THE EXAMPLER

 

The more I learn about the Saviour, the more amazed I become. This is what amazes me the most. It is His greatness that began long before His astounding power to withstand the crucible of the cross.

Consider the beginning…. When He appeared to Abraham, the pre-mortal Saviour introduced himself thus: “I am the Lord thy God; I dwell in heaven; the earth is my footstool; I stretch my hand over the sea and it obeys my voice; I cause the wind and the fire to be my chariot; I say to the mountains – Depart hence – and behold, they are taken away by a whirlwind……My name is Jehovah… (Abraham 2:7,8).

As Abraham was shown ‘the intelligences that were organised before the world was’, he saw many of the ‘noble and great ones’ and was told that he was one of them (Abraham 3:22,23). Once again, the Saviour affirmed who He was: “I am the Lord thy God, I am more intelligent than they all…my wisdom excelleth them all, for I rule in the heavens above, and in the earth beneath, in all wisdom and prudence, over all the intelligences thine eyes have seen from the beginning….” (Abraham 3:19,21)

We read the interaction between Enoch and God along the same lines. After showing him all the workmanship of His hands, He declares Himself to Enoch in the most powerful manner: “I am Messiah the King of Zion, the Rock of Heaven…” (Moses 7:53).

The perfection level of His obedience in pre-mortal life is astounding. It is through this obedience He gained the power to rise to the Godhead where He could create worlds without number (Moses 1:33). Is it any wonder He could endure this:

“This sacrifice…took place in Gethsemane when He sweat great gouts of blood from every pore….And it also took place as He hung on the cruel cross of Calvary. During the last three hours of that agonising ordeal, while darkness overspread the land, all the pains and suffering of Gethsemane returned.”  (Bruce R. McConkie, “A New Witness for the Articles of Faith”, p 109)

My point is this. The Saviour of this world was the firstborn of the Father. He was the perfect Son and therefore the perfect Brother. The Exampler who paved the way to obedience, who lifted us to heights we could not reach on our own even back then. He was the Shepherd long before we became the sheep, the Shepherd we followed and believed and chose to be our God.  We became great in our pre-existent state because of the perfect example we followed. The influence He has over us now would have been double-fold back then when we were in His presence.

I testify of this because I was told once during a prayer: “My Atonement is my gift to you because you were so valiant in your testimony of Me long before you were born.”  You, me, Abraham……..(D&C 138:11-24).

How can I contain the magnitude of You

In the meagre chambers of my heart?

How can I absorb the brightness

Of Your light that outshines the rays

Of the brightest sun?

How can I explain the lightness of my being

When You lift me up on wings of faith

Making real the wonder of You?

My love knows no limits

My honour of You, no bounds;

My needy reach for heaven’s door,

To concede, without You,

I am in spirit forever poor.

 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Like A Dove by Chris Brazelton) 

 

 

LINKS TO ETERNITY

 

In all of the scriptural writings, no story touches me to my core like the story of Abraham.

The most endearing part of Abraham’s story is that of his death. The biblical account is not so descriptive but the Jewish tradition found in forgotten texts is something that makes me weep every time I read it.  Here is the recap: Abraham was 175 years old. It was the Feast of Weeks celebration and both Isaac and Ishmael had come to Hebron with their families to celebrate the Feast with their father.

During the feast, Abraham called Jacob, ‘the chosen patriarch heir with the authority to establish Zion over all the earth’ and invoked the blessings of heaven upon him and his seed forever. And this is the tender part of Abraham’s death. Young Jacob was tired and he and Abraham laid down together on one bed and ‘Jacob slept in the bosom of Abraham, who kissed him seven times and his heart rejoiced over him and he pronounced another blessing upon his head. He then ‘blessed the God of gods, and he covered his face…. and slept the sleep of eternity, and was gathered to his fathers’. (Jubilees 22:26-30, Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha, 2:47; as quoted in The Blessings of Abraham by E. Douglas Clerk, p 232, 233).

Jubilees goes on to say that Jacob slept in Abraham’s arms and did not know that his grandfather was dead until he awoke in the middle of the night and alerted his mother and father. Upon finding him dead, Isaac ‘fell upon his face and wept and kissed him’. His weeping was heard in all the house which brought Ishmael to his father and ‘he and all of Abraham’s house wept bitterly’ (ibid).

Can you think of a more noble death? It touches me to tears that Abraham died with Jacob in his arms because Jacob would be the fulfilment of God’s promise to Abraham that through him the blessings of the priesthood would be given to all the nations of the earth. Abraham waited 38 years for the promise of Isaac and he didn’t live to see his posterity as numerous as the dust of the earth, as promised (Genesis 13:16), but he trusted that through his grandson Jacob this promise would be fulfilled. It’s an incredibly touching story.

I have a grand-daughter that I adore. I consider her to be one of God’s angels that graces this earth. She is 11 years old. She spreads love wherever she goes and she is always on the look out to help whoever needs help. She is my Jacob. She will bless the lives of many as she grows. I cannot think of a more noble death for myself than dying in the arms of my grand-daughter. We are linked together by the family and priesthood ties that will endure into eternity.

The priesthood blessings of the Abrahamic covenant bridges us across time and space and unites us as God’s family. This was made possible by someone greater than even Abraham…..He who has laid the foundations of this earth and declared I am Jehovah, the Messiah, the King of Zion, the Rock of Heaven…” (Moses 7:53).

ODE TO FATHER ABRAHAM

When in heaven we meet knit together

Under the covenant of your name,

Will you consider us your children

Will we in your heart forever remain?

 

Will you gather us in your arms

And kiss us each as your long-awaited son?

Will your heart then rest

When because of the Rock of our salvation

At last we are one?

 

 - CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Jesus Loves Me by Chris Brazelton)

LOOKING FORWARD

 

I used a scripture in my post yesterday that said, “…..I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly”  (John 10:10). Brilliant, isn’t it??? What comes at the beginning of that scripture though is more indicative of this life than any other scripture I know of. It begins like this: “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy….” 

The Saviour was, of course, speaking of the adversary and the opposing forces he brings into this life to derail us from the abundance that we can have through following Him. Christ’s adversary is here to steal our spiritual identity, kill our faith in God, and destroy our commitment to Christ, the source of our salvation. His value system is: 1. Selfishness; 2. Self-indulgence; 3. Immediate gratification. Does this not describe so well this mortal life?

The adversary’s value system is his greatest lie. Everything that pleases and gratifies in this life is something he promotes as abundance. In reality, our mortal life is abundant when through faith in God, we have peace in our hearts and love of our families. But there is more. Real abundance comes when we leave this temporary plane of opposition, having conquered all, and return to God.

Elder Bruce C. Hafen has said it well: “Mortality is not mere estrangement from God – it is the crucible through which the possibility of truly meaningful life becomes real” (“Broken Heart” p 39). What meaningful life? Eternal life, that is yet to come.

Nephi tell us that “Adam fell that men might be; and men are that they might have joy.” (2 Nephi 2:25). I have often wondered how Adam and Eve felt when they left the Garden and found themselves in ‘hell’, so to speak. Adam lived 930 years according to Genesis 5:5 and Moses 6:12. Imagine living for that long in this life. I am certain he could endure it because he came to understand what was yet to come.

“Adam and Eve left the Garden of Eden so that ‘they might have joy’. Not nice days. Not yawning and stretching and lounging in front of a cozy television set throughout eternity. AFTER Adam and Eve had been in the lone and dreary world long enough to get some idea of what it meant to ‘eat bread by the sweat of thy face’ and to ‘bring forth children in sorrow’ an angel taught them the plan of salvation.” (Bruce C. Hafen, “Broken Heart” p 75)

It was after they sampled the crucible of this life that they learnt of ‘the joy of redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient’ (Moses 5:11). Imagine experiencing the ease and beauty and peace of the Gaden of Eden, then the barren harshness of this life that only the prince of this world can offer and finally to be given hope that they can return to the bliss of God’s presence, the state of lasting joy and happiness. Imagine the relief and the driving force to endure and to overcome, and to be, in the end, found worthy!

Someone wise once said that Eden was a way-station, not a destination….so it is with this life. The Saviour did not die so that we will have an inferior destination. He died to gather us, to restore us, to give us joy everlasting. Let us not be deceived by the counterfeits of this life but let us ‘look unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross….”  (Hebrews 12:2)

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: No Greater Joy by Chris Brazelton)

MIGHTY JOB

 

“It Is not the function of religion to answer all questions about God’s moral government of the universe, but to give courage (through faith) to go on in the face of questions a man never finds the answers to in his present status.

“Therefore, take heed of yourselves, and as a wise world thinker once said, “If the time comes when you feel you can no longer hold to your faith, then hold to it anyway. You cannot go into tomorrow’s uncertainty and dangers without faith.”  (Elder Harold B. Lee, Church News, as quoted by Keith H. Meservy, “Job: Yet Will I Trust In Him”, pp 139-53)

After 50 years in the Church, I am still striving to fully understand about suffering. I have had my fair share of it and understand different aspect of it but not in its entirety. I wish there was a different medium through which we can earn eternal life and I wish that the Saviour didn’t have to suffer so.

Every time I re-visit the account of mighty Job, I come to understand a little more of this principle but the lessons from this man’s life are endless. The whole premise of Job’s experience is that God does not spare righteous people from suffering in this life.

It was believed anciently that suffering only comes upon the wicked and that it is God given as punishment. When Jesus healed a man blind from birth, His disciples asked Him: “Master, who did sin, this man or his parents that he was born blind?”  Jesus answered that neither sinned and that the purpose of the man’s blindness was for the ‘works of God to be manifest in him’ (John 9:2,3). So with all of us, there is obviously a purpose for whatever we are afflicted with that is not of our doing.

I rather think that Job had to learn this lesson. His friends accused him of being sinful in some way to have ended up in such extreme suffering. Job defended his integrity (Job 27:6), knowing full well he did not sin but he must have wondered why he, a man who God called ‘perfect’ (Job 1:8) was not spared.

Job’s service to his fellowman was extensive: he strengthened weak hands (4:3); supported those who were falling (4:4); strengthened the feeble knees (4:4); delivered the poor (29:12); cared for the orphans (29:12); helped those whom no one else would help (29:12; gave the widow cause to sing with joy (29:13); was eyes to the blind (29:15); was feet to the lame (29:15); was father to the poor (29:16); searched for people in need of his assistance (29:16); opened his home to strangers (31:32).

 In his extreme suffering Job wished he was never born and disclosed a fear: “For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me” (Job 3:25). Perhaps seeing so much suffering in others, made him fear sin and think that his righteousness would spare him. This made him question if he did really commit some sin so he begged the Lord to reveal it to him so he could repent (Job 13:23).

While Job did not understand why God permitted his affliction, he would not judge the Lord nor lose his faith in Him and could therefore say “let come on me what will” (Job 13:13). Had he distrusted, he would have questioned God’s integrity in whom he believed impeccably. (See the Old Testament Student Manual, Job: “Hast Thou Considered My Servant Job”)

There is one other man who might have wondered why he wasn’t spared….Joseph, the beloved Prophet of the Restoration… and we all know about his suffering…..

Your watchful eye was over all my trials

So carefully crafted

With love and tender care,

The crucible almost too hard to bear;

Yet did I worship Thee

Praising Thy name forever.

 

You stood as sentinel to my yielding heart

Knowing my trust would stand the test of time;

You crushed the enemy of my soul in the final hour,

Your glory, Your might, Your unfathomable power.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Oh God, Where Art Thou? by Paul Marli)

FEARLESS

 

In my last post where I wrote about the privilege we can have to see the face of Christ, I mentioned a scripture that supported that doctrine which reads like this: “….inasmuch as you strip yourselves from jealousies and fears, and humble yourselves before me….the veil shall be rent and you shall see me and know that I am….” (D&C 67:10)

I understood jealousies and lack of humility to be the stumbling block because they allude to attributes of righteousness but I wondered why the Lord included ‘fears’ in the list of the prerequisites. After a few days of pondering I understood why. Fear is inverted faith. Fear and faith cannot co-exist. You either have one or the other. You cannot hold onto fears produced by mortality and say you have faith in God and His providence.

This led me to ask what fears the early saints had that would impede their faith. This is actually easy to understand when you consider the hardships, sacrifices and persecutions that confronted them. Nevertheless, the fears they had regarding their condition would have negated the faith they should have had in the Saviour as their support, their caregiver and deliverer from difficulties they were called upon to bear. This is not a judgmental observation but an attempt to highlight the power of faith.

And this is to highlight the power of fear. The revelation of Section 67 was concerning a special conference of the Elders in regards to the printing of 65 revelations received by Joseph up to that time. In verse 3 of this Section, the Lord tells these Elders that they believed that they should receive the blessing which was offered to them but that they didn’t receive it because of the ‘fears in their hearts’.

It is not clear what blessing these fears were responsible for but considering that William W. Phelps was one of the Elders involved in the conference and the printing of the ‘Book of Commandments’, this offers some clarity regarding the fears. Not only did he question the language of the revelations, because he was a ‘learned man’ and an educator, he also attempted to write one himself and failed miserably (Doctrine & Covenants Student Manual p 142).

William W. Phelps was Joseph’s close associate who left the Church for a time with Oliver Cowdery. He became fiercely anti and wrote an incriminating affidavit which landed Joseph and Sidney Rigdon in jail and wreaked deadly havoc on the Church community. He later repented and admitted he had been under immense pressure and persecution from the opposing forces to the Church. Phelps stands as a good example of the fears that would have plagued the early saints.

Very often we miss out on the greatest blessings because we don’t focus on what we want but instead we focus on what we don’t want to happen to us. This creates a very powerful tool that brings that unwanted thing upon us, the tool called FEAR. This tool often directs the paths we take in life and dictates how productive we are. It cripples our self-confidence, it prevents happiness by projecting outcomes that might never happen, and at times it manifests that which we don’t want. In Job’s words: “For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me” (Job 3:25)

The worst of all, it destroys our faith in God who heralds: “Fear thou not, for I am with thee….” (Isaiah 41:10)

I kept my fears so close to my heart,

They hid so well not wanting to depart.

They pulled the strings

And bade me where to go;

They owned my soul

More than I wanted to know.

You took possession of the inner me

And replaced those fears with tranquility.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Jesus Tranquil Grace by Ivan Guaderrama)

TO SEE HIS FACE

 

“If we want a real testimony, if we want to seek God until we find Him, even if we want eternal life – all these things can be ours, if we desire them, so long as we do not desire other things more. We show what we really want by what we do, not just by what we say.

“So if we say we desire to grow in our faith, but the way we live suggests otherwise, we probably want something else more than we want eternal life. It might be our friends. It might be physical pleasures. Or it might only be that we don’t want the Church bothering us with meetings and rules and guilt trips.

“Whatever it is we want so much, we are likely some day to have it. Not only will the righteous desires of our hearts be granted, the unrighteous desires of our hearts will also be granted. Over the long run, our most deeply held desires will govern our choices, one by one and day by day, until our lives finally add up to what we have really wanted.”

-        Elder Bruce C. Hafen, “The Believing Heart”, p 22-23

My question is this. How many of us have the faith that we can have what we desire? How many of us think our desires are feasible? How many of us would dare desire to see God in this life? Do we think it possible? Well, actually it is.

At the Last Supper, Jesus told His disciples that He will manifest himself to anyone who loves Him and keeps His commandments. When the disciples asked how that is possible that He will manifest himself to them and not to the whole world, Jesus answered: “If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our above with him.”  (John 14:21-23).

This personal appearance to anyone is alluded to in Doctrine and Covenants also where the Saviour said: “I am in your midst…..and the day cometh that you shall hear my voice and see me and know that I am” (D&C 50:44,45).

If you think you need to be a prophet or someone of great importance in the Church to see God, consider this: “It shall come to pass that EVERY soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth my name and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that I am” (D&C 93:1).

And if you think that this does not apply to this life, consider the scripture where the Saviour tells us that if we strip ourelves from jealousies and fears, and humble ourselves before Him, ‘the VEIL shall be rent and we shall see Him and know that He is’ (D&C 67:10).

It is the veil of forgetfulness that was ‘taken from off the eyes of the brother of Jared’ whereby he was able to see the Saviour before him (Ether 3:6). It is the veil that separates us from the literal presence of God and it is something that exceeding faith and righteous state of a person can remove:

“And there were MANY whose faith was so exceedingly strong, even before Christ came, who could not be kept from within the veil, but truly saw with their eyes the things which they had beheld with an eye of faith, and they were glad.” (Ether 12:19)

If we desire to see God, we can, “so long as we do not desire other things more”………….

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Christ by Jechoon Choi)

GOD OF GLORY

 

There is an account of an interesting event that occurred in the early Church history. During the absence of the priesthood authorities of the Church, some members fell under the influence of false spirits and had engaged in ‘ridiculous extravagances’ such as ‘pursuing a ball that one member said he saw flying in the air to the edge of a precipice, some had visions and could not tell what they saw, some fancied that they had the sword of Laban and would wield it, some would act like an Indian in the act of scalping, some would slide or scoot on the floor with the rapidity of a serpent and some imagined they were sailing in the boat to the Lamanites, preaching the gospel’. (History of the Church, 4:580; Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual p 107)

Out of all the names attributed to the adversary, the most fitting would have to be the Deceiver. President Joseph Fielding Smith taught: “From the time of the fall of man until now Satan and his followers who were cast out of heaven, have been deceiving men. Some commandments are of men and some are of devils (D&C 46:7).” (Church History and Modern Revelation, 1:200, Student Manual p 107)

When Jesus’ disciples asked Him what were the signs of His coming, Jesus answered: “Take heed that no man deceive you; For many shall come in my name saying – I am Christ – and shall deceive many….and shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch, that, if possible, they shall deceive the very elect, who are the elect according to the covenant. (JS Matthew 1: 5,6,22).

We are the elect according to the covenant and the time of the signs of His coming are upon us. I don’t know what manner of signs and wonders the false Christ’s will perform in an attempt to deceive the elect but I do know that we should be vigilant and that, according to the Saviour’s admonition, ‘we should ask of God, follow the Spirit and walk uprightly before Him that we may not be deceived by evil spirits’ (D&C 46:7).

I am reminded of Moses who had an encounter with the adversary following His experience with God on Mount Sinai. Moses was favoured to see the glory of God in his transfigured state (Moses 1:11) following which Satan attempted to deceive him telling him He is the Only Begotten that should be worshipped but Moses would not be deceived saying: “….where is YOUR glory?” (v 15,16,19)

The adversary will use all sorts of cheap counterfeits attempting to convince people that he is the Son of God. There might be things he can imitate but there is one thing he cannot imitate and that is glory. You cannot be the source of darkness and at the same time possess glory (Moses 1:15).

We might not see it until His coming but I hope we will know the God of glory through the association with His spirit as we live righteously and increase our testimony of His Sonship and that by the time the Second Coming is upon us, I hope we will know Him so intimately that we could never be deceived.

 

There is a desire in my soul

That wants to conquer Goliath

And watch him fall….

This warrior within me never sleeps

And yearns to hear the angels’ call,

A call to battle to make the devil fall.

And when Christ comes in clouds so holy

He will conquer that enemy

And we will confess His glory.

 

 - CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Second Coming by CraftonArtPrints)

 

HOLY WORDS

 

“When Joseph got the plates, the angel instructed him to carry them back to the hill Cumorah, which he did. Oliver Cowdery went with the Prophet Joseph when he deposited these plates.

“Oliver says that when he and Joseph went there, the hill opened, and they walked into a cave, in which there was a large and spacious room. He says he did not think, at that time, whether they had the light of the sun or artificial light; but that it was just as light as day.

“They laid the plates on a table; it was a large table that stood in the room. Under this table there was a pile of plates as much as two feet high, and there were altogether in this room more plates than probably many wagon loads, they were piled up in the corners and along the walls.

“The first time they went there, the sword of Laban hung upon the wall; but when they went again, it had been taken down and laid upon the table across the gold plates; it was unsheathed, and on it was written these words:

“This sword will never be sheathed again until the kingdoms of this world become the kingdom of our God and His Christ.”

-        (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses Vol 19, p 40)

The Book of Mormon covers 1,000 years of the history of ancient America and a third of it has not yet been revealed to us. The Book of Ether alone covers 1,700 years in only 15 chapters. The rest is lining the walls of that cave….and that’s just from the history of one continent of this earth.

Imagine how much more was written about the history of the world that is yet to come forth. This will blow your socks off. James Talmage points out that the prophecy of Christ being born ‘a Nazarene’ (Matthew 2:23) is not found in any of the books of the Bible.

This prophecy along with many books mentioned in the Bible that do not exist therein suggests there are lost scriptures. This also disproves people’s claim that the Bible is complete as a collection of sacred scripture and that continuous revelation is not necessary.

Some of the missing books from the Bible are in existence today and are classed with the Apocrypha but the greater number are unknown. Elder Talmage lists 16 books that are mentioned in the Bible that we do not have (“Jesus the Christ”, p 120). When you consider how many people have lived and how much has transpired from the beginning of time, I am convinced there would have to be more than what has been mentioned.

Do you wonder what’s in all those records we have no access to? Moroni knew. He said there were no greater things made manifest than those that were revealed to Brother of Jared (Ether 4:4). Why have they been hidden from us? Because judging by the small amount of scripture we have been given, we are at the beginning of our faith. We are not ready for the mysteries….

One day we will be given to know ‘greater things’ contained in the sealed portion of the Book of Mormon and that will be ‘when we repent of our iniquity, and become clean before the Lord, and exercise faith in Christ…..even as the Brother of Jared’ (Ether 4:7)

This is a sobering thought that tells us we will not get to read those scriptures without any effort on our part…a serious effort, one that leads to repentance and the manifesting faith like we have never known before….. Are we up to it????

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Golden Plates by Greg Olsen)

 

NINETY NINE

 

“Remember the shepherd who left the ‘ninety and nine’ to go in search of the one (Luke 15:4)? When I was younger I always felt bad for the ninety-nine who were left behind while the shepherd paid so much attention to just one. Now I realise that by caring so much about the one, the shepherd was also communicating his love for the ninety-nine. By seeking the lost sheep, the shepherd helped all the others feel more secure.

“What if the shepherd had said, “Hey, I’m not going to take time to go find that dumb lost sheep! He has a big nose and frizzy wool anyway.” Even if the ninety-nine laughed, they probably would have been thinking, “Is that how he is going to act when I get lost?”

-        (Brad Wilcox, “Gospel Answers About Maturation (Bookcraft, 2000, pp 29-30

When I joined the Church I was only 18 years old. I had been a good Catholic girl. I was also a little self- righteous and I thought that the ninety-nine sheep were overlooked and under-appreciated because they were good. I saw quite a few Young Adults straying when I joined the Church and I couldn’t understand how they could just come back, everybody made a fuss and everything was forgiven and forgotten. Over the years I came to understand there was much more to sinning and repentance.

When I read this quote some years later, I understood it had a much deeper meaning: if I went astray and was lost, the Saviour would abandon everything and all to find me too. I would matter. By going after the one, He was showing the ninety-nine that He would do the same for them.

This led me later to see also a deeper meaning of the Prodigal Son parable. In the beginning I could identify with the older righteous son who never went away and remained with his father in faithfulness. I thought he was overlooked when he missed out on the fatted calf. I felt his father had taken him for granted and did not appreciate him..

Then one year as we studied the New Testament, I saw this. I saw the Saviour in the older son, but with a huge difference. The parable's good son never sought him who was lost, despite the kinship, despite the brotherhood, despite the Father's sorrow over his loss. Whereas the parable's good son was reluctant and fearful he would have to share his inheritance with his brother, the Saviour, in the beginning said: “I will seek them that are lost and I will bring them back and share with them all that I have.”

 

I identified with the prodigal son that year. Even though I had not committed any grave sin, I realised that I, like him have made unwise decisions in my life, not exercising the power of foresight when I made them which affected many aspects of my temporal life.

 

Because every decision carries with it consequences and repercussions, I have suffered over the years because of them. For more years than I care to admit, these decisions had exhausted my feelings of self-esteem perpetuating my lack of self-forgiveness.

 

But there is redemption from all imperfection. The Atonement covers all sin and all foibles of mortality and its ensuing suffering, even that of bad decisions. It means all our sins, our bad choices and our unwise decisions can be swept away. It means the Saviour goes after the prodigals so they can return. It means the one sheep that gets lost can rejoin the ninety-nine. It means we are lost without Him. It means He is our everything….

 

 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Green Pastures by Yongsung Kim)

 

KNOW WHO YOU ARE

 

“Why did the Lord ask such things of Abraham? Because knowing what his future would be and that he would be the father of an innumerable posterity, He was determined to test him. God did not do this for His own sake for He knew by His foreknowledge what Abraham would do; but the purpose was to impress upon Abraham a lesson and to enable him to attain unto knowledge that he could not obtain in any other way.

“That is why God tries all of us. It is not for His own knowledge for He knows all things beforehand. He knows all your lives and everything you will do. But He tries us for our own good that we may know ourselves; for it is most important that a man should know himself.”  (George G. Cannon, “Gospel Truth”, comp. Jerreld L. Newquist, 2 Vols [1974] 1:113)

Years ago I read something I saved as a guide to my own personal development: “Someone who takes the time to understand their relationship with God, who actively seeks alignment with their broader perspective, who deliberately seeks and finds alignment with who they really are; is more charismatic, more attractive, and more powerful than a group of millions who have not achieved this alignment.”  (Abraham Hicks)

Think of what Abraham achieved in his life and how powerful he became….his obedience was unparalleled and his pursuit of righteousness and seeking the blessings of the fathers through the priesthood brought him into alignment with God and the revelations he received regarding the Plan of Salvation (Abraham 3:22-28).

Abraham’s faithfulness to God, however, through the trial of Isaac’s sacrifice, gave him the knowledge of his role as the father of all the faithful through the Abrahamic Covenant. This trial of his faithfulness to God truly taught Abraham who Abraham was.   

Now look at the Saviour. Repeatedly throughout His earthly ministry, He affirmed who He was:

-        I am the bread of life (John 6:31, 51)

-        I am the light of the world (John 8:12)

-        I am the door of the sheep (John 10:7,9)

-        I am the good shepherd (John 10:11,14)

-        I am the resurrection and life (John 11:25)

-        I am the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6)

-        I am the true vine (John 15:1,5)

The Saviour was not born with this knowledge. This knowledge was added to Him in increments as He grew and progressed through His obedience until His ministry began (D&C 93:12-14). No need to mention of what the Saviour achieved because He learnt who He was through His alignment with the Father and through the trials He suffered “even more than man can suffer” (Mosiah 3:7).

Could He ever have been the Christ if He didn’t know who He was destined to be???

We too can know our destiny….

-     CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: The Light by Land of Dreams)

GIFTED

“I remember the Prophet arising to preach to a large congregation in the grove west of the Temple in Nauvoo. He stated that he would preach on spiritual gifts…..Joseph stated that every Latter-Day Saint had a gift, and by living a righteous life, and asking for it, the Holy Spirit would reveal it to him or her.”  (Amasa Potter, “A reminiscence of the Prophet Joseph Smith”, Juvenile Instructor, Feb 15, 1894, p 132)

Nobody would know this concept better than Joseph who had only a grammar school knowledge of reading and writing and yet had the ability to translate records written centuries before in a language of which he had no knowledge. The fact that Joseph had this gift was attested by Mormon who wrote on the title page of the Book of Mormon that the golden plates would be interpreted by the gift of God. This gift of God was the gift of translation given to Joseph Smith (Teachings of Presidents, Chapter 9: Gifts of the Spirit)

The latter-day witness came from Oliver Cowdery: “These were days never to be forgotten – to sit under the sound of a voice dictated by the inspiration of heaven, awakened the utmost gratitude of this bosom! Day after day I continued, uninterrupted, to write from his mouth, as he translated with the Urim and Thummim…..the history or record called “The Book of Mormon” (Joseph Smith History 1:71 - From a letter from Oliver Cowdery to William W. Phelps, Sept 7, 1834, Norton, Ohio)

The gifts of the spirit are given for the purpose of developing traits we lack and need to have, not only for our benefit but most importantly for the benefit of the Church for it is for this purpose they are given (D&C 46:10:29). They are also a tool for overcoming weaknesses: “…..if any of us are imperfect, it is our duty to pray for the gift that will make us perfect. Have I imperfections? I am full of them. What is my duty? To pray to God to give me the gifts that will correct these imperfections.” (“Millenial Star, April 1894, pp 260-61).  

I have taught several lessons over the years on the gifts of the spirit as outlined in D&C 46.  The last time I taught it I decided to seek a gift I needed to help me overcome  a long-standing weakness.  As I pondered about it I realised I didn't know which gift was needed for me to have for this particular weakness so I decided to pray about this and ask which gift I should seek.  I knew the answer that came to me was straight from above because I would never have come up with it in those words on my own. 

I tend to have a somewhat dogmatic manner at times and this has troubled me over the years and has created clashes with people which necessitated later apologies.  This weakness also makes me detest unfairness and causes me to stand up for myself even in less important situations such as customer service. 

The gift I was told to pray for was the gift of 'forbearance and self-restraint'.  As I contemplated this definition of the gift I realised I had other weaknesses that could be overcome with this gift.  It was rather humbling to discover I had so many weaknesses that they could be grouped into a whole category.

I thought obtaining this gift was going to be a simple matter of praying for it and one day I would wake up with this gift under my belt ready to take on the world.  Unfortunately, it didn't prove to be that simple.  I prayed many weeks for this gift and one day I had another 'customer service' incident that left me feeling less than good about myself.  I was wrongly done by and I gave as good as I got.  I walked away thinking I really could have used the gift of forbearance and self-restraint that day and wondered when I was going to get it.  As I thought about it, I realised what I had been doing wrong. 

As Ether 12:27 tells us, weaknesses are designed to bring us to God that we might be humble. I lacked that humility in receiving this gift.  What I needed to do was humbly call upon God for my gift in the moment that I needed it and then act in faith as if I had it. In other words, some effort on my part was needed as well.

I realise it can be very hard to make yourself call on God in the moment when you are facing your weakness instead of giving into it because a lot of our weaknesses come with payoffs, payoffs that we enjoy and more than often want. The key is desire.  When the desire becomes greater than the payoff, you are half way there.  When you no longer want to be the person you see in the mirror, you are ready to change.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Translation Process by LDS Art)

 

A PERSONAL GOD

 

I came across a comment recently on YouTube by a well-meaning Catholic man who admonished us to repent and to ask “our Lady of Fatima to pray for us and give our hearts to her as an offering to the Lord”.

I asked this person who this lady is and why we should pray to her. He gave a short description of her but never said why we should pray to her. I concluded that he himself didn’t know, only that his religion has taught him to do it, and I sorrowed that this man might never come to know God in this life.  

I have over the years expressed many times my gratitude to God for the truth that I have in my life. This truth has come to me by way of the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ which has taught me to have a personal relationship with God.

Until the recent years, the Saviour was in the forefront of my mind. He was all that I could see. Now who I see first and foremost is the Father. This has always meant to be so. The Church brings us to Christ and Christ brings us to the Father. Revealing the Father and making Him personal to us was one of the main purposes of the Saviour’s ministry among men (see Jeffrey R. Holland, “The Grandeur of God”, October 2003 GC)

Now when I pray to the Father I feel such closeness to Him that I yearn for His presence. This I believe is the culmination of years and years of yielding my heart to His Son. I also believe that yearning for the Father’s presence is the true and higher purpose of prayer.

This yearning was so strong in me one day as I prayed that immense fear gripped me that I might not ever enjoy being in His presence again. This opened the visual vista of being lost and living eternally with loneliness and unfulfilled longing. But then hope came to me so forcefully because what followed that fear was the deepest understanding I have ever received of the Atonement of Jesus Christ which filled me with inexpressible joy.

This time my understanding of this crucial Gospel principle was not educational, theological or intellectual but something so personal that it made God more real to me than ever before. I felt rescued and saved from eternal damnation. I understood what Jesus had done for me. That moment in my life was the beginning to my ever-growing desire to please the Father and be a source of joy and delight to Him.

It should sear our hearts when we read of Him weeping over His disobedient children (Moses 7:28,29). On Judgement Day, those who refused the redemption of Christ will know the deepest sorrow known to man. They will long for the Father they once knew and loved. Imagine the sorrow the Father too will know in that moment. It should be the quest of our lives to never allow Him to experience this…..but so live that we will make up for His loss.

When my days on earth are done

I will lift above the world below

And I will seek the gilded gate

To welcome me to my eternal home.

 

I will approach the foot of His throne,

I will kneel and I will weep

When in hope I give Him joy

For eternity to keep.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Father and Son by Danny Hahlbohm)