1 “I would like to know, Sir,” I said, “in what ways I ought to serve the good desire.” “Listen,” he said, “practice righteousness and virtue, truth and the fear of the Lord, faith and gentleness, and all good deeds like these. By practicing these, you will be pleasing as a servant of God, and will live for Him; yes, and all who serve the good desire will live for God.” 2 So he finished the twelve commandments, and he said to me: “You have these commandments; walk in them, and encourage those who hear you, so that their repentance may be pure for the rest of the days of their life. 3 Fulfill with all diligence to the end this ministry I am giving you, and you will accomplish much. For you will find favor among those who are about to repent, and they will obey your words. For I will be with you, and will compel them to obey you.” 4 I said to him: “Sir, these commandments are great and beautiful and glorious, and they can delight the heart of anyone who can keep them. But I do not know whether these commandments can be kept by any person, for they are very hard.” 5 He answered me: “If you decide that they can be kept, you will easily keep them, and they will not be hard;⁠a but if you get it into your heart that no one can keep them, you will not keep them. 6 But now I say to you: if you do not keep them, but neglect them, you will not have salvation—neither you nor your children nor your household, since you have already condemned yourself by saying that no one can keep these commandments.”