Treasure in Heaven

by Autumn Dickson

Helaman had two sons whom he named Nephi and Lehi after their forefathers. He named them this so they could remember the good works of their ancestors and try to follow their examples. Helaman wanted his sons to have constant reminders to do good.

Helaman also taught his sons this:

Helaman 5:8 And now my sons, behold I have somewhat more to desire of you, which desire is, that ye may not do these things that ye may boast, but that ye may do these things to lay up for yourselves a treasure in heaven, yea, which is eternal, and which fadeth not away; yea, that ye may have that precious gift of eternal life, which we have reason to suppose hath been given to our fathers.

Helaman wanted his sons to do good, but he wanted his sons to do it for the right reasons. When it comes to the gospel of Jesus Christ, the right reasons are indispensable. It is the right reasons that change us and prepare us to actually receive eternal life because it is only through becoming like our Eternal Father that we can experience the kind of life He lives.

Helaman knew this and so he didn’t want his sons to do the right things so that they could boast and be proud of their good works. He wanted them to lay up a treasure in heaven for themselves, namely eternal life. This was an interesting way of phrasing this because some might argue that Helaman was teaching them to do good works so that they could receive a personal reward. Let’s talk about this personal reward so we can discuss what Helaman was truly teaching when he phrased it in this manner.

What is this treasure in heaven?

When we’re discussing the concept of “treasure” in heaven, we have to understand that this is symbolic. Treasure on earth is valuable, but the traditional treasure that we think of will not be valuable in heaven. It’s too plentiful to be valuable. Everyone will receive a healthy, resurrected body. Everyone (except for those few sons of perdition) will be living in a world that’s better than the one we have. Everyone will have what they need to be sustained forever.

So what’s valuable in heaven?

When you do good works, you’re not earning a mansion and an unending supply of gold and jewels and other nonsense. I have a sneaking suspicion that those things will be rather worthless on the other side because of their inability to provide anything for us. Money has its place here and can provide some measure of security, peace, and happiness. However, on the other side, where the Lord has already promised each of us a place in a kingdom that is above anything we’ve experienced here, I’m going to guess that your money is going to be laughable.

No. This treasure is not a reward in that manner.

In fact, I believe that the true treasure is nothing more than a deep realization of how to actually be happy in the context of eternity. That is what’s going to be valuable on the other side. The implications that follow this deep realization are all a part of this treasure in heaven, and when we understand this treasure in heaven, we will understand that Helaman was not encouraging his sons to seek a reward in the traditional, selfish sense.

Valuable treasure in the context of eternity

So let’s cover some of the realities of the context of eternity. We find ourselves in a world more beautiful than the one we’re living in now. Everyone has everything they need as well as perfectly healthy bodies. There is no such thing as having more than another person because every person pretty much gets whatever they want.

The only thing I want to alter about these realities (in order to drive home my point) is the fact that in my scenario, everyone remains exactly who they are.

How would you spend your time if this were your reality? Where would you invest your energy? Obviously, we’re going to spend our energy in a way that makes us happy. How long will your investment bring a return? How long will it take before your investment grows unbearably dull and miserable as you view your unending life?

Real and lasting happiness requires drama and hardship. Nobody wants to watch a movie where the main character goes through nothing, learns nothing, and is just fine for two hours. In real life, having moments of reprieve where nothing is going wrong is absolutely appreciated. But it’s only appreciated because we know what it feels like when things are going wrong. Otherwise, it’s literally just boring. And in the context of eternity, I would imagine it can actually become unbearable.

I’ve watched my sister experience this on a smaller scale recently. She has ten kids. Needless to say, her life has been chaotic and constant movement for years on end. She has finally reached the point where her kids are growing up. They’re all in school. One is married. Another is off at college, and another is on a mission. She found herself in a period of time where she could finally catch up on reading and watching TV, and she definitely took advantage of it. She had solidly earned that reprieve.

But after some time passed, she got bored. She needed a challenge. She needed more than constant downtime. So she enrolled in school again.

Such is the case with eternity but on an even more extreme level. We will have nothing but constant “downtime.” We will need something to challenge us, or things are going to get dreadfully monotonous to the point where we have nothing to live for.

So here comes our Plan of Salvation in which the Lord allows us to have eternal posterity. Here comes our challenge to love and help someone who needs us, someone we can love more than ourselves. Here comes happiness and an appreciation of it.

But in order to take advantage of that potential happiness that is being offered to us, we have to be willing to look outside ourselves and our own needs. In order to be happy in the context of eternity, you have to let go of yourself and be turned outward like our Heavenly Father. That’s the big secret to happiness. That’s the key. That’s the treasure in heaven.

When Helaman teaches his sons to pursue this treasure in heaven, he wants them to learn the value of turning beyond yourself and the best way to learn this principle is to live it. You can read about serving others all day long, but you don’t change into an others-oriented kind of person until you practice what you’ve been taught. We have to act in order to change. Helaman’s sons were being given opportunities to practice turning outward so they could change and be prepared for the reality that was heaven. That was the treasure that was being offered to them.

Eternal life and its true treasure is being surrounded by loved ones and helping others progress. All of that other stuff (healthy bodies, homes, all of our needs met) is going to be wonderful and a necessary part of our eternal happiness, but those things are insufficient for happiness. Look at real-world examples. There are plenty of rich people who are unhappy and plenty of poor people who are happy so it’s not truly about having resources. The valuable treasure available in heaven is the knowledge that forgetting about yourself is where happiness lies, because it is only in forgetting about yourself that you find something worth living for: eternal posterity who can grow and progress.

I testify of a Heavenly Father who lives and loves His eternal life. I testify that He loves us enough to offer it to us. I testify that He has a complete understanding of eternity and that He’s trying to give it to us. I testify that He set up this entire plan, made possible by Jesus Christ, so that we could come down and gain the necessary knowledge and change to be prepared to live like He does. I testify that performing good works presents that specific opportunity to morph into the kind of person who can appreciate eternity.

Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives.

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