MIGHTY MELCHIZEDEK

 

Following the disastrous Babel and confounding of tongues, God proceeded to preserve His ways among the people by establishing communities of righteous groups in various parts of the earth who held the Priesthood:

“One of the most important colonies raised up by the members of the Priesthood during the life time of Noah was in Palestine. Most of this territory was dominated by the seed of Ham. The land was even named after Ham’s oldest son, Canaan. But the seed of Seth had carved out a mountainous kingdom over toward the northern end of the Dead Sea called Salem. This is the territory which surrounds the modern city of Jerusalem (Jeru-salem) (Bible Dictionary under “Salem”). (W. Cleon Skousen, “The First 2,000 Years” p 253)

The kingdom of Salem was governed by the prophet-king called Melchizedek. This amazing, righteous ruler had an effective tool for counteracting wickedness and apostasy that was engulfing his land and this was it: “But Melchizedek, having exercised mighty faith, and having received the office of the high priesthood according to the holy order of God, did preach repentance unto his people. And behold, they did repent; and Melchizedek did establish peace in the land in his days; therefore he was called the prince of peace ….” (Alma 13:17)

Throughout history it has been proven by people who have embraced the gospel that peace is one of its by-products. Permanent peace to every soul only comes through repentance, righteousness and saving ordinances of the priesthood.

This is what fascinates me and it should fascinate every member of the Church. Perhaps the most familiar mention of Melchizedek is in connection with Abraham who paid tithes to him following his battle with the kings who took his nephew Lot (JST Genesis 14:36-39; Genesis 14:18-20). There is no more mention of him in the Old Testament. Melchizedek did not remain in existence for long. What we do know of him comes from latter-day revelation and the Book of Mormon.

By the time Abraham needed to find a wife for Isaac of proper lineage, there were none of the righteous people of Melchizedek left in the land of Canaan.  Therefore, he had to send a servant all the way to Mesopotamia to get a wife for Isaac.

And this is what happened to the people of Salem: “Melchizedek and his people had been allowed to enjoy the blessings of Enoch….and were translated and taken up into heaven. And his people wrought righteousness and obtained heaven, and sought for the city of Enoch which God had before taken….” (JST 14:32-34).  

My point is this. We now have two groups of saints who have given us the pattern of becoming a Zion people…..the followers of the mighty Enoch and the mighty Melchizedek. Both of them achieved the state of Zion amongst the greatest wickedness of their time. Our time is no different but there is hope for us too, given through repentance, righteousness, and purity of heart: all fruits of the gospel of peace of our Saviour Jesus Christ, our God and our King.

A river of peace floods my mortal being;

I struggle to contain such a merciful gift.

With grace You enlarge

the sparse capacity of my heart

And righteousness moves within me

as the waves of the sea.

I love You more dearly;

I serve you more freely;

I become what I alone could never be.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Christ and the Dove of Peace by Doc Christensen)

HE IS RISEN

Next month we commemorate the restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood which took place on 15 May 1829. The Aaronic Priesthood when originally given to the Israelites was the single most important act of mercy performed by the Saviour prior to his mortal ministry. Israelites having rejected the higher law after having declared on a number of occasions, "all the words which the Lord hath said will we do", placed themselves in a precarious position and possibility of never coming into God's presence. By bringing them to Mount Sinai God sought to bring them into his presence and there endow them through covenant to be his people. They instead fashioned for themselves a golden calf.  What an insult and injury to the Saviour's loving heart after he had done so much to make them free.  How easily He could have rejected them too and left them in the wilderness to perish.  Instead the Saviour acted out of his merciful nature and gave the Israelites the lesser law administered through the preparatory priesthood to give them another chance. Just prior to this act of love, He declared Himself to be a god of mercy: "The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth" (Exodus 34:6). To the children of Israel that priesthood kept them looking forward to the atonement of Christ through the ceremony of animal sacrifice. When the Aaronic priesthood was restored through Joseph Smith, it became the gateway to modern day Israel to prepare them for the higher covenants administered through the Melchizedek Priesthood which would bring them to exaltation.  Just as the ancient Israel looked forward to the Atonement of Jesus Christ through animal sacrifice, we look back on this event through the ordinance of the sacrament which is administered by the Aaronic Priesthood.

I have often heard in the Church people expressing their belief in Saviour's love for them. They also believe that it is this love that motivated the Atonement. The love is undeniable, the Atonement, however, was borne out of mercy. When studying the scriptures, it is impossible not to come to the conclusion that the Saviour's most prominent characteristic is one of mercy. Joseph Smith said that without proper knowledge of the character of God it is impossible for us to gain sufficient faith unto salvation.  In other words, we cannot hope to turn to the Saviour for the remission of sins we continue to make on our life journey if we do not know and understand his merciful nature that allows him to forgive.  Some years ago I started to be watchful of His characteristics and His numerous names in the scriptures, most particularly the Book of Mormon.  Whatever I learnt about Him I recorded in the margins.  Today as I flip through my Book of Mormon I notice that just about every page tells me that the Saviour is merciful.

I believe it was mercy that enabled Him to drink the bitter cup and suffer unimaginable pain knowing that He would do so for many who would reject Him, deny Him and even not deserve such a sacrifice.  It is mercy that enables the Saviour of the world to forgive us over and over again when we sin repeatedly and repent as often. I stand in awe of a God that is so powerful yet so tender hearted that He would allow himself to be nailed to a cross.  A god who has created worlds without number by the power of his word and has all his creations in the palm of his hand, yet willed himself to enter a garden that would be his crucible.  This is the god we worship, a god of love and infinite mercy, a god of unrivalled power.  Consider his power through the numerous names that have been attributed to Him in the scriptures:

Jehovah
Jesus Christ
The Lord
The Son of God
The Son of the Eternal Father
The Lamb
Shepherd
Redeemer
Almighty God
The God of Israel
The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
The Lord of Hosts
The Holy One of Israel
The Redeemer of Israel
King Immanuel
The Eternal God
Holy One
The Saviour
The Mighty One of Jacob
The Mighty One of Israel
Messiah
The Lord God
The Prince of Life
The Lord of Glory
Eternal King
Lord God Almighty
The Son of Righteousness
The Lord of Hosts
Alpha and Omega
The Great I Am
The Stone of Israel
Holy Messiah
The Great Mediator
Son Ahman
Firstborn
The Lord God of Hosts
The Father of Heaven and Earth
The Creator of All Things
Wonderful
Counselor
The Mighty God
The Everlasting Father
The Prince of Peace

"And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead......
"And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word". (Matthew 8:7,8)

The Saviour descended below all things, including your sins.  Because of this He knows you and has compassion and mercy toward you.  Most importantly, He knows you from the beginning and He wants to see you to the end.  It is also because of your sins, that He ascended up on high (D&C 88:6) having finished his preparations unto the children of men (D&C 19:19).  Because of you and me he willingly entered the Garden of Gethsemane and carried his cross to Golgotha, his triumph,  leaving an empty tomb.  What excitement and fear would have come upon his disciples at this discovery.  Here again the Saviour's mercy came into play.  He wanted them to know they have not been forgotten and would not be left comfortless, His desire to have them know that He will be with them always.  And so He lingered teaching them that on the road to Emmaus expounding the scriptures 'beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself' (Luke 24:27).  No new doctrine, no new laws, just what the scriptures had said about Him, the message being loud and clear, not me in person, but my spirit you will have always through the testimony of my prophets.

"And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?"  (Luke 24:32)  May his mercy burn within our hearts this Easter and may we rejoice that He is risen.

A LIFE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

"Yea, verily, verily, I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold and very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men" (Alma 48:17)

Imagine if this was said of you.  What kind of a life would you have to live for this to be true?  Would it be possible for you to distinguish yourself among your peers as an upholder of righteousness?  Could you imagine being so righteous that the adversary cringes at the mention of your name?  Joseph Smith recorded something to this effect in his history, the magnitude of which I am sure he did not fully understand at the time:

"It seems as though the adversary was aware, at a very early period of my life, that I was destined to prove a disturber and an annoyer of his kingdom......" (JSH 1:20)

We, of this the last dispensation of times, have been sent to earth to be just that, 'disturbers' and 'annoyers' of adversary's kingdom for we have been sent to counteract evil and wickedness in this world by living a life of righteousness.

This week's Sunday School lesson offers a very valuable insight regarding this subject through the story of Abraham and Lot, his nephew.  Following their sojourn in Egypt, Abraham and Lot were blessed so abundantly that the land could not contain them and it became apparent they would have to go their separate ways (Genesis 13:7).  Abraham, being the man that he was, offered Lot his choice of the land first.  Lot who was not as generous and mindful of others, chose the fertile plain along the Jordan River and left Abram the rocks of upper Canaan.  At first sight, it appears Abraham was very much disadvantaged but not so.  The rocks of upper Canaan offered Abraham and his household refuge and distance from the wickedness of Sodom. Lot, who it would seem had every advantage by settling on the green, fertile part of the valley, was so close to the city he should have avoided at all cost, that he unwisely pitched his tent toward it (Genesis 13:12). One would assume that looking at something day in and day out would eventually entice you to it. This truly must have been the case with Lot because when messengers came from the Lord to do a little inspection of Sodom, Lot was no longer living toward Sodom, he was living in it.

Abraham tried to make a deal with the Lord.  He asked him to spare Sodom if there could be found 10 righteous people in it.  He knew Lot's family numbered that much but when the time came for Lot to leave, the scriptures record he only had his wife and two unmarried daughters with him. That's 4 out of 10.  His wife must have been of two minds too because she turned to look back, perhaps even attempting to go back and was lost in the process and his daughters later committed moral transgressions with their own father. Where did they learn such behaviour?  In Sodom.  In reality Lot had lost his whole family to the wickedness of the world.  Where did Lot go wrong?  I think Lot's cracks first started to appear when he grabbed for himself what he thought was the better part of the land not considering his good hearted uncle.  The second bad move he made was setting his sights on the 'world' which was so visible from his tent.  Sooner or later the world sucks you in if you are looking at it longingly enough.

Consider the opposite example in Abraham who had a desire for righteousness at the center of his heart. Sometime after he and Lot first settled in Canaan, a confederation of kings attacked the cities of that valley. Lot didn't fare very well in that attack and was captured with his family and taken away together with all their possessions.  Abraham felt it his duty to rescue his brother's son and together with his servants pursued the invading kings and conquered them bringing Lot and his family back.  When he returned to his home, there were two kings there to meet him: one was the king of Sodom and the other was the king of Salem called Melchizedek: the king of wickedness and the king of righteousness.

Abraham's experience with these two kings teaches us about being righteous in a world of wickedness.  The king of Sodom, being one of Abraham's allies in the conquest that was just made, offered Abraham all the booty he had captured in the war but Abraham refused to take anything from this king of wickedness.  His reply to this king was:

"I have lift up mine hand unto the Lord, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth, that I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take anything that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich" (Gen. 14:21-23)

Not only did Abraham know and acknowledge the true source of his prosperity, he was careful not to be a partaker of anything that was unrighteous and unclean, that had the potential to make him a part of the world. Alma spoke of this very thing when he said:

"And now I say unto you, all ye that are desirous to follow the voice of the good shepherd, come ye out from the wicked, and be ye separate, and touch not their unclean things; and behold their names shall be blotted out that the names of the wicked shall not be numbered among the names of the righteous, that the word of God may be fulfilled, which saith: The names of the wicked shall not be mingled with the names of my people." (Alma 5:57)

Not only did Abraham abstain from taking the tiniest endowment from the king of wickedness, he willingly gave to the king of righteousness:

"And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand.  And he gave him tithes of all." (Gen. 14:18-29)

Abraham's allegiance was to God and no earthly possession, entitlement or situation could entice him to be a part of the world of wickedness.  For this reason, his life was a model of righteousness.  Beside the Saviour, could there be a more righteous person than Abraham?