Compensating Blessings
Gérald Caussé, Presiding Bishop
Bishop Caussé assures that the Lord compensates our righteous desires despite life's uncontrollable challenges.
Open talk in Gospel LibraryContents
Topics
Receive God's Compensating Blessings
Bishop Caussé explains that when we are unable to fulfill our righteous desires due to circumstances beyond our control, the Lord compensates by providing blessings in other ways. This principle is grounded in the perfect love and justice of God.
When circumstances beyond our control prevent us from fulfilling the righteous desires of our hearts, the Lord will compensate in ways that allow us to receive His promised blessings.
The Lord asks us to do "all we can" and to "offer [our] whole souls as an offering unto him."Key Points:
- God loves each of us perfectly and invites all to partake of His goodness.
- God will not hold us accountable for things beyond our control.
- Through Jesus Christ and His Atonement, we can find strength to endure and overcome life's challenges.
- Reflect on a time when you felt limited by circumstances but still felt the Lord's love.
- Share an experience when you felt compensated by the Lord for a missed opportunity.
- Think about a time when you received unexpected blessings during a challenging period.
Offer Your Whole Soul to the Lord
The Lord accepts the sincere desires of our hearts as a worthy offering, even when we cannot fully act on them due to external circumstances. Our willingness to give our best is what matters to Him.
We will be blessed for the righteous desires of our hearts even though some outside circumstance has made it impossible for us to carry those desires into action.
What matters to the Lord is not merely whether we are able but whether we are willing to do all we can to follow Him as our Savior.Key Points:
- The Lord requires us to offer our whole souls as an offering.
- The desires of our hearts are accepted by the Lord when circumstances prevent us from acting on them.
- The Lord's blessings are not withheld due to our inability to act.
- Describe a situation where you did your best despite limitations.
- Recall a time when you felt your efforts were accepted by the Lord.
- Share how you have seen the Lord's hand in your life when you offered your best.
Find Strength Through Jesus Christ and His Atonement
Bishop Caussé emphasizes that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we can find the strength to endure life's challenges. The Savior understands our pains and infirmities, offering mercy and grace to sustain us.
Through Jesus Christ and His Atonement, we can find the strength to endure and ultimately overcome all of life’s challenges.
The Savior took upon Himself not only the sins of the repentant but also "the pains and the sicknesses of his people" and "their infirmities."Key Points:
- The Atonement of Jesus Christ provides strength to endure and overcome challenges.
- The Savior understands our pains and infirmities.
- The Lord's mercy and grace sustain us through life's injustices and limitations.
- Reflect on a time when you felt strengthened by the Savior during a trial.
- Share an experience where you felt the Savior's understanding of your challenges.
- Think about how the Atonement has helped you overcome a specific difficulty.
Serve Others to Invite Blessings
Service to others is a way to invite compensating blessings into our lives. By using our gifts and resources to help others, we can experience healing and compensation.
When facing limitations and challenges, may we recognize our own blessings—our gifts, resources, and time—and use them to serve those in need.
The Lord’s compensating blessings often come through the kindness and service of others who help us accomplish what we cannot do on our own.Key Points:
- Service to others invites blessings and compensation into our lives.
- Our gifts, resources, and time can be used to bless others.
- The Lord often sends help through others to accomplish what we cannot do alone.
- Share an experience where you felt blessed by serving others.
- Reflect on a time when someone served you in a moment of need.
- Think about how serving others has brought you closer to the Lord.
Participate in Temple Work for Compensating Blessings
Engaging in temple work for our ancestors is a powerful way to contribute to compensating blessings. It allows us to provide ordinances for those who didn't have the opportunity during their mortal lives.
One of the most powerful ways we may contribute to God’s compensating blessings is through the vicarious work we do for our ancestors in the house of the Lord.
The loving service we offer in holy temples reminds us that the Savior’s grace extends beyond this life.Key Points:
- Temple work for ancestors is a way to provide blessings to those who missed opportunities.
- The Savior's grace extends beyond this life through temple ordinances.
- Participating in temple work helps us contribute to the Lord’s great work of salvation.
- Reflect on how participating in temple work has blessed your life.
- Share a specific experience of feeling connected to your ancestors through temple work.
- Think about how temple service has strengthened your testimony of the Savior's grace.
