FEAR NOT

".....Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord...." (Exodus 14:13)

When the children of Israel saw the Egyptians pursuing them with the entire chariot fleet of Egypt such fear took over them that they forgot all the miracles that had been wrought by Moses to persuade Pharoah to let Israel go.  In fact, their fear of slaughter was so great that they even forgot all the pleading with God they had done so God would deliver them from slavery and blamed Moses for taking them out of Egypt almost against their will (Exodus 14:11,12)  In the midst of that fear the picture of reality got totally distorted.

It has been said that all our worrying is fueled by fear of loss of life. Just about all our day to day worrying is associated with survival in this temporal world and most of it has to do with money.  Without money you cannot meet your basic human needs such as shelter or food.  Without shelter you might end up on the street and without food you will starve and eventually die.  So the fear is not about lack of money but about your possible demise resulting in death.  We fear death because we were born with the instinct to preserve life.  In this context then surely fear would be a good thing would it not because it would drive us to act?  However, quite the opposite is true.  Fear robs us of peace and happiness and renders us powerless to act making us depressed and miserable.  Where there is depression and misery, motivation is difficult to find. There is fortunately a better way of handling the stresses of every day life that are associated with our survival.

Because we live in a fallen world, we live in a world of opposites. Two opposing forces in this world are darkness and light.  Darkness is of the adversary while light is of God.  We are at all times either going towards light or darkness.  Darkness renders us powerless while light makes us powerful.  Where there is darkness, there is no God and the ensuing power he can give us. God is a god of glory and light and cannot be where darkness is.  Fear produces darkness of the mind. When there is darkness in us, God cannot empower us to overcome, endure and achieve.

 Consider Moses' encounter with God and Satan.  After God departed and Satan made his entrance demanding that Moses worship him, Moses refused.  Satan proceeded to unleash his displeasure as he 'cried with a loud voice and ranted upon the earth' (Moses 1:19) So frightening was his protestation and anger that 'Moses began to fear exceedingly; and as he began to fear, he saw the bitterness of hell' (Moses 1:20) There is only darkness in hell and there are no light switches there.  I would imagine this darkness of hell frightened Moses to the extreme for verse 20 records that he immediately called upon God and as he did he received strength to repel Satan affirming his intention to only worship God, 'who is the God of glory'.  A God of glory is filled with intense light which has the power to dispel all darkness for darkness and light cannot abide together.  As Moses commanded Satan to depart and as Satan did so, the darkness left with him and the God of glory and light once again appeared to Moses.

Something interesting happened when God appeared to Moses the second time.  Because Moses chose to worship God and appealed to Him to deliver him from darkness, God empowered Moses beyond his fondest dreams.  In Moses 1:25 we read:

"...Blessed art thou Moses, for I, the Almighty, have chosen thee, and thou shall be made stronger than many waters; for they shall obey thy command as if thou wert God".

It would seem that the parting of the Red Sea was made possible long before Moses and the children of Israel stood on its' banks.  Because Moses chose to turn to God rather than remain in fear, God empowered him to accomplish his earthly task of leading Israel out of bondage.  This endowment of power had another purpose.  Through it and by it, God proved to Israel that He is a God of miracles.

What is the lesson in all of this for us?  When fear comes upon us, it distorts our reality.  Because of that distortion, we cannot see things clearly and are more than often not able to act to change the picture.  Most of the time we are not even aware that we have altered the reality in our minds.  We no longer see things as they really are.  At this point life becomes very bleak indeed.  In that bleak darkness however exists a flicker of light which can be ignited to disperse the darkness from us and make us able to act.  When we decide that we don't want to be incapacitated by darkness any longer and turn to God instead, we do two things: 1.  We dis-empower the adversary and 2. we enable God to perform miracles on our behalf which makes deliverance from our bondage imminent.  God is still a God of miracles which means that there is no situation in this life that He cannot deliver us from. When miracles fail to appear in our lives we either don't recognise them or do not ask for them with sufficient faith or it is not expedient for us to receive what we are asking. Sometimes even some repentance is needed on our behalf first.  In Mormon we read:

"And if there were miracles wrought then, why has God ceased to be a God of miracles and yet be an unchangeable Being?  And behold, I say unto you he changeth not; if so he would cease to be God; and he ceaseth not to be God, and is a God of miracles.

And the reason why he ceaseth to do miracles among the children of men is because that they dwindle in unbelief, and depart from the right way, and know not the God in whom they should trust." (Mormon 9:19,20)

I have had many revelations of God's miraculous power in my life.  I will recount one incident in my life which proves this point.  Following my divorce I struggled greatly to make ends meet as I worked to support my two children.  One week in particular with a few more days to pay day, I realised that the fuel in my car would not last.  I knelt down and prayed this one particular morning asking the Lord for $20 for fuel.  I then went to work leaving it in Lord's hands and putting it out of my mind until lunch time when my co-worker came to my desk and put $20 on it.  I asked what the money was for and he said he was coming back from lunch when he noticed $20 on the footpath.  He said he picked up the note and wondered what to do with it. He decided he didn't need it and as he did so I immediately came into his mind and he resolved to give the money to me.  There was no doubt in my mind that day who placed that $20 on the footpath where my co-worker would come across it.  And there is even less doubt in my mind who inspired him to give that bank note to me.  The value of that bank note was very small but the miracle to me was of enormous proportion.
It proved to me that there is little value in fear and much more to be gained from faith.

 

Fear is inverted faith.  When we have little faith, fear flourishes.  Being nourished by the word of God consistently increases our faith in God.  Reading and studying the scriptures enables us to understand God's dealings with his children, the how, why and when.  It also provides us with ample proof of his matchless power, ever present love and miracles he has wrought over the ages.  If he loves us still, like he loved people of old, he can part our Red Sea too and make the path straight for our deliverance.

The antidote to fear is faith.  Positive thoughts and spoken words affirm our faith and bring light into our understanding regarding our situation and trials we face.  One way to counteract negative thoughts which lead to worry which leads to fear and accompanying darkness is to use scriptural affirmations.  Familiarise yourself with positive phrases in the scriptures which have the power to elevate your ability to believe and say them out loud whenever you feel yourself sinking. Make one particular one your mantra. My favourite is: "...all things work together for good to them that love God" (Romans 8:28)

If you are standing on the banks of your Red Sea and are threatened with drowning, feeling overwhelmed with your life, do not despair.  To despair is to turn your back on God denying his power to rescue you from the depths of the sea and bring you to shore.  He can and will come to your aid if you put your trust in Him. He will flood your soul with hope and peace and assurance that all in your life is possible.  The extent of your faith and devotion to Him will determine the magnitude of the power He will bestow upon you.  Be faithful and do not deviate from your chosen course.  If you are travelling on the path of righteousness, do not forsake it. If you are not, come back.  God will honour your sacrifices and your commitment to Him.  He will dry your tears and carry your sorrows and make your burdens light.  "And He loveth those who will have Him be their God" (1 Nephi 17:40).  Raise your staff, wade in waist deep and 'see the salvation of the Lord' as He parts your Red Sea. Fear not for you are walking on dry ground.

HOPES AND PROMISES

The other day I had an opportunity to spend a day with my 3 year old granddaughter.  Just she and I, together for the day, playing with abandon.  It always touches my heart that she wants to be with me and that we can have such a good relationship, that she trusts me to take care of her.  Before she was born I had decided that I wanted to be called Grandmummy.  My granddaughter though decided otherwise.  When she was 2 she declared that my name would be Damma.  I am convinced she brought this name with her from pre-existence.  This is the name her mother used to call her paternal grandmother when she started to speak. She could not pronounce Grandma so Damma it was for awhile but the name remained a special reminder in the family of my daughter's early life.

My daughter and her grandmother had a very special bond.  Her grandmother, my mother-in-law, was a wonderful person and a unique grandmother.  When I started to look forward to being a grandmother myself I hoped ardently that I would be a grandmother like her.  This special woman passed away while my daughter was still pregnant with her first child, my granddaughter Addy.  Before Addy was born her paternal grandfather had a dream about his mother who had passed away and in that dream saw her instructing a little girl about earth life.  We all knew Addy was going to be Addy before she even appeared.  I could not be more sure that my mother-in-law told Addy about the name 'Damma' and that Addy remembered it when the time came in her life to put a name to me.  I sometimes feel that this is a special message to me from beyond the grave.  Addy had never heard anybody else use this name and she can pronounce Grandma perfectly so I feel that this name could not have come from anywhere else. Such a simple thing but such a strong cord binding us together in this great adventure of mortality made possible by the plan of salvation.

When Abraham had a vision of the intelligences that were organized before the world was created he found himself standing among the 'noble and great' ones and was told by the Saviour that he was chosen before he was born. (Abraham 3:23)  Among these noble and great spirits Joseph Fielding Smith identified prophets of our dispensation whom he saw in his vision of the dead who he declared 'were reserved to come forth in the fulness of time to take part in laying the foundations of the great latter-day work....I observed that they were also among the noble and great ones who were chosen in the beginning to be rulers in the Church of God". (D&C 138:53-55)  These great spirits were 'prepared to come forth in the due time of the Lord to labour in his vineyard for the salvation of the souls of men' (D&C 138:56).  Joseph Smith taught:

"Every man who has a calling to minister to the inhabits of the world was ordained to that very purpose in the Grand Council of heaven before this world was.  I suppose I was ordained to this very office in that Grand Council" (TPJS, p 365)

How would you feel being one of the great spirits chosen to come to earth to do a specific job and one of great importance and magnitude?  Would you feel important?  Would you understand the gravity of your responsibility and live up to it every day?  How would you feel if you knew you were responsible for salvation of the souls of men?  What Joseph Smith said is true.  It is true of every one of us.  We have all been called to minister to the inhabitants of the world in one way or another.  Looking into my granddaughter's sweet face, I am convinced that I could not have a more important calling in life than that of being her grandmother.

As I considered our relationship the other day, I wondered what promises I had made to her in pre-existence.  I have always believed that we choose our parents but I never gave it much thought to grandparents and beyond.  Did we know each other as such back then?  My patriarchal blessing tells me that my time of coming to earth was set that I may fulfill the promise I made in my pre-existence and that I had fulfilled that promise by entering the waters of baptism.  It goes on to say that many of those spirits who were with me had rejoiced when that promise was fulfilled.  Could it be that those spirits were my ancestors and my posterity who depended on me to assist them in working out their salvation whilst in the flesh?  Were they watching me beyond the veil as I progressed through my life hoping against all hope that my promise will one day bear fruit?  I am a convert to the Church and by my conversion and acceptance of the truth, I have not only been instrumental in redeeming the dead in my family, I have also paved the path for my granddaughter to be born a child of the covenant.  This has given her a great start in life. If I continue faithful, my love, my example and what I can teach her will be the priceless legacy I will leave her when I am gone. Is this my work of any less importance than the one of 'the great and noble ones'?

We are not here just for ourselves.  I am certain we covenanted with one another through the bonds of love before the plan of salvation unfolded that we would contribute to the salvation of each other's souls.  I am certain our hearts were turned to one another and bonded through the promises that knitted our souls together.  It is not by chance that we have a responsibility whilst here to love and serve one another and to become 'saviours on mount Zion'.  When fulfilled, this responsibility in turn makes us like the Saviour, possessors of the pure love of Christ without which we cannot be saved.  (Moroni 7:46-48)

Contrast this pure love of Christ that binds us together to the self-serving objective of the adversary's plan which had no capacity to bring us together in love and unity.  Satan had only one goal, to exalt himself above everyone else.  He had no regard or love for any of us and even his dysfunctional plan to save us was for his own benefit and not ours.  His goal to draw away after him as many as he can is purely to make us as miserable as he is, his promise of eternal life based on a lie, a plan that could never work.  Why did so many in our pre-existent state fall prey to his empty promises?  Consider the following:

"When we talk about our relationship to the Savior and our redemption, we must begin with the pre-mortal life.  I think we often miss the real issue of the contention in the spirit world that eventually led to the War in Heaven.  We talk about it as though Lucifer was going to force everybody to obey.  Most people don't want to be forced.  As I see it, the real issue is that Lucifer would guarantee their salvation.  He promised salvation without effort, without excellence, without hard work, without individual responsibility.  That's the lie that he promulgated in the pre-earth councils.  That so-called shortcut to salvation captivated many gullible and lazy spirits.  They wanted something for nothing.  We have certain aspects in our life today where things are awkward.  Something for nothing - a free lunch, we sometimes call it - with certain kinds of subsidies which promise to guarantee the reward without the effort.  On that basis Lucifer led away many spirits."
(Robert J. Matthews, "The Price of Redemption", The 11th Annual Sidney B. Sperry Symposium - New Testament, January 29, 1983)

Redemption is not for the faint hearted and we know that we are not of such disposition because we chose Christ's plan which comes with a price.  Some of us can afford to pay more than others, some of us are stronger, more capable and some of us need help but none of us can make it alone.  Even the strongest of us need help to hold onto the iron rod at some point in our lives.  We all need succor, guidance, positive influence, inspiration, motivation, a righteous example, a kind word, to be loved, to be cherished. None of us can do without any of these and yet all of these are given and provided by another.  You would not be you without the people you have had in your life.  Both of my granddaughters have the same birthmark as I do on the back of their heads.  It makes me feel like this is evidence that they are mine but more than this physical proof of our kinship I hope that their spirits will bear resemblance to mine as I strive to be an example of faithfulness to God and show them the path to righteousness.  I feel as responsible for their spiritual welfare as I did for my children's.  I cannot afford to let go of the iron rod, small eyes are watching and small hearts hoping that I will not fail in my promises.

Whilst attending our new ward yesterday, my daughter was introduced in Relief Society with significant reference to her grandparents who are well known far and wide for their faithfulness and Church service. Her grandmother who I believe passed onto Addy the famous name of 'Damma', is highly regarded in the Church in Sydney by many saints who knew her.  My daughter whispered to me: "Gram and Grandpa are famous in the Church" and I whispered back: "Wherever you go, you will be associated with their good name. This is the legacy they have left for you".  I hope that one day Addy will be introduced somewhere as my granddaughter and that she will be proud of that fact.

THIRST NO MORE

When Christ encountered the woman of Samaria at Jacob's well He told her that He can give her water far superior to the one she was constantly drawing to assuage the thirst of her household. (John 4:5-15).  The water he said was living water 'springing up into everlasting life' (John 4:14) as opposed to water that satisfies the body only which is destined to die thus making the well water 'dead water' with a used by date.

When I reflect on this incident of Christ's mortal ministry I feel it is significant that the person Christ told about the living water was a woman.  In performing its main object of springing up into everlasting life, the living water also heals.  It heals the broken hearted, spiritual wounds caused by sin, emotional suffering and defects of the mind.  Just before the Saviour returns, the scriptures inform us, "a new spring will appear at the temple in Jerusalem and its waters will flow eastward to the Dead Sea which will be healed of its dead and stagnant condition. The Dead Sea, or any other body of water which is stagnant, is so because of two reasons.  First, it has little or no inflow; and second, it has little or no outflow.  In its stagnant condition it becomes lifeless water.  Since it is not renewed with fresh water, it cannot in turn pass living water onto other streams and bodies of water, nor can it support life within itself". (Larry Keeler, Living Water or Dead Sea) The spring which will appear at the temple in Jerusalem is of course symbolic of Christ's power to heal anything that is dead, either spiritually or physically.

When I think of the Samaritan woman, I see through my 21st century view the Saviour sending a message to the women of my day and age, a message of healing and hope. A great number of women today feel fragmented and damaged  having been divorced, widowed, abandoned or simply ignored by the opposite sex.  Many women in the Church find it difficult to handle these feelings and leave the Church disillusioned and in search of a man that would make them feel whole somehow.  In the process of that search they become lost and end up believing the Church cannot meet their needs.  I also believed for many years that only those who have the Mormon ideal can truly be happy in the Church.  The rest of us just had to endure. I want to tell you that this is not so.

After my divorce I was left with several cracks that needed to be healed and a burning desire to be validated by a man.  When your marriage breaks down it affects your self-esteem to a huge extent.  It made me feel much less of a woman than I thought I was when I married.  I desperately wanted to belong to someone, have a man love me, make me feel worth while.  There was one thing standing in my way though, the deeply seated fear of being hurt again.  So I piled on a lot of weight to make myself sexually irrelevant and I hid behind my children making them the focal point of my life.  I rejected any notion of a social life for many years at the same time pining and suffering from lack of love.  But I did something incredibly positive for myself which I didn't realise would do so much for me.  I invested myself heavily into scriptures and studying the Gospel. Studying the word of God and feasting on the words of Christ not only gave me knowledge and brought the spirit into my life but it made the Saviour real to me.

The scriptures speak of Him, testify of Him and reveal Him so that we can know Him.  What does knowing him do for us?  It satisfies our thirst for spiritual sustenance, it heals all our spiritual and emotional wounds and it endows us with a desire to be like Him.  Becoming like Him being the most crucial part because it is this that grants us eternal life with God.

The more I studied over the years, the better I felt until one day I was discussing this need women have to be validated by men with someone close to me and I realised I was free of it.  As I reflected on it, the Saviour kept coming into my mind.  At that moment I knew why I was free of this validation need.  The Saviour had become very real to me over the years to the point where I have been feeling his presence and which spontaneously healed my need I had to have a man in my life.

It has been said that a marriage should be a union of two wholes and not two halves.  I believe that to be true.  It is a very tall order to expect another person to fill your cracks. We are all human and as such are liable to fall short of others' expectations.  Our sense of self worth should have its roots in our spiritual nature and our self-esteem should be based on our self-respect as we make right and positive choices in our lives. When you marry it should not be out of need but out of love which propels you to share yourself with another human being. A husband should be an icing on the cake, a bonus, rather than  fruit of one's desperation.  It is this desperation that drives many women to pursue an illusive dream, that of finding a perfect mate.  In the process of that pursuit they fall prey to many heartaches that leave them unhappy, lonely and empty.  This includes young women who have had to suffer the absence of fathers in their lives.  They believe there is a man out there that can provide a connection to the masculine presence they had missed out on in their childhood and youth and that this man can fix what years of abandonment and lack have wrought.

"...Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.
"Wherefore, now after I have spoken these words, if ye cannot understand them it will be because ye ask not, neither do ye knock; wherefore, ye are not brought into the light, but must perish in the dark."
(2 Nephi 32:3,4)

There is only one source of healing, which no mortal man can give to any woman.  If you are not receiving it, then you are not asking and you are not knocking and you are suffering in darkness.  It does not have to be so.  You do not need to go hungry or thirsty.  You can be filled with what matters most, that which is lasting, that which will speak peace to the deepest recesses of your soul.  You can have happiness and love and a belief that you are worth while.  He can give all this to you if you make Him real in your life.  Be filled and thirst no more.

HIDDEN RAYS OF GLORY

"And worlds without number have I created...."  Moses 1:33


"Being present at a 'Blessing Meeting' in the Temple, previous to his baptism into the Church; after listening to several patriarchal blessings pronounced upon the heads of different individuals with whose history Lorenzo Snow was acquainted, and of whom he knew the Patriarch was entirely ignorant, he was struck with astonishment to hear the peculiarities of those persons positively and plainly referred to in their blessings.
And, as he afterwards expressed, he was convinced that an influence, superior to human prescience, dictated the words of the one who officiated.

The Patriarch was the father of Joseph, the Prophet.  That was the first time Lorenzo had met him.  After the services, they were introduced, and Father Smith said to my brother that he would soon be convinced of the truth of the latter-day work, and be baptized, and he said: 'You will become as great as you can possibly wish - EVEN AS GREAT AS GOD, and you cannot wish to be greater'." (Eliza R. Snow, Biography and Family Record of Lorenzo Snow, Salt Lake City: Deseret News Co., 1884, pp 9-10).

Lorenzo Snow was baptized a short time later and began his service in the Church.  In the spring of 1840 he was called to serve a mission in the British Isles.  Before his departure he was in the home of a Church member who was preaching a sermon on the parable of the laborers in the vineyard.  (Matt 20:1-16)  According to Elder Snow:

"While attentively listening to his explanation, the Spirit of the Lord rested mightily upon me - the eyes of my understanding were opened, and I saw as clear as the sun at noonday, with wonder and astonishment, the pathway of God and man.  i formed the following couplet which expresses the revelation, as it was shown me, and explains Father Smith's dark saying to me at a blessing meeting in the Kirtland Temple, prior to my baptism......

As man now is, God once was.
As God now is, man may be.

I felt this to be a sacred communication, which I related to no one except my sister Eliza, until I reached England, when in a confidential private conversation with President Brigham Young, in Manchester, I related to him this extraordinary manifestation." (Eliza R. Snow, pp 46-47)  Brigham Young was President of the Quorum of the Twelve at the time.

President Snow's son LeRoi later told that the Prophet Joseph Smith confirmed the validity of the revelation Elder Snow had received: "Soon after his return from England, in January, 1843, Lorenzo Snow related to the Prophet Joseph Smith his experience in Elder Sherwood's home.  This was in a confidential interview in Nauvoo.  The Prophet's reply was: 'Brother Snow, that is a true gospel doctrine and it is  a revelation from God to you'."  (LeRoi C. Snow, Improvement Era, June 1919, p. 656)
(Gerald N. Lund, "I have a Question", Ensign, Feb. 1982, pp 39, 40)

 When Moses had his experience with God sometime after the burning bush and before the Exodus, Jesus who appeared to him and spoke to him on behalf of the Father through 'divine investiture of authority' showed Moses all his creations and where man fitted in that plan. Moses who was brought up in Pharoah's court to believe that Pharoahs due to their birthright are gods, was astonished and said, 'Now, for this cause I know that man is nothing, which thing I never had supposed' (Moses 1:10).  It was right for Moses to be overwhelmed with all of God's creations.  In comparison to God and all his glory, man truly does appear extremely puny, except for one very important thing - man was created in God's image and within man are germinating seeds of divine destiny.  God wanted to impress that upon Moses so he showed him the same vision all over again but this time he finished it with the greatest statement that  ever was made:  "For behold, this is my work and my glory - to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39).  What the Lord tried to say to Moses was that Moses was wrong, that 'man is the underlying and overriding purpose of all His work, that man's success constitutes his glory, that man is everything'. (Ted Gibbons, OT Lesson 1)

Nothing speaks louder of the worth of souls than the structure of the plan of salvation and the end to which we were created first spiritually and then physically. This plan for us has always existed.  It is the same plan that will be presented to the children we are yet to create when we ourselves become gods. It is ludicrous to think that God created so many children randomly and then wondered what he should do with them, hence was born the plan to clothe us in mortality and exalt us.  The plan was never born out of random necessity, it was always there.  The beauty of this plan and pattern is what makes God a god; we, his children, his crowning glory.  The more of us that get exalted, the greater his glory.  The potential of godhood that lies within each of us is mind blowing.  The worth of each of us to ourselves and to God, priceless.

Being out in public and encountering people of all walks of life always intrigues me.  So many people, every one with the same body parts but each one so different.  And every one of us with hidden rays of glory coursing through our veins.  If only we knew who we really are and how powerful we can really be. Godhood at our fingertips for the taking yet so many of us don't take it seriously. We are so blinded by the dismal light of this telestial world and we invest ourselves in things of this world that we think can bring us some happiness and power.  But alas no glory!  As C.S. Lewis put it:

"Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak.  We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea.  We are far too easily pleased."
(C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory, p. 1-2)

Mud pies in a slum can never be glorious because slums belong to this world and this world belongs to him who has no glory, a being who wanted to claim the glory of God  and ended up with no glory in a kingdom of no glory. (D&C 88:24, Ted Gibbons, OT Lesson 1)  The very thing which Satan thirsted for and fought for in pre-existence, we now stand to gain because we kept our first estate.  Instead of glory, he received darkness.  When he appeared to Moses and demanded that Moses worship him, the lack of his glory stood in stark contrast to the god of glory Moses had just witnessed.  Moses' retort of 'who are you that I should worship you?' was well earned.  Not only did Satan lack glory but he was filled with darkness (Moses 1:11-15).  And so is this world.  Devoid of glory and filled with darkness.

Jesus became a god in his own right before he even proved himself in mortality.  Just through sheer obedience.  No reinventing of the wheel for Him, He trusted the Father in all things and obeyed to the latter. And whilst in mortality He had a vision of the glory that awaited Him.  Consider the power and glory with which he was portrayed in a vision given to John the Revelator:

11. And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.

12.  His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written that no man knew, but he himself.

13.  And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood; and his name is called The Word of God.

14.  And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

15.  And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

16.  And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
(Revelation 19:11-16)

Contrast this to the pathetic figure Satan cuts when Moses refuses to worship him.  He throws a tantrum that describes the bitterness of hell where he 'cried with a loud voice' (Moses 1:19), 'ranted upon the earth' (Moses 1:19), 'began to tremble' (Moses 1:21) and engaged in 'weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth' (Moses 1:22).  Not only did he cunningly remove the Book of Moses from the Old Testament so that the world at large would not know about the plan of salvation but to hide his true character from the world.  Unlike the Saviour, who had a vision of the glory that awaited him, Satan has no such vision or hope because he has no future.  Isaiah sees him being brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit where they who see him shall look upon him narrowly and consider him saying "Is this the man that made the earth tremble, that did shake kingdoms?" (Isaiah 14:15,16).  In the end, he that wanted to be everything, will be nothing.  This is not someone we want to follow.  There is no reward in his discipleship, no future to invest in.

What is the Lord's purpose in creating and peopling worlds without number?  It is so that each one of us has the chance to attain a life of glory and godhood.

"Here, then is eternal life - to know the only wise and true God; and you have got to learn how to be gods yourselves, and to be kings and priests to God, the same as all gods have done before you, namely, by going from one small degree to another, and from a small capacity to a great one; from grace to grace, from exaltation to exaltation, until you attain to the resurrection of the dead, and are able to dwell in everlasting burnings, and to sit in glory, as do those who sit enthroned in everlasting power." (Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 346-47)

So what must we do to one day sit in glory enthroned in everlasting power?  We must do as Jesus did.  And what did He do?  He did as the Father did for in the Father is all knowledge, wisdom, power and glory. The way the Father and the Son attained godhood is the path of utmost obedience, the path that is made possible for us through the atonement of Him who did no wrong, who gladly sacrificed Himself so we might live and live eternally in 'everlasting burnings' having been granted thrones, principalities and dominions in Celestial Kingdom with eternal increase therein.  Picture it, want it, thirst for it.  It's a life worth waiting for.

THE LOVE OF GOD

Bethlehem, the town of Jesus' birth is also called The House of Bread. Bethlehem provided the surrounding region including Jerusalem with their entire supply of bread. It is by no accident that Jesus was born there because that is the origin of his mortal lineage and it is not surprising that later he would proclaim himself to be the bread of life.  I love symbolism and there is a lot of it surrounding Jesus' birth and life.

When Nephi, being the dutiful son that he was, inquired of God the meaning of the tree of life that his father had seen in a dream, an angel appeared to him to tutor him.  When the angel asked Nephi if he knew what the tree represented,  Nephi answered that it is the love of God, most desirable above all (2 Nephi 11:22,23).  Immediately following his answer he was shown a vision of the Savior during his mortal ministry.  It becomes very clear through Nephi's vision that the love of God is manifest to his children through the gift of his only begotten son.

Living on this side of the veil and experiencing the harshness of mortal life it is easy at times to feel unloved by God because he allows misfortune to befall us or we don't get in life what we want.  We wonder how He could possibly love us when we are in the depths of despair and need so much that we don't have.  All the while we are wondering where the love of God is for us, He is hoping against all hope that we would open our eyes and see that He could not give us greater proof of His love than He has already done so through His son.  Why would Jesus be the ultimate expression of God's love for us?  Because through him God is offering us the greatest gift he could possibly give us, the gift of eternal life.  This life is but a moment, a few years of school so to speak but eternity is forever.  For this reason God's greatest desire is not that we have everything in this life but in the next.

It has puzzled me that a lot of us, even members of the Church, don't quite grasp this principle.  In my reflection on this I am beginning to think that this is so because a lot of us don't quite understand who we really are.  Maybe I should rephrase that.  We don't quite FEEL who we really are.  If we truly felt and understood our divine origin and knew ourselves as first and foremost the offspring of God with a divine destiny we would wade through this life's gutters much easier.

When Moses had his experience with God sometime after the burning bush and before the Exodus, Jesus who appeared to him and spoke to him on behalf of the Father through 'divine investiture of authority' called him 'Moses, my son' on a number of occasions. God showed Moses all his creations and where man fitted in that plan. Moses who was brought up in Pharoah's court to believe that Pharoahs due to their birthright are gods, was astonished and said, 'Now, for this cause I know that man is nothing, which thing I never had supposed' (Moses 1:10).  As soon as he had said that,  the adversary appeared and immediately addressed him as 'Moses, son of man' to divert his attention from his spiritual and true identity and almost as an affirmation that man truly is nothing. God reappeared, however, and gave Moses the same vision all over again but this time he finished it with the greatest statement that was ever made:  "For behold, this is my work and my glory - to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39).  What the Lord tried to say to Moses was that he was wrong, that 'man is the underlying and overriding purpose of all His work, that man's success constitutes his glory, that man is everything'. (Ted Gibbons, OT Lesson 1)

I became aware of three struggling young men over this Christmas period which has led me to think about this deeply and how the adversary seeks to cloud our true identity through the lense of this earth life.  The first young man is a son of a friend of mine who is inactive in the Church and struggling with a homosexual lifestyle.  He is angry that God has given him this to struggle with.  He feels he cannot be happy in or out of this lifestyle.  I suggested a few things but she answered that he is not yet ready to tackle 'overcoming' the problem, that he first needs to accept who he is.  I wasn't sure if she was suggesting that being a homosexual is who he truly is and that he needed to accept it but I replied with conviction that this is not who he is but what he is while he is immersed in this lifestyle.  Who he truly is is a son of God and he will not discover this spiritual origin looking for it in the world.  Instead of being heavily immersed in the Church to find himself and make sense of his burden, he is alienating himself further and fostering more and more resentment towards God.

The second young man is a returned missionary from my daughter's mission field.  He has not only gone inactive but has had his name removed from the records of the Church and proclaimed himself to be an athiest.  When my daughter asked him why he doesn't even believe in God let alone the Church, he replied 'I have no reason to believe in Him'.  I shuddered to hear this.  It is like an invitation for the universe to give him a reason to believe, a very painful reason.  I fear for that young man because I believe he will be brought down to his knees one day.  He was given to know the Savior and the truth that so many people are desperate to find and he has discarded it as a thing of naught.  The greatest love, the greatest gift the Maker of the Universe could possibly give us, the chance for eternal life with eternal happiness and glory.  I am hoping this young man will come to his senses one day.

The third young man is a close friend of my daughter's who was visiting his family for the holidays and struggling so badly beneath the crippling burden of negativity his father was hurling at him during his stay at home.  When he contacted my daughter he could barely breathe he was under so much stress and anxiety brought on by his father's verbal abuse.  He has been subjected to this kind of treatment all his life.  Now that he is an adult he is struggling to make something of himself because his sense of self worth is so damaged. His mind tells him what his father says about him is not right but his heart is working overtime trying to believe it.  My heart aches for this young man  because he has a father who loves him beyond his understanding who would never hurl such poisonous words at him that would damage his soul.  This father has given him something so great at his own cost so this young man would understand that he is worth so much that such a high price would be paid for his eternal welfare.

How do we get to know who we truly are so we can withstand this world that works so hard to tear us apart? The same way that Jesus found out who he was.  There is no possible way that Jesus would have become the savior of all mankind if he didn't find out who he truly was and what he had covenanted to do before this earth life even began. Luke tells us that 'Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favour with God and man' (Luke 2:52)  He also waxed strong in spirit and thereby was given precept upon precept until he had it all (Luke 2:40).  By the time he was 12  he was preaching in the temple. I am certain that the more the Savior studied the scriptures and the more he communed with his Father the quicker he learnt who he was. No doubt he had angelic visitations that assisted and ensured his spiritual growth.  I do not for one moment believe that the tools we have been given are any less than the Savior had at his disposal.  We have the scriptures, we have the open channel of prayer, we have the right to call upon angels to assist us and we have most importantly the gift of the Holy Ghost.  All these tools when used consistently ensure that we come to know God and our relationship to Him like Jesus did.

Because Jesus is the embodiment of the Father's love for us, the more we acknowledge Him as our Saviour and strive to live his teachings, the greater becomes our capacity to feel God's love for us.  The more we feel God's love, the greater our relationship with Him and the greater our conviction of our spiritual origin.  Once we have that conviction intact, it is so much easier to put this earthly life in perspective.  It also becomes easier to handle and understand our burdens and trials.  The alternative to not putting in this effort is to go throughout life filled with resentment, bitterness and suffering.  God cannot remove our trials from us and make this earthly life an easy ride, else what would be the point of being here?  What He can do is what He has done, provided the best possible way for us to be connected to Him and to feel His love.  This is what we should be reminded of every Christmas when our attention is being directed towards the Saviour's birth.

King Solomon went to great lengths to bring in 'living water' into Solomon's temple to wash away copious amounts of blood from animal sacrifices.  Blood signifies sin and living water symbolises Christ.  He is the living water, not just any water but water that gives and sustains life, life eternal.  The Saviour knew so well who he was when he was here.  In scriptures He proclaims himself to be The Great I Am.  Can you believe that's who he is when you read what he says about himself:

I am the bread of life (John 6:35)
I am the good shepherd (John 10:14)
I am the resurrection and the life (John 11:25)
I am the light of the world (John 8:12)
I am the way, the truth, the life (John 14:6)
I am the true vine (John 15:1)
I am the first and I am the last (Isaiah 44:6)
I am the Great I Am.

And who are we?  If He is the Great I Am and we are the offspring of God who come to God through His Son, then we are great too. He makes us so.  Make a list of all the things that you are but at the top of that list put I am a son/daughter of God and then see what other things come to mind following that statement.  I guarantee there will be more positive attributes than negative ones.  It's all a matter of perception and consistent focus.  Be that son or daughter of God you were born to be for this is who you are first and foremost.  All else is of little importance.  Live so that you are worthy to feel that love which is constant and which will feed your soul, which will bring you life eternal.