HIS GREATNESS

 

I contemplated the Saviour’s greatness upon awakening today and the scriptures I have loved and admired came into my mind like Joseph’s admiration and praise of ‘King Immanuel’ which has many times brought me down to my knees:

“Let the mountains shout for joy and all ye valleys cry aloud; and all ye seas and dry lands tell the wonders of your Eternal King! And ye rivers, and brooks, and rills, flow down with gladness. Let the woods and all the trees of the field praise the Lord; and ye solid rocks weep for joy!

“And let the sun, moon and the morning stars sing together and let all the sons of God shout for joy! And let the eternal creations declare his name forever and ever. And again I say, how glorious is the voice we hear from heaven, proclaiming in our ears, glory and salvation, and honour, and immortality and eternal life, kingdoms, principalities and powers!”   (D&C 128:23)

I also remembered how His greatness and His power will be manifest when He returns:

“O Lord, thou shalt come down to make thy name known to thine adversaries, and all nations shall tremble at thy presence – Yea when thou comest down and the mountains flow down at thy presence….And so great shall be the glory of your presence that the sun shall hide his face in shame, and the moon shall withhold its light, and the stars shall be hurled from their places.”  (D&C 133:40-53)

All that immense, immense, power yet nothing compares to His love, His compassion and His mercy. When he comes we shall acknowledge his loving kindness, his love and his pity on those he has redeemed…….if we follow Him that we might know Him and be recipients of such now…..

My desire to bring Thee honour

My desire to bring Thee joy

Shall forever through my faith in Thee

With devotion be known.

 

In the depths of my heart You bid me follow

My love freely flows from me,

My offering so small but faithful

With honour I give to Thee.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: The Everlasting God by Spencer Rasmussen)

INDIVIDUAL ATONEMENT

 

 

I was riddled with guilt for many years following my divorce because my children no longer had a father in the home. I felt their every hurt, every mishap, every difficulty, every wrong choice was my fault. Then a wonderful friend shared her experience of parenthood and it helped change my perspective. This is what she said:

“I have often thought of my parental failing in the middle of the night. One night as I was thinking of these failings I thought that one day I will have to pay for them. I wanted to pay for them but as I thought that, the Saviour’s voice came into my mind: “I have already paid for them.” Tears of comfort whenever I think of this.”

I realized when I read this that there are sins and actions we cannot truly repent of or apply restoration to because they are in the past and cannot be changed. If we could not go back in time to fix things, and yet accountability would still stand, our whole salvation would be at peril. But luckily the Saviour’s Atonement covers it all and makes the salvation possible for each one.

When the Saviour appeared to the Nephites post resurrection, He invited them to feel His wounds ‘one by one’ because He died for each one individually and not for the masses collectively (3 Nephi 11:15). It was as if He was saying to them: I see you, I know your individual lives, personalities, strengths and failings, you each matter enough to deserve the price I paid.

Many years ago I sat in Stake Conference and while we sang “Redeemer of Israel” I saw myself in my mind doing missionary work in my pre-mortal life. I knew then that I was one of the Saviour’s strongest supporters. I know I was very converted to the Plan of Salvation and that I wanted exaltation. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Saviour could and would give me both. I was convinced of it and I was excited about it.

Now that I have experienced the fall of my nature, the difficulties of mortality, the isolation from God, the suffering, the sorrow, my inadequacies and insufficient strength to rise to above them, I have perfect clarity and understanding of what exactly the Saviour has done for me: the payment to justice, forgiveness of all my failings, mercy and power of grace to raise me to perfection of my soul, and to bridge the gap of time and space between me and the Father. Some days I get so overwhelmed by it that I lack the ability to express the magnitude of my gratitude for His infinite sacrifice which grants me life eternal, a promise of which I carried deep within my heart so long ago.

The closer I get to God, the keener I feel my inadequacies. I have reflected on many situations in my life and I know I cannot fix the past. I can only be better today and tomorrow. And I can do one more thing, the most important thing…..I can live in the deepest gratitude of my soul each and every day for the Saviour’s redemptive power and I can express it with love in my heart for Him, a desire to follow Him and commitment to honour Him.

I worshipped You in heaven

As my Saviour and my King,

I knew Your holy suffering

Would pay for everything.

Now I am here in my mortal frame

I am amazed at the price You paid

For the value of my name!

 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: The Good Shepherd by Gabriel Heaton)

TO HONOUR HIM

 

The scriptural account of the visit of the wise men to Jesus and His mother states that they fell down and worshipped Him and presented unto Him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.

The gifts that were given to Christ child were costly gifts that were by custom given to royalty but the Magi gave them to more than a king. Matthew records that ‘there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem’ asking ‘where is the child that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east and are come to worship him’ (Matthew 2:2). However, the Joseph Smith Inspired Translation reads ‘where is the child that is born the Messiah of the Jews?’

Bruce R. McConkie noted the probability that the Magi were themselves Jews who lived, as millions of Jews then did, in one of the nations to the East. He went on to say that it was the Jews who were acquainted with the scriptures and the prophecies regarding Christ’s birth and that first witnesses of His birth were to come from the House of Israel and not from the Gentile nations (see Bruce R. McConkie, The Mortal Messiah Book 1, 358)

If this is so, the gifts presented to Christ child were gifts fit not only for a King but for a God. Much has been written about these gifts by way of speculation but a close look reveals that these gifts might not have been given by chance and that the Magi were more in tune with the divine than we think. Consider just one of them, frankincense.

When Jehovah instructed Moses to make an holy anointing oil, He named specific sweet spices and instructed how they should be made with ‘pure frankincense’ and added: “Upon man’s flesh shall it not be poured, neither shall ye make any other like it….it is holy, and it shall be holy unto you….whosoever putteth any of it upon a stranger, shall even be cut off from his people”. Instruction was also given for making of perfume with frankincense which was ‘holy for the Lord’ and not meant to be used for the congregation (Exodus 30: 37).

The mental and physical healing properties of the frankincense oil are well documented. It is best known for its ability to clear and focus the mind suggesting a spiritual quality to it. Today its price can range between $30.00 and $14,850. A gift fit for a god indeed…..for all the earth is His and everything in it!

My favourite Christmas song is The Little Drummer Boy. I don’t know how many tears I have shed listening to this song. What touches me most is that the little drummer boy had no gift to give to the King. Such a contrast to the wealthy Magi.

I was born and raised in a socialist country but in a strong Catholic community. Exchanging of gifts at Christmas was not a custom. There was no commercialism. The birth of Christ was revered in my childhood. Since I have lived in Australia, I have never figured out why we give each other gifts when we celebrate Christ’s birthday. Does it help us remember He is our greatest gift?

The Little Drummer Boy had no riches to give the King but he gave something of himself and it was accepted. Perhaps it would be more advantageous to give the Saviour something of ourselves this Christmas….such as an act of service, a missionary moment, a commitment to give up a weakness or a sin, to meaningfully partake of the Sacrament each Sunday, to express more love, to judge less, to be more merciful, to obey Him more, to love Him more, to strive to be like Him……after all, the best gift He would want would be ME and YOU.

We are worth far more than frankincense.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: The Holy Men by Liz Lemon Swindle)