August 2006 Ensign - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

36
blessings are predicated—
And when we obtain any
blessing from God, it is by
obedience to that law upon
which it is predicated”
(D&C 130:20–21). What law
applied here? Even before
the question formed, I knew
the answer: “Blessed are
the merciful: for they shall
obtain mercy” (Matthew 5:7).
Then I realized that every
time we ask our Father for
anything in prayer we are
asking for His mercy. We are
asking Him to do something
for us that we cannot do for
ourselves. We cannot expect
to receive His mercy unless
we ourselves are being merciful
to others. When we reach
out and aid our own forefathers
and allow them
to be freed from spirit prison
(see D&C 128:22), we are being merciful; we are doing
something for them that they cannot do for themselves.
Amulek taught this important principle in his powerful
One night I had a dream of a small boy,
cold and starving. He told me his name
was Alexander Mackenzie. I promised him
I would find his family; then I awoke.
discourse on prayer. He
urged the people to pray
without ceasing for all their
needs, including the increase
of their flocks and the abundance
of their crops. But
then he gave them this caution:
“Do not suppose that
this is all; for after ye have
done all these things [prayed
without ceasing], if ye turn
away the needy, and the
naked, and visit not the sick
and afflicted, and impart of
your substance, if ye have,
to those who stand in
need—I say unto you, if ye
do not any of these things,
behold, your prayer is vain,
and availeth you nothing”
(Alma 34:28).
I knew what it was like
to pray without ceasing for
righteous desires. I also
knew firsthand what it was like to feel that those prayers
were in vain. Now the Lord was showing me how I could
be merciful and in turn receive the mercy I was seeking.