Rewards for the Righteous

There is a slight break here to describe how people are. You can imagine that Mormon, as he abridges the plates, gets a unique insight into people's and societies' overall trends. He describes the blessings that come to those who are righteous.

"...yea, we can see that the Lord in his great infinite goodness doth bless and prosper those who put their trust in him." (Helaman 12:1)

"Therefore, blessed are they who will repent and hearken unto the voice of the Lord their God; for these are they that shall be saved." (Helaman 12:23)

However, he also notes that people kind of have a natural tendency to fall away, even when they are being blessed.

"Yea, and we may see at the very time when he doth prosper his people, ... doing all things for the welfare and happiness of his people; yea, then is the time that they do harden their hearts, and do forget the Lord their God, and do trample under their feet the Holy One—yea, and this because of their ease, and their exceedingly great prosperity." (Helaman 12:2)

"O how foolish, and how vain, and how evil, and devilish, and how quick to do iniquity, and how slow to do good, are the children of men; yea, how quick to hearken unto the words of the evil one, and to set their hearts upon the vain things of the world!" (Helaman 12:4)

So, what is a loving Heavenly Father to do about this? Obviously, He wants His children to succeed and be able to receive all the blessings He has to give them. But if left to only that, their eternal salvation (i.e., ability to return and live with God forever) would be in jeopardy. So He has to do some things to help remind people of who they are and where they come from.

"And thus we see that except the Lord doth chasten his people with many afflictions, yea, except he doth visit them with death and with terror, and with famine and with all manner of pestilence, they will not remember him." (Helaman 12:3)

It sounds a little harsh, and this is the reason that some religions have a view of God as being jealous and vindictive. The truth is, if we would be more obedient in times of prosperity, there would be a lot less "chastening with afflictions" and things like that.

I know God has my own best interests at heart, and as I've watched my kids grow up, I begin to see some of the wisdom of His way of doing things. When I do things for my kids, or don't make them work, or don't give them punishments for their misdeeds, I am not just "going easy on them". I am not preparing them for the future, especially when they need to be able to be more independent and move on with their lives.

I sympathize with these words:

"And I would that all men might be saved. But we read that in the great and last day there are some who shall be cast out, yea, who shall be cast off from the presence of the Lord;" (Helaman 12: 25)

I wish all men would be saved, but we know that they all won't. That being said, it makes sense to do everything in my power to help those around me as much as I can to not be "cast off".

I'm grateful for a mindful Heavenly Father who knows what's best for me, and is willing to do the difficult thing of "providing" challenging circumstances in life to keep me humble.