The Law of Laws

Today, I want to address what I call “the nebulous cloud of blessings”. This is a concept that has come up in many conversations with people over the years, including from my own mouth in times past, that I have given a name to. The conversation generally results in a statement like this: “I’m doing everything I’m supposed to and I’m still not being blessed. Why isn’t the Atonement working?” It’s as if there’s an unwritten expectation of receiving without actually defining why and how obedience works. This ignorance on our part leaves us feeling confused, frustrated, and hopeless when we don’t experience what we’ve been promised by leaders. This can lead to disillusionment and doubt.

The “nebulous cloud of blessings” are blessings that blanket all acts of obedience and service beneath a fluffy ideal, which I liken to a cloud called “blessings”. And this cloud is supposed to rain down upon you when you’re being obedient—doing the right things and checking all the boxes. But the problem becomes, as it did for me, when after a lifetime of doing all the right things, being “obedient” (because I wanted to be), and suffering tremendously through life’s circumstances -the specific blessings needed don’t come. The only answer I could get from my leaders on the topic was to continue with the “primary answers”, and that “some blessings don’t come in this life” and to just “endure to the end”. I don’t know how you feel about it, but that counsel felt so heavy and so hopeless, and it opened many doors of discouragement for me (it’s also not what triggered my faith crisis, btw).

I feel like a lot of the pain comes from not understanding two things:

The actual Atonement of Jesus Christ. And…
The way we discuss blessings, and the expectations surrounding that verbiage.

In this article I’ll focus on point #2.

Many of us were taught that obedience brings blessings. Yes, that’s true. But obedience to what? To whom? This is where it gets murky.

So, let’s start by getting really clear. Obedience to specific laws brings specific blessing. Every law has specific blessings and consequences attached to it.

Serving in a calling, isn’t a law and it doesn’t have specific blessings attached to it. It may provide many potential benefits, like making new social connections, opportunities to serve, learning a new skill—growth. But if you think your obedience by serving in a specific calling is somehow going to fix your marital problems, you’re probably going to be disappointed. Obeying the laws of good marital relationships is what will brings you a better relationship with your spouse.

It’s the same with wealth. Even an immoral man can be wealthy. Obeying the laws of wealth is what brings wealth (yes, I’m aware of corruption as a means gain, but this article isn’t about that). Law and consequence. We can’t perform institutional obedience (social norms and checklists) and expect specific law-based blessings. Obedience to expectations, social norms, and checklists may bring benefits to your life, but not necessarily blessings.

So, I define what I call “the law of laws” as this:

To receive the blessings you desire, you must align your actions with the specific laws that produce them.

Again, laws have built-in consequences, and blessings flow when our actions align with the specific law itself. Think about it like planting a seed. You can’t plant a carrot seed and expect an apple. You can water it, tend to it, even sing to it… but if it’s a carrot seed, the only natural outcome is a carrot. And it will grow according to its own rhythm and timing. The seed produces the fruit it was designed to produce—and nothing else. Only when we act in alignment with that law do we reap the corresponding fruit. Want love? Practice the law of love. Want wealth? Practice the laws of wealth. Want health? Practice the laws of health. Expecting unrelated blessings is like planting a seed of corn and hoping for oranges—it’s effort, but misaligned expectation.

So, when you’re feeling frustrated by God’s lack of blessings even though you’re doing “all the things” you can ask yourself: Am I being obedient to the law that brings those blessings? Or am I expecting something specific as a reward for general “obedience”?

Now, you might be thinking: Well, if I don’t know the law, how do I even know what actions to take? That’s a really important question. Learning the laws, understanding their purpose, and recognizing their consequences is essential and takes some effort. And you can use the practice of observation, reflection, and experimentation to help. Look at life, see what produces what, and align your actions intentionally. Learn by watching others behavior and consequences, or by your own. Record your experiences and the results, observe and reflect. Read the scripture or other books on the subject. Educate yourself. After all, that’s one of the reasons we’re on this earth—to learn.

Laws are universal. We have them in science and psychology, math, nature, economics, ethics, sociology, art and design, language and communication, etc. If you want to understand how to work an algebraic equation, you need to understand and follow the laws that lead to a solution. Laws are universal. It’s how the world, and life, AND spiritual things work.

When we live according to God’s laws, blessings unfold naturally and in their proper season, just like seeds in the garden. Our role is to align, nurture, and trust the process. The blessing comes in the form the law intends—not in some arbitrary or unrelated form. Understanding this can make all the difference in where we place our energy and focus and the results we receive. It clears the debris between us and Jesus because we no longer carry erroneous ideas that muddy our relationship with him–ideas that, if left unchecked, can distort our expectations, lead to frustration, and even injure our faith.

When we release those misconceptions and align with God’s design, we open space for clarity, trust, and intimacy with Him. We no longer chase arbitrary outcomes or carry unnecessary burdens. Instead, we participate in life as it was intended: planting the desired seeds, tending them faithfully, and trusting that the fruit will come in its proper time. In other words, faith isn’t about forcing results—it’s about living in alignment with the laws God has set, and resting in the assurance that His blessings are always purposeful, timely, and good.

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