This is so profound. The law is irrevocable. ALL blessings are dependent on keeping the law. ANY blessing is received by obedience to the law. God is not arbitrary in any way. The ONLY way to receive a blessing is by keeping the law upon which THAT blessing is based. There are no entitlements outside of a very specific law. We need never be frustrated because we only need to discover the law that governs the blessing we desire, obey it, and we WILL receive the blessing. The Lord explains:
For all who will have a blessing at my hands shall abide the law which was appointed for that blessing, and the conditions thereof, as were instituted from before the foundation of the world. (D&C 132:5)
We learned this stuff before the world was created. God doesn't dole-out blessings, He merely gives information, or the LAWS that govern the blessing. The rest is automatic. We don't need to understand the law, we only need to live it. There are many who are "talented" because they have an intrinsic understanding of a law that allows them to receive a blessing. Very often they don't even understand what they know or how they know it.
All of the blessings of God are only given when we obey Him. When we ask for a blessing, He tells us the law we must keep to receive it. If we keep a law, He is bound to give the blessing. "I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise." (D&C 82:10) God is absolute, He isn't arbitrary in any way. If you do not obey the law you won't receive the blessing, and if you do live the law you will receive the blessing. If this is true, then the only criteria for being in a state of blessedness is knowledge and obedience. The more laws you know and live, the more blessings you can receive.
Corruption
On the other hand, the only curse is ignorance. Those who are ignorant become corrupt by relying on chance or superstition, or by stealing the "blessing." Corruption happens when one receives a blessing without keeping the law upon which that blessing is dependent. God is NOT corrupt. He will NEVER give a blessing if you aren't keeping the law upon which that blessing is based.
For example, parents make a rule: you can't go to Joe's house until you clean your room. Then, the child is allowed to go to Joe's before cleaning his room. Or, a parent makes a rule: "You can't have any pudding if you don't eat your meat!" The child doesn't eat the meat, but gets the pudding anyway. Parents give children "gifts" of stuff for which the child has no investment. The spoiling of children is just one type of corruption.
One of the "seven deadly sins" by Mohandas Gandhi is "wealth without work." Corrupt people desire to have the blessings of work without actually doing it. They steal, commit fraud, gamble and otherwise try to separate others from their money. This, of course, is evil in itself, but those who are successful find that their wealth corrupts them and all around them. In contrast, living the laws of wealth by work, steadiness, gratitude, and obedience to God's laws makes affluence enriching in many ways.
Blessedness
We often consider others to be fortunate or lucky when we see how blessed they are. Since God is no respecter of persons, there can be no such thing as "luck." In every case we receive according to our obedience, whether we know it or not. Some keep the laws of God without realizing it and are blessed just the same. Atheists who keep the laws are blessed as well -- it doesn't matter what you think or believe, or even what you do outside of the law. Sinners who live a law will receive the blessings of that law.
It seems, then, that instead of asking God for the blessing of faith, for example, we should ask for knowledge of the laws that govern it. The Scriptures are clear: "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17) As we hear the word of God, or truth, we gather evidence: "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1) Faith is also steadfastness, "But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering." (James 1:6) Thus, we can learn to have faith by learning what faith is, how to get it, and then doing what it takes. This same process could be followed for any blessing we desire.
The state of blessedness begins with knowledge and continues through faithfulness to that knowledge. We are blessed according to our willingness to live the corresponding law and in no other way. There is no luck, fortune, accident, chance or fate. Only intelligence and obedience determine which blessings we receive.
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