Progress and Learning, Plus Most Compelling Divine Laws

Although I have not posted much on this blog, I have been slowly chipping away at my goal to catalog divine law. For the past several years, I have been marking if-then (or, inasmuch-ye shall, except-cannot, do-and) statements in the scripture. One often-repeated example in the Book of Mormon is, "Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper" (1 Nephi 2:20).

I have a spreadsheet with many of these scriptures cataloged into various categories. 

I have another spreadsheet that outlines my vision, plan, and timeline on when to finish cataloging these type of scriptures. My current goal is to have this all cataloged and organized on this blog by 2033, but not much will begin to appear on this blog until 2031.

In the meantime, I'd like to document what I have learned so far as well as some of the principles and laws I have found most compelling to me so far. 

First, let me tell you what I have learned along this journey. Rules, commandments, and specific advise is often an indication of a deeper principle and law. Let me provide an example:

• Here are a few scriptures that illustrate if-then type statements:
• "And God said, Let there be light: and there was light" (Genesis 1:3).
• "Yea, and if He say unto the earth—Move—it is moved" (Helaman 12:13).
• "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread" (Genesis 3:19).
• "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you" (Matthew 7:7).
• “Thou shalt not be idle; for he that is idle shall not eat the bread nor wear the garments of the laborer” (D&C 42:42).
• The divine law these scriptures seem to illustrate is that intentional effort brings forth results. Others may call this the divine law of work.

At first glance, it's obvious to recognize other principles here: the elements obey God's voice, we must work to eat, answers come when we search, ponder, and pray, etc. However, if we continue to go deeper, we discover a law that connects all these ideas together.

I'm not suggesting that I have discovered everything there is to know about these scriptures or work in general. In fact, I have an inkling that this divine law of work is deeply connected to faith and the doctrine of Jesus Christ. I also wonder if this law I believe I have identified is connected to the laws of thermodynamics in physics, but I don't know. I am simply trying to illustrate that rules, commandments, research studies, experiments, specific advise, guidelines, and specific scriptures with if-then statements may help point us to something even deeper. Of course we have to be careful not to overgeneralize; we need to continually seek for more and more evidence.

It is insightful to realize that the Lord said, "I give unto you a commandment that you shall teach one another the doctrine of the kingdom ... that you may be instructed more perfectly in theory, in principle, in doctrine, in the law of the gospel ..." (D&C 88:77-78).

I wonder if the sequence of the words in that verse are instructive: principles are based on doctrines and doctrines are based on laws. Elder Bednar and others have mentioned that principles are guidelines that should be "based on the doctrines" (“The Principles of My Gospel”).

Also note that Jesus Christ said there are "two commandments" on which "hang all the law and the prophets" (Matthew 22:40). Those commandments are to love God and to love others as ourselves (Matthew 22:37-39). It seems abundantly clear to me that all of God's laws lead back to love and charity in some way or another. This further makes it clear there are higher laws and principles which tie other principles together. 

I have yet to further unravel and unpack all of this. For now, I am simply marking if-then type statements in the scriptures and trying to catalog them into categories. In the meantime, I wanted to use this post as a place to document some of the laws that I find most compelling, interesting, or useful so far. Because this project is a years-long pursuit—maybe even longer than one life's work—I cannot say with certainty that I know these laws are true or that I have captured them perfectly. I simply want a place to document what I believe I have discovered so far:

• Intentional effort brings results. In other words, no results come without intentional effort by someone, even if it's not yourself.
• Faith in Jesus Christ and what He did, repentance, baptism, receiving the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end are the only steps that lead to salvation.
• Someone must have a desire to learn (in other words, a soft or open heart) in order to learn. In other words, humility and meekness begets knowledge, understanding, wisdom, and growth. 
• I'm sure there is more to understand because I also believe virtue helps beget knowledge as well.
• "I have learned a truth that has been repeated so frequently in my life that I have come to know it as an absolute law. It defines the way obedience and service relate to the power of God. When we obey the commandments of the Lord and serve His children unselfishly, the natural consequence is power from God—power to do more than we can do by ourselves. Our insights, our talents, our abilities are expanded because we receive strength and power from the Lord" (Richard G. Scott).
• Virtue also increased knowledge, especially spiritual knowledge (D&C 121, Jesus words on an adulterous generation, the order of virtue then knowledge in multiple scriptures). In other words, if your mind is filled with filth, it has less room for truth. If your heart is full of impurity, it has less room for the Holy Ghost.

About This Blog

President Russell M. Nelson said the following:

"When I was a young medical student, my rigorous study of the human body convinced me that God lived. And as I came to know that the body was God’s creation, I became increasingly intrigued with the laws of God that govern the function of the body. Through extensive laboratory research, I later learned the law that governs the beating of the heart. Further, I learned that the beating heart could safely be stopped temporarily to facilitate delicate surgical repairs. This could be done by changing the sodium/potassium ratio in the blood supplied to the heart. Later, when the heart was nourished by blood with a normal sodium/potassium ratio, the heart would again beat normally. These findings proved to be predictable, dependable, and repeatable.

"I recently had the opportunity to explain this to a medical school class. A learned professor who was present asked me, 'But what if it doesn’t work?' I replied, 'It always works! It works according to divine law.'

"Divine law is incontrovertible and irrefutable. Divine law cannot be denied or disputed. And when God’s laws are obeyed, relevant blessings always result! Blessings are always predicated upon obedience to applicable law."

This blog was made in an attempt to simply and clearly catalog divine laws. 

This blog was created by Matthew Havertz: I take full responsibility for the content.

If you would like to help me catalog divine law, please feel free to reach out to me: matthewhavertz (at) gmail (dot) com.