THE SHEPHERD

 

The more I study the Church history, the more I can see one truth: the Saviour himself restored His Church. We often say the Church was built on the sacrifices of the pioneers. This statement is not without its foundation but it overlooks the power behind those pioneers and their sacrifices.

When President Joseph F. Smith received his revelation regarding the spirit world in 1918, he was given to understand the greatest truth regarding the Church and its ability to rise. In the revelation, he observed that there were noble and great spirits who were chosen ‘in the beginning to be rulers in the Church of God’, and that they were prepared, with many others, to come forth ‘in due time to labour in the Lord’s vineyard for the salvation of the souls of men’ (D&C 138:55,56).

I am amazed how plain it is to see that the Saviour placed these chosen people where they should be for the establishment of the Church. Over and over He sent men prepared to receive the Gospel to Joseph, asking for baptism and a revelation from the Lord to know what He would have them do. This is what the Church was built on. Consider just a few of these men:

·        Orson Pratt, a brother of Parley P. Pratt, was baptized in 1830 in New York and arrived on Joseph’s doorstep six weeks later asking him to inquire of God what his duty was. He was 19 years of age (History of the Church, 1:127-28)

·        Sidney Rigdon heard the message of the restored gospel in 1830 in Ohio and was baptized immediately. Soon after his baptism, he travelled to Fayette, New York, to meet the Prophet and inquired what the Lord wanted him to do.  (History of the Church, 1:128)

·        Edward Partridge first heard the Gospel message in Ohio in 1830, from the missionaries who had been sent to the Lamanites and who stopped there on the way to Missouri. In December of that year he travelled to Fayette, sought out the Prophet and asked to be baptized (History of Joseph Smith, p 191-2)

·        Parley P.  Pratt: I read about his story years ago. It is astounding. In short, he was preaching around the countryside and came upon a man who had been given a Book of Mormon. He thought Parley would be interested in it so he gave it to him. Parley Pratt started reading and could not stop until the next day. He could not eat or sleep until he finished it. He also found the Prophet and asked to be baptized.

And Joseph? It is not by accident that he wanted to know which Church to join at 14 years of age. He was led to read the scripture which brought him to the sacred grove to utter the question he asked. Therefrom, he was guided in all things until his life was asked of him.

The Church was restored and has prospered because of one thing: “I am the good shepherd…..and my sheep hear my voice” (John 10:14,27)

We are in this Church because we are His sheep. We were prepared long before the world began to answer the call. All glory be to the Shepherd who calls us His own….

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: The Gentle Saviour by Greg Collins)

THE GOLDEN GRAIN OF GOD

 

During His ministry, the Saviour related a lot of His teachings to the agricultural practices of His day. I love it when I come across examples of this in the scriptures because it takes me back to my European upbringing.

When the Saviour says that ‘the angels are waiting the great command to reap down the earth, to gather the tares that they may be burned’, I am immediately taken back to the wheat harvests that I witnessed in my youth.

The angels are waiting eagerly to reap as “all eternity is pained” because ‘all flesh is corrupted’ (D&C 38:11,12).  If all flesh is corrupted why gather and burn the tares only?  Because interspersed among the tares is something very valuable, ‘the golden wheat’…..

When Jesus visited the Nephites, He gave them the same warning He gave to Peter. He told them that Satan desired to have them that he may sift them as wheat (3 Nephi 18:18; Luke 22:31). I know something about this process. It is called ‘threshing’.

In agriculture, the process of threshing removes the thin, dry, scaly husks around the grains of wheat which act as a protective barrier as the wheat matures. Once the wheat is harvested, this casing, called ‘chaff’ has to be removed as it is not digestible by humans.

The thrashing happens either through a machine or among the less affluent farmers, manually by hand. I have memories of my grandfather sifting the wheat in a broad, round wooden sieve, shaking it from side to side to loosen the chaff from the wheat. It was a very vigorous process. The wheat was then thrown up lightly and the chaff blown away by the wind while the wheat which was heavier fell back into the sieve. This sifting was essential to expose and gather the golden grain.

I picture Satan greedily and viciously sifting us as wheat in a wooden sieve. He wants us as he wanted Peter because every grain is as important to him as it is to God:

In essence, Jesus was saying: “Peter, Satan wants you in his harvest. He wants to harvest your soul and bring you into his granary, into his garner, where he will have you as his disciple’. It is the same figure we use when we say that the field is white, already to harvest. And we go out and preach the gospel and harvest the souls of men. Satan wanted Peter, he wanted to sift him as wheat or to harvest his soul.”  (Sermons and Writings of Bruce R. McConkie, ed. Mark L. McConkie [1998], 127).

In 1830 the Lord issued a call for the ‘weak things of the world’ to thresh the nations by the power of His Spirit (D&C 35:13). As the missionary labours expanded, The Lord’s granary grew and continues  to grow to this day. We are the ‘weak things of the world’ but His Spirit is the mighty force of conversion which is gathering the golden wheat.

Satan might have attempted to sift Peter but he did not succeed in harvesting his soul. He is attempting the same with us because as the saints of the Saviour’s Church, we are valuable not only to God but to the world also. We stand as an ensign to the nations. Peter was important in the infancy of the Church but we are important in the winding up scenes of the world.

The Church has to stand to fulfil its divine destiny as the Kingdom of God. Our value is greater than we realise. May we be strong enough to survive the sifting and garner each golden grain of God.  

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art:  Ready to Harvest by LeafyTreeCo)

 

 

 

WHO YOU ARE

 

“An old rabbi once said that every man ought to carry two pieces of paper in his pocket.

“In times of self-satisfaction and complacency he should read the one that says: “I am dust and ashes”.

“When dejected and dispirited he should read the other that says: “For my sake was the world created”.

“And at all times he should remember: “I am made from the dust but it is in God’s image I am made”.

-        Author Unknown

When Moses encountered God on Mount Sinai, God revealed Himself to him and Moses saw the glory of God and every particle of this earth and all the children of men (Moses 1:8,27) that have ever been created.

The vision of God's power was overwhelming to a man who grew up in an Egyptian court believing that Pharoah was god and there was no one greater than him so he exclaimed that now he could see that man is nothing (Moses :10).

God, however, didn't want Moses to miss the point so He showed him the same vision again and concluded it with the most important message in the scriptures: "For behold this is my work and my glory - to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39). The point that God didn't want Moses to miss is this: amongst all of God's creations, none are greater than man…..

Moses learnt something else of great importance on that occasion. God addressed Moses as, “my son” (Moses 1:7). Moses comprehended the significance of this straight away. When Satan appeared to him after the vision was given for the first time demanding that Moses worship him, he addressed him as “Moses, son of man”, emphasizing his mortality and thereby attempting to discredit his divine origin.

Moses’ rebuttal was perfect: “I am a son of God…..get thee hence, Satan, deceive me not…” (Moses 1:13).  

Satan’s crushing ideologies of the world seek to destroy our belief in our divine origin now more than ever but he can never alter the truth that the seeds of deity are implanted within each of us. Because we are the literal offspring of God the Father, the potential within us to rise to the greatest heights of our existence is unmistakable.

When the enemy comes to you in his clever disguise to discourage you and confuse you as to who you are, believe him not.

When the Saviour came to earth, He repeatedly affirmed He was the Son of God. He knew who He was and He behaved as such and fulfilled His mission as such. We might not be as great as Him but in the words of Moses: “…I am a son of God, in the similitude of his Only Begotten….” (Moses 1:13)

Let the everlasting hills and mountains

Hear Thy exalted voice;

That the ends of the earth

Might proclaim Thy eternal fame.

May all who hear, walk in Thy holy name

And seek Thy mercy and Thy grace;

And may those found worthy

Be endowed with Thy image

In the countenance of their face.

 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Gentle Christ by Del Parson)

THE DEDICATED SON

 

The Saviour is the epitome of the most perfect, obedient, and admirable son there could ever exist. We very seldom focus on this. When we speak and think of Him it is in most cases about His role as our Saviour.

There is an important role however, that the Christ fulfilled perfectly upon this earth and continues to do so as He guides His Church. It is the authority given Him by the Father to speak and act in the first person of the Godhead, as though he were the Father. This is called ‘divine investiture of authority’.  (“The Father and the Son: A Doctrinal Exposition by the First Presidency”, in Talmage, Articles of Faith, pp 465-73)

The scriptures prove this to the letter. Often it can be confusing to read: “Listen to the voice of Jesus Christ” and shortly thereafter to come across a reference to “mine Only Begotten Son” (D&C 29:1, 41-46).

Elder Bruce R. McConkie explains it this way: “Since Christ is one with the Father in all of the attributes of perfection, and since he exercises power and authority of the Father, it follows that everything He says or does is and would be exactly and precisely what the Father would say and do under the same circumstances” (Mormon Doctrine, p 130)

Think about this for a moment. Does this not testify of the incredible closeness the Saviour has with the Father, to know His every wish, His every thought, His every intent??? And most of all, does this not tell us that the Saviour’s whole purpose is to redeem the Father’s children and to bring Him glory? (Moses 4:2).

During His visit to the Americas, I counted the Saviour made 163 references to the Father. Fifteen of them were references of His obedience to Him (3 Nephi 15:14-16,18,19; 16:3,10,16; 17:2, 18:14,27; 20:10,14,46).

“To come to earth with such a responsibility, to stand in place of Elohim – speaking as He would speak, judging and serving, loving and warning, forbearing and forgiving as He would do – this is a duty of such staggering proportions that you and I cannot comprehend such a thing. But in the loyalty and determination that would be characteristic of a divine child, Jesus could comprehend it, and He did it.” (Jeffrey R. Holland, The Grandeur of God, October 2003 General Conference)

 

I stood in the shadow of Your heart today

And saw obedience to the Father there;

I saw the Son You are and more

I saw the God that I adore

I stand in awe…..

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Artist Unknown)

HIS WORK WILL GO FORTH

 

 

This is a condensed version of how the Book of Mormon would read if Dr. Seuss wrote it…..

 

NEPHI:

Of goodly parents I was born

I’ve never drunk, I’ve never sworn

This is Lehi, he’s my dad

Laman, Lemuel, they are bad

And who is this?  Why this is Sam.

SAM:

In a tent my father dwelt.

LAMAN:

And it’s so hot, I think I’ll melt.

LEMUEL:

Our father’s brain is out of whack.

LAMAN:

Yeah, it’s too hot, I’m going back.

LEHI:

Then go and get the plates my dear.

NEPHI:

I will go and I will do

There’s the angel, that’s my cue

Laban’s had too much to drink

Now he’ll lose his head, I think.

LAMAN:

Our gold and silver we have spent

I do not like it in this tent

LEMUEL:

I cannot read the Liahona

I must have drunk too much Corona

LAMAN:

We hate it here, we have no lives.

LEHI:

Then go back to the city and get some wives.

LEHI:

A tree, a tree, I see a tree!!

The fruit is white, the fruit is free!

A floating building, could it be?

Why do they laugh and stare at me?

Laman, Lemuel, come and see!

LAMAN:

We will not eat your precious fruit

LEMUEL:

We will not eat your fruit I say

LAMAN:

We will not eat it on a tray

LEMUEL:

And we won’t eat it in a tent

Not even if your clothes you’ve rent

LAMAN:

We’d rather have a can of spam

LAMAN & LEMUEL:

We will not eat it, Sam I am

SAM:

You do not like it, so you say

Try it, try it, and you may

Try it and you may, I say

LAMAN & LAMUEL:

Say, we like this fruit of life

Sorry that we caused such strife

You’ve saved us from an awful jam

Thank you, thank you, Sam I am!

 

I don’t know who wrote this but the style certainly has a Dr. Seuss signature: it’s funny, it’s entertaining and has a cheery ending, like all his books. But if Dr. Seuss wrote the Book of Mormon, there would be no American Indian today.

In Section 3 of the Doctrine and Covenants, we read the Lord’s declaration that His work shall go forth, no matter what, so that the purposes of the Book of Mormon shall be fulfilled (vs 16-20). President Joseph Fielding Smith had this to say regarding this, which stands to me as the greatest proof of Joseph’s sacred calling:

“If Joseph Smith had been guilty of practicing a fraud, if he had endeavoured to palm off the Book of Mormon on this hostile and unbelieving world, he would have never dared to say that it would go forth to the convincing of Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ. Even if he had been foolish enough to make such a declaration and the work being fake, it would have come to a speedy and ridiculous end. It would have never survived the first year of its existence. It would have been full of flaws and scrutinizing gaze of the world would have exposed it in all its folly.”  (Church History and Modern Revelation, 1:28-29)

And imagine if Joseph was an educated and popular writer of his time and he sat down to write the history of the American Indian claiming it’s a translation of an ancient historical record. Would not the critics have recognized his literary style in the fake Book of Mormon and discredited his claims?

Hence the uneducated farmer…..oh the great wisdom and foresight of our God!!!

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Translation Process by LDS ART)

A SACRED RESPONSIBILITY

 

Often in the Church we talk about the importance of missionary work. I don’t know if we all realise that the greatest missionary work we will ever do is within the walls of our homes, with our children.

Section 29 of the Doctrine and Covenants speaks of little children being redeemed by the Atonement of Jesus Christ as they are not accountable until they are eight years of age. And then a mandate that their preparation for accountability rests upon the shoulders of their fathers ‘that great things may be required at their hands’ (v 46-48).

I believe that bringing up our children within the light of the Gospel and teaching them to walk in the paths of righteousness is a responsibility we will be judged on the most. If we fail in this, the sins of our children will be upon our own heads (D&C 68:25-28).

Sometimes we might doubt the ideals of the gospel that we teach and believe in, such as ‘a family that prays together, stays together’ and ‘train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it’ (Proverbs 22:6). Obviously, this does not always work as many of us have children who have rejected the gospel despite the best efforts of us, their parents. I have pondered on this as my own daughter has walked away from the teachings of her youth.

I have come to understand this: 1. If we had no ideal, there would be no striving for salvation; 2. We don’t know which of our children will get hold of our teachings, therefore, all need to be taught. I have one daughter who is very active in the Church and bringing up her children in the Gospel; 3. If we, as parents, don’t do our part, our children would have the right to blame us for their choices; 4. We don’t know when the fruit of our efforts will come to fruition. It might be in this life or the next.

Section 68 is specific that we need to teach our children “faith in Christ, the Son of the living God” (v 25)……because this is where salvation lies. What we pass onto our children, gets passed onto generations of our posterity, the bad and the good.

I look at my daughter and see the spiritual guidance and teachings she is giving to her children that I never received in my childhood from my parents and I think, I have done a bit better and she is doing better still.

The covenant of obedience that I made with the Saviour when I was baptised stands as an example of hope to my daughter who has followed in my footsteps and my grandchildren who are following in hers. That hope is in Christ, who has overcome the effects of sin for all human family. It is because of Him that our hearts can be turned to our fathers with forgiveness and love that endures forever.

I give you my patience

That you might follow your path;

I give you my understanding

That you might love you more;

I give you my forgiveness

That you might learn to love;

I give you my tolerance

That you might grow;

I give you my wisdom

That you might have courage.

I give you my witness

Of the fountain of it all

In whom if you believe,

You will never fall.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: A Mother In Zion by Greg Sargent)

THE BURNING LIGHT

 

“A man travelling through the country came to a large city, very rich and splendid. He looked at it and said to his guide: “This must be a very righteous people, for I can only see one little devil in this great city.

“The guide replied: “You do not understand, Sir. This city is so perfectly given up to wickedness, corruption, degradation and abomination of every kind that it requires but one devil to keep them all in subjection.”

“Travelling on a little further, the man came to a rugged path and saw an old man trying to get up the hillside, surrounded by seven great, big coarse looking devils. “Why”, says the traveler, “this must be a tremendously wicked old man! Only see how many devils there are around him!”

“This”, replied the guide, “is the only righteous man in the country; and there are seven of the biggest devils trying to turn him out of his path, and they all cannot do it.”

-        Chinese Fable

Does it make you wonder what strategies the old man used to make himself impervious to the influence of the adversary? I thought of listing some helpful ways we could do to achieve the same result, such as seeking after righteousness through prayer, scriptures, temple, Church, family home evening, clean and worthy thoughts, service……

As I reflected on these many things, I remembered reading a book years ago by a Christian woman who suggested every Christian should pray daily for a shield of faith to be placed around them to withstand the fiery darts of the adversary. I thought this, for sure, was the best way. Even today I pray for this shield of faith and it has served me well, I am sure.

In the early hours of this morning, something far more powerful came to my mind. The true path to repel the adversary is by his arch enemy, the Christ. The most-sure way is allowing the light of Christ to sear our consciousness and sharpen our focus so that before us is always the one and only path to salvation. Where there is light, there cannot be darkness.

This is the greatest repellant we have against him who cannot generate light and can only turn our lives into ashes.  He cannot stand the light, he cowers in darkness and feeds on the energy it gives him but there will come a day when he will be cast into the pit devoid of any power and be just a shell of his former self (Isaiah 14:12-20).

The imposter can lie, cheat and imitate but he will never be the Christ. He cannot light our path, he can only blind. All the things I listed surely do enable us to keep our focus on the Saviour but they are ‘doing things’ and they can easily fall by the wayside. What is more powerful and lasting is allowing Christ into our hearts. It means to develop a love that burns deep into our soul. A fire that burns, gives light.

The Saviour stands at the gates of heaven with open arms to receive us.

Be the force that the devil can reckon with but can never win…..

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: The Light of Christ by Douglas Bentley)