A BETTER WORLD

 

I happened to see a YouTube video recently that attempted to teach us that there are three words we should never say.

Apparently according to ‘the law of attraction’ the number one thing we should never say is, “I hope”. The self-help gurus teach that ‘hope’ lacks tangible stability and will therefore always have you chasing something that isn’t real rendering what you hope for incapable of manifesting into reality.

To me it spells this: those who teach we should invest ourselves in the law of attraction for our success, well being and survival in life, teach the techniques and wisdom of the world. I believe in the sustaining power of hope. My whole world revolves around it.

Imagine if there was no hope in the world. Would we ever stop seeing doctors if we had no hope that we would one day get better? Would we ever stop educating ourselves if we never had hope of getting a job commensurate with our level of education? Would we ever attempt to date if we had no hope that one day we will find a marriage partner? Hope propels us into action manifesting those things in life which are within our control.

 Now take this a step further to realise how this principle would destroy our faith in God for the reality of those things which are not within our control.  Would we ever stop praying because we had no hope of God’s help? Would we ever survive and endure this life if we had no hope of a better one? Would we ever accept Christ as our Saviour if we had no hope in His salvation?

"Every one of us has times when we need to know things will get better. Moroni spoke of it in the Book of Mormon as a "hope for a better world" (Ether 12:4). For emotional health and spiritual stamina, everyone needs to be able to look forward to some respite, to something pleasant and renewing and hopeful, whether that blessing be near at hand or still some distance ahead.

“It is enough just to know we can get there, that however measured or far away, there is the promise of 'good things to come'. My declaration is that this is precisely what the gospel of Jesus Christ offers us, especially in times of need. There is help. There is happiness. There really is light at the end of the tunnel. It is the Light of the World, the Bright and Morning Star, the 'light that is endless, that can never be darkened'. It is the very Son of God Himself."

- Holland, Jeffrey R., "An High Priest of Good Things to Come", October 1999

Imagine if this world was perfect. If there were no calamities, wickedness or turmoil....Imagine if this telestial life was an easy ride; one of constant happiness and devoid of strife. Would we, as disciples of Christ, be yearning and hoping for our Celestial home which is our ultimate destination?

Some say that there have been bad times on this earth since year one and what we are experiencing now is not new. That is true but never before have calamities and scourges come with such intensity, frequency and speed.

There will soon come a time when there will not be a period of respite; when we will long for peace, rest and freedom from oppression of every kind; when we will know beyond a shadow of doubt that He is our only hope, our Deliverer, our God; when we shall have hope through the Atonement and Resurrection of Christ, to be raised unto life eternal (Moroni 7:41).

It will be a time when we will say, in the words of John the Beloved: Even so, come, Lord Jesus" (Revelation 22:20) for if a man have hope he will also have faith, for without faith there cannot be any hope (Moroni 7:42).

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Second Coming by Brent Borup)

MY HOPE

 

 

My moment of being lifted to higher ground came to me this morning. Following passages of the Second Coming, a simple short verse: “For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come” (Isaiah 63:4). As I looked up the reference in the footnotes to confirm what I thought I understood about ‘the year of my redeemed’, my heart skipped a beat as I read: “And now the year of my redeemed is come; and they shall mention the loving kindness of their Lord, and all that he has bestowed upon them according to his goodness, and according to his loving kindness, forever and ever.” (D&C 133:52). Who are the redeemed? We are. We, the followers of Christ who have accepted His salvation. If you are suffering, hang on! He will come and will wipe away all our tears (Rev 7:17; 21:4) and make up for everything! In the meantime, trust in His goodness and His loving kindness that will endure forever and ever…..

 

You opened my heart

And searched for what 

You there did not see;

My feeble faith and lack of trust

Stood in contrast to your will for me.

You sorrowed at the tears I shed

With every step I was led to take

To find You in my hour of agony.

How patiently You stood waiting

With open arms hoping I would come to Thee.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Come To Me by Yongsung Kim)

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.

BY THE GRACE OF GOD PART 2

".....I will go before your face. 
I will be on your right hand and on your left, 
and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, 
and mine angels round about you, to bear you up." 
(D&C 84:88)

As disciples of Jesus Christ we have been given the mandate to become perfect. This perfection will be reached long after we pass on from this mortal life, nevertheless, whilst we are here we are to strive for excellence which will one day qualify us for godhood. Along this path however, we frequently, if not constantly, lack patience to cope with our sense of personal inadequacy. This impatience makes us prone to discouragement and a belief that because of our inadequacies perfection seems an unattainable goal. The gap between the ideal (perfection), and reality for some of us seems like a painful place to exist. In this gap we tend to encounter extreme guilt which makes many of us believe that we will never 'make it'. Women especially are susceptible to feelings of guilt to the point where some dread family-oriented lessons in Relief Society because emphasizing the ideals of motherhood makes them more aware of their own shortcomings and failure to live up to them. The truth is, all of us are falling short of the ideal for who among us could not relate to this family's scenario of the gap between reality and the ideal: "Then there are the family home evenings and scripture study sessions in our home. Somehow it has not been altogether natural for our children to glide reverently into their places all at once and all on time, prepared to ponder thoughtfully the wonders of eternity. More than likely, especially when they were young, they seemed to come swinging into the family room on the chandeliers like Tarzan on the vines, then would stand on their heads or flip themselves over the back of the couch during most of the lesson. During that stage of our family's history, our bishop lovingly referred to our children as curtain climbers, rug rats, and house apes. There were times in those days  when the gap yawned as wide as the Grand Canyon" (Bruce C. Hafen, The Broken Heart, p. 178). 

We live in a 'feel good' day and age. Modern day psychologists and spiritual gurus advise strongly against any negative feelings that have the potential to harm our self-esteem. One such therapist claims that being seriously religious "is significantly correlated with emotional disturbance" and goes on to say: "People largely disturb themselves by believing strongly in absolutistic shoulds, oughts, and musts, and most people who dogmatically believe in some religion believe in these health-sabotaging absolutes....The less religious people are, the more emotionally healthy they will tend to be" (Albert, Ellis, "Psychotherapy and Atheistic Values", Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology (1980), p 635-7). The world's solution to coping with the gap between the reality and the ideal is to eliminate the ideal and make peace with your reality. By doing this, we are meant to be free from frustration, guilt and unhappiness. This solution is an appealing one to many who are encouraged to accept themselves as they are. Because not having to change is a more comfortable place to be, we convince ourselves that we are not 'celestial material' and fall out of the race. 

Our modern day pre-occupation with self-acceptance limits severely our possibilities for growth and change restricting the power of repentance. Many of us go so far as to believe that we cannot change human nature at all and that we are what we are. Those of us who are of that belief deny the power of the Atonement and are in effect saying to the Saviour, I don't need you, you have no power to do anything for me. When we come to that point we believe the world more than we believe Him. We then lose all faith that we can ever attain godhood because we know our own capabilities cannot get us there. The other choice we have in this matter is to focus on Him who overcame the world, resisted every temptation and avoided every sin. We must understand that the only way perfection is possible at all is through the grace of Him who has paved the way. Through His grace we too can overcome the world, resist every temptation and avoid every sin because His grace enlarges our capacities and turns our weaknesses into strengths but the most important gift of grace "along that path is the gift of hope, which is a source of comfort and strength for those who move courageously forward toward the perfecting ideal of the Saviour" (Bruce C. Hafen, The Broken Heart, p 183)

It astounds me to hear an active member of the Church exclaim "oh, I know I will never make it". This proclamation indicates a lack of understanding of the Atonement and a lack of acceptance of its' power. To me this belief is akin to sin. Contrast that mentality with active members of the Church in Jacob's time: "Wherefore, we search the prophets (scriptures), and we have many revelations and the spirit of prophecy (testimony); and having all these witnesses we obtain a hope, and our faith becometh unshaken, insomuch that we truly can command in the name of Jesus and the very trees obey us, or the mountains, or the waves of the sea. Nevertheless, the Lord God showeth us our weakness that we may know that it is by his grace, and his great condescensions unto the children of men, that we have power to do these things" (Jacob 4:6-7). It is clear from this scripture that those who believe that they will never 'make it' are the ones who put their faith in their capacities alone rather than in the grace of God which is the only way we can ever make it. If we can by the grace of God command the trees, the mountains or the waves of the sea to obey us, surely we can by this same grace also change the human nature. 

The spiritual endowments of hope are perspective, patience, serenity, peace, insight and endurance. When we press forward with steadfastness in Christ (2 Nephi 31:20), we do so with a hope that we can make it for the one who has made it is before us, behind us and by us (D&C 88:84, 49:27). We desperately need these endowments of hope because they help us to see that development toward spiritual maturity and godhood "is a process and not an event....it is a distance race, not a sprint....it is thus no race for the short-winded. To develop toward a Christlike character is a process, not an event. There may one day be some crowning event, in which the final endowment of grace completes a process that may take longer than mortal life. But to qualify for such a conclusion requires patience and persistence more than it requires flawlessness. It is indeed, our own groping and reaching in the struggle for growth that qualifies us for divine help." (Bruce C. Hafen, The Broken Heart, p 184, 186)

In our quest for the ideal, we are like a toddler just learning to walk. The closer we get to the ideal, the more that ideal expands and creates new aspirations and a new gap, until we finally reach godhood: "When our capacities are small, God's expectations are not very demanding.......but just as we master these elementary demands, we discover greater expectations that we didn't quite see before. Gradually our capacity grows, but so does our understanding of what more we must become, 'For of him unto whom much is given much is required' (D&C 82:3). The Lord would have us stretch - but not out of shape.....in the midst of this process, the blessing of hope keeps the gap at a manageable distance. Our perceptions and attitudes really can be shaped and lifted by a gift of divinely given insight that lets us feel, even with some anticipation and optimism, that we can do it.....Hope, a divinely given blessing of atoning grace for those who seek it, after all they can do on their own, establishes in the way our mind sees things just the right distance between where we are and where we strive to be. It also reassures us, somehow, that the ever-receding ideal is not a trick, but part of a growth process that can be not only acceptable but exhilarating" (Bruce C. Hafen, The Broken Heart, p 187,188)

We need only search the scriptures in order to know the God we speak of; to know that to Him man is the underlying and over-riding purpose of all His works, that to Him we are everything (Moses 1:39); that it is for our sakes' He willingly laid Himself on the cross; that beside Him there is no Saviour; that the extent of His doings none can find out; that there are none who can stay His hand; that great is His wisdom and marvelous are His ways; that He is gracious and merciful unto those who fear Him and that He delights to honour those who serve Him in righteousness and in truth unto the end (D&C 76:1-5). This is the God we worship, this is the God we serve and this is the God we should believe.

"Behold, I have graven thee 

upon the palms of my hands;

thy walls are continually before me.......

come unto me thy Saviour"

(Isaiah 49:16, D&C 19:41))

A TOKEN OF LOVE

"I spoke at my granddaughter's baptism in July. My assigned topic was the Holy Ghost. I told her that I have a picture of her with her sister on my computer wallpaper. 'Every time I turn on the computer, she is there with you', I said. 'If she could be with you all the time in your life, would she help you choose the right?' This 8 year old was pretty sure she would. I asked the same questions about her mom and dad. She thought that if one or both of them could be with her all the time, she would be able to make pretty good decisions because someone would always be there who knew more than she did to help her. I even asked about President Hinckley. This little girl thought that he would help her with her decisions too. But she agreed with me that he might be too busy to follow her around 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 'But if he could, you would always know the best thing to do, wouldn't you?', I asked. She was pretty sure that was true. Then I asked her what it would be like to have a member of the Godhead with her all the time. We then read 2 Nephi 32:5: 

'For behold, again I say unto you that if ye will enter in by the way, and receive the Holy Ghost, it will show unto you all things what ye should do' (2 Nephi 32:5)

I am amazed at this - that God would give all of his covenanting children continuous access to a being who knows everything..........."         (Ted L. Gibbons, NT Lesson 32, "Live in the Spirit")


The gift of the Holy Ghost is second to the Atonement as a token of God's great love for us. It is also one of the blessings most often taken for granted. Very few of us reflect daily or even occasionally on the gift of love that this third member of the Godhead is. When the Father sent us out into the world to find ourselves, He did so making sure we didn't go without a connection to home. There are several things that make Christ's Church stand apart from other religions but none as powerful and useful to us in our daily lives as the gift of the Holy Ghost. Having this gift can be akin to walking with and talking to God face to face on daily basis. There are three major benefits of having the gift of the Holy Ghost that are worthy of mention:

1. At the time of baptism, the sanctifying power of the Holy Ghost makes us clean from any sin that we had up to then committed. This sanctifying power can be renewed every time we partake of the sacrament with a broken heart and a contrite spirit. If we live worthy of the companionship of the Holy Ghost on a continual basis and 'walk in the spirit' as Apostle Paul taught, we will have the power to subdue 'the natural man' (Galatians 5:16). Not subduing the natural man means living after the manner of the flesh, the fruits of which are 'adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings and such like' (Galatians 5:19-21). However, the fruits of living after the manner of the Spirit are 'love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance' (Galatians 5:22-25). We need the sanctifying power of the Holy Ghost if we are to ultimately qualify for God's presence for 'no unclean thing can enter into His kingdom' (3 Nephi 27:19). This sanctification is available to all who accept Jesus Christ as their Saviour and make covenants to live His Gospel. Where His Atonement absolves us from sin, the Holy Ghost purifies us from it.

2. One of the main roles of the Holy Ghost is to endow members of the Church with spiritual gifts. Every member of the Church receives them following baptism. In the early Church they were immediately manifest mainly through speaking in tongues and prophesying (Acts 19:5,6). Spiritual gifts are often called 'fruits of the Spirit' and they are one of the greatest tools we have for developing traits we lack and need to have, not only for our benefit but most importantly for the benefit of the Church for it is for this purpose they are given. Joseph Smith said on one occasion that the Church would be dead without the gifts of the spirit. He compared it to being invited to a feast [Church] and sitting at the table not partaking of the foods laden before you. The gifts of the spirit are many and varied. It is our responsibility to seek them and develop them. They are, however, not only to be used for the building of the Kingdom but for our individual journey to perfection. It is through possession of these gifts that we can overcome weaknesses and imperfections and thus progress to a more Christlike character (on more information regarding this please refer to my blog post entitled "On Spiritual Gifts and Weaknesses", October 2013).

3. Paul taught the Galatian saints to 'stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage' (Galatians 5:1). The yoke of bondage that Paul referred to was the ritualism inherent in the law of Moses which had become a way of life for the Jews and which caused 'spirituality to wither almost to death in the hearts of the people. When a member of the Church is given to ritualism, or even living the gospel by habit or tradition, the purity of intent that is required to live the gospel at its highest is most often lost. Such ceremonialism had become a yoke of bondage for the Jews'.........When habit or tradition governs the behaviour of a member of the Church, he or she has lost the liberty of living the gospel with pure intent. The gospel becomes a burden to be carried rather than a means of liberating the soul. In such a person, the fire of the Holy Ghost has little place. Without that fire, the natural man begins to take over what it has lost when the recipient was first converted to the gospel' (Bruce Satterfield, NT Lesson 32 'Live In the Spirit', Meridian Magazine). Living by the Spirit ensures that our motives for Church activity and Gospel living are strong and pure and not habitual and bereft of real intent.

With so much unrest, fear, doubt and insecurity in our world today, we cannot afford to live without the guidance and influence of the Holy Ghost. It is the daily connection we have with the powers of heaven, a connection we sorely need. Several years after the Prophet Joseph Smith was martyred, he appeared to President Brigham Young and shared this timeless counsel: "Tell the people to be humble and faithful and [be] sure to keep the spirit of the Lord and it will lead them right. Be careful and not turn away the small, still voice; it will teach [you what] to do and where to go; it will yield the fruits of the kingdom. Tell the brethren to keep their hearts open to conviction so that when the Holy Ghost comes to them; their hearts will be ready to receive it. They can tell the spirit of the Lord from all other spirits. It will whisper peace and joy to their souls, and it will take malice, hatred, envying, strife, and all evil from their hearts; and their whole desire will be to do good, bring forth righteousness, and build up the kingdom of God. Tell the brethren if they will follow the Spirit of the Lord they will go right" (Joseph Smith, Teachings:Joseph Smith, p 98)

We not only need the Holy Ghost for guidance but also for personal edification of our body, spirit and intellect: "The Holy Ghost.....quickens all the intellectual faculties, increases, enlarges, expands and purifies all the natural passions and affections, and adepts them by the gift of wisdom to their lawful use. It inspires virtue, kindness, goodness, tenderness, gentleness and charity. It develops beauty of person, form and features. It tends to health, vigor, animation, and social feeling. It develops and invigorates all the faculties of the physical and intellectual mind. It strengthens, invigorates and gives tone to the nerves. In short, it is, as it were, marrow to the bone, joy to the heart, light to the eyes, music to the ears, and life to the whole being" (Parley P. Pratt, Key to the Science of Theology, 9th ed. [1965] p. 101). Indeed we can say that the Holy Ghost is a life force we cannot live without. It therefore behooves us to live so that we would be worthy of its' companionship constantly. Keeping ourselves unspotted from the world and hungering after righteousness ensures that we form a partnership with this member of the Godhead who has been relegated to be our lifeline in mortality. 

When Jesus told His apostles that He would shortly be crucified for the sins of the world, they sorrowed because He would no longer be with them but He in return offered immense hope: "It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you" (John 16:7). With this statement, the Saviour was saying "you will have me with you always". For us, nearly 2,000 years after the fact, this should have more meaning than to the apostles of old. They had known Him personally, walked and talked with Him every day, heard His words, felt His touch, were no doubt embraced by His arms and kissed with a holy kiss. We of the 21st century, have experienced none of these personal moments with the Savior in our mortality. There is one, however, whom the Saviour has sent in His stead so that we too can feel His personal love, feel the power of His spirit and be convinced of the reality of His existence; the one who has the power to remind us of our heavenly home, to keep us on the strait and narrow, to let us know that we are not forgotten. He will comfort us in times of sorrow, teach us what we need to know and strengthen us with Atonement's power. He is the conduit through which all heavenly connection comes. All this so we can return to inherit eternal life in the realms above. Such is the power and might of the member of the Godhood we call The Holy Ghost, The Comforter, The Spirit of Truth, the token of our Father's love.

IN WHOM THERE IS HOPE

Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust!

The stone is rolled away.

Shines from the opened tomb

The light of resurrection's day.

(Ted L. Gibbons)

Through His resurrection, the Saviour Jesus Christ, placed an indelible stamp of divine authority upon all His claims and teachings and thereby fulfilled all that was prophesied of Him (Luke 24:44-46). With His resurrection, the Atonement was complete. This Atonement was performed in three parts:

1. The sanctification of the Garden of Gethsemane;

2. The blood sacrifice of Calvary;

3. The victory over death through the Resurrection.

If there was no resurrection, the suffering of the Garden and Calvary would have been in vain for the suffering alone would not have brought about eternal life. If there was no sanctification in the Garden but there was only death and resurrection, all mankind would have been resurrected in corruption and sin, not fit to enter the Kingdom of God. By completing the act of Atonement through His victory over the grave, Christ not only conquered death for Himself and brought forth His own glorious resurrected body, but in so doing He also brought about a universal resurrection. What is universal, however, is also intensely personal. Consider the fact that Jesus chose to appear as a resurrected being to only one person first, Mary of Magdala, and not to a group of people. "After the other disciples left the empty tomb, 'Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping.' Then, alone in the garden, she was the first mortal to encounter the risen Lord: 'Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him Rabboni; which is to say, Master' (John 20:11,16). It is hard to overstate the significance of this moment to each of us, for each of the faithful followers of Christ will someday have this identical experience: Jesus will call each of us by name, we will meet Him face to face, and we will recognise Him as our Master. This is what is meant by Atonement, to come into the loving presence of the Lord, to have Him know us for our faithfulness, and to know Him for who He is. For this moment, the faithful Saint lives and gives everything" (Breck England, Lesson 27, He Is Not Here, For He Is Risen, Meridian Magazine). In that moment of private audience with the resurrected Christ, Mary must have understood the personal nature of the Atonement, that for her individually Christ had suffered, died and risen again, so that she could have eternal life.  

"Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David." 

(Isaiah 55:3)

Nothing can help us understand better the 'resurrection for the one' than 'the sure mercies of David'. In his youth, King David, was a man after the Lord's own heart (1 Sam. 13:13-14). David loved the Lord and praised Him through his victories and led Israel in righteousness. In turn the Lord blessed him with a throne and kingdom of power and King David became the symbol of the future throne and kingdom of the Son of David. But David fell and adultery stained his soul and innocent blood dripped from his hands. In sincere remorse and tears he sought forgiveness, which, because of Uriah's murder, was not forthcoming. Despite his heart searing repentance David, with the wicked, will suffer the 'vengeance of eternal fire' until the fullness of time and be resurrected to the telestial glory at the end of the Millenium (D&C 76:105-6, 132:39). "In the doctrinal laws which guaranteed him [David] a resurrection and a lesser degree of eternal reward, are two great truths: (1) That the Holy One of Israel, the Holy one of God, the Son of David, would die and then be resurrected; and (2) that because he burst the bands of death and became the first-fruits of them that slept, all men also would be resurrected, both the righteous and the wicked, including saints who became sinners, as was the case with David the king. These two truths became known as and were called 'the sure mercies of David', meaning that David in his life and death and resurrection was singled out as the symbol to dramatize before the people that their Holy One would be resurrected and that all men would also come forth from the grave" (McConkie, The Promised Messiah, p 272). 

God had promised David that Jesus, the Messiah, would come from "the fruit of his loins" (Acts 2:30), meaning the Saviour would be David's direct descendant. The sublime beauty of this arrangement cannot be overlooked: Jesus brings salvation to the ancestor from whom He inherits a mortal body and is born of the "symbol of hope" to be "the hope". David knew and understood this when he wrote 'Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. For thou will not leave my soul in hell...' (Psalms 16:9-10). Isaiah also wrote about "the sure mercies of David" (Isaiah 55:3) which means the principle was known and taught in ancient Israel and Peter and Paul taught this truth in the meridian of time: "And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David" (Acts 13:22-37). Thus David is made the 'witness' and symbol of hope in the power of resurrection. Universally this means, that all will be saved from hell and death, unconditionally. This is salvation. Being saved in the Kingdom of God, however, to enjoy the fruits of exaltation is conditional and dependent on our worthiness.

We likewise, must cultivate this hope of resurrection that will bring us to eternal life. When Ammon recounted to his brethren how merciful God had been to them by snatching them from their 'awful, sinful and polluted state' and had brought them 'over that everlasting gulf of death and misery, even to the salvation of our souls' (Alma 26:17-20) he joyed in this knowledge to the point of exhaustion (Alma 27:17). The people of Ammon, once converted, forsaking their weapons of war and murder, were not afraid to die at the hands of their brethren the Lamanites because they 'never did look upon death with any degree of terror, for their hope and views of Christ and the resurrection; therefore, death was swallowed up to them by the victory of Christ over it' (Alma 27:28). Moroni spoke extensively of faith, hope and charity and said that you cannot have faith without hope: "And what is it that ye shall hope for? Behold I say unto you that ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise" (Moroni 7:41). What a glorious truth to have hope in when the world has no hope. When many refuse to glimpse life beyond the grave; when so many falsehoods are taught to the children of men; when false beliefs abound and there is no hope of eternal and continuing associations with those we love. But in Christ all this is made possible through the power of His glorious resurrection. In Him is our salvation, in Him is our faith, in Him is our hope.

Jesus remained on earth for 40 days following His resurrection to teach and instruct those He had placed in authority over His Church. Many were witnesses of His resurrection for He came to them, spoke to them, ate with them. Mary Magdalene who saw Him first; other women who came to anoint His body, Mary the mother of Joses, Salome, the mother of James and John, Joanna and others who were not named; two disciples on the road to Emmaus, Cleopas and another, possibly Luke, as he is who records the event (McConkie, The Promised Messiah, p 279); Peter and Thomas and the rest of the Apostles; Paul on the Damascus road (Acts 9:1-9); John as he suffered banishment on Patmos; 2,500 Nephites saw him, heard him and bore record 'every man for himself' (3 Nephi 17:35); and in our day He was seen by Joseph Smith and others, "not a few. Of some of these appearances we have record; others are sealed in secrecy in the hearts of the recipients'. All this is scarcely the beginning of His resurrected ministry among men. Every faithful member of His Church - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints - has power, through righteousness, to see His face and become a special witness of His holy name in this personal sense, while he or she yet dwells in mortality (D&C 67:10-14; 93:1; 107:18-19)"  (McConkie, The Promised Messiah, p 281). The Saviour desires to encircle us in the arms of His love, to hold us close, to receive us into His bosom, and when we forsake our sins He has promised "the veil shall be rent and you shall see me and know that I am" (D&C 67:10). Each one of us can be a witness of His resurrected glory as we journey towards our own immortality through Him who has rescued us from the sting of death and won the victory over the grave.

"The ever-enlarging ocean of true believers will continue to increase until the knowledge of God shall cover the earth 'as the waters cover the sea' (Isa 11:9), until all men know, as this disciple knows, that Jesus is Lord of all, and that He rose from the dead, as all men shall. There is no fact of revealed religion more surely established than the fact of resurrection. And there is no Messianic utterance more certainly known than that the great Jehovah, Israel's Deliverer and Saviour, is the Messiah who came and who has now risen from the grave" (McConkie, The Promised Messiah, p. 283).

"The Light, the Life, the Way"

"I am with you always, even unto the end of the world" (Matt 28:20)

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)

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.