plenty to eat - food was not provided them without effort, but their effort to “sow seed” resulted in their reaping “again in abundance.” The same abundance resulted from their efforts to raise flocks and herds and animals of every kind (vs. 11)
• They had access to scripture - Nephi “brought the records which were engraven upon the plates of brass” (vs. 12)
• They bore and raised children - “And it came to pass that we began to prosper exceedingly, and to multiply in the land” (vs. 13.)
• They were protected - again, their protection was not provided without effort. Nephi explains that he “did take the sword of Laban, and after the manner of it did make many swords, lest by any means the people who were now called Lamanites should come upon us and destroy us; for I knew their hatred towards me and my children and those who were called my people” (vs. 14)
• They were able to learn new skills and knowledge - Nephi explains, “And I did teach my people to build buildings, and to work in all manner of wood, and of iron, and of copper, and of brass, and of steel, and of gold, and of silver, and of precious ores, which were in great abundance” (vs. 15.)
• They built a temple - no doubt the skills they learned allowed them to build shelter for themselves, but no mention is made of houses or any other building. The only specific building mentioned is the temple - “I, Nephi, did build a temple; and I did construct it after the manner of the temple of Solomon save it were not built of so many precious things; for they were not to be found upon the land, wherefore, it could not be built like unto Solomon’s temple. But the manner of the construction was like unto the temple of Solomon; and the workmanship thereof was exceedingly fine” (vs. 16.)
• They became industrious - “And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did cause my people to be industrious, and to labor with their hands (vs. 17.)
• They established a government - “And it came to pass that they would that I should be their aking. But I, Nephi, was desirous that they should have no king; nevertheless, I did for them according to that which was in my power” (vs. 18.)

Today, many might call this a rather spartan, certainly not a prosperous, lifestyle. No mention is made of vacations, recreation, fashion, housing, transportation, entertainment, and other such modern attributes of today’s “prosperity.” Nonetheless, Nephi says they “prospered exceedingly” (vs. 11.) If offered such prosperity today, would we be exploring our options to find a more palatable, if not more popular, prosperity? Does our modern day definition of prospering distort the Lord’s definition of prospering? Which type of prosperity do I really want?

Given this summary of how the Lord had fulfilled the promise of prosperity, Nephi continues with his description of how the Lord’s promise had been fulfilled:

And behold, the words of the Lord had been fulfilled unto my brethren, which he spake concerning them, that I should be their ruler and their teacher. Wherefore, I had been their ruler and their teacher, according to the commandments of the Lord, until the time they sought to take away my life. The word of the Lord was fulfilled which he spake unto me, saying that: Inasmuch as they (Laman, Lemuel, and their followers) will not hearken unto thy words they shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord. And behold, they were cut off from his presence” (vs. 19-20.)

A question that might be asked is, what is meant by Laman, Lemuel, and their followers, being “cut off from the presence of the Lord?” It seems that Nephi and his people had a temple and Laman and Lemuel and their people did not. Why was this the case? They had rejected the Lord’s chosen servant, Nephi. As a result, they did not have access to the temple, and thereby, the presence of the Lord.

In contrast to Laman and Lemuel being cut off from the Lord, it is interesting that Nephi claims just the opposite for himself and his brother Jacob:

And now I, Nephi, write more of the words of Isaiah, for my soul delighteth in his words. For I will liken his words unto my people, and I will send them forth unto all my children, for he verily saw my Redeemer, even as I have seen him. And my brother, Jacob, also has seen him as I have seen him; wherefore, I will send their words forth unto my children to prove unto them that my words are true. Wherefore, by the words of three, God hath said, I will establish my word. Nevertheless, God sendeth more witnesses, and he proveth all his words (2 Nephi 11:2-3.)

It would appear their access to a temple had resulted in their literally enjoying the presence of the Lord.

The reality is that Laman and Lemuel cut themselves off from the presence of the Lord by rejecting Nephi as their divinely appointed ruler and teacher and thereby rejecting the Lord and his commandments.  Laman and Lemuel would “not have him to be our ruler.” Why? “for it belongs unto us, who are the elder brethren, to rule over this people” (2 Nephi 5:3.) Lest we think ourselves better than Laman and Lemuel, we may be tempted at times to refuse a leader and their teachings because of their age, whether because they are too young, as with Laman and Lemuel, or because they are too old. But there may be a variety of other reasons for rejecting those the Lord calls - wrong political persuasion, too poor, too wealthy, too educated, not educated enough, too good looking, not good looking enough, too well dressed, not well dressed enough, not in line with the politics of the day, speaking out a little too much (or not enough), suggesting I need to repent...The reasons go on and on. Just as with Laman and Lemuel, as a result of rejecting a divinely appointed leader we reject the temple and thereby cut ourselves off from the presence of God.

In summary, the precept of obedience to God’s commandments results in real prosperity. The required obedience includes being obedient to God's prophets. I have prospered exceedingly, just like Nephi and his people. I have also seen the same realized in the lives of many, many others - just as promised by God.

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Keep the commandments and prosper

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