A HOLY PLACE

 

 

There is something very personal for us the Saints of the Latter-Days in the Olivet Discourse that the Saviour delivered to His disciples. In outlining the conditions of our day He said that amidst all the wickedness, desolation and commotion, “my disciples shall stand in holy places and shall not be moved, but among the wicked men shall lift up their voices and curse God and die” (D&C 45:32).

This scripture has made me reflect on how much the Saviour is depending on us. I reflected on the Church He organized in the meridian of time and how it all fell apart after He was gone. I wondered as He spoke to His disciples, if He was comforted looking forward to the restoration knowing He had special, strong spirits in reserve who will bring His Church “out of the wilderness – clear as the moon and fair as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners” (D&C 5:14).  

The adversary might have accomplished his purpose by having the early saints killed and the Church disbanded but this time there will be no saints on crucifixes lining the walls of coliseums. I think of Joseph’s death and the persecution of the pioneers which they endured with unfathomable strength. Surely this strength preserved the Church and defeated the adversary’s plan to destroy God’s kingdom on earth the second time around.

I don’t know what awaits us as persecution of Christians escalates in our day. The adversary is employing the loss of national sovereignty and religious and cultural upheaval in the world today which is destroying the brotherhood of man. The hatred is raging in people’s hearts to the point of violence as the Saviour indicated it would (D&C 45:33).

I am hoping the saints who will face the final attempt of destruction of God’s kingdom on earth will be met by the strongest of the strong who have prepared themselves to withstand the destructive forces of the fiends of evil.

The adversary will never give up. He didn’t do so when he failed to abort the Plan of Salvation in the Garden of Eden and he didn’t give up when the Saviour emerged from the tomb. Surely he would have got the message then of ‘game over’ but still he has persisted and one would have to wonder why.

The obvious reason is ‘misery seeks company’ but I think there is more to it than that. I think it is pride which seeks its reward through rebellion, retaliation and revenge. It’s a pride born out of not willing to have been wrong. You can see this same pride in the political arena which is ravaging our world today, whether between individuals or nations.

I dread to think how the Saviour will grieve when He comes and sees that many of us have left our holy places. When the time comes for the grandeur of His Kingdom to be revealed, I hope those who have left will return and come with us to New Jerusalem singing songs of everlasting joy (D&C 45:66-71).

May we find our holy place and not be moved so that we can be the strongest of the strong when we meet our King and be a joy to Him forever.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Saviour by Land of Dreams)

ONE WITH CHRIST

 

 

Imagine the Saviour appearing and you are among the multitude to witness that appearance and He calls you by name to come to Him: “And Nephi arose and went forth, and bowed himself before the Lord and did kiss his feet” (3 Nephi 11:19). Imagine the honour, the overflowing of your heart, the tears that would flow, the expression of humility and deepest gratitude for your salvation that would propel you to kiss His feet……it makes me feel the moment….

Right from the start of His visit to the Americas, the Saviour made it plain He was there to teach the members of His Church. Hence immediately after calling Nephi to come forth, He gave him and  the Twelve that He chose, authority to baptize with specific instructions as to how it is to be done.

From 3 Nephi 11:21 to 12:3, the Saviour mentioned baptism 19 times and reiterated 7 times that His doctrine is: faith, repentance, baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost. So insistent was He that this is the only path to salvation, that He emphasized that ‘whose does not believe in Him, and is not baptized, shall be damned’ (3 Nephi 11:33,34).

Worthy of mention is the concept of unity which baptism grants to all who believe in Christ and His doctrine. I have a fondness for noticing repetition in scriptural teachings. It speaks ‘importance’ to me.  In the block of scriptures regarding baptism, the Saviour mentions the Father 16 times.

The sense of unity between Him, the Father and the Holy Ghost is unmistakable…..”the Father will bear record of me,  and the Holy Ghost will bear record of Him and Me, for the Father and I, and the Holy Ghost are one” (3 Nephi 11:35,36).

I am reminded of the intercessory prayer that was uttered by Christ where He prayed ‘not for the world but for them which the Father had given Him’, meaning His disciples (John 17:9). And then for the rest of the Church membership, meaning us: “Neither pray I for these alone but for them also which shall believe on me through their word, that they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us….” (v 21).

Thus baptism, a covenant of obedience, which makes us Christ’s, becomes also a covenant of unity, with the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost. As we come into the fold of God and become ‘the body of Christ’ we also become one with one another. The baptismal covenant reads thus (Mosiah 18:8):

·        We come into the fold of God;

·        We are being called His people;

·        We bear one another’s burdens;

·        We mourn with those that mourn;

·        We comfort those who stand in need of comfort;

·        We stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all places;

·        We enter into a covenant to serve God;

·        We covenant to keep His commandments.

I was baptized when I was 18 years of age. The moment I was raised out of the water, I was so overcome by the spirit which descended upon me that I wept uncontrollably. I knew I was one with Christ and that I was home. I know if I ever left the Church, I would be betraying my covenant of baptism, even if I continued to live the commandments….because I would no longer be Christ’s. I would not wish to lose that….ever.

How godly You were

When You planted the heavens

And laid the foundations of the earth;

How noble and honourable

When You gave me hope

Through the water’s gate;

I bequest to You my earthly deeds

And fly to You

With my arms of faith. 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: The Holy Ghost Descended Like a Dove by Greg Collins)

A HOLY PLACE

 

 

What would your answer be if someone asked you what you would do to prepare, if you knew the Saviour was coming tomorrow? I know what it should be: NOTHING! What could you possibly do in one day to make up for years of not doing it?

Consider what Elder Dallin H. Oaks said we should be doing in preparation for the Saviour’s return: “Are we following the Lord’s command, ‘Stand ye in holy places, and be not moved, until the day of the Lord come; for behold, it cometh quickly’? (D&C 87:8).

“What are those ‘holy places’? Surely they include the temple and its covenants faithfully kept. Surely they include a home where children are treasured and parents are respected. Surely the holy places include our posts of duty assigned by priesthood authority, including missions and callings faithfully fulfilled in branches, wards, and stakes” (in Conference Report, April 2004, 7-8 or Ensign May 2004, 9-10)

How many of the things he has mentioned could we cram into one day? Could keeping the temple covenants for one day obliterate years of neglect? Could loving and respecting our children and parents for one day wipe away all the impatience, intolerance, anger, abuse, disobedience or animosity that we might have been inflicting on each other for a prolonged time? How about fulfilling a mission in one day or faithfully fulfilling a calling?

In the abovementioned talk, Elder Oaks says that “we need to make both temporal and spiritual preparations for the events prophesied at the time of the Second Coming”. He also said that the preparation most likely to be neglected is the spiritual one. The Book of Mormon teaches us the importance of this.

Sixteen years after the signs of the Saviour’s birth, the Nephites faced a huge threat of extinction by the Gadianton robbers. The governor of this band, Giddianhi, made a lofty demand of the governor of the land, Lachoneous, that the Nephites surrender all their lands. Lachoneous refused and made elaborate preparations for defense arming his people to the teeth (3 Nephi 3:13,14).

 By all accounts they should all have felt incredibly secure. But lucky for them Lachoneous was a God-fearing man and he warned his people that no matter how much physical protection they had, if they did not repent and turn to God, they will in no way be delivered out of the hands of Gadiantons (v 15). So powerful was this man that great fear came upon the people and they did all in their might to do exactly as he said (v 25).

Two other things most worthy of mention are these: 1. They appointed as the chief captain of their army someone who had the spirit of revelation and was a ‘great prophet among them’ and; 2. They gathered themselves together in ‘one land, and one body’ (v 19, 25). In other words, they were united and they had a prophet at their head. Does it remind you of the Church? Because it should.

When the most perilous times come, we will not want to be found in the world, but the most important holy place, in the Church, following the counsel of the Prophet…..only we can’t wait until the calamities strike. We need to ensure our place in the Church now and be in tune with the voice of the Prophet, now. Because after all, the calamities have already started……

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Second Coming by Brent Borup)

ODE TO THE TEN VIRGINS

 

I would gladly give you some oil

Your empty lamp to fill,

If you could glean the sweat

From my furrowed brow

As I worked on the oil press

So diligently until now.

It is no coincidence that the Saviour's relationship with His Church is symbolic of marriage. He is the Bridegroom whose love for His Bride exceeds all other loves because it was sealed with His blood. The question begs to be asked: which one of us does not yearn for the greatest love there is? Which one of us does not want to attend the greatest wedding there will ever be? The time is drawing near and we will not be able to live on borrowed light. 

• CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: The Five Wise Virgins by Greg Collins)