IN TRIBULATION AND CAPTIVITY

 

The winter of 1838-39 would have been the crucible of Joseph Smith’s life. It was the coldest winter on record in the state of Missouri and Joseph and four other Church leaders found themselves in a hell hole of Liberty Jail ‘surrounded with demons….where they were compelled to hear nothing but blasphemous oaths, and witness a scene of blasphemy, and drunkenness and hypocrisy, and debaucheries of every description’ (History of the Church 3:290). In his letter to Emma on 21 March 1839, Joseph told her that “pen, or tongue, or angels” could not adequately describe “the malice of hell” that he suffered there (Personal Writings, 463, 464).

Liberty Jail was an inescapable prison with four feet thick walls.  It was a two-storey establishment with a rope and a bucket as the only link between the dungeon and the upper floor. It was in this dungeon of rough bare stones for a floor, covered by a bit of loose, dirty straw that Joseph and four others spent the cruelest winter of their lives. It was also through this depth of despair that the Lord gave us three of the most valuable sections of the Doctrine and Covenants: 121, 122, 123. Out of his extreme aloneness, when he felt the furthest away from heaven’s door, Joseph received glorious answers to his most heart-wrenching petition. Into the pit of hell known as Liberty Jail, where he knew not how long he would languish, came the most loving voice of God, addressing him in the most tender manner, as someone who knew the very depths of his soul: “My son, peace be unto thy soul…..” (D&C 121:7-8).

I wonder if Joseph ever reflected on another servant of God with a similar experience of tribulation in captivity, the man whose very experience he translated from the gold plates. Alma, and his convert and missionary companion, Amulek, found themselves in captivity in the most wicked city where they sat in a dungeon naked, suffering hunger, thirst, and physical abuse by their captors (Alma 14:18-23)….and having witnessed the catastrophe of Ammonihah in which the wives and children of the newly fresh converts were consumed by fire (Alma 14:8). Being constrained by the Spirit to prevent this tragedy was excruciating to Amulek who would have known these people of his city well (v 10,11). Amulek had many friends and kindreds in Ammonihah and was a rich man (Alma 10:4). He had an extensive household with wives and children (10:11). It is not clear from the record whether these children were young or grown and whether his family also perished in the fire. One thing we do know is that Amulek was left without family and possessions. Following their prison break-out, Mormon recorded that Alma took him back to Zarahemla to live with him and his family and ‘administered unto him in his tribulations, and strengthened him in the Lord’ (Alma 15:18). Amulek had undergone the most traumatic  change in his life. The painful effects of such on body and mind would have been extreme.

In the extremity of his captivity, Alma also, like Joseph, offered the most heart-wrenching petition to God when he asked: “How long shall we suffer these great afflictions, O Lord?” (Alma 14:26). One would wonder why the Lord would allow his most chosen servants to suffer so unjustly. The same for us who are striving so hard to be righteous and who inevitably come to face a crucible of our own lives. We often feel that we do not deserve it…..except there is an explanation. If we would be followers of Jesus Christ we must follow where He leads. Salvation and especially exaltation, comes at a price, and that price invariably leads to Gethsemane. If Christ himself did not suffer there, our trials and tribulations would be ever so much worse. He suffered the blow so that we wouldn’t but has given us a glorious promise through Joseph, our beloved prophet: “thy God shall be with you forever and ever” (D&C 122:4,9) and then the ultimate: “All thrones and dominions, principalities and powers, shall be revealed and set forth upon all who have endured valiantly for the gospel of Jesus Christ” (D&C 121:29).

-        CATHRYNE ALLEN

(I highly recommend the BYU talk by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland titled “Lessons from Liberty Jail” at speeches.byu.edu)

(ART: Replica of  Joseph Smith at Liberty Jail by Val Brinkerhoff)

A TIME SUCH AS THIS

 

 

I studied the last week of the Saviour’s ministry reluctantly, not only because of His impending death but because I have savoured every morsel of fresh insight I received into Him this year. I saw the man, the Son, the God, and I did not want that to end. At times I felt that I was on the shores of Galilee in awe of the Galilean whom the people thronged for His mercy with hope to inhale His holiness into their souls. I reflected often on what it would have been like to be alive back then to see the rise of His fame and all the work He did that was given to Him of the Father (John 17:4) but I recoil at the memory of the cross. I know that I wept with the hosts of heaven when that time came. 

 

Neal A Maxwell defined the peopling of the earth in this way: “When we say God has a plan, He truly has a plan – not simply a grand scale, but for each of us as individuals, allocating some special talent to this dispensation and some to another. I regard God as the perfect personnel manager….after all, if you’ve got only one Abraham Lincoln, you’d better put him in that part in history when he’s most needed…..” (Deposition of a Disciple, p 46). A Jewish woman in exile, known as Esther, who married a king, is well known for her uncle’s prophetic advice to her that she was born for ‘such a time as this’, a time when she could prevent annihilation of all Jews in Persian empire (Esther 4:14).

 

We all know why Jesus came. His time had to be 2023 years ago when the conditions of the earth were perfect for His purpose. Because the Jewish iniquities, superstitions and hardness of heart were at its peak and because of it there was no other nation on earth that would crucify their God (2 N 10:3), the Meridian of Times was Christ’s time. The crescendo of Christ’s earthly purpose was suffering hence also the necessity of Roman Empire’s cross and the crucible of Calvary. 

 

I know I was not suited for the earthly experience in the Meridian of Times. I enjoy, with gratitude, having a voice in the world as a woman today and I draw strength from the promise the Saviour made through prophet Joel that in our day He will pour out His spirit upon all flesh and we women will prophesy and men shall dream dreams and see visions (Joel 2:28). It rends my heart with gratitude because I live for this. 

 

I was tempted my problems

To lay to Your charge;

I considered them acutely unfair.

Then you opened my heart

And showed me Your godly task,

Beyond human capacity to bear.

Knowing where you had gone

I would never have to go,

I sorrowed and sought

My arrogance to bury;

In humility I assent,

Your mortal burden,

So valiant, so holy,

I would never in this life

Have to carry.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Radiant Saviour by Greg Collins)

THE WILLING HEART OF THE SHEPHERD

 

How dear to the heart of the Shepherd

Is the flock of His sheep!

With tenderness and love

He watches over those in His keep.

How much do they love their Shepherd!

How closely they stay by His side,

With every footstep they follow

To forever with Him abide.

“….I lay down my life for the sheep…..No man taketh it from Me, but I lay it down of myself…” John 10:15, 18). How deeply significant is the operative word here which is ‘lay’. From God the Father, Jesus inherited the power of immortality, the power to live forever. An immortal being cannot die a natural death and neither can someone else take his life from him. As an immortal being Jesus was immune to death with the exception that He willed it and allowed it. How much this says about the Saviour who never had to experience death but willed Himself to die for the eternal welfare of us, His sheep!!! It takes the willingness to die to another level, does it not??? Cherish your beating heart, you were worth it…..

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art by Yongsung Kim)

(For further understanding of this concept see “Jesus the Christ” by James Talmage, p 418 and “The Mortal Messiah Book 3” by Bruce R McConkie, p 216-217)

THE WEIGHT OF THE CROSS

 

I carried my cross to the foot of Calvary,

While you carried yours to the top.

I cried bitter tears over the injustices of my life,

While you bled valiantly for all that was lost.

I carried my hurts like a badge

So scornfully proud and spiritually poor,

While you rose to the heights of your exalted throne:

Perfected, ennobled and infinitely more.

You are so high

And I am so low;

I consent to climb to Calvary’s top,

I consent to be lifted to Thy throne.

 

 

“If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). The Saviour’s mandate to the true followers of Christ to deny themselves and be like Him, takes His gospel of obedience to the next level. 

 

Prior to this reference to individual cross, the Saviour spoke to His apostles of His imminent death and resurrection (Matthew 16:21; Luke 9:22; Mark 8:31). Not fully understanding Christ’s mission of redemption, Peter was outraged to hear such talk and began to rebuke Jesus saying, “Lord, this shall not be unto thee” (Matt 16:22,23). Being wounded by the suggestion of His unfaithfulness to Father’s trust of Him to fulfil His earthly purpose, the Saviour’s reply to Peter was forceful and suggestive of Satan’s temptation to evade the sacrifice and suffering that lay before Him (see Talmage, Jesus the Christ, p 364). It was unthinkable to the Saviour that He would not take up His cross and carry it to Calvary. This speaks volumes of His character and integrity, does it not?

 

I have contemplated a lot about something I have noticed this year during my study of the New Testament. The Saviour’s focus on His mission to atone for us and to bring honour and glory to the Father has at times left me breathless and in awe of this man we call Jesus who has become our Saviour, our God and our King. This, above all of His examples He has given us, should be the greatest. Whether our cross is one of denial of appetites and passions and worldly pursuits; or one of avoidance of obedience and good works, that we find difficult to do, our cross should be strapped to our backs every day, never losing focus, to the end of our destination.  If we, unlike the Saviour, fail to carry our cross to the foot of Calvary, He will not help us walk the rest of the way to the top. 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Crucifixion by Liz Lemon Swindle)

BE STILL MY SOUL

 

 

Matthew tells us that He, who would die for the sake of His sheep, was greatly pained by the spiritual state of the House of Israel during His earthly ministry regarding them ‘scattered abroad as sheep having no shepherd’ (Matthew 9:36), but He, the greatest Shepherd of all made a promise by the mouth of Ezekiel some 500 years before: “Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out….I will feed my flock….I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick…..And I will make with them a covenant of peace….for ye are my flock, the flock of my pasture,  and I am your God…...” (Ezekiel 34:2,4,11,15-16,25,31).

 

And further by the mouth of Jeremiah, a promise more pertinent to us, modern day Israel: “….I will gather the remnant of my flock…and I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the Lord….” (Jeremiah 23:1-6). Today the Master Shepherd watches over His sheep under the watchful eye of the shepherds of His Church. As General Conference draws near, may we, the sheep of His flock, thirst for the green pastures enriched by the words of the shepherds…..

 

Be still my soul

And know that He leads you

By the voice of His heart.

He beckons and He calls

Your spirit to ignite

To truth and godly path.

His love will find you,

He will lead you and save your soul,

He is the Shepherd

Who will answer your call.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Love Everlasting by Yongsung Kim)

CREATION

 

 

I live in Australia and there is a kangaroo living somewhere in my bushy community. Every once in a while I see him skipping across my backyard. I love this kangaroo because he has endeared me to the land I live in. You cannot get more Aussie than a kangaroo in your backyard.

 

I am in awe of Christ’s creative power when I look at animals and the land around me. Elder Bruce R. McConkie said ‘there is no finite way to envision the extent of the worlds created by Christ at the behest of the Father’ and that ‘this small planet was but one speck of dust in a storm swirling over the Sahara’ (The Promised Messiah, p 55). Moses was told by God: “…worlds without number have I created …..and by the Son I created them, which is my Only Begotten” (Moses 1:29-35). You would think that amidst such quantity, creation would become perfunctory and practicality would be the primary concern of the Creator but nothing could be further from the truth. Our God has taken every thought and care to ensure the success of our mortality. I am certain that His creative power did not extend to function only, that it involved creative intelligence with intent to gladden the eye and bring joy to one’s heart.  I rather fancy that He knew that a kangaroo skipping across my backyard would bring a smile to my face. 

 

I am certain that each particle of this earth was created with love, each particle that would become Australia, America, Africa, Bethlehem, Nazareth and CALVARY……

 

 

Let the magnitude of worlds

That roll upon their wings

And all the stars that sing

In endless praise of Thy name

Hear the echo of Thy exalted voice

And proclaim Thy eternal fame.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Artist Unknown)

WITNESSES OF CHRIST'S BIRTH

 

This poignant painting by Ron  DiCianni depicts the moment of exquisite joy felt by Simeon, a man in Jerusalem ‘just and devout, waiting for the ‘Consolation of Israel’, to whom was revealed by the power of the Holy Ghost that ‘he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ’ (Luke 2:25,6). Simeon did indeed see Christ before his death being led by the spirit to be at the temple the same day that Mary and Joseph brought Jesus ‘to be presented to the Lord according to the custom’ (Luke 2:22,27). Simeon took the Saviour in his arms and rejoiced bearing witness of His divine birth and mission.

 

Simeon was not the only living witness of the divine birth. God raised up witnesses for Himself to meet all classes and conditions of people . There was also Anna, a prophetess who testified to all in the temple  (Luke 2:36-38); shepherds who testified to the poor and lowly that the hope of Israel was fulfilled (Luke 1:8-17); and the wise men of the East who were not afraid to enter the royal court testifying of the birth of the Messiah of the Jews to the contemptuous king and proud priests of Judea by asking one simple question (Matthew 2:2a/JST). Simeon’s testimony, however, was by far the greatest, after which he said something to Mary that must have seared her heart: "A sword shall pierce through thy own soul, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed" (Luke 2:35). 

 

Simeon’s testimony to Mary of Christ’s death and Atonement was delivered through an unusual choice of words but yet the most poignant. Mary’s pain to see the suffering of her Son would be necessary so that the thoughts of our hearts will be revealed when Christ comes again in His glory and we stand before God to be judged of our earthly works. When that day comes, who we are will be in our hearts and that is all we will have to give Him. May we be overjoyed like Simeon because we have waited with eagerness for His appearing and may our hearts be imbued with faith and love to make them fit for an offering to the Lord of Lords and King of Kings.

 

 - CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: "Simeon's Moment by Ron DiCianni)

KISSING THE FACE OF GOD

 

“Though heaven was His habitation and earth His footstool, He chose to lie as an infant in a manger, surrounded by horses and camels and mules. Though He laid the foundations of the earth, and worlds without number had rolled into orbit at His word, He chose to come into mortality among the beasts of the field. Though He had worn a kingly crown in the eternal courts on high, He chose to breathe as His first mortal breath the stench of a stable. Though He would one day come forth – born then in glorious immortality – with all power in heaven and on earth, for now, as the helpless child of a peasant girl, He chose to begin the days of his probation as none of Adam’s race had ever done before.”

(Bruce R. McConkie, The Mortal Messiah Book 1, p 345)

 

Angels and Archangels may have gathered there,

Cherubim and seraphim throned the air,

But only His mother in her maiden bliss,

Worshipped the Beloved with a kiss.

- Christina Rosetti

 

-       CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Kissing the Face of God by Morgan Weistling)

DIVINE PREPARATION

 

Never before have I considered how emotionally and spiritually charged was the preparation for the Saviour’s birth that involved four people: Zacharias, Elizabeth, Mary and Joseph. I marvel at the sacrifices these four people made to ensure the success of Christ’s mission on earth. 

 

Consider Zacharias and Elizabeth, both descendants of the priestly line of Aaron, ‘both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless’ (Luke 1:2), well stricken in age, denied children, until the fateful day when Zacharias was performing his priestly duties in the temple. As he burnt incense at the holy altar to importune God to hear the prayers of the multitude outside who prayed for deliverance from oppression and sin, glorious Gabriel came and announced the birth of John who would pave the way for the promised Messiah (Luke 1:8-11). Now consider two elderly parents protecting the life of their long awaited son from Herod’s murderous edict, raising him in the desert  on locusts and honey (Matthew 3:4). Zacharias paid dearly for preserving this  child of promise, being slain between the temple and the altar as he performed his priestly duties (Matthew 23:35; Luke 11:51).  

 

Now consider Joseph and Mary, first cousins and both descendants of mighty King David. Mary, just 15 years of age, the most pure and fair of all God’s daughters, inexperienced in meeting the trials of life, under contract to marry, accepts a pregnancy that would shame her among her fellowmen, well aware that it would quality her for death penalty. Who would believe her strange tale that an angel came to her or that she carried in her womb the son of God? One person would….Elizabeth! She, being filled with the Holy Ghost would validate Gabriel’s visit and Mary’s sacred mission as the mother of the Son of God (Luke 1:42-45).

 

And Joseph? He who had grown up with Mary and knew the nobility of her character, how he must have suffered and struggled to accept that she was with child by some other man. But Joseph was of noble character too and he believed what he was told in a dream and accepted his role in the life of the promised Messiah. What an incredible man and protector of Christ child and a noble servant of God he was. 

 

How grateful I am to these four people who prepared the way for the Saviour to be born so He could atone for my sins. My heart aches at the thought of His difficult mortal life but rejoices in the glory that is His now and forever. 

 

 

- Cathryne Allen

(ART by Liz Lemon Swindle)

ANTICIPATION OF HIS BIRTH

 

Have you ever wondered how the Saviour felt in anticipation of His birth? In that sobering interchange between Job and Jehovah, Job was told that when the foundations of the earth were laid, ‘the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy’ (Job 38:4-7). My patriarchal blessing tells me I was one of those morning stars and that my voice was heard singing praises to our Heavenly Father that I was going to have a privilege of following in the footsteps of a Heavenly Mother. In other words, I was rather happy that my mortal experience was to be a reality.  I imagine all of us were equally happy….all because of one man. Now imagine this:

 

“If anticipation be pain, then in one sense the Saviour’s suffering did not commence with manhood, but eons before – in the premortal existence when He proclaimed these words, “Here am I, send me” (Abraham 3:27). The anticipation of His Atonement since premortal times did not replace the staggering reality of Gethsemane and the cross (which was beyond even His telescopic expectations), but certainly it must have added to the magnitude of pain he bore. In this sense, His suffering extended far beyond the confines of the Garden and the cross.” (Tad R. Callister, The Infinite Atonement, p. 154)

 

We experience a lot of joy every Christmas that comes around. It most certainly is a time for joy, for without the holy birth, there would have been no salvation. The Saviour’s mortal experience, however, was far from joyful. It was filled with pain, rejection, suffering and sorrow, and He started it all the day He willingly lay on the bed of straw to honour our individual worth by the irrevocable promise He made. May we connect with that purpose this Christmas day and honour the Christ, the Lord, the Saviour of us all.

 

Did You miss Your throne divine

When You crossed the threshold of the stable?

Or did You clutch my worth inside You

Stronger than the bonds of death,

That would make Your task so divinely able?

 

I heard the angels in the field

Sing praises to Your holy name;

And I sorrowed knowing, like holy water,

Your love would spill on sacrificial altar. 

 

 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(ART: Submission by Dan Wilson)

TO THIS END WAS I BORN

 

We are about to celebrate Christmas. Whereas Christ’s humble and miraculous birth is at the forefront of our celebration, it is also a celebration of His death. When He said to Pilate: “To this end was I born” (John 18:37), He meant He was born that He might die, and He would die so that we might live. Where there is birth, there is always death, His being the most significant of all. Christ came to not only bear witness of the truth but to offer us the greatest gift of all the gifts of God, that gift being the gift of eternal life. 

 

I have contemplated the two facets of this gift: It is a gift from the Father because it cannot be earned. Because we could not earn it on our own merit, the Saviour has bought that gift and paid the price by His life. We could never qualify for this gift but we can qualify for the GIVING of the gift by Him in whose possession it now is, the qualification being the penitent heart. If we could ever qualify for that gift on our own, there would not have been a need for the Mediator who alone could pay the price. Another component of the gift is the Saviour’s sacrifice of His life. That’s the gift that makes the other gift possible. Since eternal life is both the gift of the Father and the Son, we can never say we earned it on our own, that it is our work and our effort that opened the gates of Celestial Kingdom. 

 

Many of us sacrifice of ourselves at Christmas time when we buy gifts for those we love. Some of us even go into debt to do so. Every Christmas I wish I could do more because I do so little. I reflect on Christ’s love and what it took for Him to give us the greatest gift He could possibly give. Such bravery, such commitment, such love, such mercy…..

 

The baby in the stable

So innocent and sweet,

On the altar of sacrifice 

Lay at the Father’s feet.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art by Jennifer Hickey)

THE TREE OF LOVE

 

I don’t know about the rest of the world, but here in Australia, Easter goodies start appearing in stores as soon as the Christmas fare has been cleared away. I used to view this as greedy commercialism but this year I have begun to think differently. Greedy commercialism or not, the world’s focus on Christ diminishes post-Christmas and the Easter goodies now in our stores can somehow keep us in remembrance of Him as we near an even more significant event than His birth. 

 

It is my hope that before Easter, we will as members of His Church, reflect upon a set of enormously significant scriptures found in 2 Nephi. When Nephi, being the dutiful son that he was, inquired of God the meaning of the tree of life that his father had seen in a dream, an angel appeared to him to tutor him.  When the angel asked Nephi if he knew what the tree represented,  Nephi answered that it is the love of God, most desirable above all (2 Nephi 11:22,23).  Immediately following his answer he was shown a vision of the Savior during His mortal ministry.  It becomes very clear through Nephi's vision that the love of God is manifest to his children through the gift of His only begotten son.

 

Living on this side of the veil and experiencing the harshness of mortal life, it is easy at times to feel unloved by God because he allows misfortune to befall us or we don't get in life what we want.  We wonder how He could possibly love us when we are in the depths of despair and need so much that we don't have.  All the while we are wondering where the love of God is for us, He is hoping against all hope that we would open our eyes and see that He could not give us greater proof of His love than He has already done so through His son.  Why would Jesus be the ultimate expression of God's love for us?  Because through him God is offering us the greatest gift he could possibly give us, the gift of eternal life.  This life is but a moment, a few years of school so to speak but eternity is forever.  For this reason God's greatest desire is not that we have everything in this life but in the next and there is only one person who can make that happen.

 

Now that the celebration of His birth is over, let us prepare for the reminder of one event that we should never forget…..

 

The fruit, so precious and sweet,

The Father laid at our feet.

No greater gift He had to offer

The broken, the lost and the weary

Than the tree of life,

Yielding fruit with endless supply.

He gathers the fruit spilt on the ground

That multiplies with each harvest of

Penitent hearts.

The fruit, so precious and sweet,

Grows on the cross at the Father’s feet.

 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

Art: The Tree of Life by Annie Henrie Nader

 

HONOURING THE FATHER

 

I have often wondered how the children who are born into abusive homes are expected to obey the commandment ‘honour thy father and thy mother’. I have no words about some stories of abused children that have come to light recently in our society. It is beyond me to understand such parental abuse. One of the members of our Group commented recently that she was born into a very abusive home and ‘while she didn’t understand why at the time, she is grateful for all that she has been through to become the awesome daughter of God that she now is’. I was elated to hear this. I ache for those who have been damaged beyond their capacity to rise above their childhood trauma but I somehow think the Saviour will one day make this right, as He will with many other things. Somehow, some day, they will be given the ability to rise and overcome and be healed.

 

Right now I am revisiting the Saviour’s visit to the Americas in the Book of Mormon and I have noticed something significant that has made me reflect on this commandment. I wonder if the commandment to honour our earthly parents is symbolic of a greater one. When the Father introduced His Son to the Nephites, He stated: “Behold my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” and then immediately He said, “in whom I have glorified my name” (3 N 11:7). When the Saviour identified himself as Jesus Christ He stated the same thing: “….I have glorified the Father” (3 N 11:11). This immediately brought to my mind: “This is my work and MY GLORY - to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39). This statement is dual in meaning. It means, as the Father exalts us to eternal life to possess glory ourselves, we add to His already existent glory. The more children He exalts, the more glory He gains. This is what the Saviour meant when He said He glorified the Father and He certainly obeyed the commandment to ‘honour his father and mother’. 

 

Now cast your mind back to our pre-existence. When the Saviour volunteered to bring us back to the Father’s presence He said: “Father, thy will be done, and the GLORY be thine forever” (Moses 4:2). I am not discounting the fact that the Saviour loved us and wanted to save us because of that but I am convinced His first and foremost reason was to preserve and add to Father’s glory. What makes me wonder is this…..how many of us defended the Father’s plan because our love for Him was more important to us than the free agency which we fought to preserve? How many of us fought for Him more than we fought for ourselves?

 

For years, the Saviour was first and foremost in my mind but now I am at this stage of my life where I am beginning to see the Father and not just the Son. This is what the Son does, He reveals the Father (Matthew 11:27). And with this clearer view my desire to bring honour and glory to His name grows. I pray for this ability each day. It has changed my life. It has granted me a dimension of obedience and love I have not seen in myself before. It has lifted me above this world. This disclosure is offered here with hope that it will lift someone who has suffered parental abuse. May you turn to the Father who loves you with a perfect love and who can bring you home to be in His glorious presence forever. 

 

Grant me the hope Father

In this darkness

That I will one day see Your light;

And spare me Father the afflictions

Of my lonely heart.

Bear me up as on eagles’ wings

And carry me into

Thy benevolent embrace

That we might never again part

But instead bask in the union

Of our celestial hearts. 

 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: The Anointed One by Joseph Brickey)

THE NAME BY WHICH WE ARE KNOWN

 

Early this year I heard a really good talk given at Church by one of the women of my new Ward but her name escaped me when I recounted the experience to a friend of mine. My friend was intrigued about this sister so I did my best to describe her: shoulder length brown wavy hair, glasses. How many people do you know that fit that description? Could you guess who I was talking about? Neither did my friend, even though she knows everyone in our Ward. In the end we had to ask someone else who had witnessed the talk to reveal the name of this person.

 

Imagine if we had no names. Imagine if we were known only by our physical description. What a chaotic world that would be. Being known by a name keeps order in our society. Names are very significant in many cultures and naming a child upon birth is a matter worthy of thoughtful consideration. The hope is that the child will grow up to fill the stature of its given name. Both Mary and Joseph were instructed to give the Saviour  the name of ‘Jesus’ (Matt 1:21; Luke 1:31) which is the Greek form of the Hebrew and Aramaic name of Yeshua which means ‘the Lord is Salvation’. But this is just one of the names He is known by. I am always on the look-out for His names when I am reading the scriptures. So far I have recorded 51 but I am sure there is more.

 

When we are born into this world, we take upon ourselves our father’s name. When we are spiritually born through baptism,  we take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ. We become CHRISTians. King Benjamin explained this means that we become ‘the children of Christ’. He mentions the importance of having Christ’s name 11 times in 6 verses of Mosiah 5. Why is this important? Because, just as we are genetically predisposed to inherit physical and mental traits of our earthly fathers, so we, when we take upon ourselves the name of Christ, and live his teachings, inherit His spiritual qualities. In other words, we become like Him by the virtue of our newly acquired parental bond (Moroni 7:48). This gives a whole new meaning to the phrase ‘you’re just like your father’……Alma took this a step further when he talked about having ‘His image in our countenance’ (Alma 5:14).

 

When I was newly baptised at the tender age of 18,  I had a very significant dream. I was estranged from my parents because I had joined the Church. As you can imagine this was very hard for me to bear. One night I dreamt that I was in a high building with my parents when there arose a lot of commotion on the street and we hurried down to see what was happening. As we reached the ground, a white matter fell on top of us akin to snow. We started burrowing upwards but I was the only one who reached the top. As I did so,  I saw whiteness everywhere that covered everything. I looked to my right and I saw the Saviour coming towards me with His arms outstretched saying: ‘Where are my children?’. I knew then I belonged to Him as only a child could belong to a parent. 

 

In Jeremiah 31:9, the Saviour says ‘…I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn’. 

We are modern day Israel. We are the children of the covenant, we are the children of promise, the redeemed, the beloved, the cherished; His peculiar treasure, we are the apple of His eye (Deuteronomy 32:9,10; Zechariah 2:8; Psalm 17:8); we are the jewel in the bosom of our God. May we forever be grateful to be known by His holy name.

-      - Cathryne Allen,  (Art: David Bowman)

ENDURANCE THROUGH PERSECUTION

 

I have arrived to Section 136 of Doctrine and Covenants. The Prophet Joseph has been martyred and Brigham Young is preparing the saints to travel west. His edict for the organisation of the Camp of Israel starts with something startling: the companies were to be organised for the journey with 'a covenant and promise to keep the commandments and statues of the Lord...and this shall be our covenant - that we will walk in all the ordinances of the Lord' (D&C 136:2,4). After this, came the instructions for the temporal organisation of the Camp. Bear in mind, these people had been through intense persecution for years and their leader has just been murdered...yet at the forefront of their arduous journey ahead is the covenant of obedience. This shows the heart of Brigham Young. Was the endurance of the pioneer saints due to their covenant with Him who strengthens the weak and mends broken hearted? I would say a resounding YES.

When Alma Senior baptised one of his first converts, Helam, at the waters of Mormon, he took the baptismal covenant to the next level. He said: 'Helam, I baptise thee....as a testimony that ye have entered into a covenant to serve him until you are dead..' (Mosiah 18:13). Not, until you decide to no longer follow Him, but your whole life. I imagine this is the fervor of the covenant that the early pioneers covenanted with. They would not forsake Him at all cost....to the end of their lives.

This brings me to reflect on my own reservoir of strength and wonder if I will be able to honour my covenant of obedience to the end, despite the persecution I might yet need to face.....and my friends there is yet to be a persecution. How much will be asked of us and will we all remain strong or will some of us crumble under the pressure?

Now more than ever we need to look up. Never before has there been a greater need for us to sow seeds of love for the God who has suffered for it all. Never before has there been a greater need for us to strengthen the bond with Him that will last even in the threat of death. Considering He has given us His all, we would be wise to give Him back OUR all....because when the storm comes He will be the only one to steady us. He who has endured everything, is everything.

Who is like unto Thee, O Lord,

Among the gods?

Who shelters Thine own

In the depths of Thy heart;

Who reveals the strength

Of Thy holy arm,

To protect the weak

And the broken hearted;

Who sorrows for the lost

And pays the price of

The crucible cost.

• Cathryne Allen

(Art: Liz Lemon Swindle)