ABSENCE OF FEAR

 

“A monk was confronted by an angry warrior who said: “Don’t you know who I am? I am someone who can cut off your head and not bat an eye!”  The little monk looked him in the eyes and calmly replied: “Don’t you know who I am? I am someone who can have you cut off my head….and not bat an eye!”  (Author Unknown)

Right now, we are witnessing the unfolding of the Lord’s prophecy that He shall decree wars upon the face of the earth before His coming (D&C 63:33). Many of us are in fear. The Lord also predicted this fear (v33). My way to cope without the fear is to look at the overall picture rather than look at the politics. I feel peace knowing that the Saviour is ultimately in control.

I am looking past the political manouvers and can see how Christ’s arch enemy is trying his hardest to destroy Israel and America and thereby foil the Millenial plans. These two countries will be the Saviour’s governing seats when He comes.

The adversary is seeking to bring in globalism so he can prevent this and control the world but I know He can never win and this is why: “I, the Lord, am not to be mocked in the last days. Behold, I am from above, and my power lieth beneath. I am over all, and in all, and through all….and the day cometh that all things shall be subject unto me. Behold, I am Alpha and Omega, even Jesus Christ.” (D&C 63:58-60). To mock the Saviour means not believing that He is yet to come to reign and subject all things under His feet (D&C 58:22). We should be looking forward to that.

In my mind, there are two things for us the saints of these last days to consider. The Lord has warned us that before He comes, things will get so bad with wars that even ‘the saints shall hardly escape’(v34). The Prophet Joseph Smith explained ‘that it is a false idea that the Saints will escape all the judgments, whilst the wicked suffer; for all flesh is subject to suffer…..still many Saints will escape, for the just shall live by faith; yet many of the righteous shall fall a prey to disease, the pestilence, etc., by reason of the weakness of the flesh, and yet be saved in the Kingdom of God.” (“History of the Church”, 4:11)

Why do you think that cute little monk could have his head cut off without batting an eye? I would wager that he looked past this life and saw the vista of eternity before him. We, the saints know that vista…..it should be spread before us constantly…..therefore there is no need to fear….anything! Whether in life or in death, our destiny is assured if we are righteous. Being saved in the Kingdom of God is all that should matter.

If God be for us, who can be against us??? (Romans 8:31)

Thou art our everlasting God

Jehovah, our King,

Who has loved us and chosen us as Thine own;

Keep us as the apple of Thine eye,

Hide us under the shadow of Thy wings

That we might never stray

And cause Thee sorrow;

And help us wait for Thee

In the dawning of tomorrow. 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Second Coming by Jon McNaughton)

THE SCHOOL OF LIFE

 

I asked the school of life

What it could teach me best;

The teacher I was given

Never gave me rest.

She gave me many useful lessons

That helped me shun despair

And taught me how to master

The magic art of care.

But the greatest skill she gave me

Was the skill to banish fears

Which spared me untold moments

Drowned in helpless tears.

Right now the world is drowning in fear. This fear is mostly generated by the governments of the world. Whoever is at the top has the most power to dictate which way the tide will go. Not only is this fear debilitating mentally but it is turning us against each other and depriving us of family togetherness.

I met a lady last year who told me her sister had died of Covid. I said to her: "Oh that's terrible! How are you coping?" She answered: "We're ok. People die. People die of all sorts of things, every day. My sister died of Covid." And never a greater truth has been spoken. People die just walking out of their house. My father-in-law did. He was hit but a car crossing the road and died instantly. Consider all the deaths that happen that we rarely anticipate and fear: wars, natural disasters, crime, sickness that comes and goes, traffic accidents....just too name a few.

The thing is, we often fear things that never come to pass so a lot of distress is experienced unnecessarily. A lot of times though, we attract what we fear. Energy is a real thing. The law of attraction works both ways, it attracts the negative as much as it attracts the positive. I am reminded of a little story I read years ago that goes something like this: A man was walking on a road one day when he met Plague and Fear. They told him they were on their way to a neighbouring town where they were going to kill 2,000 people. The man said to the Plague: "I guess you have your work cut out for you" but the Plague replied: "Oh no, I am only going to kill 200, Fear is going to do the rest".

This life is a life of opposites. We cannot expect joy, happiness and wellness without experiencing sadness, grief and sickness. Otherwise, what would be the point of us being here? God knew we would experience all the bad with the good so He gave us the gift of resilience, power and faith. Fear is inverted faith. With each situation in life we are choosing either one or the other. May we greet each day of this precarious life with the echo of these words of wisdom and decide which way our day will go:

"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." (2 Timothy 1:7)

• Cathryne Allen
  (ART: The Doors by Markus)

IN PRAISE OF GOD

I was  becoming saturated with the ills of the world and heading fast towards the road of hopelessness. And all this whilst, what I thought, was my greatest effort focusing on Christ. The induced isolation, the limitations, the lack of freedom, worldly mayhem; it all meant just one thing to me: an insufferable world.

Whilst reading Psalms one morning I came upon this scripture: "I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving" (Psalms 69:30). As you know, most Psalms were written by King David. David was a man of war. In most of Psalms he pleads with God to save him from his enemies. At one stage he says that those that hate him without a cause are more than the hairs of his head! (Psalms 69:4).  David's life was one of turbulence. It ended in loss of exaltation due to sin. This however did not incite hopelessness in him. He knew he would not be exalted but he praised the God of Israel knowing that the Lord would not leave his soul in hell for the murder of Uriah and that he would still receive the gift of resurrection.  The gift of resurrection for the less valiant is to this day scripturally known as 'the sure mercies of David' (Isaiah 55:3). I reflected on the life of David and found his praise of God in the midst of his turbulent life quite inspiring.

Another such valiant example worthy of mention is found in the life of Nephi who lived under constant threat of his life by his brothers. Cast your mind on the journey to America when they bound him with bands that caused terrible swelling of joints and caused Nephi unbearable pain (1 Nephi 18:12-15) . I am sure most of us would at this point wonder why God was not protecting us from our adversaries if we were obeying all of His commands. But not Nephi. He knew God had a purpose (1 Nephi 18:11) so there was only one solution to this in his mind and that was to praise God. And not just once. He records that he praised God all day long,  despite the pain which would have had the power to discourage the strongest among us (1 Nephi 18:16).

Similarly, we have bands that bind us today. They are threatening our way of life and our happiness. Not until the Millennial peace, will this life ever be without its' opposing threats to our physical circumstances. To divert myself from the road of hopelessness I wondered what would happen if instead of whining and constant demands I was making to God, I just praised Him during prayer? Would I come to the point where like Nephi, I could praise Him all day long? Would hopelessness not lose its' grip on me as my thoughts are continually focused on the Prince of Peace?

During this the most difficult year many of us have ever known, may our minds be cast on the Lord of love who left us with this promise as He headed towards His crucible on Calvary: "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid (John 14:27).......for I am thy God....fear thou not; for I am with thee.......(Isaiah 41:10)

GOD'S REST

"The ancient prophets speak of 'entering into God's rest'; what does it mean? To my mind, it means entering into the knowledge and love of God, having faith in His purpose and His plan, to such an extent that we know we are right,that we are not hunting for something else, we are not disturbed by every wind of doctrine....The man who has reached that degree of faith in God that all doubt and fear have been cast from him, he has entered into 'God's rest'....rest from doubt, from fear, from apprehension of danger, rest from the religious turmoil of the world....."

- President Joseph F. Smith, Gospel Doctrine, p 58

And when we leave this life, having honoured our second estate with valour, having endured the crosses of the world, we shall go to 'a state of rest, a state of peace, where we shall rest from all our troubles, and from all care, and sorrow" (Alma 40:12)

- Cathryne Allen

BE NOT AFRAID BUT BE GLAD

I have for many years now used the scriptures as God's private messages to me. Each morning after I pray I randomly open the scriptures whilst still kneeling to see what the Lord has to tell me in answer to my daily petitions. I have been amazed 99% of the time how pertinent the page that falls open has been to my heavenly communion. As my scriptures are heavily marked, my eye is usually drawn to those passages that obviously stand out. Sometimes it seems strange to me that I have marked certain scriptures years previously that seem random but they make sense when they become answers to my prayers. 

The page that my scriptures fell open to this morning was like a salve to my sagging spirits in this time of unrelenting sadness and fear that is gripping the world. The page my scriptures opened to was chapter 2 of Joel that speaks of war and desolation preceding the Second Coming. My highlighted scriptures were as follows:

" ...turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping and with mourning:
.....and rend your heart.....And repent, and turn unto the Lord your God; for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and HE WILL TURN AWAY THE EVIL FROM YOU......Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the Lord will do great things.......Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God...And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered......And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God, AND NONE ELSE.....

May we rend our hearts in fasting tomorrow to the one true and living God whose arm is not shortened when petitioned for deliverance and may we be chastened by the world's upheavals to prepare ourselves for His coming when He shall bring peace, health, prosperity and joy to the pure in heart who seek Him and await His coming.

- Cathryne Allen

THE BOOK OF HOPE

Some two thousand years ago, during the bleakest period of Church history, there was on the island of Patmos an exile, a prophet and an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, the last apostle alive, all others having been killed before him. And to that rocky island prison, on a particular Sunday came the glorified, exalted Christ to the apostle whom He called 'The Beloved'. "Heralded by the trumpet-blast of the godly voice and standing in the midst of seven golden candlesticks symbolic of the seven branches of the church in Asia was the Saviour. Some fifty or sixty years before He had hung in agony on the cross and had been laid in the dark recesses of a borrowed tomb. Now he stood in blinding, blazing glory before John: "I am he that liveth, and was dead", he declared, "and, behold, I am alive for evermore" (Revelation 1:18)" (The Life and Teachings of Jesus and His Apostles, p 449)

So overcome was John that he fell to the earth as though dead but the Saviour touched Him and told him not to be afraid but to write down the revelation which he was about to receive for the seven branches of the Church who were facing life-threatening persecutions. "They knew the wrath of a government intent on enforcing the policy of emperor worship. They knew the clutch of fear at the approaching sound of Roman legionaires. By the time of Patmos, according to the traditions that have come down to us, Peter had been crucified, Paul beheaded, Bartholemew skinned alive, Thomas and Matthew run through with spears. John was the only surviving apostle (an apostle who would survive it all and never taste of death); all the others had died violently because of their faith. By the time of Patmos, the history of the Church included the lining of Nero's colonnade with crucified Christians and the savagery of the mobs screaming for blood in the Coliseum and the Circus Maximus." (The Life and Teachings of Jesus and His Apostles, p 449).

The revelation which John the Beloved received is known to us as The Book of Revelation. There are many scholastic views of the book which offer explanations as to its' meaning. Some argue that the book needs to be considered with a non-prophetic view, that all that is contained therein pertains to the past, meaning John's day, referring to the clash between the Church and the Roman Empire. Others however, claim that the Book needs to be considered with a solely prophetic view and that the symbols within it are to be seen as future predictions of all the great events of history. Viewed either way, people throughout Christendom have found the Book of Revelation hard to understand. Joseph Smith has said, however, that "the Book of Revelation is one of the plainest books God ever caused to be written" (Teachings, p. 290). One can wonder how that can be so considering the extensive use of symbolism used by John when describing his vision. The clue to its plainness lies in the very heading of this book. Because The Book of Revelation was received by revelation, it can also be best understood through revelation. Thankfully, as Latter-day Saints, we not only have personal revelation to rely on for understanding of this book but also revelation given to latter-day prophets: "Thanks be to the interpretive material found in sections 29, 77, 88 and others of the revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants; plus the revisions given in the Inspired Version of the Bible; plus the sermons of the Prophet; plus some clarifying explanations in the Book of Mormon and other latter-day scripture; plus our over-all knowledge of the plan of salvation - thanks be to all of these things.....the fact is that we have a marvelously comprehensive and correct understanding of this otherwise hidden book" (Bruce R. McConkie, Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 3:431).

The greatest purpose and meaning of The Book of Revelation is that it is a book of hope. It's main purpose is not history but prophecy. This is evident in the fact that the Book covers the history of the earth's 6 thousand years only briefly whereas it expounds on the period of the Millenium in lengthy detail. What does this have to do with hope? The Book of Revelation gives us hope in that Millenium reign when evil, "in all of its power and wickedness, shall be put down once and for all" (The Life and Teachings of Jesus Christ and His Apostles, p. 444). This knowledge would have given great hope to the saints who were witnessing the decline of the Church and the beginning of the Great Apostasy but it is of even greater value to us because it assures us that the forces of great evil which are gaining momentum in our day will one day be destroyed and come to an end. The Book of Revelation highlights the conquest of evil and that God is still over all and will triumph in the end, which triumph will cause all His creations to worship Him with glory and praise. The Book of Revelation presents the greatest contrast between the Saviour's first coming to earth and the second. Whereas the first time he was despised and rejected of men, when all this is over and the earth is rolled together as a scroll, even the earth will sing His praise and honour His name (Rev 4:9-11, 5:14, 11:17, 16:5).

The hope of true followers of Jesus Christ, and the hope referred to in John's revelation should be to gain eternal salvation in the kingdom of God. Moroni tells us that if we have no hope we must be in despair (Moroni 10:22). An absence of hope for something better than this telestial life would surely suppress any incentive to repent, deplete the power of endurance, entice fear and diminish belief needed to overcome the natural man. The Book of Revelation gives us hope that all these things are possible. In it John sees Satan as a red dragon driving a woman with a child (The Church) into wilderness (apostasy) (Rev 12). As the woman rises again out of the wilderness John records 'the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus' (Rev 12:17). This is a frightful depiction of our day which would leave us, the members of the Church, to the buffetings of Satan if we had no hope that we can fight the fierceness of the battle that we are engaged in: "Yet, of all people, we as Latter-day Saints should be the most optimistic and the least pessimistic. For while we know that 'peace shall be taken from the earth, and the devil shall have power over his own dominion', we are also assured that 'the Lord shall have power over his saints, and shall reign in their midst' (D&C 1:35-36) (Ezra Taft Benson in CR, Oct. 1974, p. 90).

No one can read the concluding chapters of Revelation without feeling the hope that John felt as he looked forward to our day. It is somewhat appropriate that the Saviour would give him this glorious vision considering he was to live to witness incredible calamities, wars, pestilence, wickedness and the Great Apostasy. It might also be appropriate for us to assume that this vision was given to the beloved apostle, who would never taste of death, out of love so that the hope of the triumphant ending would enable John to endure everything preceding the Millenium when 'the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan' will be bound for a thousand years enabling a period of peace for those who will dwell with Christ in paradisiacal glory' (Rev 20:2). One would have to wonder what kind of chain it would have to be to bind the Prince of Darkness and what kind of bottomless pit could contain him? To believe that such a thing could ever happen means for us to believe that we are more powerful than him because we have kept our first estate. Because Satan is a spirit only, all his power is derived through spiritual means from those who live on this earth clothed in earthly tabernacles, meaning us. His power is added upon from spiritual energy that we create. We make him powerful by creating spiritual energy of darkness through sin or powerless by creating spiritual light through righteousness. Since the Saviour is the Light of the World, Satan is the opposite, the Prince of Darkness. The chain he will be bound with and the bottomless pit he will be cast into as referred to in the Book of Revelation are terms symbolic of righteous living of those who will qualify to live during the Millenium (see Eldred G. Smith in CR, Apr. 1970, p 142 and 1 Nephi  22:26). In other words, because of people's righteousness, there will be no spiritual darkness and therefore Satan's power will dissipate.

Righteous living proceeds from a committed heart of true followers of Jesus Christ. It does not come from complacency that some of us in the Church are familiar with: "The abundant life is a spiritual life. Too many sit at the banquet table of the gospel of Jesus Christ and merely nibble at the feast placed before them. They go through the motions - attending their meetings, perhaps glancing at the scriptures, repeating familiar prayers - but their hearts are far away. If they are honest, they would admit to being more interested in the latest neighborhood rumors, stock market trends, and their favourite TV show than they are in the supernal wonders and sweet ministerings of the Holy Spirit. Do you wish to partake of this living water and experience that divine well springing up within you to everlasting life? Then be not afraid. Believe with all  your hearts. Develop an unshakable faith in the Son of God. Let your hearts reach out in earnest prayer. Fill your minds with knowledge of Him. Forsake your weaknesses. Walk in holiness and harmony with the commandments. Drink deeply of the living waters of the gospel of Jesus Christ" ( Joseph B. Wirthlin, The Abundant Life, Ensign, May 2006).

Being merely Church members is not enough, we must build the spiritual core within us which will enable us to stand when the mighty winds of apostasy descend upon us. Then no imperfect leadership in the Church can offend us, no transpired event in Church history will sway us, no Church teaching we do not understand will cause us to give up. If we are built on the spirit of prophecy and an unshakable testimony of  Christ, we will withstand any pressure to cave and any temptation to sin and seek justification for same through some imperfection that we insist we have found in the Church for such imperfections only serve as great stumbling blocks that obscure our vision from perfectly seeing the Saviour of all mankind. With an absence of fear, being filled with hope and armed with righteousness and faith we can defeat and bind the enemy who seeks our destruction and pave the way for Him who will 'wipe away all tears from [our] eyes' (Rev 21:4) and with whom we can live during the Millenial reign of peace and happiness. It is therefore, our duty here and now to 'drink deeply of the living waters of the gospel of Jesus Christ' that we might have reason to hope for a better world, a world where 'there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away' (Rev 21:4).

".....for we have a labor to perform whilst in this tabernacle of clay,

that we may conquer the enemy of all righteousness....."

(Moroni 9:6)

ABSENCE OF FEAR

"Legend has it that one day a man was walking in the desert when he met Fear and Plague. They said they were on their way to a city to kill 10,000 people. The man asked Plague if he was going to do all the work. Plague smiled and said, 'No, I'll take care of only a few hundred. I'll let my friend Fear do the rest'."   -  Author unknown


During some of the toughest persecutions experienced by the saints in the meridian of times Apostle Paul wrote tirelessly to the Church exhorting the members to faithfulness and endurance. During his second imprisonment in Rome and just prior to his martyrdom, Paul wrote his second epistle to Timothy which stands as 'one of the great monuments to faith and hope in the face of loneliness and adversity' (The Life and Teachings of Jesus and His Apostles, p 375). One of the most profound things he said in this letter had reference to fear: "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:7). This statement should become the creed by which we, the saints of this dispensation, live by because we live in a world filled with turmoil, uncertainty, calamities and strife. We who are living during the winding up scenes of this earth's 6,000 years of time are living during the best and the worst of times. Before the Saviour comes again to personally reign for a thousand years we will experience some of the most intense trials of all dispensations that will drive fear into the hearts of all who will stand as witnesses of such times. Discoursing on the signs that will precede the Second Coming, the Saviour described the condition of our day: "And they shall hear of wars, and rumours of wars....for nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places" (JSM 1:28,29).

This scripture is a very accurate description of our world today for "nations and kingdoms and peoples are at war all over the globe. The D&C 45 version of this discourse says that men "will take up the sword (or its modern equivalent) one against another" (vs 23). We see this as people fight among their own without regard to any living person; and this, according to Christ, is due to the hardening of their hearts. There will be commotions and desolations as we just read that will come in the form of famines, pestilences, disasters and earthquakes. Such events have increased dramatically in just our lifetime. The D&C version also indicates that these wars and catastrophes will increase until "the whole earth shall be in commotion" which will cause "men's hearts to fail them" (vs 26). We already see the beginning of a general feeling of hopelessness, despondency, depression and despair among many in the world today. This, for instance, is one of the primary purposes of terrorists - to strike a feeling of fear and hopelessness in others - and this will only increase" (Larry D. Keeler, If Ye Are Prepared, Ye Shall Not Fear (Now Is the Time to Prepare), p.3). Like the civilizations of old we allow and even foster 'secret combinations' within our societies which drive fear into the inhabitants of the whole earth. These are our modern day 'Gadianton Robbers' who seek power by inducing fear for the purpose of controlling countries and nations in upholding Satan's plan of destruction of the plan of salvation.

Perilous times equal fear. For this reason the Saviour chose to make the signs of the times known to us who follow His teachings. He said He did so for the 'elect's sake' (JSM 1:29), 'elect' meaning those who have taken upon themselves His name through the covenant of baptism. In His infinite mercy, the Saviour wanted us to have hope of the promises He has made so that we would not be troubled and fearful of the present: "Be not troubled, for, when all these things shall come to pass, ye may know that the promises which have been made unto you shall be fulfilled" (D&C 45:35). In other words, instead of fearing the calamities, rejoice that the end is fast approaching and the promises of something better are about to be fulfilled. Here are a few priceless promises made to the faithful who watch for the signs of His coming:

1. We can have peace in the midst of turmoil of the world and live without fear.
2. We can be assured that in the coming destruction of the world, we will be caught up to escape the baptism of fire for it is written 'that in the last days, two shall be in the field, the one shall be taken and the other left' (Matt 24:40-41).
3. We can be assured a place in His Kingdom after this life, which He promised when He said to His disciples: "In my Father's house are many mansions: I go to prepare a place for you" (John 14:2)

An absence of fear equals a brighteness of hope. Hope and fear cannot co-exist for one will always dispel the other. If we choose not to fear, should we not hope for something better? Considering the bleakness of today's world, can we not rejoice when contemplating the promise of eternal life in Christ's Kingdom of which John the Beloved said: "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice of of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away" (Rev 21:1-4). Can we not in the absence of fear, have an abundance of hope in the Prince of Peace who can indeed dry all tears from our eyes and give us splendour and glory after the valley of shadow and death?

The greatest promise of all that we have been given is to receive the Second Comforter while still in mortality. The Prophet Joseph Smith has said that this is a reality for every faithful and worthy Latter-Day Saint who continues to humble himself before God; who hungers and thirsts after righteousness; and who lives by every word of God. Once a person has proven through his faithfulness that he will serve God at all cost, the Saviour Himself will come to Him and even manifest the Father to him, "and the Lord will teach him face to face" (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 150-151, 298). Can we not be lifted up above fear when we hear the Saviour's divine promise such as this: "I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you....I will love [you], and will manifest myself to [you]....and my Father will love [you] and we will come unto [you] and make our abode with [you] (John 14:18, 21, 23). This promise is, firstly, that the Son and the Father will visit us in person; and secondly, that we can receive from Him an assurance while still in mortality that we will be exalted. This divine promise is given even though we are not yet perfect. This promise means that the Lord knows the innermost desires of our hearts and will assure us divine tutoring beyond the grave that will qualify us for exaltation. Joseph Smith himself received this promise: "For I am the Lord thy God, and will be with thee even unto the end of the world, and through all eternity; for verily I seal upon you your exaltation, and prepare a throne for you in the kingdom of my Father, with Abraham your father" (D&C 132:49)

What could we possibly fear if we had an assurance of exaltation and if we knew the Saviour was bringing with Him at His appearing the fulfillment of all His wondrous promises? No earthquake, no flood, no act of terrorism could possibly consume us with fear. We are children of the promise, the elect of the covenant, who have everything to hope for. We are here but for a moment; a moment of learning, a moment of faith, a moment of preparation. As we witness the fulfillment of the signs of the times may we be propelled to urgent preparation to meet our Maker and may we be like John the Beloved,to whom the Saviour gave a glorious vision of the Second Coming and following which He said: "Surely, I come quickly", meaning quickly after all has been fulfilled and to which John simply replied: 

"Even so, come, Lord Jesus"

(Rev 22:20)

A special thanks to my good friend Larry D. Keeler from whom I learnt most of what I posted here and his insightful talk entitled "If Ye Are Prepared, Ye Shall Not Fear" on which this post was based.

IN THE FINAL HOUR

"And straightway he constrained his disciples to get into the ship, and to go to the other side before unto Bethsaida, while he sent away the people. And when he had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to pray. And when even was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the land. And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto them; and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea....."  (Mark 6:45-48)

Sailing into the calm of the Galilean sea as the Master had asked of them, the obedient disciples who would have fain stayed with Him following the miraculous feeding of 5,000, found themselves deep in the night enveloped by boisterous waves of the sea as the wind blew in a troubling storm. Doing all in their power to avoid a disastrous shipwreck, the disciples toiled all night against the contrary wind no doubt wishing the Master was with them to once again speak those memorable words to the raging sea: "Peace be still" (Mark 4:39). But the Master, seeing their struggle, whether from the shore or by the power of the spirit from the mountain on which he prayed, stayed away until the fourth watch of the night. 

There is great significance in the 'fourth watch' of the night for it denotes the final hour. Because of their Mediterranean neighbours, the Greeks and the Romans, the Jews in Jesus' time divided the night into military watches instead of hours. The first watch lasted from 6 pm to 9 pm; the second from 9 pm to midnight; the third from midnight to 3 am and the fourth watch was from 3 am to 6 pm, being the 'final hour' of the night (as cited in Student Manual, The Life and Teachings of Jesus and His Apostles, p. 89). When the final hour came, Jesus walked over to the troubled ship amidst the foaming waves to test the faith of those on board for He walked as if He 'would have passed by them' (Mark 6:48). Already faced with a possible demise into the depths of the sea, the apostles 'cried out for fear' (Matt 14:26) and then a reassuring voice like a Father's to a child: "It is I, be not afraid" (Matt 14:27). Immediately Peter propelled by the love and the need of comfort from his Master, ignoring the boisterous waves that up to now threatened to engulf him into the depths of the sea, asked not that Jesus come into the boat but that He enable him to come to Him. And so Peter walked on water until the fear pulled him into the angry deep. But Peter knew where his saving grace lay and He called out: "Lord, save me!" (Matt 14:30). And of course the Saviour came saying: "O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?" (Matt 14:31). Peter, who had just witnessed and quickly forgotten the feeding of 5,000, failed to grasp the Saviour's admonition 'Fear not. Only believe' (Luke 8:50). 

"So then if, like Peter, we fix our eyes on Jesus, we too may walk triumphantly over the swelling waves of disbelief, and unterrified amid the rising winds of doubt; but if we turn away our eyes from Him whom we have believed - if, as it is so easy to do, and as we are so much tempted to do, we look rather at the power and fury of those terrible and destructive elements than at Him who can help and save - then we too shall inevitably sink" (F.W. Farrar, The Life of Christ, quoted by Bruce R. McConkie in The Mortal Messiah Book 2, p 362)

When the winds of adversity and the binding chains of sin are licking our feet like the threatening waves of a troubled sea, we must remember that Christ has power over all and that our faith in Him can calm the turmoil and empower us to weather the life's stormy seas.We do not need to be frightened that we will be overcome, destroyed or lost, if we only believe that He who has saved us from the sting of death promises to save us from the turbulence of mortality. All it would take is a small utterance on our behalf, like Peter of old: "Lord, bid me come unto thee" (Matt 14:28). And like the sea of Galilee that calmed as the wind ceased when Peter and his Lord entered the ship, so the turbulence of our lives will cease as the Saviour's calming influence is felt in our hearts through our belief.

When we are buffeted by the winds of life, enduring terrible trials, being afraid that we will be swallowed in the depths of the sea, the Saviour will come but most often than not, He will come in the final hour when the lessons have been learnt, the faith increased and hope illuminated. Until then he watches and waits and hopes against hope that we will hear Him say: 

"I will not leave you comfortless. I will come to you." (John 14:18)

THE WAITING ROOM

It would seem there is no end to lessons we can learn from Abraham's life.  He who sought to worship the one, true, living God all the days of his life has inadvertently become a blessing to all his posterity after him. The admonition to 'look unto Abraham, your father, and unto Sarah that bare you...." (Isaiah 51:2) should be heeded by all true followers of Christ who love and desire to honour Him through the life that they live.

One of the greatest examples of Abraham is his enduring faithfulness in expectation of his promised blessings. Abraham waited on the Lord until it seemed there was little chance that the Lord would keep his promise but Abraham knew that God cannot lie and that somehow the desire of his heart would one day be fulfilled. Abraham desired the blessings of the 'fathers',  meaning the priesthood which was passed down from father Adam to the rightful heirs or first born male children who were righteous enough to receive it.  These blessings of the priesthood he did not only desire for himself but for his posterity also which meant he would have to have an heir to pass the rights of the priesthood to.

The Lord entered into a covenant with Abraham sealed with a binding oath that his heir would 'come out of his own bowels' (Genesis 15:4).  In reference to this event, Paul states to the Hebrews, "For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself" (Hebrews 6:13). To better understand Abraham's ability to never give up on the Lord's promise it is important for us to have a basic understanding of ancient and extremely serious process of oath swearing:

"According to the ancient pattern, the subject bound himself to the master by passing between the separated parts of a dead animal.  As he passed between the parts, he swore an oath, while pointing at the dead animal, that he would fulfill the terms of the contract.  Failure to do so would invoke the same consequence that befell the animal.  This type of simile cursing was common among the Hebrews in both the Old World and the New World."  (Dave Hadlock, Lesson 2 God Will Provide Himself a Lamb, Meridian Magazine)

Genesis 15 describes the same process of oath swearing between Jehovah and Abraham. Abraham was instructed to divide into pieces 'an heifer of three years old, and a she goat...and a ram...and a turtledove' (Genesis 15:9-10).  When the sun went down that night, Jehovah, symbolised by the burning lamp, passed between the pieces of the carcass of the dead animals promising Abraham that he would fulfill his part of the covenant or incur the curse of the dead animals.  From this Abraham knew that the Lord would not go back on his promise.

So the Lord had promised Abraham a rightful heir to the blessings of the 'fathers' and then promptly placed him in the waiting room, for 37 years.  Why such a long wait?  Why not give Sarah a son when she could have conceived normally, without divine intervention?  Church Father Ambrose offered a plausible explanation:  "An aged woman who was sterile brought (Isaac) to birth according to God's promise, so that we may believe that God has power to bring it about that even a virgin may give birth". (Didymus the Blind, On Genesis 2:41, in Oden, Ancient Christian Commentary, 2:45).

"Sarah's miraculous conception, intentionally arranged by the Almighty as a miracle that had never been seen since the Creation, is surely one of the clearest similitudes of the birth of Him who would fulfill the promise to Abraham and Isaac that in their seed all nations of the earth would be blessed". (E. Douglas Clark, The Blessings of Abraham, Becoming a Zion People, p. 192)

So Abraham had to wait in order for the power of God to be made manifest.  A painful sacrifice for the sake of a higher purpose.  And so it is with us, his descendants. Sometime in our lives we will be placed in the waiting room so we can come to believe in a God of miracles. In the meantime, we have to trust that the timing of his miracles is always right.  Often we hear that we receive blessings in the 'Lord's time' and not ours.  It is important to understand that the 'Lord's time' is really our time.  The Lord will not give us anything that we are not ready to receive because then it would be to our detriment.  What good would it have been to give the young Joseph the plates of gold immediately following the first vision, when he was just 14 years old? How unprepared would Joseph have been for such a stewardship and responsibility.  Preparation and growth is crucial in mortality where our wisdom and foresight is so finite.  The receipt of our promised blessings is therefore largely determined by us.

There are two recurring themes throughout the Book of Mormon.  One is that the Saviour is merciful and the other is that He always fulfills his promises. If you are in the waiting room at this moment for whatever reason, be comforted and  "cast not away therefore your confidence, which had great recompense of reward.  For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise". (Hebrews 10:35,36)  He who has promised, will deliver. The promise is this:

"Verily, I say unto you my friends, fear not, let your hearts be comforted; yea, rejoice evermore, and in everything give thanks;
Waiting patiently on the Lord, for your prayers have entered into the ears of the Lord of Saboath, and are recorded with this seal and testament - the Lord hath sworn and decreed that they shall be granted.
Therefore, he giveth this promise unto you, with an immutable covenant that they shall be fulfilled; and all things wherewith you have been afflicted shall work together for your good, and to my name's glory, saith the Lord".  (D&C 98:1-3)

The children of Israel wandered in the desert for 40 years before they came into the promised land.  Lehi was commanded to flee Jerusalem with his family in 600 BC but they did not see their promised land until nearly 11 years later. Joseph Smith had the first vision in 1820 and did not obtain the plates until 1827. There are many others who had to experience the waiting room, like Abraham of old, because of significant events in their lives.  A significant event very often necessitates spending time in the waiting room.  The tricky part is not to get discouraged, fearful, doubtful or impatient to the point of retreat.  When we receive a promise through personal revelation that something is right for us, we need to develop tenacity beyond our ordinary capacity until the promise is fulfilled.  Following every worth while and life changing revelation comes the adversary's attempt to discredit the promise you have received.  Do not be dismayed.  If something is true for you, hold fast onto the witness you have received and dispel the powers of darkness by your willingness to believe. Remember how you felt when the spirit of revelation was upon you and do not distrust the experience you had.

"...once there has been illumination, beware the temptation to retreat from a good thing.  If it was right when you prayed about it and trusted it and lived for it, it is right now.  Don't give up when the pressure mounts.  Certainly don't give in to that being who is bent on the destruction of your happiness.  Face your doubts.  Master your fears.

.....mine angels shall go up before you, and also my presence, and in time ye shall possess the goodly land' (D&C 103:20)

What goodly land? Well, your goodly land. Your promised land.  Your new Jerusalem.  Your own little acre flowing with milk and honey.  Your future.  Your dreams.  Your destiny.  I believe that in our own individual ways, God takes us to the grove or the mountain or the temple and there shows us the wonder of what His plan is for us."  (Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, Cast Not Away Therefore Your Confidence, Ensign March 2000, p. 9)

It is easy to fall prey to fear and doubt whilst waiting for fulfillment of your promises.  Fear is destructive and paralyzing to your faith.  You stand to lose your heart's desire if you allow fear to abort the process of deliverance.  "After you have gotten the message, after you have paid the price to feel His love and hear the word of the Lord, go forward.  Don't fear, don't vacillate, don't quibble, don't whine.  You may, like Alma going to Ammoniahah, have to find a route that leads an unusual way, but that is exactly what the Lord (did) for the children of Israel.  Nobody had ever crossed the Red Sea this way, but so what?  There's always a first time.  With the spirit of revelation, dismiss your fears and wade in with both feet.  In the words of Joseph Smith, "Brethren (and sisters), shall we not go on in so great a cause?  Go forward and not backward.  Courage, brethren; and on, on to the victory!"  (Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, Cast Not Away Therefore Your Confidence, Ensign March 2000, p.10)

Who are you that the Lord would pay such attention to and honour his promises to you?

 "For ye are children of Israel, and of the seed of Abraham, and ye must needs be led out of bondage by power, and with a stretched-out arm.
"Therefore let not your hearts faint, for I say not unto you as I said unto your fathers: Mine angels shall go before you, but not my presence.
"But I say unto you: Mine angels shall go up before you, and also my presence, and in time ye shall possess the goodly land." (D&C 103:17,19-20)

You have not been forgotten.  In the words of the famous hymn:

"Unanswered yet?  The prayer your lips have pleaded
In agony of heart these many years.
Does faith begin to fail, is hope departing
And think you all in vain those falling tears?
Say not the Father hath not heard your prayer;
You shall have your desire, sometime, somewhere.

Unanswered yet? Though when you first presented
This one petition at the Father's throne,
It seemed you could not wait the time of asking,
So urgent was your heart to make it known.
Though years have passed since then, do not despair;
The Lord will answer you, sometime, somewhere.

Unanswered yet?  But you are not unheeded;
The promises of God forever stand;
To Him our days and years alike are equal;
"Have faith in God"; it is your Lord's command.
Hold onto Jacob's angel and your prayer
Shall bring a blessing down sometime, somewhere.

Unanswered yet? Nay, do not say ungranted;
Perhaps your part is not yet wholly done;
The work began when first your prayer was uttered,
And God will finish what He has begun.
If you will keep the incense burning there,
His glory you shall see, sometime, somewhere.

Unanswered yet?  Faith cannot be unanswered;
Her feet were firmly planted on the Rock;
Amid the wildest storm prayer stands undaunted,
Nor quails before the loudest thunder shock.
She knows Omnipotence has heard her prayer,
And cries,  "It shall be done" sometime, somewhere.
(Charles D. Tillman, pub. 1883)

FEAR NOT

".....Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord...." (Exodus 14:13)

When the children of Israel saw the Egyptians pursuing them with the entire chariot fleet of Egypt such fear took over them that they forgot all the miracles that had been wrought by Moses to persuade Pharoah to let Israel go.  In fact, their fear of slaughter was so great that they even forgot all the pleading with God they had done so God would deliver them from slavery and blamed Moses for taking them out of Egypt almost against their will (Exodus 14:11,12)  In the midst of that fear the picture of reality got totally distorted.

It has been said that all our worrying is fueled by fear of loss of life. Just about all our day to day worrying is associated with survival in this temporal world and most of it has to do with money.  Without money you cannot meet your basic human needs such as shelter or food.  Without shelter you might end up on the street and without food you will starve and eventually die.  So the fear is not about lack of money but about your possible demise resulting in death.  We fear death because we were born with the instinct to preserve life.  In this context then surely fear would be a good thing would it not because it would drive us to act?  However, quite the opposite is true.  Fear robs us of peace and happiness and renders us powerless to act making us depressed and miserable.  Where there is depression and misery, motivation is difficult to find. There is fortunately a better way of handling the stresses of every day life that are associated with our survival.

Because we live in a fallen world, we live in a world of opposites. Two opposing forces in this world are darkness and light.  Darkness is of the adversary while light is of God.  We are at all times either going towards light or darkness.  Darkness renders us powerless while light makes us powerful.  Where there is darkness, there is no God and the ensuing power he can give us. God is a god of glory and light and cannot be where darkness is.  Fear produces darkness of the mind. When there is darkness in us, God cannot empower us to overcome, endure and achieve.

 Consider Moses' encounter with God and Satan.  After God departed and Satan made his entrance demanding that Moses worship him, Moses refused.  Satan proceeded to unleash his displeasure as he 'cried with a loud voice and ranted upon the earth' (Moses 1:19) So frightening was his protestation and anger that 'Moses began to fear exceedingly; and as he began to fear, he saw the bitterness of hell' (Moses 1:20) There is only darkness in hell and there are no light switches there.  I would imagine this darkness of hell frightened Moses to the extreme for verse 20 records that he immediately called upon God and as he did he received strength to repel Satan affirming his intention to only worship God, 'who is the God of glory'.  A God of glory is filled with intense light which has the power to dispel all darkness for darkness and light cannot abide together.  As Moses commanded Satan to depart and as Satan did so, the darkness left with him and the God of glory and light once again appeared to Moses.

Something interesting happened when God appeared to Moses the second time.  Because Moses chose to worship God and appealed to Him to deliver him from darkness, God empowered Moses beyond his fondest dreams.  In Moses 1:25 we read:

"...Blessed art thou Moses, for I, the Almighty, have chosen thee, and thou shall be made stronger than many waters; for they shall obey thy command as if thou wert God".

It would seem that the parting of the Red Sea was made possible long before Moses and the children of Israel stood on its' banks.  Because Moses chose to turn to God rather than remain in fear, God empowered him to accomplish his earthly task of leading Israel out of bondage.  This endowment of power had another purpose.  Through it and by it, God proved to Israel that He is a God of miracles.

What is the lesson in all of this for us?  When fear comes upon us, it distorts our reality.  Because of that distortion, we cannot see things clearly and are more than often not able to act to change the picture.  Most of the time we are not even aware that we have altered the reality in our minds.  We no longer see things as they really are.  At this point life becomes very bleak indeed.  In that bleak darkness however exists a flicker of light which can be ignited to disperse the darkness from us and make us able to act.  When we decide that we don't want to be incapacitated by darkness any longer and turn to God instead, we do two things: 1.  We dis-empower the adversary and 2. we enable God to perform miracles on our behalf which makes deliverance from our bondage imminent.  God is still a God of miracles which means that there is no situation in this life that He cannot deliver us from. When miracles fail to appear in our lives we either don't recognise them or do not ask for them with sufficient faith or it is not expedient for us to receive what we are asking. Sometimes even some repentance is needed on our behalf first.  In Mormon we read:

"And if there were miracles wrought then, why has God ceased to be a God of miracles and yet be an unchangeable Being?  And behold, I say unto you he changeth not; if so he would cease to be God; and he ceaseth not to be God, and is a God of miracles.

And the reason why he ceaseth to do miracles among the children of men is because that they dwindle in unbelief, and depart from the right way, and know not the God in whom they should trust." (Mormon 9:19,20)

I have had many revelations of God's miraculous power in my life.  I will recount one incident in my life which proves this point.  Following my divorce I struggled greatly to make ends meet as I worked to support my two children.  One week in particular with a few more days to pay day, I realised that the fuel in my car would not last.  I knelt down and prayed this one particular morning asking the Lord for $20 for fuel.  I then went to work leaving it in Lord's hands and putting it out of my mind until lunch time when my co-worker came to my desk and put $20 on it.  I asked what the money was for and he said he was coming back from lunch when he noticed $20 on the footpath.  He said he picked up the note and wondered what to do with it. He decided he didn't need it and as he did so I immediately came into his mind and he resolved to give the money to me.  There was no doubt in my mind that day who placed that $20 on the footpath where my co-worker would come across it.  And there is even less doubt in my mind who inspired him to give that bank note to me.  The value of that bank note was very small but the miracle to me was of enormous proportion.
It proved to me that there is little value in fear and much more to be gained from faith.

 

Fear is inverted faith.  When we have little faith, fear flourishes.  Being nourished by the word of God consistently increases our faith in God.  Reading and studying the scriptures enables us to understand God's dealings with his children, the how, why and when.  It also provides us with ample proof of his matchless power, ever present love and miracles he has wrought over the ages.  If he loves us still, like he loved people of old, he can part our Red Sea too and make the path straight for our deliverance.

The antidote to fear is faith.  Positive thoughts and spoken words affirm our faith and bring light into our understanding regarding our situation and trials we face.  One way to counteract negative thoughts which lead to worry which leads to fear and accompanying darkness is to use scriptural affirmations.  Familiarise yourself with positive phrases in the scriptures which have the power to elevate your ability to believe and say them out loud whenever you feel yourself sinking. Make one particular one your mantra. My favourite is: "...all things work together for good to them that love God" (Romans 8:28)

If you are standing on the banks of your Red Sea and are threatened with drowning, feeling overwhelmed with your life, do not despair.  To despair is to turn your back on God denying his power to rescue you from the depths of the sea and bring you to shore.  He can and will come to your aid if you put your trust in Him. He will flood your soul with hope and peace and assurance that all in your life is possible.  The extent of your faith and devotion to Him will determine the magnitude of the power He will bestow upon you.  Be faithful and do not deviate from your chosen course.  If you are travelling on the path of righteousness, do not forsake it. If you are not, come back.  God will honour your sacrifices and your commitment to Him.  He will dry your tears and carry your sorrows and make your burdens light.  "And He loveth those who will have Him be their God" (1 Nephi 17:40).  Raise your staff, wade in waist deep and 'see the salvation of the Lord' as He parts your Red Sea. Fear not for you are walking on dry ground.