Obediences of Scope

An economy of scope has lowering average costs per good as the variety of goods produced increases. For example, it could be that leather and beef production experience economies of scope. That would mean that the average cost of producing the two goods is lower if both are produced by the same firm, perhaps because only one cow needs to be used to get both of those things. This is the case for many goods; a company that hires a high-tech design expert might want to produce several goods to use that expert as much as possible.

A similar thing can happen when we increase the variety of principles that we obey. Elder Richard G. Scott spoke of a lesson his wife learned: "Jeanene confirmed early in her life that those who consistently read the Book of Mormon are blessed with an added measure of the Spirit of the Lord, a greater resolve to obey His commandments, and a stronger testimony of the divinity of the Son of God." Obeying the commandment to study the scriptures helped with obedience to other commandments.

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Think about two "goods". One is nice thoughts and another is nice talk. Say that I decide that instead of just saying nice things to a friend, I will think nice things about him too. This makes saying nice things easier since they are on my mind. And when I say the nice things, that makes my thoughts more positive. So although it takes more total effort to do both, the average cost of each thing is lower than when I was only doing one of the two things.

President Russell M. Nelson gave an example a few months ago about how keeping the commandment to do family history research became easier, or less costly, for his wife as she kept the Sabbath day holy by doing family history on Sundays.

Keeping the commandments blesses us in many facets of life. If I am determined to be a good disciple of Christ, this will lower the average cost of being a good brother, son, friend, etc.

I am grateful that when I get caught up in a selfish or self-deprecating world, the Gospel of Jesus Christ helps me to remember that by putting my will in line with God's, I can be something better.