A GIFT

 

 

I wrote yesterday about Oliver Cowdery’s ‘Gift of Aaron’ (D&C 8:6-9). As I progressed to Section 11 of Doctrine and Covenants, I came across another man with another gift:

“The Lord declared that Hyrum Smith had a gift. The great gift which he possessed was that of a tender, sympathetic heart; a merciful spirit…..This great gift was manifest in his jealous watch care over [his brother], the Prophet Joseph Smith, lest some harm come to him.”  (President Joseph Fielding Smith, Church History and modern Revelation, 1:57)

Hyrum followed his brother to his death in his attempt to watch over him. This makes him just as much of a martyr as Joseph. To be willing to die for another is the ultimate gift. Does it remind you of someone?

This is what intrigued me the most: Hyrum’s gift was promised to come only after he exercised faith in Jesus Christ (D&C 11:10). This identifies his gift as a ‘gift of the spirit’, of which there are many (D&C 46:11-33; 1 Corinthians 12:1-12; Moroni 10:8-18). There are two reasons why the gifts of the spirit are given.

Firstly, they are given to those who have the gift of the Holy Ghost, through the Holy Ghost, for the benefit of the Church so all can be edified and unified. I know I keep harping about becoming a Zion people but I see no better way of becoming one than when we share our gifts with the congregation of faith.

In 1831 the saints were commanded by revelation in general conference to be one and esteem each other as brethren: “teach one another according to the office wherewith I have appointed you; and let every man esteem his brother as himself…..I say unto you, be one; and if ye are not one, ye are not mine.” (D&C 38:23,24,27)

Secondly, exercising our gifts makes us Christ-like. Hyrum was promised his gift would come only after he exercised faith in Jesus Christ because gifts come by the spirit of Christ (D&C 11:10; Moroni 10:17). This says to me that through our faith in the Saviour, we come to Him for recognition of the gift He is willing to give us. We cannot exercise a gift we do not know we possess and we can possess many by seeking them. Paul told the Corinthians they should ‘covet earnestly the best gifts (1 Cor 12:31; 14:1)

Can you think of any gift of the spirit that the Saviour would not possess??? There is none. When we are gifted with one of His gifts and exercise it for the benefit of others, we become in part like Him. The more gifts we obtain, the more like Him we become. He is the pattern and the giver of it.

There is no one like our God. Who else has sacrificed Himself for us, provided the way of godliness for us to follow, and endowed us with gifts to become like Him in order to prepare ourselves for the best resurrection whereby we can live with God the Father forever? You will not find this God in any other religion….

 

You have fed me from the banquet of your love;

Your arms have cradled me

in the eye of the heaviest storm;

You have led me to reach the heights of faith

to me unknown.

You are my Sovereign,

My wings of protection from the cold,

My eagle in flight

To pilot me home.

-  CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Lamb of God by Greg Olsen)

A GOD YET A BOY

 

Elder Bruce R. McConkie has said that “the Gospels are not biographies of Jesus; they are a collection of faith-promoting accounts from the Saviour’s ministry that, if believed, will induce receptive souls to come unto Christ and partake of His goodness” (The Mortal Messiah Book 1, 371).

The story of the boy Jesus attending the Passover in Jerusalem when twelve years of age would have to be proof of that truth. This is the first and only event of His childhood recorded in holy writ; it would have to be counted as an event of His ministry when we consider Him teaching the doctors of the law in the temple (JST Luke 2:46); and it was the first noted declaration of His Sonship when He told Joseph and Mary that He was about His ‘Father’s business’ (Luke 2:49).

President J. Reuben Clark, Jr., the greatest LDS scholar pertaining to the life of Jesus, wrote a small booklet detailing Jesus’ Passover trip to Jerusalem, titled “Wist Ye Not That I Must Be About My Father’s Business”.

In his booklet, President Clark describes in great detail the sacrifices in the temple; of the slaying of the Paschal lamb; of the eating of the Passover meal; of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and of Jesus’ participation in the sacrificial and festive setting of the Passover, probably for the first time in His life.

At twelve years of age, Jesus was legally ‘a son of the law’ and attending the temple at Passover could very well have been His first time to do so as a rite of passage. If so, He could have had His biggest awakening as to His greatness and true identity as He witnessed for the first time the rites and performances of sacrifices and feasts in similitude of the sacrifice of the Lamb of God that He was.

Imagine how dazzled a youth of twelve would be coming to a crowded Jerusalem with throngs of men bearing their pascal lambs on their shoulders for temple sacrifice. We can only imagine what thoughts would have sailed through His mind as He saw the sacrifices performed. He knew who He was, no doubt due to the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost who whispered such truths to Him, but did He understand what that really meant at such a tender age?

In the words of President Clark: “Did the Youth see and know, on this pre-anniversary of a day yet to come, the grief He was to suffer, the spiritual and physical agony He was to endure, the death that was to come to Him, as He was sacrificed as the Lamb of God?”

If such a vision came into the mind of any twelve-year old, it would be a nightmare that would drive the fear into him forever. The Youth Jesus did not shirk from such an awakening. Not at twelve years of age, not at thirty-three.

With the knowledge of His divine destiny, ‘the son of the law’ who could now be legally heard, advanced in confidence to converse with the doctors of the law within the courts of the temple, who ‘were hearing Him and asking Him questions’ (JST Luke 2:46)…..because ‘He could not be taught, for He needed not that any man should teach him’ (JST Matthew 3:25).

For three days Jesus remained in the Temple alone, bearing witness of His Father “making some of the most profound declarations ever to fall from mortal lips” (Bruce R. McConkie, The Mortal Messiah Book 1, p 378). 

Perhaps because now more than ever He knew He was the Lamb of God.

 

Did You see me Father

Giving glory to Thy name?

My words of Thee

Flowing from my tongue

Like a holy flame.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Return From The Temple by Rose Datoc Dal)

GODLY POWER

 

I am always enthralled by Nephi’s vision of us, the saints of the last days (1 Nephi 14:12-17). Compared with the rest of the world, Nephi says our numbers were few and we were scattered upon the face of the earth. Worse than being few in number is this: ‘the great and abominable church’ of the devil consisted of multitudes, and they gathered together to fight against the saints of the Lamb of God. Here is why this is scary: ‘the great and abominable church of the devil’ encompasses all organisations of whatever name or nature – whether political, philosophical, educational, economic, social, fraternal, civic, or religious, which are designed to lead people away from God’ – Bruce R McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 137-138))? Can you see ‘the multitudes’??? But there is good news.

Nephi tells us that the power of the Lamb of God descended upon us and we were armed with ‘righteousness and with the power of God in great glory’ (v 14). We all know that righteousness begins and ends with our obedience, but the spiritual and godly power comes from only one source, the Lamb of God, the God of glory, the God of our salvation. This power is bestowed on the righteous in abundance in one special place. In Kirtland in June 1833, Joseph Smith was given a revelation and divine direction to build the very first temple of the latter-days in which house the Lord indicated He intended to ‘endow those whom He had chosen with power from on high’ (D&C 95:8). When Joseph dedicated the Kirtland Temple in March of 1836, the dedicatory prayer given by revelation, included very clearly a petition for the saints ‘to go forth from this house armed with Thy power’ (D&C 109:22). Temple patrons of today receive this power at the veil of every endowment session. Cast your minds on the words and you will agree.

When all hell combines against us, we will see the reason behind the push for us to be a temple loving people. When the adversary sends out his ‘mighty winds, and his shafts in the whirlwind’ (Helaman 5:12) to derail us from the truth we have known, in every way he possibly can, we will want that godly power, more impenetrable than the coat of armour, to shield our faith, to preserve our families, to secure our salvation. We will want to run to the hills upon which the houses of God stand firm and unshakeable. We will want to be as strong as an oak tree to survive the strongest winds of hate, corruption, and evil. We will want to be a powerful army, the invincible souls, the spiritual giants, the covenant people of God….

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Brigham City Temple by Brent Borup)

THE LAMB OF GOD

 

The year I studied animal sacrifice in depth, I came to understand the Atonement at a deeper level. I was absolutely mesmerised by this practice and longed to witness it in the flesh because I am a highly visual person and I love symbolism. Understanding animal sacrifice has made me see the necessity of the principle of consecration in my life. 

 

This is what touched me the most: A part of the animal sacrifice ceremony included the priest applying a small amount of animal’s blood to the tip of the right ear, the right thumb and the great toe of the right foot of the person to be consecrated.  This is what it meant:

 

·      On the tip of the ear: sanctifying the organ of hearing God’s word;

·      On the thumb of right hand: sanctifying the organ of action; 

·      On the great toe of right foot: sanctifying the organ of walking and following God.

 

I tremble at the thought of having such highly significant symbol of Christ’s sacrificial blood being applied to me. When I read this I wondered how I could apply this symbolism to my personal consecration and it came to me that just as Christ sacrificed Himself totally and completely for my sake, my sacrifice to Him must be through: my thoughts, my speech, my attitudes, my beliefs, my desires, my intents, my actions. My mind is taken back to His sacrifice in my daily prayers as I promise to consecrate myself to the Father in thought, word and deed and promise to walk in paths of righteousness. I cannot utter these words without the image of the priest applying sacrificial blood to my ear, thumb and toe.

 

The Saviour expects nothing of us that He himself did not do. Consider His total consecration to the Father which made Him ‘the lamb without blemish’ (1 Peter 1:19): “Had there been one thought in the mind of Jesus which was not perfectly given to God; had there been but one affection in the heart of Jesus which was not yielded to His Father’s will; had there been one step in the walk of Jesus which was taken not for God, but for His own pleasure; then He could not have offered Himself or been accepted as a ‘whole burnt- offering….but Jesus gave up all: He reserved nothing. All was burnt, all consumed, upon the altar.” (Jukes, Law of the Offerings, pp 63-64).

 

This Easter as we contemplate His total consecration to God on our behalf, may we commit to consecrate ourselves each day to walk in His footsteps and be deserving of every drop so precious and pure that paved the way to Calvary.

 

Thy infinite mercy

Thy limitless goodness

Thy bountiful compassion,

A gift to him who loveth Thee;

Trailing from the cross of Calvary,

Sealed with Your hour of agony.

 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Artist unknown)