YOUR LIVING WORD

 

Smiling Upon Us by Dan Wilson

I stand in awe of Your sacrifice

And Your soul’s pain;

The body freely given

For nothing of You to remain.

 

I ache, I ache,

Knowing the cost;

Then I read Your living word

And I am comforted

Knowing nothing is lost.

 

-       CATHRYNE ALLEN

A CALL TO ZION

 

Millenium The Long Awaited Hour by Charlotte Noelle Pedersen

I call Chapter 51 of Isaiah ‘a call to Zion’. This chapter is specifically directed to ‘the redeemed’ of the last days as is thus addressed:

“Hearken unto me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the Lord… (v 1);

“Hearken unto me, my people…..(v 4);

“Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law.. (v 7)

The ‘redeemed of the Lord’ are those who are of the Abrahamic covenant ‘as in the ancient days, in the generations of old’ (v 1,9). They are called to ‘look unto Abraham your father and unto Sarah that bare you, the rock from whence you are hewn” (v 1,2). Not only is this a reference to our ancient parents of the covenant because they were righteous and had set the path of example but because they provided the path to the seeking of Zion which they themselves were devoted to :

“Abraham’s diligence in seeking God is mentioned in the book of Abraham at the very point of his departure from Haran when he will, a Hebrews say, go looking for the city with foundations (Abraham 2:12). It is the same city, as scholars point out, that is also referred to in the next chapter of Hebrews: “But ye are come unto mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn” (Heb 12:22-23).

“When similar language is used in latter-day scripture, it describes the people of Enoch. Those attaining celestial glory are said to “come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly place, the holiest of all. These are they who have come to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of Enoch, and of the Firstborn” (D&C 76:66-67). Clearly Abraham was seeking Enoch’s city of Zion.” (Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 805)

That we are to prepare to live a terrestrial life of the Millenial reign is evident by Isaiah 51:11 where he says that ‘sorrow and mourning shall flee away and everlasting joy shall be upon our heads’ (Isaiah 51:11). These are the conditions of the Millenium. Right now we are in a telestial world. The Millenium will be a terrestrial existence. It will be a lifestyle that will prepare the most righteous for a celestial life, a life with God the Father. I am more convinced of it when I look at the City of Enoch and its ascension to God.

There is a pattern that we will follow during the Millenium to prepare us for the celestial life with the Father,  Eternal God, and this is it. The golden age of the City of Enoch is the blueprint of New Jerusalem, the modern day Millenial Zion upon the American continent. Enoch’s city had another name: the City of Holiness (Moses 7:19). There is only one reason why this city was called the City of Holiness and that’s because ‘the Lord came and dwelt with his people’ and ‘dwelt in the midst of Zion  (Moses 7:16;69). It was He who was the embodiment of holiness and not its people. Much like He will be in New Jerusalem during the Millenium.

When the Saviour comes and resides in New Jerusalem, “the need will disappear for the sun and the moon to give light to God’s covenant people. The Lord Himself will be an everlasting light…and all the city will be lighted up by the glory of His presence….” (Orson Pratt, in “Journal of Discourses”, 14:355-56; see also D&C 133:57-58)

Because the Saviour was there with the people of Enoch, they ‘were of one heart and one mind and dwelt in righteousness and there was no poor among them’ (v 18). This description tells us one thing: because the citizens of Zion were true followers of Christ, they were endowed with His pure love.

Without the pure love of Christ we can never become citizens of Celestial Kingdom. A Zion life-style prepares us for this eventuality. And here is something we need to know. This pure love is unique only to Christ. It is solely His kind of love. We do not possess it and neither are we capable of developing it. His pure love is an endowment to those who love Him and follow Him (Moroni 7:48). That’s the good news.

It took Enoch’s city 365 years of ‘walking with the Saviour’ to reach the state of holiness which ‘lifted them up, even into the bosom of the Father and of the Son of Man’ (Moses 7:24,69). Much like 1,000 Millenial years will prepare us for the same.

When the Saviour returns, those who are spared will be those who are only ‘more’ righteous than those who will not be spared, like the Nephites of old when he appeared to them after His resurrection (3 Nephi 9:13). There will be no perfect people on earth when He comes. Perfection only comes in and through Him. The Saviour will live with His saints upon this earth for a thousand years to perfect them through His grace and endow them with His pure love in preparation for the celestial realm.

When the Saviour returns, Enoch’s city will return with Him to live with Zion, the New Jerusalem (Moses 7:62). This is us. They will meet us there and “we will fall upon their necks, and they shall fall upon our necks, and we will kiss each other” (Moses 7:63)….it will be a meeting of hearts knit together with the pure love of Christ. The Saviour is at the door….the Millennium imminent. 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

LIFT ME UP

Within His Reach by Paul Marli

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 Thee is the light, the truth and the way.

- Cathryne Allen 

 

THE CRUCIBLE OF MORTALITY

I Gave My Back to the Smiters by Greg Collins

Back in 2024 I read the October General Conference talk by Elder Brook P. Hales entitled “Mortality Works” and I sobbed, not because of any new fresh perspective, but because of the sheer, raw admittance that this life is incredibly hard.

I cried reflecting on my own life and the many, many times I wished I could be free of it and I learnt that it is ok that I felt this way. Over the years I have chided myself for not being valiant enough to want to be here in this world of suffering and have envied those people who tenaciously cling onto life even when they are sick or incapacitated. Right now I am both of those things and feel like I am in a cage. I have learnt a great deal through this crucible of my life. The lessons have been unrelenting as has the suffering.

At times I have reflected on the unfairness of it all. Had I not been faithful all my life? Had I not sacrificed and served and given all I could of myself to the cause of truth? And yet my life resembles only one of my expectations I brought here with me.  I am learning right now to accept unfairness. Once I am there completely, I will up that expectation of myself to be willing to submit to the crucible of this life. I imagine once I succeed, my end will come.

Isaiah wrote a lot about the unfairness of the Saviour’s life labeling Him ‘a man of sorrows’ (Isaiah 53:3). This title does not relate to just His suffering for us but to His entire earthly life which was the most unfair one of all. There is another scripture though which speaks to me the most regarding this unfairness in which Isaiah quotes that He was not rebellious and did not turn back from His crucible but instead He went to it willingly and ‘gave His back to the smiters’ not hiding ‘from shame and spitting’ (Isaiah 50:5,6). It’s the acceptance of it that speaks to my heart.

Herein is the unfairness of life of the one sinless man: His family didn’t believe in Him at first (John 7:1-5); His countrymen were offended by Him (Mark 6:3); He was rejected by his home town of Nazareth, the citizens of which sought to kill Him (Matt 13:53-58; Luke 4:13-30; Mark 6:1-6); the Jews accused Him of being born of fornication (John 8:41); the Jewish Council considered Him possessed of the devil and sought to kill Him (John 7:19, 20); He had no permanent home of His own (Luke 9:58); one friend betrayed Him and another denied knowing Him (Luke 22:48, 54-62); all His disciples forsook Him and fled (Matt 25:56; His enemies demanded His crucifixion (Matt 27:22-23).

And all this before He would descend into the bottomless pit of human agony in the ‘valley of humiliation’ as He took upon himself the crucible of the “most wretched of all sinners” and “descended beneath the cruelest tortures devised by man”:

“His downward journey encompassed the transgressions of those who ignorantly sinned; it incorporated the quantum of suffering unelated to spiritual error, but nonetheless viably acute in stinging proportions – the agony of loneliness, the pain of inadequacy, the suffering of infirmities and sickness. In the course of his divine descent He was assaulted with every temptation inflicted on the human race.

“If the totality of human suffering and anxiety could be categorized, it might be broken down as follows: first, suffering caused by sin; second, suffering that flows from innocent transgression of the law; third, suffering related to infirmities, weaknesses, inadequacies, or trials that have nothing to do with sin or transgression; fourth, suffering or anxiety necessitated by the exercise of faith. The scriptures are replete with evidence that the Saviour did not exempt himself from any of these but rather faced each of them “square on”.  (Tad R. Callister, The Infinite Atonement, p 104-5)

And indeed He also had to experience the unfairness of mortal life so that He could understand ours. How degraded He must have felt by this crude archaic backward life after leaving His throne on high! Imagine a god in his own right being rejected, spat upon, beaten, reviled and crucified naked by mortal weaklings for the sake of their sinful souls. Is there a greater unfairness than this?

In all honesty, I don’t know how I would react if I was asked right now, in the midst of my suffering, if I could take on the burdens of one other person. Yes, the load of Christ’s suffering was relative to His power but it leaves me wondering how small my power must be if I could not bear one inch more of what I am enduring for myself.

The unfairness of Christ’s life is beyond my comprehension. My consolation is that in my darkest hour, my wish to escape is honoured by the God who is the most acquainted with grief . His compassion is ever affixed and His desire to lift us higher ever present. He understands and He suffers with us through it all. Yes, because of Him, mortality works.

Oh, the pain that seared Your heart

As you encountered human misery

On the dusty roads of Galilee!

You embraced it all so lovingly

And took it with You to the hill of Calvary.

 You, who ached for our misery,

became  the beacon of hope

For all who accept Your godly suffering.

 

-      CATHRYNE ALLEN

 

 

JOURNEY TO HIS THRONE

 

The Path by Eva Koleva Timothy

I pledged my life into thy hands

When by example you showed me how;

I promised my trials to endure

When I was with You and do so even now.

 

You dried my tears when I barely coped

And carried me when I could walk no more;

You fed me truths I needed to know

And nurtured my flight into the unknown.

 

As I promised to obey,

You promised we’d never part;

I remember, I remember

And carry it all

In the shadow of my heart.

 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

HIS LOOKS

 

Crucifixion Wasn't Pretty by kbrake of DeviantArt

When I was posting on Facebook, I used to get quite a few of comments about the pictures of Christ I would include in my posts. It fascinated me that in each one was a painted portray of a different man yet He always looked like Jesus. I adore good art and I admire the artistic talent so I never ran out of images where Jesus looked good.  

The most common comment I used to get was that Jesus was a Hebrew man and therefore had to look Jewish and Middle Eastern and could not possibly have blue eyes. It always used to get me. I would point out that according to the scriptures, Jesus was in the express image of His Father and not His Jewish mother (John 14:7-9; Colossians 1:12-15; Hebrews 1:1-3). God the Father is not Jewish or of any nationality of this earth therefore He does not look Middle Eastern and could very well have blue eyes. Besides the fact that some Jewish people do have blue eyes, the actor Paul Newman having been one of them.

One kind reader told me that Josephus, a Jewish historian, called Jesus a fair headed Jew with a rosy complexion. I am yet to find a reference to that, however, in the Works of Josephus I own.

The push for a black Jesus floored me. I had a couple of people who tried to convince me that Jewish people used to be black and therefore Jesus was black too. I recognised this was about wokeness and political correctness of our day but I feared it had a sinister root. The danger in passing Jesus as a black man in antiquity comes with a connotation that He was a descendant of Cain, who was the servant of Satan. This gives credence to the claim by the Jewish Council, who sought to kill Him, that Jesus was the servant of Beelzebub, the prince of the devils  (John 7:19,20; Matthew 9:34; 12:24; Mark 3:22; Luke 11:15)

One lady tried to convince me that the Saviour was not a good-looking man because Isaiah said he was ‘without form and comeliness’ and had ‘no beauty that people would desire him’ (Isaiah 53:1-2). Not only did this lady tell me that people didn’t want to look at him because of this but that he was most likely even disfigured because Isaiah also said he was ‘marred more than any man’ (Isaiah 52:14).

When Isaiah spoke of the Saviour as being a “tender plant without form and comeliness”, he meant that Jesus was born as a small, helpless infant just as all people are and He grew as other people do. Being  ‘without form and comeliness’ means “He was not so distinctive, so different from others that people would recognise him as the Son of God. He appeared as a mortal man” (President Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 1:23).

It also means that He was divested of His glory in mortality, which He had gained in pre-mortal life so that people would believe His message through the power of the spirit and not due to His obvious godhood (John 17:5). There had to be acceptance through faith (see also Philippians 2:5-10).

Lastly, the Saviour’s “visage was so marred more than any man” (Isaiah 52:14) is a reference to the suffering of the cross. Roman crucifixion was gruesome. The condemned were stripped naked and scourged. This would cause the person to lose a large amount of blood, and approach a state of shock. The convict then usually had to carry the horizontal beam to the place of execution. Crucifixions took many different forms. Some victims were crucified head down to the ground and some were impaled by their private parts. During Emperor Titus’ Siege of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., Roman soldiers nailed innumerable Jewish captives to crosses in various ways.

When Jesus was crucified on Calvary, metal spikes were driven into His hands and His feet and a spear pierced His side to ensure His death (see John 19:17-18, 32-34). Considering everything He went through before He was even lifted on the cross and His body ravaged, does it not make sense that Isaiah would consider Him ‘marred’?

This is the Jesus I am longing to one day meet:

“When I was doing missionary work with some of our brethren among the Indians…I found myself one evening in the dreams of the night, in that sacred building, the Temple. After a season of prayer and rejoicing, I was informed that I should have the privilege of entering into one of those rooms, to meet a glorious Personage, and as I entered the door, I saw, seated on a raised platform, the most glorious Being my eyes have ever beheld, or that I even conceived existed in all the eternal worlds. As I approached to be introduced, He arose and stepped towards me with extended arms, and He smiled as He softly spoke my name.

“If I shall live to be a million years old, I shall never forget that smile. He took me into His arms and kissed me, pressed me to His bosom, and blessed me, until the marrow of my bones seemed to melt! When He had finished, I fell at His feet, and as I bathed them with my tears and kisses, I saw the prints of the nails in the feet of the Redeemer of the world. The feeling that I had in the presence of Him who hath all things in His hands, to have His love, His affection, and His blessings was such that if I ever can receive that of which I had but a foretaste, I would give all that I am, all that I hope to be, to feel what I then felt!”   (Apostle Melvin J. Ballard, Temple Manifestations, p 153)

As Golgotha raged and tore

Your flesh without mercy,

The Garden sprang anew

As from every drop of blood You spilt

New flowers came into bloom.

How pitiful the cross that claimed You

Not knowing it sent a God to a

Darkened tomb!

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

KAHLIL GIBRAN ON PRAYER

 

Coming Full Circle by Jenedy Paige

You pray in your distress and in your need; would that you might pray also in the fullness of your joy and in your days of abundance.

For what is prayer but the expansion of yourself into the living ether? And if it is for your comfort to pour your darkness into space, it is also for your delight to pour forth the dawning of your heart.

And if you cannot but weep when your soul summons you to prayer, she should spur you again and yet again, though weeping, until you shall come laughing.

When you pray you rise to meet in the air those who are praying at that very hour, and whom save in prayer you may not meet.

Therefore let your visit to that temple invisible be for naught but ecstasy and sweet communion.

For if you should enter the temple for no other purpose than asking you shall not receive; And if you should enter into it to humble yourself you shall not be lifted; Or even if you should enter into it to beg for the good of others you shall not be heard.

It is enough that you enter the temple invisible.

I cannot teach you how to pray with words.

God listens not to your words save when He Himself utters them through your lips.

And I cannot teach you the prayer of the seas and the forests and the mountains.

But you who are born of the mountains and the forests and the seas can find their prayer in your heart,

And if you but listen to the stillness of the night you shall hear them saying in silence:

“Our God, who art our winged self, it is thy will in us that willeth. It is thy desire in us that desireth. It is thy urge in us that would turn our nights, which are thine, into days, which are thine also. We cannot ask thee for aught, for thou knowest our needs before they are born in us:

Thou art our need; and in giving us more of thyself thou givest us all.”

-          Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet – A Timeless Masterpiece

EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW

Second Coming by Jon McNaughton

I am often enthralled with the way the Saviour proclaims His godhood in the scriptures with such confidence and self-assurance. Imagine if He was less than sure of His attributes and was reluctant to tell us just how perfect He is for fear of sounding proud…He could never say: “there is no God beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me. (Isaiah 44:21)

How could we possibly exercise faith in a God who wasn’t sure of himself and that we did not know? How could we ever put to a test His promises and become recipients of His grace and salvation in such ignorance?  

Through my study of the scriptures I have counted 18 of Christ’s characteristics, the most prominent of which for me, have been ones of power and mercy. One year whilst studying the Doctrine and Covenants, I came to understand one of His virtues which I had not paid much attention to before. It was the virtue of humility.

This is the scripture which made me reflect on the extraordinary nature of His character as a God: “Therefore, I command you to build a house unto me, for the gathering together of my saints, that they may worship me” (D&C 115:8). Can you imagine the amount of humility it would require saying such a thing for a God of perfect attributes and completely devoid of pride? It would have to be someone who knows exactly who he is, is confident in that knowledge and most of all, has a purity of spirit and heart. Compare this to Lucifer’s pride when he demanded to be worshipped by Moses and his tantrum and melt-down when he couldn’t get his way (Moses 4:1-4; 1:16-22).

It amazes me that someone so powerful who calls himself “the king of heaven”, who can create worlds and annihilate them by the power of His word can be so humble (2 Nephi 10:14; Helaman 12:9-17; D&C 63:4; Isaiah 11:4). This is Christ, the Beloved Son, the Saviour of the world. This quality of humility is what made it possible for Him to divest himself of His glory, leave His throne and condescend to be born to a lowly life: in a stable, a carpenter, willing to be subjected to ridicule and unacceptance. I cannot imagine Lucifer, as proud as he is, lowering himself to such a life.

You might say the Saviour experienced mortal life at ‘ground zero’. And in doing so he ‘descended below all things that he might comprehend all things’ (D&C 88:6). What things? Our difficulties, our sorrows, our sins, our imperfections, our sufferings, our inabilities, our mortal weakness; the ultimate comprehension coming through the Atonement where He came to understand what it is like to be you and me.

Imagine a God leaving His exalted throne and all that comes with it, to be rejected, spat upon, scourged, reviled and crucified. Imagine the humility it would take to subject yourself to all that, despite the power within your grasp....and all this for the sake of someone else and not yourself. Is this not a God to reckon with?? One who could in all honesty say: “To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal and compare me, that we may be like?” (Isaiah  46;5). There is no comparison to anything or anyone within the realm of idolatry for such an attempt because there is no other power, goodness, perfection and ultimate love and mercy but in Christ.

And this is the greatest surety of His being as our God and our Redeemer: “I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall swear. Surely, shall one say, in the Lord have I righteousness and strength; even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed.” (Isaiah 45:23).

There will come a day when all the earth shall kneel before Him and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is the Lord, that there is no one beside Him and that His judgements are just because of His mercy, love, long suffering, patience, humility, meekness, wisdom, tolerance, forgiveness and power (Romans 14:11; Mosiah 27:31; D&C 76:110; 88:104). In the words of Elder Neal A. Maxwell:

“Everyone needs to accept the reality of Christ’s return in majesty and power before that event occurs; for, as C.S. Lewis put it, it will do men little good to kneel down when it is no longer possible to stand up, for when the “Author of the play comes on stage, the play is over!”

 

 When amidst the clouds of glory

You appear on Your trusted steed,

Our heads will bow,

Our knees will bend,

Our tongues be loosed to confess,

Your Sonship and Your Kingship,

Worlds without end.

 

-     Cathryne Allen 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

LOVE NOTES

 

That I May Heal You by B. Laura Wilson

I wish I could be grateful

For every fallen tear

And accept my trials

Without a trace of fear.

But what would life be

Without the love notes sent

From heaven’s gilded gates

And written by His pen.

 

-     Cathryne Allen 

STEWARDSHIP

Worlds Without Number by Greg Olsen

I was born and raised in Croatia. I come from generations of poor peasants who lived under the feudal system and socialism. They never owned the land that they worked and produced on. Under both regimes, the land belonged to either the local aristocracy or the government. They worked for their survival and not for riches. They were not owners but stewards.

Today we, in the free world, get possessive of everything we produce through the workmanship of our hands and the sweat of our brows and we fail to recognise that we do so on borrowed land and borrowed time. In doing this we fail to acknowledge a greater power than us and pride fills us with misguided self-importance and wrongful ownership.  Isaiah put this in proper perspective when he reminded us who the real owner is of everything we produce here:

“I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded.” (Isaiah 45:12).

When we recognise and acknowledge the Creator of this earth, what we once considered ownership becomes our ‘stewardship’. We come to see the rightful owner. Consider the confirmation of this truth through modern day revelation:

“For it is expedient that I, the Lord, should make every man accountable, as a steward over earthly blessings, which I have made and prepared for my creatures. I, the Lord, stretched out the heavens, and built the earth, my very handiwork; and all things therein are mine.” (D&C 104:13,14). And then the warning: “And let not any among you say that it is his own; for it shall not be called his, nor any part of it.” (v 70)

It astounds me how much crime and fraud is rampant in our society because of selfishness, greed and obsession over property that is not even ours. Another crime being committed is the exploitation of the planet earth we live on. When one day we come to understand that all we have here belongs to God, these sins will cease. This will be the condition we will live in during the Millenium.

In April 1982, the LDS scholar and professor of BYU, Hugh Nibley, gave an excellent talk entitled “Work We Must, but the Lunch is Free”. It highlights perfectly how our attitude of ‘ownership’ as opposed to ‘stewardship’ derails us from our true purpose for which we have been sent here:

“We have been permitted to come here to go to school, to acquire certain knowledge and take a number of tests to prepare us for greater things hereafter. This whole life, in fact, is a “state of probation” (2 Nephi 2:21). While we are at school our generous patron has provided us with all the necessities of living that we will need to carry us through. Imagine, then, that at the end of the first school year your kind benefactor pays the school a visit. He meets you and asks you how you are doing. “Oh,” you say, “I am doing very well, thanks to your bounty.”

“Are you studying a lot?” “Yes, I am making good progress.” “What subjects are you studying?” “Oh, I am studying courses in how to get more lunch.” “You study that? All the time?” “Yes. I thought of studying some other subjects. Indeed I would love to study them – some of them are so fascinating! – but after all it’s the bread-and-butter courses that count. This is the real world, you know. There is no free lunch.” “But my dear boy, I’m providing you with that right now.” “Yes, for the time being, and I am grateful – but my purpose in life is to get more and better lunches; I want to go right to the top – the executive suite, the Marriott lunch.” (Hugh Nibley, Approaching Zion, p 211)

Now consider the imposter who derails us from our purpose and convinces us that the toil of our hands to procure more lunch is our primary purpose. This imposter has been playing at being an employer since the days of Adam and Eve and in turn us, their posterity, by trying to convince us to work for him:

“The first employer offers us lunch, and since lunch is something everybody must have, he is in a powerful position to bargain. He explains [to Adam and Eve] that this glorious earth is his private estate, that it all belongs to him to the ends thereof, in particular he owns the mineral rights and the media of exchange, by the control of which he enjoys the willing co-operation of the military, ecclesiastical, and political establishments, and rules with magnificent uproar.

“He keeps everything under tight control, though, for all the blood and horror – nobody makes any trouble in his world from the rivers to the ends thereof….. for he claims to be the God of this world, and the Lord himself grants him the title of Prince of this World. All who are not working for him on his estate he charges with trespassing…..

“To have merely sufficient for your needs, however, is not what he has in mind – that would be the equivalent of the free lunch, lamely ignoring the endless possibilities for acquiring power and gain that the place offers; this developer has a vision of unlimited sweep and power – “You can have anything in this world for money!” Beginning, of course, with lunch. Because money is the only thing that will get you lunch – and since everybody must have lunch, that is the secret of his control.”  (ibid p 209)

If we do not allow the God of heaven and earth to direct our course in this life, His enemy will. The adversary will do anything he can to convince us that this is his world and while we are in it, we belong to him and his values. He is not the creator, nor the owner, he is the steward of deception.

 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

 

 

TEARS AND FEATHERS

 

In the Shadow of His Wings by Daniel Gerhartz

Before I left the realms of heaven

You tried to tell me

Of the tears I would spill,

But when I see a flying feather

I should surrender and be very still.

 

Now when a tear falls, I remember You,

My God and my King,

And I find Your loving comfort

In the shadow of Your wings.

 

-      Cathryne Allen 

TRUSTING HIM

 

Portrait of Christ by Walter Rane

Besides His repeated declaration to Israel that He is God and that there is ‘none else’, the Saviour spoke a lot about himself and what He is like. The scriptures are replete with statements like: “I the Lord speak righteousness, I declare things that are right” (Isaiah 45:19). He also often speaks, throughout the scriptures, of His power, and the wonderful works He has done such as: “I have made the earth, and crated man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded” (Isaiah 45:12).

When He came to earth, He proclaimed Himself as the ‘seven I AM’s, as in the Gospel of John: I am the bread of life (6:31,51); I am the light of the world (8:12); I am the door of the sheep (10:7,9); I am the good shepherd (10:11,14); I am the resurrection and life (11:25); I am the way, the truth and the life (14:6); I am the true vine (15:1-5).

And there is more. He is: THE CREATOR (Helaman 14:12; Moses 1:33; 2:1); THE MEDIATOR (2 Nephi 2:9; D&C 76:69; JST 1 Timothy 2:4; 1 Timothy 2:5); THE ADVOCATE (1 John 2:1; D&C 45:3; 110:4); THE REDEEMER (2 Nephi 2:26); THE GATEKEEPER (2 Nephi 9:41; Mormon 6:17); THE AUTHOR AND FINISHER OF OUR FAITH (Moroni 6:4); MESSENGER OF THE COVENANT (3 Nephi 15:23); THE SAVIOUR (Isaiah 45:15, 20);  THE JUDGE (John 5:22, 30).

Sometimes I think we get rather indifferent by repeatedly reading the scriptures without giving a thought to their deeper meaning and we miss the almost frantic way He is trying to teach us who He is and why we should have no other gods beside Him. Do we really understand His character by these definitions and the bigger question is, do we trust Him?

I once had an experience where, despite all my diligent study of the scriptures for many years,  I was finding it difficult to trust the Saviour concerning a particular matter. I revised all the particulars I had collected over the years about His character as cited above but what stood out to me was one very basic truth….I remembered that He being a God, could not lie. Being a God of truth, it is not in Him to ever utter a lie. I went searching for scriptures that said this directly and had some results: Titus 1:2 says, “God that cannot lie”; Hebrews 6:18 says, “it was impossible for God to lie”; Ether 3:12 says, “Thou art a God of truth, and canst not lie”; and Enos 1:6 says, “God could not lie”.

Why is His integrity important for us to know? Because God cannot lie, He can make promises that challenge our trust in Him:  “who am I saith the Lord, that have promised and have not fulfilled (D&C 58:31). This means, if a promise was made and not fulfilled, we should be very careful when we assess the reason why.

I often hear members of the Church who pay tithing casually say: “there is never enough money, we can’t afford it, we are just scraping by.” When we say things like this, we are affirming that tithing is just another bill. Our negative talk negates the faith and trust that we should be expressing first and foremost in the principle which brings returns.

Another common saying I have noticed among faithful saints is this:  ’I’ll never make it. I am just not good enough.”  This is, in my opinion, a sin. It denies the power of the Atonement and the Saviour’ s ability to redeem us and forgive us of our humanity. If we are faithful and devoted to Him and His laws, doing our best and striving for repentance, we are good enough to qualify for His saving grace. The Lord looks at the total and complete person including the desires and goodness of our hearts as well as our deeds. There is no sin bigger than the Atonement except the denial of the Holy Ghost (Matthew 12:31,32)

One last thing. The biggest proof we have that Christ the Saviour, our God, is a man of infallible integrity and can be trusted beyond reason, is His Atonement. The Atonement performed in mortality was in actuality just a formality. We could draw upon its blessings and power in pre-existence as if it had already happened. Hence, we could be born innocent as it covered our pre-mortal sins:

“Over long eons of time in the premortal realm he proved faithful and dependable and honourable in every commitment, every responsibility, and every charge. The scriptures tell us that “from eternity to eternity he is the same (D&C 76:4). He never deviated from the mark, never slacked in his performance, never shrank from his word. He kept every command with exactness; he discharged every duty with precision; he was “not slack concerning his promise” (2 Peter 3:9).

“His promises were “immutable and unchangeable” (D&C 104:2). As a result, his spiritual credit was rapidly escalating until it was pure gold, even infinite in value. That is why the laws of justice could recognize the benefits of the Atonement before the purchase price was ever paid, because his promise, his pledge, his credit was “good for it”, and everyone who honoured their first estate knew it.

“It was not only when he appeared that he voluntarily laid down his life, but he voluntarily laid down his life from the very day the world came into being. Then he came forth in order to take it, since it had been given as a pledge. Based on that pledge or covenant we had faith in him. Based on that covenant the Father could promise remission of sins prior to the atoning sacrifice because he ‘knew’ his Son would not fail. The issue was not that he could not break his covenant, but rather, that he would not.”   

(Tad. R. Callister, The Infinite Atonement, p 80) 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

IN COMMUNION

 

Deep Calls to Deep by Aeron Brown

Like the dying sun that melts into the sea,

Like the night that kisses early dawn,

Like the river that meets the shore;

You bid me come to Thee

In sweet communion forever more.

 

-      Cathryne Allen

SPIRITUAL ALIGNMENT

 

Brigham City Temple by Brent Borup

There would have to be no greater sorrow for Jehovah, the God of Israel, than to see His people whom He had chosen turn to idolatry and this after He had delivered them from bondage, cared for them, watched over them, blessed them with a land of their own and given them the grandeur of Jerusalem. To replace the one and only true God who could do all that with gods of metal and wood was unconscionable.

“With great irony, Isaiah brought out the inconsistency of those who work wood and metal, use it for firewood and other mundane things, but fashion idols from the same material and then expect those idols to show forth great power and answer their prayers. Such idolatry precipitates in man “a deceived heart” that has turned him aside” (Isaiah 44:20), or in other words, that has such a negative effect as to cause him to lose his soul.” (Old Testament Student Manual 1 Kings – Malachi, 185)

Yet despite such ludicrous practice and departure from worship of the one true God, Jehovah showed utmost mercy to the undeserving people He called ‘his witnesses’:

“Fear not, O Jacob, my servant whom I have chosen….I will pour my spirit upon thy seed and my blessing upon thine offspring….Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel: I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God….Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? Ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? Yea, there is no God; I know not any”  (Isaiah 44:2-8)

It makes you want to weep, does it not???? And then, even forgiveness:

“Remember O Jacob and Israel; for thou art my servant: I have formed thee; thou art my servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me. I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions; and, as a cloud, thy sins; return unto me; for I have redeemed thee.” (Isaiah 44: 21, 22)

And then redemption and spiritual re-alignment….in the name of Cyrus, the Great…. Who Isaiah prophesied of 140 years before his birth, and whose coming to release the Jews from Babylon after 70 years of bondage that was  prophesied by Jeremiah (Jeremiah 25:11,12; 29:10,14).

Cyrus, the King of Persia, conquered Babylon in 539 B.C., and inherited the exiled Jews. He was raised for such a purpose by Jehovah himself, who called him ‘my shepherd’ and ‘my anointed’ (Isaiah 44:28; 45:1-4).

The military conquests of Cyrus were nothing short of remarkable. Empires virtually fell into his hands and by the time he reached Babylon, he was considered a liberator and not a conqueror. The citizens of Babylon welcomed him with open arms because of his intended reforms that would make life better and easier for the common man. Babylon that was a fortress to be reckoned with was overthrown in one night as the city opened its gates to him without a battle and this is why:

“Cyrus was a born ruler of men. He inaugurated a new policy in the treatment of conquered peoples. Instead of tyrannizing over them and holding them in subjection by brute force, he treated his subjects with consideration and won them as his friends. He was particularly considerate of the religions of conquered peoples. The effect of this policy was to weld his subjects to him in a loyalty which made his reign an era of peace.” (Elmer W.K. Mould, Essentials of Bible History, pp 348-49)

Numerous commentators have denied that Isaiah named Cyrus as the liberator of the Jews so many years before he appeared. They have argued that his name was added to Isaiah’s prophecy after his conquest of Babylon and the help he gave to the Jewish nation. Josephus, the Jewish historian, recognized Isaiah’s prophecy to be valid by quoting letters from Cyrus confirming the prophet’s predictions (see Josephus, Antiquities, XI, 1,2).

Cyrus not only had respect for the people he governed but he had respect for God whom he acknowledged as the fountain of his success declaring, HE IS THE GOD (Ezra 1:2,3). Rather sobering isn’t it, for a non-Israelite to acknowledge the God of Israel as the God of heaven and earth.  

The God of Israel worked with this man to ensure he fulfilled his purpose and this was it….not to free the captive Israel for the sake of freedom but to send them back to Jerusalem to build His temple (Isaiah 44:28).  Jehovah was calling His people to return to Him….it is in the temple that they would once again raise their right hand to the covenant they had forsaken (Isaiah 44:20). It is in the temple they would find their God again and forsake their idolatry. It is in the temple they would be re-aligned spiritually with the God they had forsaken. It is in the temple they would receive a second chance.

Today latter-day temples dot the earth. There are 214 dedicated operational temples and a total of 383 including announced temples, temples in planning and under construction. We, the House of Israel, are a favoured people and blessed above all the nations of the earth. It is in the temple we are re-aligned with our covenants, convictions and our God to give us strength to forsake modern day idolatry of materialism, technology, prestige, power, entertainment, career, status, or “whatever thing a man sets his heart and his trust in most is his god…” (President Spencer W. Kimball, “The False Gods We Worship”, Ensign June 1976).

O Israel, I saw your sins

that you tried in vain to hide,

And the years you lived in futile pride.

I bore your life with crimson drops

And sought forgiveness on your behalf;

To pay the price of justice

And mend your broken heart.

 

I wait for you to come

Into the shadow of my wings;

I have paid the price: come unto Me,

Your God and Your King.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN