The Just and the Unjust.—All blessings come by obedience. When the Savior said of the Father: "He maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust."[[7]] he did not mean that no distinction is made between the two classes. He meant that the Great Judge is just to both—just even to the unjust, sending to them his rain and his sunshine, causing their orchards to bloom and their vineyards to bear equally with those of the righteous, provided similar conditions surround, and both classes are equally obedient to the laws governing the culture of the soil.
They Kept the First Estate.—But rain and sunshine, like all other blessings, are for those who merit them. If the unjust (unjust here) had not "kept their first estate," had not manifested in a previous life some degree of obedience to divine law, they would not have been given a "second estate," would not have been placed where the sunlight and the showers could reach them.
Obedience Must Continue.—In this life, however, further obedience is necessary, in order that greater blessings may come. God's gifts are both spiritual and temporal; but whatever they are, their bestowal is regulated by the great Law of Obedience. A good man may be a poor farmer, and thus fail to raise the full crop that he might have reaped had he been more skillful or more thorough in the practice of his vocation. On the other hand, a bad man may be an expert tiller of the soil, realizing bounteous returns because of his strict observance of the law in that particular department of industry.
Higher Laws and Higher Blessings.—There are greater blessings, however, than those pertaining to the harvest field and the workshop, and they also are to be had only by obedience to the laws governing their bestowal and distribution. One cannot become a member of the Church of Christ by being a successful merchant or stockraiser; and one may hold church membership, yet not be entitled to the privileges of the Temple. It takes more than the skill of a mechanic to get into the Kingdom of Heaven. There is but one way into that kingdom, and he who tries to pick the lock or climb over the wall, will be treated as a trespasser or a robber.
Rod and Rock.—Obedience is the rod of power which smites the rock of divine resource, causing it to flow with the waters of human weal. And the most obedient are the most blest. There are "many mansions" in the great House of God, and the highest are for those who render unto the Master of the House the fulness of their obedience.
Footnotes
[1]. D. & C. 130:20,
[2]. "Essay on Man," Epis 4, line 49.
[3]. Luke 18:10-14.
[4]. 1 Sam. 15:22.