1 Nephi 17:3 -
"And thus we see that the commandments of God must be fulfilled. And if it so be that the children of men keep the commandments of God he doth nourish them, and strengthen them, and provide means whereby they can accomplish the thing which he has commanded them; wherefore, he did provide means for us while we did sojourn in the wilderness. "
This verse reminds me of 1 Nephi 3:7 in which Nephi tells his testimony about the Lord providing a means to accomplish what He has commanded us. In this (17:3) verse, we learn that when we keep God's commandments, He nourishes us and strengthens us, which gives us the means to continue keeping His commandments. I've been thinking a lot about this particular verse lately, and how all of God's commandments apply to this promise. Take the law of tithing for example. We have been given the command to pay tithing; it's a command that was instituted even in biblical times. When we pay our tithing, the Lord blesses us and strengthens us which gives us a greater resolve to pay our tithing further. Of course, we should pay our tithing because we love the Lord and want to keep His commandments, not just because we want blessings. But the Lord uses His spirit to help strengthen our testimony of His principles.
I believe this principle also applies to trials. Whenever the Lord speaks, it is commandment. I don't view anything He says as a "suggestion". This includes the trials we go through. Perhaps that sounds harsh in a way, but I believe that He desires what is best for us to be happy through eternity, and sometimes that means giving us {or commanding us to go through} trials. When we strive to continue faithful through our trials, He blesses us and gives us the "nourishment" we need to continue faithful in His commands. So this verse applies a circular reasoning to thinking about commandments and the Lord's will for us.
Any thoughts?
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