The Cart Before the Horse

King Benjamin has given some instructions in Mosiah 4:9-11; a key to retaining the repentance and forgiveness and testimony they had just received, which testimony had caused them to fall to the earth in humility.

So in verses 9 through 11, he gives a list of things that they can do to keep this testimony bright.  Following these guidelines, he gives them a list of blessings that will follow, since blessings always follow obedience.  These blessings are great and wondrous, but often we mistake these for commandments themselves.  Actually, they are the natural consequences of being guided by the Spirit, of being humble, of trying to emulate the Savior.

I'm going to try to give a very capsulized list of the guidelines and then the blessings that follow obedience to those guidelines.

Guidelines: 

1. Believe in God.  Know about Him.  Learn His true nature.  Know Him.
2. Repent of your sins, forsake them, ask in humility to be forgiven for them.
3. Do it.
4. Call upon God continually in humility.
5. Be faithful.

Blessings:

1. Rejoice
2. Be filled with the love of God
3. Retain a remission of your sins
4. Grow in the knowledge of the glory of God
5. Have love and respect for your fellow man
6. Be guided in parenting your children
7. Bless and serve those around you.

 If we get the cart before the horse, we might think that we can be good parents (this is the one most often quoted as a commandment rather than a blessing) just by trying harder.  We view Benjamin's words as instructions rather than a logical consequence of being a disciple of Christ.

As a natural man (or natural woman), I can try to overcome those tendencies and try to be a good parent.  I can search out experts and follow lists of advice on how to raise good children.  But worldly advice may vary or change with the times, and children are all different.

But if I am truly converted and am led by the Spirit and am trying to be more Christlike in all I do, my motivation and my instructions will come from the Spirit.  The Lord knows what each child needs and will inspire me in how to meet that child's needs, because they are all His children first.

The same principle applies for all of the other blessings that Benjamin lists.  We have love for our fellow men because we first love Christ.  We help the beggar because the love of God fills our hearts.  This is what Benjamin was telling us.  If we get it backwards, we struggle.  It's still possible to be a good parent and an upright, honest and caring person, but it's much harder!