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.
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