A SAVING WORD

 

“A 1986 “Guideposts” magazine contains the story of a woman who discovered what she called “the nevertheless principle”. She had been facing a difficult experience with her husband’s having a malignant brain tumour. She said that in the midst of the experience, at a moment of her greatest pleading, God granted her a word in a moment of inspiration. This single word was NEVERTHELESS. She said:

“I knew it had to be a special word, though I didn’t yet know it would become a life-style. I was sure only that it was a kind of promise. It was even a powerful little phrase: never the less.

“Never the less with God, no matter what. Always the most. Though I was alone in this automobile, nevertheless God Himself was right here beside me. Though doctors pronounced Jerry incurable, nevertheless he would be gloriously healed. Perhaps not here on earth as we had prayed. If Jerry’s physical body should die, nevertheless he would go on living in another, greater dimension.” (Marion Bond West, “One Simple Word from God”, p 12)

-       (Jerry A. Wilson, “The Great Plan of Happiness” p 40)”

This woman researched the word ‘nevertheless’ in her Bible and found it 90 times. There is a scripture in the Doctrine and Covenants which uses this word to its biggest potential to teach us of Christ’s character:

“For I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance; NEVERTHELESS, he that repents and does the commandments of the Lord shall be forgiven” (D&C 1:31-32).

Imagine if that word was not there. Imagine if instead of a semicolon there was a fullstop. Instead this one simple word introduces not only three doctrinal principles but the Saviour’s attribute which makes salvation possible: repentance>obedience>forgiveness…..born out of mercy.

If there was no mercy, we would all be lost. If He was not, we would not be, silence would have wept at Calvary!

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art by Land of Dreams)

GOOD ENOUGH

 

Some twenty years ago a close friend of mine died in her sleep at age 45. She was a convert and a returned missionary like me. Soon after her death I was speaking to her mother who told me she was reading her daughter’s journals and what she learnt brought great sadness to her. She said my friend always felt that she was ‘not good enough for the Lord’. It saddened me greatly because my friend’s mother was left with the impression that the Church made her daughter feel she was never good enough. Not a good impression for a non-member.

I read something significant yesterday which made me think of my friend and I hoped that her time in the spirit world has taught her this: “We are looked upon by God as though we were in eternity. God dwells in eternity, and does not view things as we do.” (“Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith”, p 356)

This has brought amazing peace to my soul because despite everything I have endured and sacrificed in this life to remain faithful to God, I still fall into that trap of feeling not good enough when in reality my efforts and not my level of perfection, make me good enough for the sanctifying grace of Jesus Christ that will wipe away all my mortal foibles and inadequacies. I am good enough for His saving grace. I hope my friend understands this now.

I am comforted knowing that God sees the eternal me when he looks at me in this weakened state of mortality, that He remembers me from before and who I will become in the end. This moment in time is almost insignificant in and of itself compared to that. It reminds me of that scripture: “My thoughts are not your thoughts and neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord” (Isaiah 55:8).

We tend to look at everything from the earthly perspective while the Lord looks at it from the eternal one. He focuses on our worth which is eternal. The earthly existence is finite and therefore all we glean here is fleeting and not of real substance.

There is one way, however, we are not good enough. We are not good enough without the Saviour Jesus Christ. He alone can add the missing cubit to our eternal perfection and this is how: “All sin and every transgression, except one, that man can be guilty of, may be forgiven; and there is a salvation for all men, either in this world or the world to come, who have not committed the unpardonable sin, there being a provision either in this world or the world of spirits.”  (“Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith”, p 356)

This to me means more than forgiveness for sin. It means that all of my earthly self that was at one time unacceptable to God will be wiped away: my lack of dignity, my blatant stupidity, my frivolity, my arrogance, my stubbornness, my every trespass, every transgression, every embarrassment, will one day be wiped away through the atoning power of the Saviour Jesus Christ who will make me whole and pure and bright as the rays of the sun if I have godly sorrow in my heart and my efforts at repentance yield fruit of my utmost capacity but even then, the credit will always be His and not mine.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: He Lifts Me Up by Danny Hahlbohm)

EVERLASTING FREEDOM

 

I watched an episode of Border Security the other day that made me reflect on the principle of the Gospel that grants us everlasting freedom. This is the principle is forgiveness.

In this particular episode I watched a British citizen being denied entry into Australia because he had a brush with the law seven years ago and had served 18 months in jail as a consequence. He was pretty devastated about this refusal but more so because he claimed sorrowfully that this one transgression in his life was going to follow him around for the rest of his life despite the fact that he has learnt from that experience and has strived ever since to be a law-abiding citizen. I could see how demeaning it was for him to be still considered ‘a criminal’. I wondered if he would ever see himself as a good person again.

My first thought was, indeed a criminal conviction is something that you are never free from. Once you are a criminal, you pay the price for the rest of your life. My second thought was, I wish I could shout from the rooftops that there is someone who does not only forgive wrongdoing but remembers it no more (D&C 58:42)…..that there is someone who can make you clean again and grant you freedom forever.

I thought about all my weaknesses and ‘earthly indignities, as I call them, and how sensitive I have become over the years to any wrongdoing, and I could not imagine a life without repentance and forgiveness.

I knew someone years ago who had left his wife to live a homosexual lifestyle. A few years later I saw him and his forgiving wife at the temple. It was a success story of repentance and forgiveness like no other. I reflected back then too on the amazing grace of our God who has secured our freedom from sin and paid the price of justice we could never pay ourselves.

Imagine the loss of souls if there was no forgiveness. Without it we would become nothing. Consider Alma the Younger who suffered the godly sorrow asked of every repentant sinner, an intense sorrow which lasted for three days and which cast him into the very 'gall of bitterness' (Alma36:18). 

Obviously’, the Saviour didn't require more than that of Alma.  He did not require him to live in the past or the future beating himself up for what he did.  What He did require of Alma was for Alma to become a great man.  A man who would be an instrument in His hands to convince others of His great power to save. 

Alma, who in his youth went about with the intent to destroy the Church became Alma who led the Nephite armies in battle, who sat naked with Amulek in dungeons, who was spat upon by the unrepentant, who dumbfounded an anti-christ, who baptised thousands of souls unto repentance (Alma 4:4,5), who the Lord in the end took up unto himself (Alma 45:19).  Alma certainly did become that great man that the Lord needed.  Could he have ever become a great man if he had not been forgiven? I rather think he would have spent the rest of his life thinking he was worthless.

I am in awe of the ‘Man of Sorrows’ who had promised forgiveness ‘though our sins be as scarlet’ even before he had felt the burden of our infirmities (Isaiah 1:18). I am in awe of His mercy and His love. The older I get the more I feel the overwhelming reliance I have on His salvation. He has made my earth life possible and my eternal life a surety because of His forgiveness of my humanity. I am in awe of His ability to liberate the beauty in me. 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: I Will Comfort You by Jay Bryant Ward)

THE POWER OF FORGIVENESS

 

In Section 64 of the Doctrine and Covenants the Lord gives us some very valuable advice about forgiveness: “Wherefore, I say unto you, that ye ought to forgive one another for he that forgiveth not his brother his trespasses standeth condemned before the Lord; for there remaineth in him the greater sin” (v 9).  

Forgiveness can be quite complex because it can involve so many issues such as wanting justice but not receive it and feelings of worthlessness that can accompany that void. Feelings of injustice can canker your soul. This I believe is what the Lord meant by the sin being greater in him who does not forgive. This is also the condemnation: you condemn yourself to ongoing damage to your self-worth and the Lord condemns you for stagnation of your spiritual progress.

Forgiveness is central to Christ’s character. It is the divine attribute through which He became the Saviour of our souls. And it is important for us because through it we become like Him. This is the path of forgiveness that leads us to possession of Christ-like nature: Forgiveness equals compassion, mercy and love which ultimately might bring the offender to Christ and therefore to the saving of his soul. If it doesn’t, it will still lead to the saving of your soul.

I learnt about this crucially important character trait through my divorce. It was a time when I studied about the Atonement and its power in great depth. I discovered that forgiveness would heal all my hurts and injustices. I invested myself in it and found Christ at the center of it. It wiped away all my pain and restored me to life again. I haven’t looked back since.

In the 30 years I have been divorced, I have sat through many lessons that have talked about the importance of eternal marriage and family.  It used to wreck me back in the beginning. Even though the divorce offered me much needed relief back then, I am and always was deeply passionate about the plan of salvation and the importance of family. 

All I ever wanted in life was to be married and to have children.  And I did get that but I also lost it.  That loss of a dream was excruciating and forced me to re-define my whole standing in the Church and to evaluate the strength of my testimony. 

It is never easy to be alone in the Church. You just have to value yourself enough so that others will too.  I have carved a space for myself in the Church where I believe people see my strengths more than my cracks. I found that space one day on my visit to the temple.  I used to attend with trepidation after my divorce but this one day I noticed something very significant there - men and women sit separately.  They do not sit together like they do at Church projecting a picture of marriage and family. 

I understood then, the temple is as much about individual salvation as it is about marriage and eternity.  The Church is about the individual as much as it is about family.  The gospel is as much about being a disciple of Jesus Christ as it is about finding someone to share your eternal destiny. The Saviour values you because he has died for you personally, irrespective of your marital status. 

When he visited the Americas, He invited the multitude to come to Him one by one to feel the prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet. (3 Nephi 11:14) Why?  Because he wanted them and us to know that the Atonement is personal and that He had atoned for each one of us individually and not for the humanity collectively.  His sheep are numbered and there is not one that is overlooked. We all belong in the fold.  

When I go to Church I know there is a pew with my name on it. I feel good about myself because I know that’s where my spiritual progression began, and where it continues to this day. Forgiveness did that for me. It gave me the freedom to become who I am. There is a pew at Church with your name on it too. Own it. You have the right to sit in it.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: One by One by Walter Rane)

 

WASHED WHITE IN THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB

 

"While we profess to be followers of the Lord, while we profess to have received the Gospel and be governed by it, a profession will amount to nothing unless we have washed our robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

"It is not enough for us to be connected with the Zion of God, for the Zion of God must consist of men and women that are pure in heart and pure in life and spotless before God, at least that it is what we have got to arrive at....

"It is not enough for us to embrace the Gospel...and be associated with the people of God, attend our meetings and partake of the Sacrament of the Lord's supper, and endeavour to move along without much blame of any kind attached to us....

"If our hearts are not right, if we are not pure in heart before God, if we have not pure hearts and pure consciences, fearing God and keeping His commandments, we shall not, unless we repent, participate in blessings of which the prophets bear testimony."

- John Taylor, "Teachings of Presidents of the Church (2001) 114-15

You feed my soul as I meet You
At the sacramental table.
The bread of life, the living water,
Gives me strength and tells me I am able.
With parched lips I drink
So I will not thirst like before,
With eagerness I eat
Your body given forever more.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Washed By The Blood by Danny Hahlbohm)

BEAUTY FOR ASHES

 

“Some Church members feel weighed down with discouragement about the circumstances of their personal lives, even when they are making sustained and admirable efforts. Frequently, these feelings of self-disappointment come not from wrongdoing, but from stresses and troubles for which we may not be fully to blame.

“Atonement of Jesus Christ applies to these experiences because it applies to all of life. Saviour can wipe away all of our tears, after all we can do. In Luke 4:18, Jesus quotes part of a passage from Isaiah that describes the heart of His ministry. The Isaiah passage reads:

“The Spirit of the Lord….hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion….beauty for ashes.” (Isaiah 61:1,3)  The Saviour’s Atonement is thus portrayed as the healing power not only for sin, but also for carelessness, inadequacy, and all mortal bitterness.”  (Bruce C. Hafen, “Beauty for Ashes”, Ensign April 1990)

One of the hardest things in life can be the suffering of injustice. It is difficult to imagine and understand that the Atonement of Jesus Christ covers the sins and actions of those who hurt others. I remember some years ago listening to a sister in the Church of her experience with her now ex-husband who chose to leave her and their two sons because “he didn’t want the responsibility of a family anymore”.

This sister prayed in her darkest moments hoping to avert the disaster but the answer she got was not something she wished for. She was given to understand that even though Heavenly Father disapproved of her husband’s actions vehemently, He still loved her husband and had to respect his freedom of choice. Instead of becoming bitter, this sister understood that not even God can interfere in unjust treatment some of us get at the hands of another. This understanding set her on the path of forgiveness which gave her the power to survive.

This story is in stark contrast to the experience of another sister in the Church that I know who could not accept her divorce and who went around to different wards expounding her ex-husband’s faults. She was not looked at in a favourable light by others who found it distasteful and eventually she stopped coming to Church.

Justice comes to all of us for our wrongdoings but it certainly does not come in this life time. This time is the time for repentance and restitution to those we have put in the state of pain and hardship. This is a huge indication of the mercy of Christ. If we were all judged immediately after our wrongdoings without the chance of repentance, we would all be lost.

The beauty that rises from the ashes is one of repentance and saving grace for the perpetrator and one of developing the forgiving Christ-like nature for the victim. This proves unfathomable love of God for all his children who struggle with the weakness of mortality.

“Each of us will taste the bitter ashes of life, from sin and neglect to sorrow and disappointment. But the Atonement of Christ can lift us up in beauty, not only from our own ashes but also from the ashes of him who fathers the rebirth of our spirits. We then soar toward the sun on the wings of a sure promise of immortality and eternal life. Thus may we be lifted up, not only at the end of life but in each day of our lives.

“Hast thou not known? Hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth….giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run, and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:28-29, 31) (ibid)

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Christ's Light by Land of Dreams)

SECRET CLOSET

 

“One day when I really understood what Jesus Christ had done for me, I invited Him to come into the house of my heart and as soon as I invited Him, He came, without any hesitation and when He was there, He filled the house with joy and I wanted to run and tell all the neighbours about my guest and how wonderful it was to have Him there.

“And then one day He said: "There is a peculiar odour in this house and it is coming from that locked closet. And although you've let me go into every room in the house, that one door has always been locked and you've never let me in".

“Now that made me mad! I had let him into every room in my house. I ran and did his errands for Him, I let him use my money and now he wanted to look in my secret closet, so I said: "I hold the key and I will not let you in that closet. It's very small, only about 2 feet by 4 feet. The rest of my house is large enough and is perfectly presentable so it shouldn't make any difference".

“And He said: "I cannot stay in this house if you do not give me the key to the closet". And so He left. Oh, I was sad....And great despair and gloom and depression came over me. Because you see, once having had Him as a guest in my home, life was unbearable without Him. And so I went and tearfully pleaded with Him and begged Him: "Come back and I will give you the key to the closet and I will withhold nothing from you. I cannot stand to live without you".

“And so I gave Him the key and He opened my secret closet. And then quickly and efficiently He cleaned out those things that were dead and rotten that I wanted to feel were not there and wanted to ignore. He cleaned the whole closet out, fumigated it, painted it and He made it perfectly acceptable.

“Afterwards I said: "I am so ashamed that you know what was in my closet". And He said: "Why, I see only a house that is totally acceptable to me". And then I knew why I loved Him so and why of all my biggest brothers only this one could love me enough to clean out my closet. And then He said: "You know, I have cleaned out so many closets but it's a strange thing. I can never remember afterwards what was in them".

-        Author Unknown

I read an interesting post yesterday titled “You Can Ask for Forgiveness, But Nothing Will Ever Be the Same”. The closing remarks were this: “Asking for forgiveness is important, but we must accept that some wounds leave permanent marks. We can mend relationships, but we cannot erase history. The best we can do is learn from our mistakes, become better individuals and cherish the people in our lives with greater care and respect.”

Whereas this was a very meaningful and good advice in regards to our relationships, it made me reflect on the many mistakes I have made in my life that I have regretted but with gratitude that I will not bear the scars of them and will not be accountable for them anymore, that through repentance there is one man who can wipe my slate clean forever.

This gratitude brings me to the feet of my Saviour who has made an irrevocable promise that ‘though my sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow’ (Isaiah 1:18). And an even greater promise, that He shall ‘remember them no more’ (D&C 58:42). If He remembered, I would live in shame forever that He knew what was in my secret closet.

How great is the Saviour of my soul who knows my heart and honours my godly sorrow!

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Artist Unknown)

A FORGIVING HEART PART 2

 

At times Joseph suffered as much opposition in the Church as outside.

In early 1844 a group of apostates in Nauvoo, Illinois, declared the Prophet Joseph Smith to be a fallen prophet and tried to start a rival church. Some even held secret meetings, during which they plotted to kill him (Glen L. Leonard, Nauvoo: A Place of Peace, a People of Promise [2002], 357-62).

 

One of these people was W.W. Phelps, an author and a poet, who wrote 26 hymns in the original hymnal. He was Joseph’s close associate who left the church for a time with Oliver Cowdery. He became fiercely anti and wrote an incriminating affidavit which landed Joseph and Sidney Rigdon in jail and wreaked deadly havoc on the Church community.

 

W.W. Phelps eventually became wrecked with guilt and had a miraculous change of heart. He desired to repent and wrote a letter to Joseph, asking for forgiveness of all the saints, in the name of Jesus Christ. Note the forgiveness was requested in Jesus’ name, who is the very embodiment of said attribute. Even though he yearned for forgiveness, he didn’t expect the reply he received to his letter.

 

Joseph responded: “Dear Brother Phelps, it is true that we have suffered much because of your behaviour. The cup of gall was filled to the overflowing when you turned against us, however, we are yet alive and I shall be happy once again to give you the right hand of fellowship.  Come on dear Brother since the war is past, for friends at first are friends again at last. Yours as ever, Joseph Smith Jr.”  

 

Joseph re-instated W.W. Phelps into the Church fellowship by the unanimous vote of all the saints in Nauvoo whom he influenced in the matter of forgiveness. Later W.W. Phelps said he struggled to understand Joseph’s capacity for forgiveness and love.

 

The hymn “Praise to the Man” was written by WW Phelps to express love and gratitude for Joseph upon his death, and it was sung at his funeral. What a great tribute to the man who exemplified the Saviour through his forgiving heart.

Some of us have brought with us spiritual attributes we developed in pre-existence. They can never, however, match the Saviour’s level of perfection. Forgiveness is one of those attributes.

For instance, I often hear that we should forgive our enemies and those who hurt us like the Saviour did whilst on the cross. I ask, how many of us are capable of such forgiveness in the midst of such excruciating agony? This kind of forgiveness is on a higher level that we cannot reach on our own.

Forgiveness is central to Christ’s character but not to our own. Not especially in this weakened condition of mortality. Comparing us to Christ is like comparing apples to oranges.

I had a conversation with a dear sister once who told me it took her 12 years of intense therapy to forgive someone. I reflected on my own experience of much needed ability to forgive whilst in excruciating pain due to divorce some years ago, which took only months to gain through fervent and persistent appealing to Christ’s power of the Atonement. I was granted what I asked for and to this day I cannot hold a grudge of any proportion.

By virtue of our discipleship and by being faithful in keeping our covenants, we have ‘increased access to the power of Jesus Christ’ and need not suffer unduly. We can still become free when forgiveness is beyond us. (see President Russell M Nelson, “Overcome the World and Find Rest”, Liahona 2022, p 96)

A true leader who leads masses of imperfect and flawed people would have to have this attribute under his belt for those who claim they represent Him, need to in some way, be like Him. Nobody needed the gift of forgiveness more than Joseph. I am certain that the Saviour knew this and endowed him with this gift, either in this life or before. He must have known from His own experience that Joseph would not survive otherwise.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Joseph the Man by Joseph Brickey)

TURNING OF THE HEARTS PART 2

 

The power of the Spirit of Elijah amazes me. It bridges time and space and unites families in miraculous ways. And in the process, it heals and changes us forever. I am a witness to this process.

It started with my father who gave me a priceless gift. He gave me the Gospel.

When he was just a youth growing up in a poor peasant household in the socialist republic of Croatia, my father rejected the expected role of the oldest son to remain on family land to inherit it along with the care of his parents.

He chose instead a trade at the expense of his father's displeasure and rejection....a trade which enabled him later to move our family to the city life when I was 3 years old. This heroic move led to another even a more heroic one which took our family to a land of more opportunity, Australia. I was 14 years old when we left our homeland.

We hailed from a strong Catholic community. I attended our local Church regularly but my parents and my sisters were not so committed. My father had never expressed any deep spiritual convictions and I had never seen him at Church.

Unbeknownst to him, my father had brought me to a country, by spiritual design, where I could receive the greatest opportunity of all: the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I was 17 when I approached my parents with my desire to join the Church.

My father does not show emotion but this news outraged and scared him. We were immigrants of 3 years in a strange country and my father’s fear was that I was joining a polygamous cult. He gave me an ultimatum. If I insisted on joining the Church, I had to leave home.

I was driven. The spirit of conversion burned inside me. I left home and was cut off from my family. It was the most devastating event of my then young life which ripped the fabric of my family for many years.

My sister stepped in and reconciled me with my parents a year later. All seemed well but our rift was never addressed properly and the reconciliation was too little too late. My father had become disillusioned with Australia and took my mother back to Croatia.

We corresponded over the years and I visited just once, after my mission. Whilst there I showed great interest in my Croatian roots and with my father’s help I gathered a lot of our family history, which pleased him greatly. So you see he was my accomplice in the temple work I did for my family.

I didn’t see my parents for 20 years before they passed away. I had their temple work done…….except for one ordinance. I was never sealed to them. For some reason, I didn’t feel the spiritual connection with them and could not see my father as someone who would accept the Gospel. The temple work I did for them was perfunctory. I did it out of duty.

And then ‘the turning of my heart happened’….. 15 years later. Suddenly I started thinking about my father. I was his favourite child and the magnitude of the pain I caused him when I left home bore heavily on me. I cried day after day….and I would plead in my prayers that he be told how sorry I am that I hurt him. I could not understand why after all these years I was sorrowing over that experience of my young life.

Then one day I understood, I was not sealed to my parents. The thought came to me that all that pain was wasted for something I believed in and sacrificed for that would never be ours. It was as if my father was speaking to me. I felt I had dishonoured my parents and basically rejected them and I felt enormous guilt. I made a commitment to get the sealing done. As I did so, the sorrowing left and I was at peace. I knew I had been forgiven.

Sometimes in ‘turning our hearts to our fathers’, some resolutions need to happen and most often than not they involve some form of forgiveness. Some of us hail from dysfunctional families, some from abuse, some from abandonment but all come from flawed humanity.

If something is holding you back from the sealing ordinances, know that forgiveness is the key. It will free and change you and it will replace all the grief that is in your heart with unearthly love.

We cannot be saved without our dead. Elijah was not the only one to appear at the Kirtland Temple. The Saviour came too, in acceptance of it to impress upon us this truth. To Him our salvation is everything because this is His work and His glory.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: The Lord's Appearance to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in the Kirtland Temple by Theodore S. Gorka)

HEAVENLY PEACE

 

I have always liked this picture of Jesus with a white dove. I have wondered what the artist tried to say with it. She titled the piece, The Creator. Yes, He created everything, including the birds of the air, but why was the white dove featured to represent all creation? I knew that scripturally a white dove is a symbol of the Holy Ghost. I researched further and found out that there are many positive attributes that are associated with white doves such as: hope, honesty, purity and peace. When I read the last attribute, I immediately remembered that famous scripture: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you.” (John 14:27). And so now I tend to think that the focus of this painting is on Christ who represents all these attributes but especially that of peace.

What did the Saviour mean when He said, ‘my peace I give unto you’? It means, if you know Me, you will have peace; if you follow Me, you will have peace; if you seek Me, you will have peace; if you live my Gospel, you will have peace; if you allow me to help you do what you cannot do, you will have peace; if you allow me to make of you, what you should be, you will have peace. This kind of peace does not come from the world, hence the proclamation, ‘not as the world giveth’. We cannot have peace if we have our feet in both camps because we receive wages of the master we obey.

My greatest witness of Christ’s peace came through my experience with forgiveness. Some people have a forgiving nature all around, some can forgive small acts, some hold a grudge about anything and everything. The hardest to forgive is an offence perpetrated against you that hurts the most. These offences fall into the category of ‘too hard to forgive’ but they are not impossible because there is a way.

The whole premise of the Atonement rests on the principle of forgiveness. The Saviour died so that forgiveness would be possible. Forgiveness is central to His character. There is nothing like peace that forgiveness can bring to your heart. I speak from experience and my personal frame of reference. I had an opportunity many years ago to seek His ability to forgive when I could not do so on my own merit. The emotional pain I was in during the crucible of my life was beyond me to repair but I knew someone who could. I sought the gift of forgiveness, through my faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, multiple times a day. The pain was extreme but when the peace came, it was a freedom I had not known before. This experience in my life was the defining moment of my true discipleship.

Imagine what kind of peace the world can offer. It is a world where tribulation abounds and suffering is rife. Even the most righteous are not exempt from a world of opposition but endurance and overcoming of the world is possible through Him who has overcome it all. If you are in a boat that is enduring a storm, there is hope. Whatever the crucible of your life, it will be your defining moment that will lead you to know the Prince of Peace.

He, who with His word caused the earth to be,

Spoke to the Galilean tempest: “Peace, be still”.

He who has all things under His command,

Calmed the troubled sea of dismay in the souls of men.

He, who holds all humanity in the palm of His hand,

Caused the waves of the sea to whisper His name.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: The Creator by Liz Lemon Swindle)

ON GOING BACKWARDS

 

I could not help but see something significant as I started to read about the people of Limhi this morning. Limhi was the son of Noah who was the son of Zeniff who foolishly decided to abandon the land of Zarahemla and return to the land of Lehi-Nephi, the land of ‘their fathers’ (Mosiah 9:3). This was the land from which Nephi fled and separated himself and his followers from his murderous brothers (2 Nephi 5:57). At the time of Zeniff, the land was populated by the Lamanites.

When Zeniff was first sent as a spy to the land of Lehi-Nephi, it was to check out the Lamanites’ forces so that the Nephite army could come and destroy them (Mosiah 9:1). Something interesting happened to Zeniff on this expedition. He saw the good that was among the Lamanites and he was seduced (v 1). Perhaps Lamanites were not so bad after all….Herein lies the lesson. You should never go backwards. The Lamanites were welcoming at first and vacated lands for Zeniff and his people to occupy. The king even covenanted with Zeniff granting him the land but Zeniff did not foresee  ‘the cunning and the craftiness of king Laman’ who yielded up the land to bring his people into bondage (v 9). Zeniff saw the good of the Lamanites on the surface but in reality they were ‘a lazy and idolatrous people’ who put others in bondage to provide for them (v 12). After twelve years of being settled in the land, the glitter wore off and the bondage set in (v 11).

I could not help but see how this story relates to us who have abandoned a company they should not keep seeing the dangers of sin they were falling into, or have even fallen into such a life. Once removed, don’t look back because Satan works overtime to make appealing that sinful life or that company you have abandoned. Once the re-acquaintances have been made or sin revisited even once, the bondage begins.

When we are baptized we are baptized for ‘remission’ of our sins. This means our sins are simply put in remission until the day of forgiveness. If we commit that sin that is lying in remission, it will return. It is like a cancer, which is put into remission through treatment, but it can always come back. Our sins are the same, they lie in wait to return should we fail to be diligent in cultivating our spiritual strength. If we fail to do so and the mistake is repeated, always remember there is a way out. King Limhi understood the lesson and himself recognized the way to deliverance out of bondage is by ‘turning to the Lord with full purpose of heart, putting your trust in Him, and serving Him with all diligence of mind’. Then he says something interesting. If you do all this, the Lord will  ‘according to his own will and pleasure deliver you out of bondage’ (Mosiah 7:33). Be warned, the deliverance might mean a rough road of repentance and forgiveness….as in many cases,  groups of people in the Book of Mormon proved this to be true.

The real danger of going backwards is this…..you might never return. And what a loss that would be to your soul, your family, your loved ones, to the Saviour who suffered for you and to the Father who eagerly awaits you. 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Though Your Sins Be As Scarlet by Greg Olsen)

KING OF MERCY

 

“The Saviour suffered for our sins, and sickness, in part to perfect his mercy. We are indebted to the prophet Alma for our knowledge of the full measure of His suffering: “He shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and sicknesses of his people. And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people, and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities (Alma 7:11-12)….. He suffered these afflictions as we suffer them, according to the flesh. He suffered them all. He did this to perfect his mercy and his ability to lift us above every earthly trial.” (Teachings of Howard W. Hunter, p 7).

I was somewhat perplexed when I read this quote not quite understanding what President Hunter meant by the Saviour suffering in order to ‘perfect His mercy’. Scripturally, to be perfect means to be brought to its’ end, to be finished, to be fully developed, having accomplished one’s purpose (M. Nelson, Perfection Pending, Ensign Nov 1995, p 86,88).  In that respect, this statement makes sense. Christ’s mercy began in pre-existence when He volunteered to save us, but the perfection of it was achieved in His mortal life.

When we think of mercy, forgiveness of our sins comes to mind, first and foremost. However, mercy is a multi-faceted attribute. Aside from forgiveness, Christ’s mercy extends to help or succor, as President Hunter pointed out. His mercy also comes in not so obvious ways but ways which lead to ultimate end for human kind, as in mercy in establishing His Church and saving ordinances which lead us to eternal life. That’s also mercy.

Consider the ordinance of baptism. Without it there is no entrance to Celestial Kingdom. The Book of Mormon highlights its importance so well. When Alma, who had fled from King Noah with a small band of followers, preached to them the covenant of obedience by the waters of Mormon, the people were so overcome with joy that they committed to baptism there and then (Mosiah 18:10,11). Alma's first baptism was a man called Helam. His words to him took the baptismal covenant to a new level. He said: Helam, I baptise thee, having authority from the Almighty God, as a testimony that ye have entered into a covenant to serve him until you are dead...." (Mosiah 18:13). This is serious stuff. Especially considering that anciently covenants were not broken even at the point of death. This is not just about obedience but also endurance.

The best way to endure something to the end is by constant remembrance….hence the sacrament. Each Sunday we have the privilege of taking the sacrament to keep in remembrance our baptismal covenant of obedience, but not only that. It also promises Christ’s spirit will be with us if we keep the covenant. How is His spirit administered to us? Through the medium of the Holy Ghost. And what is the Holy Ghost’s primary function? Sanctification. Every time we take the sacrament  AND repent of our wrong doings, the Holy Ghost sanctifies us and preserves the remission of our sins which we were mercifully granted at the time of our baptism. Remission leads to eventual forgiveness.

I have often thought Christ’s tolerance and mercy towards us is excessive but as I reflected on it a thought came to me that He could have never subjected himself to such an unjust life, and indeed most unjust  death, if He was any other way. When He said in pre-existence, “I will save them”, He meant it and He implemented every possible way to safeguard that salvation. This is ultimate mercy. This is who Jesus Christ is.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Portrait of Christ by Chris Brazelton) 

THE MIRACLE OF SELF-FORGIVENESS

 

 

Paul, who considered himself ‘the least of the apostles’ and not worthy to be called such  because he persecuted the church of God (1 Corinthians 15:9), stays with us long after we have studied his extensive gospel doctrine epistles, as a spiritual giant who outgrew his small physical stature. When I study his epistles I am amazed at the grand scale of his growth, the depth of his understanding of the doctrine of Christ and his repeated testimony of the only source of our salvation. He will forever be remember as a spiritual giant among men and here is why. Even though Paul testified about God’s grace vehemently and gave credit to it for what he became (1 Corinthians 15:10), he would have had to at one stage forgiven the man who misled him to offend God, and that man was himself. I believe he arrived at that place of self-forgiveness when he could in clear conscience say: “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7). Paul, after years of unrelenting, selfless service became a beacon of hope for all sinners. 

 

It reminds me of another sinner who did the same, Alma the Younger. In his day, Alma the Younger became a living testament of the Saviour's power of deliverance.  Not only because Christ forgave him for his sins and saved him from spiritual death but also because He freed him to become a great man.  After Alma came out of his three days of torment he immediately began to preach of Christ's mercy and His power to save (Mosiah 27:32). Nowhere in the scriptures does it say that he moped around and agonised over his past sins and felt bad about himself. He became a great example of someone who had his guilt ‘taken away from his heart, through the merits of God’s Son’ (Alma 24:10). Alma, who went about with the intent to destroy the Church became Alma who led the Nephite armies in battle, who sat naked with Amulek in dungeons, who was spat upon by the unrepentant, who dumbfounded an anti-Christ, who baptised thousands of souls unto repentance (Alma 4:4-5), who the Lord in the end took up unto himself (Alma 45:19). 

 

When you look at Paul and Alma, do you see broken men with a past or do you see  powerful servants of the Lord?  If you are still 'harrowed' up by your past sins, you are missing the person that you could be.  If you believe you are no good, the Lord can make nothing of you.  In this state you are not good to anyone, not to yourself, not to God, not to your fellowman.  If you have repented of your sins but can't let them go, you are giving them more power than you are giving God. The adversary wants nothing more than for your sins to continue to have power over you, even after you have forsaken them, because he hopes one day you will return to them.  Your forgiveness is not complete until you allow the Saviour to take away your remorse. The power of the Atonement can  complete this process.  The Saviour can extend mercy, He can forgive, He can make of you a new person, He can wipe your slate clean. Believe it, trust it, ask for it.  The Lord has work for you to do and He is waiting. 

 

 

 - CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Mortality by Joel Rea)

AGAINST THE WIND

We very often say that we ‘should’ be Christlike. In fact, the world even judges us Christians by this edict. What we overlook sometimes is that we cannot be Christlike if we do not ‘become’ like Christ by engaging Him in the process of our becoming. When we don’t rely on His enabling power, we are just walking against the wind wishing for the impossible.

Some of us have brought with us spiritual gifts we developed in pre-existence like compassion, patience, tolerance, love, forgiveness. Even if we have these attributes under our belt, they can never equal the level of them that the Saviour possesses. His level is the level of perfection. For instance, I often hear that we should forgive our enemies and those that hurt us abominably like the Saviour did whilst on the cross. I ask, how many of us are capable of such forgiveness in the midst of such excruciating agony? This kind of forgiveness is a higher level that we cannot reach on our own. Forgiveness is central to Christ’s character but not to our own. Comparing us to Christ is like comparing apples to oranges. I had a conversation with a dear sister recently who told me it took her 12 years of intense therapy to forgive someone. I reflected on my own experience of much needed ability to forgive whilst in excruciating pain some years ago, which took only months to obtain through fervent and persistant appealing to the power of the Atonement. By virtue of our discipleship and by being faithful and keeping our covenants, we have ‘increased access to the power of Jesus Christ’ and need not suffer unduly. We can still become free when forgiveness is beyond us. (President Russell M Nelson, “Overcome the World and Find Rest”, Liahona 2022, p 96)

Another example of being ‘Christlike’ is in regards to charity or the pure love of Christ. This is not something that we are capable of, ever, and this is why: The ‘pure’ love means something significant. It means that the Saviour had no motive for self-gratification, self-advancement or self-aggrandizement but that His love motivated Him to put others before Himself, hence the ability to atone for us sinners, as opposed to Satan who wanted advancement of self and nobody else (Moses 4:1-2). Because we are fallen, the natural man tends to gravitate toward focus on ‘self’ rather than others. Also, It is not charity, the pure love LIKE Christ, it is charity, the pure love OF Christ. It is a love that only He is capable of. It is His unique love. We cannot develop it but we can aspire to it through prayerful seeking of it and it will be bestowed upon us if we are ‘true followers of Christ’ (Moroni 7:48). Charity or pure love of Christ is a gift. It is beyond our power to develop for ourselves.

If we don’t focus on the Saviour and His enabling power, we will sink into a river of debilitating ‘shoulds’. We beat ourselves up by our ‘shoulds’ which make us blind to the solution which is always in Christ and His power to heal, deliver, strengthen and endow with such attributes as are needed for us to rise to eventual perfection. He alone can make us like Him.

You enliven my spirit,

You enrich my impoverished heart.

You are the God of power and might;

You make of me what I alone could never be,

You light my way into eternity.

• CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Artist: Against the Wind by Liz Lemon Swindle)

 

IN COMPASSION AND MERCY

 

Jesus was touched with a feeling of their infirmities.

Those cries pierced to His inmost heart;

The groans and sighs of all that collective misery

filled His whole soul with pity.

His heart bled for them;

He suffered with them;

Their agonies were His;

So that Matthew recalls…

With a slight difference of language,

The words of Isaiah,

“Surely He hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.”

(Matthew 8:16,17)

-       Frederick Farrar, Life of Christ, p 182

 

That Christ had compassion towards the suffering during his mortal life can never be disputed.  He wept with those who ached and healed indiscriminately all who came to Him in faith. Now consider His mercy manifest through the healing miracles, not only toward the sick and the afflicted, but toward the unbelievers as well. In many instances, the Saviour forgave sins prior to the physical miracle of healing, which in reality was of more importance than the healing that followed. The miracles of healing were an avenue of His proclamation of His divinity but they were only secondary. When Christ said, ‘thy sins are forgiven thee’ He was in fact proclaiming that He had power on earth and in heaven to forgive sins. But forgiveness is something that cannot be seen with a naked eye and so the physical healing that followed was a means to satisfy man’s need for physical proof of His divine power. And so the miracles of physical healing came secondary as proof of His power to heal spiritually.  I see in this amazing mercy toward the unbelieving and those hard of understanding, even for those who plotted His death and had no willingness to believe. But such is the nature of the manJesus the Christ, the Saviour of the world, the God of heaven and earth. Hismercy is extended to the just and the unjust and His salvation is offered to all who will come unto Him because He is the light, the truth and the way, the only way……..

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Lord, I Believe by Liz Lemon Swindle)