THE PURPOSES OF OUR GOD

 

“The works, and the designs and the purposes of God cannot be frustrated, neither can they come to naught” (D&C 3:1). Throughout history, when the forces of evil raged the worst, God has preserved the way for His purposes to be accomplished. And He has done it through humans.

Consider Mormon who was raised in the most evil society of ancient America. Consider a 10 year old boy before whom ‘a continual scene of wickedness and abominations was before his eyes since he was sufficient to behold the ways of man’ being the only person to be called upon to preserve the ancient record of his people (Mormon 2:2,3,18).

Until 321 A.D., the history of ancient people of America was preserved on golden plates from father to son or brother to brother, as in the case of Ammaron who inherited the plates from his brother Amos (4 Nephi 47). This suggests that Amos had nobody worthy in his immediate family to pass the records onto and neither did Ammaron.

The Book of Mormon does not mention any relation between Ammaron and Mormon. It means only one thing, the society was so evil that a 10 year old boy with no family relation was the only choice to inherit the responsibility of the plates.

It would seem that God puts His most valuable and righteous children in the midst of the most wicked, to create a balance and to preserve His purposes. Think of Noah who preached repentance for 120 years (Genesis 6:3; Moses 8:17).

How could not even one person repent in that time? And how amazing is it that his family remained righteous in the midst of such evil people who had to be destroyed? Imagine if there was no Noah or if his children became ripe for destruction too….but God knew Noah and He knew what period of earth’s history to put him into.

The world is in a bad shape. We are witnessing the spread of evil at such an alarming rate that we are becoming ripe for destruction. Besides the good people of the earth who create a balance, the Lord has preserved His covenant people who will stand at the forefront to establish His purposes.

We, members of the Church with the covenant upon us, need to be ready to take on the mantle of Zion when He comes. According to His foreknowledge, the Lord knew who He could trust to prepare the way, to establish and perpetuate the kingdom. Without Him we are nothing, but with Him we are everything. He accomplishes His work through us, His covenant people.

May we look forward to the day when ‘the righteous shall be gathered out from among all nations, and shall come to Zion, singing with songs of everlasting joy’ (D&C 45:71). Then we shall sing “the new song of Zion”:

“The Lord hath brought again Zion; The Lord hath redeemed his people, Israel….Glory, and honour, and power, and might, be ascribed to our God; for He is full of mercy, justice, grace, and truth, and peace, forever and ever…..”  (D&C 84:98-102).

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Second Coming by Jechoon Choi)

THE GOD OF THE OLD TESTAMENT

My favourite book of scripture is The Old Testament. It is a book that highlights God's infinite patience, mercy and love like no other. This might sound strange as on the surface, the God of the Old Testament appears severe, harsh and vengeful. This book of scripture mainly deals with the history of the House of Israel who repeatedly sinned, failed to carry out instructions and became misguided regarding their devotion to the one true and living God. Despite it all we see Jehovah forever standing in the shadows of their mortal stumblings waiting for them to accept Him as their God. His constant pleas for them to return to Him and the extended never ending second chances pervade this book of scripture.

As we study the Old Testament it is imperative that we remember that Jehovah of the Old Testament is Jesus of the New Testament, who comes across as nothing but loving, merciful and kind. The name Jehovah means "Unchangeable One".  He is unchangeable in His character, purpose and in His dealings with us, His spiritually begotten children. If we see Him different in the Old Testament to the New Testament, it is because we are not looking at the whole picture of the events presented and are not looking at finer details. For example, many people consider Miriam's punishment of leprosy for challenging her brother Moses' leadership in Numbers 12 as extremely dramatic and severe. What tends to be overlooked however, is the fact that Miriam repented quickly and God forgave quickly. Her leprosy lasted only one week. This story should give us an insight into God's willingness to forgive as quickly as we repent. It tells us He does not hold grudges and takes no delight in punishing us.

A story of greater proportion proves this point even more so. That story belongs to Noah and the flood which destroyed everyone on the face of the earth but 8 people ( Peter 3:20). The destruction was of enormous proportions but the mercy and long-suffering even greater. God gave the wicked in Noah's time 120 years to repent. During that time all the righteous were taken up 'by the powers of heaven into Zion' (Moses 7:27). When God showed Enoch the days of Noah He wept and Enoch marveled that a God of such power could weep. And so because of the love that caused the weeping, the story did not end with the flood. When the Saviour died upon the cross, He visited the spirit world and there organised forces to preach repentance to those in the spirit prison, starting with the people who died in the days of Noah (1 Peter 3:18-20, D&C 138:9,28). A second chance? Considering that Noah preached for 120 years, it is more like an infinite number of chances. This alone tells us how long-suffering the Saviour is towards us sinners.

As we consider these two stories, what kind of a God do we see, merciless or merciful? In The Lectures on Faith, Joseph Smith maintains that a person cannot exercise 'faith in God unto life and salvation' if he does not have a correct idea of his character, perfections and attributes (Lecture 3). The scriptures provide this knowledge, and none better than The Old Testament: the beginning of time, the root of our history, the manifestation of our God.

Credit: "Keys to Making the Old Testament a Powerful Force in Your Life" by Kerry Muhlestein