A RIGHTEOUS BRANCH

 

 

The ongoing difficulties of the Jewish nation which we are even now witnessing brings to mind the reason a certain Israelite family escaped the destruction of Jerusalem in 597 B.C. when the diaspora began. Lehi explained to his son Joseph the promise that the Lord made to his progenitor, Joseph of Egypt, that He would, in their day, ‘raise up a righteous branch unto the house of Israel’ (2 Nephi 3:5). And so the promised land they were led to across the waters in 600 B.C. meant a new beginning. How utterly tragic then that just over a thousand years later, a sole survivor of that very ‘righteous branch’ wandered the land of America with a heart wrenching explanation: "Behold.....I am alone. My father hath been slain in battle, and all my kinsfolk, and I have no friends nor whither to go...therefore I will write and hide up the records in the earth; and whither I go it mattereth not." (Mormon 8:4,5).

But the Lord was not finished with the House of Israel and so He gave another promise to Joseph of Egypt, that He would raise up ‘a choice seer’ in the latter days who ‘will be like unto Moses’ and who will bring to light the words of them who were destroyed and who will speak ‘out of the ground’ (2 Nephi 3:7; 26:16,17). Enter Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon.

We all know that the Book of Mormon is the important second witness of Jesus Christ but it also speaks of something else equally important. Another purpose of the Book of Mormon is to bring to our remembrance the covenant which Jehovah has made with the House of Israel (2 Nephi 3:7, 12). This says two things to me: 1. the Lord will never give up on us and; 2. He will never break His covenant with us, even though we break our covenants with Him (Deuteronomy 4:31). This is the promise He has made to the House of Israel that will stand forever.

If you study the Book of Mormon closely, two things will become very obvious to you: 1. the merciful nature of the God we worship and 2. He always, always fulfils His promises. Mormon ensured that every prophecy and promise in the Book of Mormon was tied to its fulfillment and he testified of this with such phrases as 'all this was done that the word of the Lord might be fulfilled' (Mosiah 21:4) and 'God is powerful to the fulfilling of all his words' (Alma 37:16). This was his technique and his tool through which he testified of Christ. This strategy proves in a unique way that the Book of Mormon is an authentic record written by Mormon himself for it would have been impossible for anyone else to chronicle such numerous promises and their fulfillments let alone an uneducated man like Joseph Smith. Mormon, on the other hand, knew the history of his people well because of many records that were in his keeping for many years.

One last thought: Christ is the vine and we are the branches (John 15:5). If we will be the righteous branch of the House of Israel, we need to abide in the vine for without Him we can be nothing (v 4,5). How wonderful is the God of Israel!!! How exquisite the bond He has with His people! I have often thought His tolerance and mercy towards us is excessive but one day a thought came to me that He could have never subjected himself to such an unjust death if He was any other way. This is who He is….Christ the Lord, the Hope of Israel, the Rock of Our Salvation, the lover of our souls……

 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Coming to Save You by Laura Wilson)

A GOD YET A BOY

 

“And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man……and continued from grace to grace until he received a fulness.”   (Luke 2:52; D&C 93:13)

We know little about the boyhood of Jesus but what little we know is befitting of the God who condescended to be a mortal to save humanity. From a dependent babe in arms Jesus grew into a boy who was in all things subject unto his earthly parents even though He was in every way superior to them (Luke 2:51). It shows incredible meekness. And even though He was endowed with talents and spiritual capacities exceeding those of any other person, He participated in the normal activities and experiences of His time and was subject to the restrictions and testings of mortality (Hebrews 2:10-18; 4:15; 5:8-9; Bruce R. McConkie, Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 1:111)

The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that as a boy, Jesus Christ possessed superior intelligence to all mortals: “When still a boy He had all the intelligence necessary to enable Him to rule and govern the kingdom of the Jews, and could reason with the wisest and most profound doctors of law and divinity, and make their theories and practice to appear like folly compared with the wisdom He possessed.” (in History of the Church, 6:608)

It is evident that by the age of 12 the Saviour knew who He was. When He was found in the temple teaching the doctors of the law who ‘were hearing Him and asking Him questions’ (JST Luke 2:46), He confirmed as much telling Joseph and Mary that He was about His ‘Father’s business’ (Luke 2:49). It is said Christ started His ministry at 30 years of age but to me He started at 12. A boy, yet a God, who at 12 proved, in the temple, the Father is with Him and that He will ‘do always those things that please him’ (John 8:29).

 

Did You see me Father

Giving glory to Thy name?

My words of Thee

Flowing from my tongue

Like a holy flame.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: When Did He Know by Liz Lemon Swindle)

THE NOBLE AND GREAT ONES

 

 

I listened to Handel’s ‘Messiah’ this Christmas. This would have to be the most spiritually charged and soul-stirring piece of music ever written. A good choir could lift the roof of a building singing something so majestic and powerful. Even though angelic host can do even better,  I wondered as I listened how the Saviour would feel listening to such songs of praise. I wondered if His heart would swell within His chest, if He felt being ‘a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief’ for a season was worth it (Isaiah 53:3). I wondered how He felt reflecting back on His difficult mortal, sacrificial life that He lived exclusively for others. Reflecting on this  made me weep wondering how He could endure it all on His own but then I realized something that gave me a fresh perspective: the success of His mission was aided by some very noble spirits.

Consider first the most pure vessel chosen to be His earthly mother. Tradition has it that Mary was only 15 years old when she had Jesus. Such a responsibility for one so young seems overwhelming, nevertheless, her spiritual maturity must have exceeded her mortal years. And Joseph, the noble son of God who was chosen to rear the Saviour from infancy to adulthood; who protected Him at every turn, taught Him the law, and schooled Him in a profession and responsibilities of a righteous Hebrew man. And what of Peter and the apostles who left behind everything to follow Him and went to their deaths willingly to further the cause of Him whom they professed had ‘the words of eternal life’ (John 6:68)? And John the Beloved…..what kind of love would it have to be to want to remain on this earth for over 2,000 years doing missionary work (D&C 7:1-3)? And what of friends who loved Him and offered refuge from His sorrows such as Lazarus, Mary and Martha?  These were the noble and great hand-picked supporters who were converted to the cause of the truth long before the earth began. These were the ones who made the Saviour’s mortal life bearable. I am certain that when He reflects on His experience His heart swells with gratitude for the committed, the valiant, the accepting fellow travellers on the greatest journey ever undertaken.

What faith You had

In those who held You

by Your mortal hand;

How loyal to their charge

Were they who sustained You

When it all began.

How tender their heart

To see the Hope of Israel

And recognize The Great I am.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Child of Grace by Liz Lemon Swindle)

A BIRTH AND A DEATH

Did you miss Your throne divine

When You crossed the threshold of the stable?

 And did You clutch my worth inside You

That made Your mortal task divinely able?

 

I heard the angels in the field

Sing praises to Your name;

And I sorrowed knowing, like holy water,

Your love would spill on sacrificial altar.

 

I cannot look at the Saviour’s birth without being reminded of His death. Every time I see the baby in the manger these words echo in my mind: “To this end was I born and for this cause came I into the world….” (John 18:37). You cannot have birth without death and you cannot have death without birth.

When I think of both, my consolation comes from remembering that the jubilation of Christ’s birth was outdone by the jubilation upon His return in triumph beyond the veil. Imagine the tears of sorrow at the cross and compare them to tears of celebration and gratitude that greeted the Saviour as He entered the spirit world: “And there were gathered together in one place an innumerable company of the spirits of the just, who had been faithful in the testimony of Jesus while they lived in mortality…they were filled with joy and gladness and were rejoicing together because the day of their deliverance was at hand….while this vast multitude waited and conversed, rejoicing in the hour of their deliverance from the chains of death, the Son of God appeared, declaring liberty to the captives who had been faithful…..And the saints rejoiced in their redemption, and bowed the knee and acknowledged the Son of God as their Redeemer, and Deliverer from death and the chains of hell. Their countenances shone and the radiance from the presence of the Lord rested upon them, and they sang praises unto His holy name….” (D&C 138:12-18; 23-24)

And what of us who had not yet been born in mortality? We who awaited the return of Him who knew our earthly lives before we did? I imagine the gratitude would have been overwhelming. I imagine we fell down before Him in adoration and praise, knowing our salvation was secure and that the Atonement was fixed and in place to enable us to endure our tribulations and resist the evil forces that would seek to destroy us. I imagine that the very heavens echoed the shouts of our praise. I imagine we wept tears of exquisite joy as we saw our God take His place upon His throne and I imagine all eternity shook as we cried with one voice: “Glory and honour, and power, and might, be ascribed to our God…..let the sun, moon and morning stars sing together and let all the sons of God shout for joy! And let the eternal creations declare his name forever and ever!” (D&C 84:102; 128:23)

-      -  Cathryne Allen, (Art: Born This Day by Liz Lemon Swindle)

 

 

A THIEF OF GLORY

 

The similitude that comes to mind when we think of Satan is a snake but John the Revelator describes Satan more aptly from his vision. What could be more deadly and more powerful than a snake? A dragon. The dragon that John saw was red, a colour that represents fury. And how well he painted the scene of the dragon who drew with ‘his tail the third part of the stars of heaven’! (Revelation 12:4).

The Book of Revelation calls Satan ‘an accuser’ who accused us of our sins to the Father, day and night (Revelation 12:10). I can only imagine the glee with which he relentlessly and craftily complained about us, claiming that we were beyond redemption and would all be lost if the Father did not accept his plan. No mercy and no genuine concern for our welfare. But then the Saviour stepped forward and offered both and hope was born. But ‘the accuser’ picked up another tactic and sought to destroy our faith in Christ without ceasing. A war ensued….”the same kind that prevails on earth; the only kind Satan and spirit beings can wage – a war of words, a tumult of opinions, a conflict of ideologies; a war between truth and error, between light and darkness…”(Elder Bruce R. McConkie, Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 3:518).

This is how we won the war in heaven. When the Saviour stepped forward to take responsibility for us He sealed His fate as our Redeemer. So sure was the foundation of His commitment that the Atonement in mortality was really just a formality. So iron clad was His destiny as our Saviour that it became our reality long before the earth was made. The scriptures confirm that ‘the Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world’ meaning the power of the Atonement was already in place in pre-mortal world enabling all God’s children, from the beginning, to be born innocent (Revelation 13:8, 1 Peter 1:18-20; Mosiah 3:13; 4:7; D&C 93:38). Because the Atonement was such a surety, it was as if it had already happened and consequently we could draw upon its’ blessings and power before we were even born. It is this power and our testimonies by which we defeated Lucifer and his followers in the war in heaven (see the New Testament Institute Manual commentary on Revelation 12:11; 13:8, By Blood and Testimony)

The name ‘Lucifer’ means ‘light bearer’. He was so great once, ‘he was in authority in the presence of God’ (D&C 76:25). So great was he that we wept when he was lost (76:26). We too are great with enormous potential but we can find ourselves lost too under his influence. His fury will not spare one soul. He will use every tactic and every tool to steal our spiritual identity, to kill our faith in God and to destroy our commitment to Christ (John 10:10) . We of the last days cannot allow this to happen. We will not allow the red dragon to win. We already know the outcome. The only question remaining is who will be among the survivors. The war has not ended. In the words of Elder McConkie: “……..the battle lines are still drawn. It is now on earth as it was then in heaven; every man must choose which general he will follow” (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 3:518).

These are the tools Satan uses that are so prevalent in our society:

HIS THREE DOCTRINES:

No punishment for sin

Nothing after death

He does not exist

HIS LIES THROUGH RATIONALISATION:

Just once won't hurt

No one will know

Everybody is doing it

HIS VALUE SYSTEM:

Selifshness

Self-indulgence

Immediate gratification

HIS SALES TECHNIQUES:

Pacifying

Flattering 

Lulling 

Like a thief in the night,

He seeks to steal, kill and destroy.

He is the collector of ruined lives,

The Master of ravaged souls.

 

He is the Son of the Morning,

His pride yielded irreversible cost

In the beginning we sorely wept

When his soul was forever lost.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: AI generated by NightCafe Creator)

ARRAYED IN WHITE

 

The sheer contemplation of eternity overwhelms me. What in pre-mortality was a concept so plain to my understanding, now begs to unravel the mystery that plagues me. The treasures in the Book of Revelation just keep giving. Nowhere in the holy writ do I get a glimpse into eternity like I do in this book. The picture this book gives us of the throne of God the Father surrounded by His exalted children, arrayed in white apparel, praising Him because their robes had been washed in the blood of the Lamb is beyond breathtaking. It was explained to John that these so arrayed ‘came out of great tribulation’ and that they ‘shall hunger no more….for the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes’ (Revelation 7:9-17). When you put this into the context of our exaltation being His work, you can understand how His exalted children also become His glory (Moses 1:39).

And here is another glimpse into our eternity. John saw animals and people not only praising God the Father but worshipping Him ‘forever’ (Revelation 4:8-11). This truth stands: we will continue to worship Heavenly Father in the eternities to come because He will ALWAYS be our God. It gives you a clearer picture of how we glorify God through the lives that we live, because that glory lives on.  (see New Testament Institute Manual for clarification of these quoted scriptures and Neal A. Maxwell’s “From Whom All Blessings Flow”, Ensign, May 1997, p 12).

The most supernal glimpse into the splendor of eternity would have to be John’s vision of the book of life with the seven seals revealing the history of this earth. And here is the tenderness of it….John says he ‘wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon’ (5:4). Why did John weep? Because the book contained the history of every living soul upon this earth and souls matter, they matter very much. And then hope…..John was told not to weep because the Lion of Judah, the Root of David, who was slain and had redeemed us was worthy to open the book (5:5,9). And John heard ‘every creature in heaven and on earth, and under the earth saying: Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever’ (5:13). Imagine the spiritual energy, the rapture, the ecstasy of this moment in the celestial realm. This glimpse would be overwhelming to a mere mortal. But it was a moment of love to John who sat alone at Patmos and who would live through all the tribulations of this world until the last day when the King of Kings comes again and greets him exclaiming: John, my Beloved!

If you want to ‘think celestial’ like President Nelson advised, study the Book of Revelation.

Our exaltation would never be possible without the condescension of Christ. The birth was the beginning of the end. Without the birth, there would be no salvation, no exaltation, no glory. The glory begins with the lowliest of all births amongst animals of this earth and lambs in the field witnessing the greatest act of humility in the arrival of the King. 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

THE GIFT OF OVERCOMING

 

Have you ever experienced elation after overcoming a bad habit or weakness or sin just from the sheer victory that became yours? The Book of Revelation is a book of promises for those who overcome that takes elation to the next level for those who conquer. When John was commanded to write to the priesthood leaders of the seven churches of Asia Minor he detailed their good works, their intentions and their failings with such accuracy and transparency that it left them no doubt as to who was the originator of such messages. As the messages were given to John, the Saviour identified himself as the one who searches the desires, thoughts and hearts of men and sees all things (Revelation 2:23).

Consider the promises that were made to these seven churches, and ultimately to all of us, and imagine the elation at their fulfilment:

1.  “To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life” (2:7) thus eradicating the effects of the Fall and granting eternal life to the faithful.
2. “He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death” (2:11) sparing all eternal separation from the Father except those who refuse to repent. To the faithful He says: “I will give thee a crown of life” (2:10)
3.  “To him who overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna and will give him a white stone and in the stone a new name written” (2:17): He alone is the ‘hidden manna’ and those who symbolically partake of His flesh will receive everlasting life (John 6:47-58) with entrance into celestial kingdom (D&C 130:8-11).
4. “He that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give the morning star” (2:28): Being the firstborn among the host of heaven, the morning star is a symbol of Jesus Christ, the Second Comforter who manifests himself to men in the flesh and teaches them face to face.  (NT Institute Manual; Joseph Smith, History of the Church, 3:381).
5. “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne” (3:21): To sit on His throne, means to receive exaltation in celestial worlds and reign with Him forever in everlasting glory (Bruce R. McConkie, The Purifying Power of Gethsemane, Ensign May 1985)
6. “He that overcometh shall inherit ALL things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son” (21:7)…..is there any explanation needed for this??? Being joint heirs with the Saviour of ALL the Father has defies any mortal imagination.

It must be noted that all the promises are for next life bar one which deals with the Second Comforter manifesting himself to men in this life. Why is that? Because what is to come after this life is of the greatest worth. It's what matters above all. We cannot presently comprehend the glory and the splendor of the blessings herein promised. One thing I do know, we once saw that glory and deemed it worthy of the work of overcoming. And here is proof: Satan lost himself forever in an effort to obtain it. This also I know: the splendor of eternal life for each of us was worth the condescension of a God who exchanged His throne for the stench of a stable. None of the promises could have been made without His Atonement but more so, without His birth. Surely there could not be a greater gift than the gift of that Bethlehem stable for what more could He offer us than Himself?

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Birth by Dan Burr)

 

Art: Birth by Dan Burr

THE BOOK OF REVELATION

 

I want to tell you about a book of love. This book is reluctantly read and studied and largely unappreciated yet this book is one of the most important amongst holy writ. This book is The Book of Revelation and this is why it is a book of love……

 Some two thousand years ago, during the bleakest period of Church history, there was on the island of Patmos an exile, a prophet and an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, the last apostle alive;  Peter having been crucified, Paul beheaded, Bartholemew skinned alive, Thomas and Matthew run through with spears. By the time of Patmos, the history of the Church included ‘the lining of Nero's colonnade with crucified Christians’ (Student Manual, The Life and Teachings of Jesus and His Apostles, p 449). The Apostle that survived it all and would never taste of death was called by Jesus ‘the son of thunder’ (Mark 3:17). In his own writings he referred to himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved and as the ‘other disciple’ (John 13:23; 21:20; 20:2-8). We know him as John The Beloved…..he who lives as ‘a flaming fire and a ministering angel’ and sorrows for the sins of the world….(D&C 7:5,6)

More than six centuries before John was even born, the Lord revealed to Nephi many of the things we now have in the Book of Revelation but forbade him to write them down because they were reserved for John (1 Nephi 14:19-28). And so to that rocky island prison, on a particular Sunday came the glorified, exalted Christ to the apostle whom He also called 'The Beloved' (Revelation 1:13-18; D&C 7:1; 3 Nephi 28:4-6). 

In the revelation John was given on that occasion, all the sinful and evil history of this world was revealed to him but completed with the glorious hope of Christ's return who would reign in peace, harmony and love for a thousand years. What comfort that must have been to John who, like the 3 Nephites, would sorrow for the sins of the world during his sojourn in this dismal telestial world (3 Nephi 28:9). This is a story of love...love for one cherished disciple and love for all those who accept and follow Christ and have a hope of eternal life through the virtue of his atoning blood.

When the Saviour appeared to John, it was as if He was saying to him: "You will be here a long time and you need to know everything that will happen while you are here but be comforted John, my Beloved, because I am coming back and when I come I will 'wipe away all tears....and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain...." (Revelation 21:4). Is this not love?

I long to see the paths he wanders

To and fro the length of the earth;

I wish to wipe his brow

At the end of the day

To uphold the magnitude of his holy work.

Let me hold him close

And soothe his heavy heart

As the time for final gathering nears,

And let me gather in my cupped hands

The hallowed drops of The Beloved’s tears.

 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: The Second Coming by Danny Hahlbohm)

INCONVENIENT LOVE

 

It is said, ‘It’s easy to love the lovelies’, and how very true that is! It is the ones who do not agree with us, who seek to hurt others, who we consider toxic, who do not look or live according to our standards and views that are not the easy or convenient for us to love.

The commandment to love one another must be the hardest one to live for most of us and most of us justify our failure to live up to it in one way or another  (John 15:12). Consider though the other side of the coin: “He that loveth not his brother, abideth in death. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.” (1 John 3:14,15). Those are hard words to swallow but logic prevails: if God is love, and we aspire to be gods like Him, how can we ever reach such a station if love is not in us? Can we be ‘loveless’ gods when love is so obviously central to the character of deity (1 John 4:7-11)?

When the Saviour said to His disciples, “love one another” he added an incredibly high standard: “as I have loved you” (John 15:12). This means that Christ loved those around Him without prejudice. I wager that among them were also the ‘unlovelies’…..such as Judas.

The standard is high but it is achievable, because of the example set before us: “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren” (1 John 3:16). We hear of heroic acts where people have sacrificed their own lives to save another. These acts are usually motivated by love for the person the sacrifice is given for. Imagine though giving up your life for someone you cannot abide. Someone who has hurt you, your children, your family. Even someone whose personality and character you cannot stand. But this is not required of us. What is required is sacrifice out of compassion which propels us to aid a brother in need (1 John 3:17). This is all that is asked of us to earn the love of God to dwell in us.

Very often we say, ‘oh they are not worth it!’. What is being said in reality is that such a person is of no worth. When on the other hand, we can give of ourselves to those we consider to be the unloveable we are on the path to godly love. This godly love was what prevented the Saviour from ever considering anyone not being worthy of His attention, His care, His love and ultimately His sacrifice. We are told that the worth of a soul is great in the sight of God (D&C 18:10). Imagine if there was a proviso in His atoning sacrifice which excluded you by name.  How would you feel?  It would crush even the most odious person if he was not atoned for. This was unthinkable to the Saviour as He hung upon the cross. The ‘unlovelies’ were gathered into His bosom as much as the lovely ones. No sinner, no thief, no murderer, no liar, no adulterer, no atheist was excluded. Such is the heart of the man who is The Truth, The Light, and The Way. (John 14:6)

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art AI generated)

DIVINE SUBMISSION

 

As Christians our primary focus should be the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and rightly so because it relates to our salvation. As much as I believe in it, revere it and constantly express gratitude for it, my ultimate admiration for the Saviour lies in His condescension. This, more than anything tells me about the man and His life. It represents in my mind divine submission at every turn of His earthly years, in small and great ways. It suggests renewed commitment every time He was reminded what His purpose was and where His life would end. Imagine the determination, the commitment, and the integrity that defeated retreat.

I imagine that his upbringing from the very beginning, in heavenly realms, was fostered with acute sense of responsibility for His younger siblings.  He would have been tutored and molded by Father’s perfect character to be like Him. A God yet a man, no doubt with His own desires, His own vision, His own destiny, submitted to the responsibility of the Firstborn in His care for those less than Him, His primary focus doing the will of the Father rather than His own.

This is what Christ’s condescension tells me of the man we call our King.  You would have to be devoid of the least degree of pride to lay aside a godship that you had so diligently earned through impeccable obedience and lower yourself to a corruptible, mortal body and painstaking mortal life. This selflessness is the kind that seeks only the wellbeing of others even if they do not want it or deserve it.  For this He exchanged ‘the dominion of a god for the dependence of a babe. He gave up wealth, power, dominion, and fulness of His glory – for what? – for taunting, mocking, humiliation, and subjection. It was a trade of unparalleled dimension, a condescension of incredible proportions, a descent of incalculable depth. And so, the great Jehovah, creator of worlds without number, infinite in virtue and power, made his entry into this world in swaddling clothes and a manger’. (Tad. R. Callister, The Infinite Atonement, p 69)

And what of the Father He so valiantly defended when the Son of the Morning sought to usurp His power and glory? The depth, the width, the entirety of His devotion to the Father in whose shadow He walked and into whose image He grew cannot be overlooked or overstated. Ultimately the price of His willingness to descend to a mortal life unworthy of Him, was to preserve and add to the glory of the Father. It was the ultimate expression of perfect love only a god could bestow upon another. The selflessness is beyond compare.

This is Christ the King, the Saviour of the weak, the Babe of Bethlehem. Glory be His forever and ever.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Born This Day by Liz Lemon Swindle) 

A MOTHER'S PATH

 

There were among the host of heaven many noble and great ones without whom Father’s Plan of Salvation would have come to naught (Abraham 3:22-23). The noblest of them all was Jehovah, the Firstborn (v 24). Along the many noble sons of God were female counterparts without whom also the Plan would have come to naught. The first that comes to mind is Mother Eve but my greatest admiration goes to Mary, the chosen vessel to bear the Son of God. The purity of her character could never be disputed but the devotion to God the Father that Jesus would have learnt at her knee is unsurpassable.

Jesus would have fulfilled His role as the Saviour no matter what mother He had because that’s who He is, but Mary’s pious devotion to God that He was raised with would have made His journey to the Garden easier. It tells you a lot about parenting skills. I am convinced that Mary’s compliant submission when a young girl in the presence of angel Gabriel paved the way for Christ’s supernal ‘Thy will be done’ in Gethsemane (Luke 1:26-38; 22:42). Like mother, like son.

I wonder if Mary recognized her part in Christ’s acceptance of the cross when her heart was breaking. I hope against hope that her pain was lessened knowing she brought up a dutiful son. I hope she reflected on the holiness of His birth and on the purpose for which He was born. I hope she knew the boy she mothered was the God she pledged long ago to accompany to the cross. I hope she saw on that cross the God of her salvation and gave thanks for her boy. I hope she wept good tears also.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Jesus and Mother Mary by Liz Lemon Swindle)

THE POWER OF A LITTLE MEMBER

 

Have you noticed how contention is rising in the world? Hatred is fostered, false convictions made, wrong ideologies taught, lies spread, deadly orders issued, crimes denied…..and all this perpetrated by the smallest member of the human body….the tongue.

James compares the tongue to a small helm which has the power to control big ships (James 3:4). Picture the size of the helm compared to the size of a huge ship. Its’ power, however, comes from the captain of the ship who uses the helm to make the ship go in the course it is destined for.  And so it is with the tongue that operates under our directions. We use this tongue with ease and many of us, if not most, exercise little control over it. In the words of James: “For in many things we offend all. If any man offend NOT in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body” (James 3:2). I believe this. The function of the tongue is the hardest to control. I am in awe of people who never say a bad word about anyone. I believe they are in control of themselves in more ways than one.

The tongue is destroying the fabric of our society. The technology and social media make this plain. I have seen lately a number of YouTube videos where protestors against oil are blocking roads. They are igniting such hatred of the public toward them and creating so much contention that civilians are now undertaking control over the protestors. I saw one video yesterday where a man in Panama fought with the protestors and having had no success to persuade them, he pulled out a gun and shot to death two of them.

“And in that day shall….the whole world be in commotion,  men’s hearts shall fail them…and the love of men shall wax cold, and iniquity shall abound” (D&C 45:26,27). We are turning on each other. And not just through wars. Cast your mind back on the covid pandemic. The verbal conflict between people was unprecedented and all because of the vaccine. One Australian member I know was so contentious that he was fighting with the unvaccinated members and telling them they will not be able to get temple recommends because they were disobeying the Prophet. The tongue is also destroying families. One of my friends who only has two siblings left of her family is sustaining venomous attacks from them because they have left the Church and are doing all they can to destroy her testimony as well. It’s a painful situation.  We are turning on each other in families, friendships, communities, political arenas and global events. The tongue never sleeps. This was Satan’s design from the beginning. So here’s the thing. He doesn’t have one but he is envious of yours…..so he will use it. The more we are open to his influence, the more compliant the tongue.

I think of the Saviour’s reserved manner and impeccable control of His tongue when brought before the haughty and iniquitous Herod to be tried. A man, a God, who could have destroyed His accusers by the breath of His mouth stood silent before a man who was not worthy of his breath (Luke 23:6-11). He knew when to keep silent. A man who withered the fig tree the minute He spoke to it (Matthew 21:19), a man who commanded the waves of the sea to be still (Mark 4:39), a man who raised the dead by his voice (John 11:43), a man who proclaimed He was the ‘resurrection and the life’ (John 11:25), a Son of God (Matthew 3:16,17) who created worlds by the word of His mouth (Hebrews 11:3) who uttered the greatest invitation ever issued to all who ‘labour and are heavy laden’ (Matthew 11:28), knew when and how to use His tongue.

There is a time to speak and a time to stay silent. And they each reveal which master we obey. 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Jesus At Trial by Jon McNaughton)

THE MAGNITUDE OF HIS GLORY

 

Nothing brings home to me more the magnitude of Christ’s condescension than “The Little Drummer Boy”. I cry every time I hear it. I simply fail to grasp how someone as supernal, powerful and godly could enter a baby’s body. This song brings to my mind His helplessness, vulnerability, dependence, His willingness to forget for a season that He graced as an infant the earth He created. This willingness makes me see in Him the greatness He embodied from the beginning of time. I simply cannot fathom in my finite mind the humility that such an undertaking warranted. Humility on this level equals greatness. No ego, no pride, no self-importance. Just a baby but yet a King.

When the Saviour comes the second time, He will come in the fulness of His glory. Consider the magnitude of that statement:

1.  Mountains will flow down at His presence (D&C 133:40,44; Micah 1:4)
2. The waters on the earth will boil (D& C 133:41)
3. All nations will tremble at His presence (D&C 133:42)
4. The sun will hide, the moon will withhold its light, and the stars will be hurled from their places (D&C 133:49)
5. The wicked will be burned by the brightness of fire of His glory (Malachi 4:1-3; 2 Thessalonians 2:8)

I am a mother. When I hear The Little Drummer Boy, I yearn to hold baby Jesus in my arms. The thought of His helplessness as He then was sears my heart. What a blessing and unspeakable privilege it was for Mary to hold Him close to her heart. I also yearn to see Him come in the fulness of His glory, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the Lord Omnipotent, the Everlasting King….

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Blissful Bond by Greg Collins)

THE MORTAL BURDEN

 

“The trial of Jesus in Gethsemane would not have been possible and could not have occurred had it not been preceded by a lifetime of sinless virtue…Fromm His temptation in the wilderness to His rejection in Nazareth to the illegal trial before the Sanhedrin, Christ paid the price of a perfect life, walking in holy sinlessness despite adversity, physical suffering, deep sorrows, and the snares of ruthless and determined adversaries, both seen and unseen. ‘He suffered temptations but gave no heed unto them’ (D&C 20:22). All this He did with the knowledge that one misstep would mean creation’s doom! For had he sinned even in the smallest point or slightest negligence of thought, the Atonement would have become impossible and the whole purpose of creation frustrated. The burden of the whole world weighed upon him through every moment of His life.” (Elder Bruce D. Porter, The King of Kings, p 92)

Those of us who are parents would understand what it means to be responsible for another human being. Now imagine being responsible for the existence of the entire human race. Imagine the ever- present awareness of the utmost necessity to be perfect in every way every minute of your day because if you weren’t, the whole structure of human existence would crumble. This was the mortal life of Jesus of Nazareth. The burden of the responsibility upon His holy shoulders is beyond my capacity to comprehend, to pave the way to someone else’s perfection even more so. How could He be an example of obedience had He sinned in the minutest degree? How could He be the way if that way was flawed?

Nobody depended on the Saviour more to fulfil the responsibility placed on His shoulders than the Father of us all. He knew according to His foreknowledge that His firstborn Son could save the rest of His children and that He would. It is with this foreknowledge that He also placed upon us our individual mortal responsibilities. We each have a part to play in this great Plan of Salvation. We are each a link in the chain of humanity. The Plan of Salvation the Father presented to us could never work without us, His children. The Saviour could never be the Saviour if there was no one to save. We accepted, we voted, we came. The burden is heavy but possible…..because of Him.

I was tempted my burdens

To lay to Your charge;

I considered them acutely unfair.

Then you opened my heart

And showed me Your godly task,

Beyond human capacity to bear.

Knowing where you had gone

I would never have to go,

I sorrowed and sought

My arrogance to bury;

In humility I assent,

Your mortal burden,

So valiant, so holy,

I would never in this life 

have to carry.

 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Through Heaven's Veil by Greg Collins)

A WELCOME BY THE FAITHFUL

 

In his efforts to stay the tide of increasing floundering amongst the early Church members who had converted from Judaism to Christianity, Paul wrote the famous sermon that we now call the book of Hebrews. Throughout the entire sermon, his goal was to reinforce the members’ conversion by denouncing the law of Moses and emphasizing that the only way to salvation was through Christ. He reminded these converted Jews of the time they were illuminated, had accepted the truth and had endured afflictions because of it (Hebrews 10:32). He admonished them not to let all that growth and endurance go to waste by casting away their confidence in the truth they once accepted (v 35). In other words, if it was right when you prayed about it and received a witness of it, and trusted it, and lived for it, it is still right. It is right when the pressure mounts, when doubts set in, when fears rear their ugly heads, when the adversary steps in to destroy your reward if you remain faithful.

Following his admonition to confidence, Paul said something highly significant to us, the saints of this last dispensation who await the Second Coming of the Saviour: “For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry” (Hebrews 10:37). In other words, don’t give up especially now when the Lord is at the door….

It has been 2023 years since the Lord’s first advent. Many, like Nephites of old who awaited His first coming, are becoming incredulous about His return. Those who still believe are asking how much more wicked the world has to get before He appears. Elder Christofferson who was in Melbourne, Australia, conducting a leadership meeting was asked this very same question of a sister during a question and answer segment to which he replied: “The world is already wicked enough for His coming, the Father is waiting for more covenant keeping saints to welcome Him.” In his talk, “Preparing for the Lord’s Return” given in April 2019, Elder Christofferson elaborated: “First, and crucial for the Lord’s return, is the presence on the earth of a people prepared to receive Him at His coming.”  

Nephi saw us in our day and testified that the ‘power of the Lamb of God descended upon the saints of the church of the Lamb, and upon the covenant people of the Lord…and we were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory’ (1 Nephi 14:14). It is time for us, the covenant people, to rise to that privilege. We are the chosen for this time and this place to usher in the greatest event of the history of mankind. The winding up scenes will not be easy, they will not be pleasant, but they will be worth the sacrifice, the perseverance, the wait…..and when He comes, the tears of the faithful….

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: His Return by Dan Wilson)

GOOD THINGS TO COME

 

I watched this week a video detailing the tragic life of deceased Matthew Perry who struggled with alcoholism and prescription drug abuse from age 14. In his interview before his death Perry said he had a spiritual hole that he was always trying to fill with a material thing which just kept perpetrating his need for his addictions. These addictions became so severe that he found himself one day praying to God in desperation for help. As he did so, a light appeared in his room brighter than the sun emanating from a heavenly messenger. Even though he could not discern who it was, Perry said he knew he stood in God’s presence because he had never before been encased in such love as he then felt. This experience afforded him several years of abstinence and well-being, but Perry continued to struggle on and off with his addictions. This led him to open his home to rehabilitation of alcoholics. In one of his final interviews he said he wanted to be remembered for the work he did with people who needed help rather than for being an actor.

In his attempt to persuade the converted Hebrews struggling to stay in the Church, Apostle Paul wrote extensively in his epistle to them about the Saviour offering Himself as sacrifice for our sins that outranked any sacrifice offered by Levite priests. In so doing he named Christ as ‘the high priest of good things to come’ (Hebrews 9:11). Even though this had reference to Christ’s sacrifice bringing us eventually into God’s presence, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland used this description of Jesus to provide encouragement to those struggling in despair here and now. He said:

“There really is light at the end of the tunnel. It is the Light of the World, the Bright and Morning Star, the ‘light that is endless, that can never be darkened’ (Mosiah 16:9; John 8:12; Revelation 22:16)….To any who may be struggling to see that light and find that hope, I say: Hold on. Keep trying. God loves you. Things will improve. Christ comes to you in His ‘more excellent ministry’ with a future of ‘better promises.’ He is your ‘high priest of good things to come’. (An High Priest of Good Things to Come, Ensign, Nov 1999, p 36)

 

I look to Thee to lift me up

When into the depths of sorrow

I sink and comfort cannot find;

I look to Thee to lift me up

When nothing makes sense

In my troubled finite mind.

I look to Thee to lift me up

When forsaken I happen to be;

I look to Thee to lift me up

When trials seek to swallow me.

I will look to Thee to lift me up

When farewell I have to say,

Lift me up with tender mercies

In thine arms to gently lay.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Rescue Me by Yongsung Kim)

ODE TO PAUL

 

I am often amazed at how much influence one person can have, for better or for worse. I have studied the New Testament before but this year I saw the man Paul, his life and his heart. It has had a profound influence on me relative to my life. I have felt the beating of this man’s heart as I read the words which abridged our earthly span of time; from the time of that fateful day on the road to Damascus to the turnaround of his entire life to finding himself alone and abandoned facing death during the madness of Nero and his genocide of Christians in Rome.

Elder Bruce R. McConkie claimed that Paul was foreordained to his ministry because of his spiritual endowment, nurtured and earned in pre-existence (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 2:91). His zeal, his devotion to God, his diligence in exact obedience, were all traits he brought with him but his recognition and adherence to the truth he owes to the person he met on the road to Damascus. Only the Saviour of the world, the crucified Christ, the long- awaited Messiah, could have changed his heart to the enabling of the new life he embraced, the suffering he endured, the love he bore for those he taught and the devotion to the only source of salvation that he took to the grave with him.

Paul is the prime example of the truth that the Saviour of all mankind can make of us much, much more than we can make of ourselves. Once we grant Him entrance to our heart, we are  never be the same again. Paul wasn’t, and he took that new heart to the grave with him. He worked, he suffered, he endured….and he owed it all to Christ Jesus, the Lord of Heaven and Earth, the great Jehovah, the Rock of our Salvation. To Him we owe all we are and all we can become if we yield our hearts to Him and Him only. May we like Paul, bring glory to His name and pay Him homage now and forever….

I gave up all

To come to know Thee and hear Thy call.

I sought the fertile ground

For Thy seeds to grow,

I nurtured the tender plants

And fed those who wanted to know.

I did it all

To catch Your crimson drops

In my grateful hands for them to fall.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: I Will Give You Rest by Yongsung Kim)

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