VESSELS OF THE LORD

 

The injunction “be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord” has been given anciently and in our day to the men who have the priesthood upon them (Isaiah 52:11; 3 Nephi 20:41; D&C 133:5). The meaning is that the priesthood holders need to be clean as they handle ‘the sacred vessels and emblems of God’s power’ as they administer the duties of the priesthood such as the sacrament.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland encouraged the men of the Church to be ‘sanctified instruments’ themselves by being clean, not only because of what they do but more importantly because of what they are to be (CR Oct 2000, 51-52; or Ensign Nov 2000, 39). President Gordon B. Hinckley also reminded the gathering of the priesthood of this important principle:

“Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord (D&C 133:5). Thus has He spoken to us in modern revelation. Be clean in body. Be clean in mind. Be clean in language. Be clean in dress and manner.” (CR April 1996, 68; or Ensign May 1996, 48). In other words, don’t just be clean so you can handle the vessels of the Lord, but BE the vessel. When people look at you, they should recognise God’s power within you through your cleanliness. You are the vessel of the priesthood.

I am reminded of Joseph and how people recognised the authority he had when they met him, how much he reflected the powerful spiritual demeanour that was in him and because of it many trusted instantly that he was the prophet and a man of God. I love this story that illustrates that:

“While waiting for the ferry-boat, a man of the world, knowing of the miracles which had been performed, came to Joseph Smith and asked him if he would not go and heal two twin children of his, about five months old, who were both lying sick nigh unto death. They were some two miles from Montrose.

“The Prophet said he could not go; but, after pausing some time, he said he would send some one to heal them; and he turned to me and said: “You go with the man and heal his children.”  He took a red silk handkerchief out of his pocket and gave it to me, and told me to wipe their faces with the handkerchief when I administered to them, and they should be healed…..I went with the man, and did as the Prophet commanded me, and the children were healed.” (Wilford Woodruff, “Leaves From My Journal” [1881] p 65)

There was one other who had the spiritual demeanour that exuded power the people trusted in and that is Apostle Paul: “And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul: So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.”  (Acts 19:11,12)

The power of the priesthood works on principles of faith and righteousness. What an incredible privilege for you men to exude inspiration for both.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: The Prophet Joseph Smith by David Lindsley)

THE FELLOWSHIP

 

I awoke at 3 a.m. this morning because of the painful state of my body and a scripture of Apostle Paul came into my mind that speaks of the ‘fellowship of His sufferings’ (Philippians 3:20). This led me to recount all the lessons I have learnt since my experience with pain and how I am gaining a glimpse into the soul of Him who descended into the pit of human agony and suffered the effects of every infirmity known to man.

I turned to Philippians 3 and read the whole chapter. In my opinion this has always been one of the most important chapters in the New Testament and this is why:

Philippians 3:4-6: “If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more.”  Paul, who was the cream of the Jewish society, of the tribe of Benjamin, a “Hebrew of all Hebrews” as he called himself, and a stout Pharisee had a firm foundation in his life. He was sitting pretty. The Jewish law considered him blameless of all the misery he caused to humanity as he persecuted the Church, and by doing so he rose in Jewish estimation. He was climbing the ladder of respect and leadership. But something significant happened to Paul.

Philippians 3:7-10: “But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ….for whom I have suffered the loss of ALL things, do count them but dung that I may win Christ….that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings…..”

Paul’s spiritual awakening brought the realisation that all things he lost in the worldly sense were nothing compared to the excellent knowledge of Christ that he gained. All else became as nothing compared to knowing the Saviour. This knowledge became embedded in his heart through the suffering he himself went through for the sake of the God that he persecuted.

Paul lost ALL, as he said: his social and religious standing, his Jewish family, his safety and security… but in reality he gained everything. Imagine the isolation and the severing of all he knew up to the time of his conversion. Volumes could be written about Paul and his life, the change in his soul, and his relationship with the God he found and served until his death.

Following his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus, Paul was without sight fasting for 3 days, exacting the change of his heart that repentance brings. Think about the significance of 3 days…..Paul was also 33 when this happened. Think about that too. When the Lord said to Ananias to go find Paul that he might rise to his calling, this was His reasoning:

“For I will show him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.” And suffer he did: he was scourged and persecuted by the Jews, beaten, stoned, and shipwrecked during which he suffered hunger and nakedness, imprisoned three times by the Romans and killed by them in Rome at the age of 68 (Acts 14:19; 17:5-10,13,14; 2 Corinthians 11:24-27). I rather think ‘the excellency of the knowledge of Christ’ was born out of ‘the fellowship of His sufferings’…..

Now that I have experienced a minute portion of human suffering, I cannot but help feel the kinship with Christ who has suffered it ALL and understand a bit deeper who He really is.  If we have achieved nothing else in this life but this understanding, we have arrived because NOTHING else matters. Knowing Christ makes us love Christ and loving Christ makes us follow Christ….all the way to eternal glory.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Designed by UpliftYour Feed)

BEAUTY FOR ASHES

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

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

THE PLACE TO BE

 

“It is not difficult to envision that there will be false prophets and false teachers in the last days. But what of the promise that there will be false Christs?

“There are, of course, those deluded souls who announce, from time to time, that they are Christ or God or the Holy Ghost….or whatever Satan or the workings of a deranged mind places in their thoughts. But in a larger and more realistic sense, false Christs are false systems of religion that use his name and profess to present His teachings to the world.” (Bruce R.  McConkie, “The Promised Messiah” p 324)

Elder McConkie went on to say that the contention of different religions in Joseph Smith’s day meant that each group of religionists was saying: “Lo, here is Christ; we have his system of salvation; ours is the true church, we know the way; come join with us” (JS-H 5).

So strong was Joseph’s confusion that it led him to the source of all truth for guidance. We all know the result of that query – that there is only one Christ and one true system of salvation.

Today there are an estimated 4,000 to 10,000 distinct religions in the world. There are four major religions with over 77% of the world’s population adhering to one of them. They are: Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddism.

I was raised as a Christian so I knew of Christ’s salvation but all I knew of it was that we were saved from sin so we don’t go to hell. At 16 years of age I wondered what comes after salvation, what are we saved for? Why are we here and what is there to come?

When I found the Church and was baptized at 18 years of age, I was amazed at the vista of information that the Plan of Salvation offered. For the first year of my membership I believed that all the Church members were perfect. With all that marvelous truth at their fingertips, how could you not be? Fifty years later, I understand and know better….

Despite the richness of the Gospel, I have seen some members of the Church be seduced by false Christs in the form of other religions and turn to them in preference to the Church that possesses all truth.  I am still trying to understand the attraction.

Elder McConkie explains the splendour we are in as members of the true body of Christ: “The great restoration of all things has begun, and like the light of the rising sun, it shall spread over all the earth until the darkness of Babylon shall be no more, and the Son of Man shall come to be seen and admired by those who wait for Him.”  (“The Promised Messiah”, p 325)

“This Church, the great institutional body of Christ, is a marvelous work and a wonder not only because of what it does for the faithful but also because of what the faithful do for it. Your lives are at the very heart of that marvel. You are evidence of the wonder of it all.” (Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, “Miracles of the Restoration” October 1994 General Conference)

When the Saviour proclaimed himself to be ‘the bread of life’, many of his disciples, lacking in understanding, “walked no more with him. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life…..thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (John 6:68)

To whom indeed???....

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: And The Truth Shall Make You Free by Greg Olsen)

 

LOOKING FORWARD

 

I used a scripture in my post yesterday that said, “…..I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly”  (John 10:10). Brilliant, isn’t it??? What comes at the beginning of that scripture though is more indicative of this life than any other scripture I know of. It begins like this: “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy….” 

The Saviour was, of course, speaking of the adversary and the opposing forces he brings into this life to derail us from the abundance that we can have through following Him. Christ’s adversary is here to steal our spiritual identity, kill our faith in God, and destroy our commitment to Christ, the source of our salvation. His value system is: 1. Selfishness; 2. Self-indulgence; 3. Immediate gratification. Does this not describe so well this mortal life?

The adversary’s value system is his greatest lie. Everything that pleases and gratifies in this life is something he promotes as abundance. In reality, our mortal life is abundant when through faith in God, we have peace in our hearts and love of our families. But there is more. Real abundance comes when we leave this temporary plane of opposition, having conquered all, and return to God.

Elder Bruce C. Hafen has said it well: “Mortality is not mere estrangement from God – it is the crucible through which the possibility of truly meaningful life becomes real” (“Broken Heart” p 39). What meaningful life? Eternal life, that is yet to come.

Nephi tell us that “Adam fell that men might be; and men are that they might have joy.” (2 Nephi 2:25). I have often wondered how Adam and Eve felt when they left the Garden and found themselves in ‘hell’, so to speak. Adam lived 930 years according to Genesis 5:5 and Moses 6:12. Imagine living for that long in this life. I am certain he could endure it because he came to understand what was yet to come.

“Adam and Eve left the Garden of Eden so that ‘they might have joy’. Not nice days. Not yawning and stretching and lounging in front of a cozy television set throughout eternity. AFTER Adam and Eve had been in the lone and dreary world long enough to get some idea of what it meant to ‘eat bread by the sweat of thy face’ and to ‘bring forth children in sorrow’ an angel taught them the plan of salvation.” (Bruce C. Hafen, “Broken Heart” p 75)

It was after they sampled the crucible of this life that they learnt of ‘the joy of redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient’ (Moses 5:11). Imagine experiencing the ease and beauty and peace of the Gaden of Eden, then the barren harshness of this life that only the prince of this world can offer and finally to be given hope that they can return to the bliss of God’s presence, the state of lasting joy and happiness. Imagine the relief and the driving force to endure and to overcome, and to be, in the end, found worthy!

Someone wise once said that Eden was a way-station, not a destination….so it is with this life. The Saviour did not die so that we will have an inferior destination. He died to gather us, to restore us, to give us joy everlasting. Let us not be deceived by the counterfeits of this life but let us ‘look unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross….”  (Hebrews 12:2)

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: No Greater Joy by Chris Brazelton)

NOT BY WORKS

 

Over the years of my Church membership I have heard some strong Church members say: “I will never make it”. This is not just absence of confidence in self. This says that some of us believe in Christ but we do not believe in what He says He can do for us.

If we are living the Gospel to the best of our ability and say that we will never make it, then we are denying the power of the Atonement and Christ’s suffering in our behalf. We are essentially saying that He died for nothing. This is a sin. This also suggests that some of us do not adequately understand the Atonement, therefore we don’t really believe it and consequently we don’t readily use it.  This proves my point:

“In its September 1, 1980 issue, “Newsweek” magazine carried a story entitled “What Mormons Believe”…....and summarized our understanding of the Atonement in these words: “Unlike orthodox Christians, Mormons believe that men are born free of sin and earn their way to godhood by the proper exercise of free will, rather than through the grace of Jesus Christ. Thus, Jesus’ suffering and death in the Mormon view were brotherly acts of compassion, but they do not atone for the sins of others.” (Bruce C. Hafen, “The Broken Heart”, p 2)

Elder Hafen went on to say that the writer of this magazine article reported that despite his thorough research into Mormon scripture and theology, he based his report on how the Church members that were interviewed understood the doctrine and how they genuinely infused it into their lives. I sure hope that we have come a long way since 1980 in projecting to the world what we believe, know and live by. I hope that we believe that the grace of Christ saves us and not our meagre efforts that constantly leave us short.

I do get Nephi who said we are saved by grace after all we can do (2 Nephi 25:23) but I do think that some of us have focused too much on ‘all that we can do’ and not enough on Christ’s grace which has atoned for all our weaknesses, inadequacies, un-intentional and intentional sins and most of all for the weakness of mortality which none of us can rise above on our own.

Yes, it is important that we expend all our efforts in the exercise of our free will which enables us to develop and earn godly attributes without which we cannot rise to godhood but I do believe that we should more fully focus on another of Nephi’s scriptures in which he states: “….it is only in and through the grace of God that ye are saved” (2 Nephi 10:24).

It is difficult to understand how the Atonement was performed but we can come to understand aspects of it that are applicable to our salvation. The more we study about it, the more the wonder of it will instill itself into our souls and our appreciation of it will grow to the point where we can say: “By the grace of God, I am what I am…..and because of Him I am going to make it” (1 Corinthians 15:10).

 

If you were not,

I would not be,

Silence would have wept at Calvary!

 

If you were not,

I would not be,

As death would claim me eternally.

 

If you were not,

I would not be,

Joyless would be my destiny.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Forgiven by Russ Docken)

KEEP YOUR FORK

 

“There was a young woman who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness and had been given three months to live. She contacted her pastor to discuss certain aspects of her final wishes. As the pastor was preparing to leave after their discussion, the young woman said:

“There’s one more thing and this is very important. I want to be buried with a fork in my right hand.” The pastor stood looking at the young woman not knowing quite what to say. The young woman explained:

“In all my years of attending church socials and potluck dinners, I always remembered that when the dishes of the main course were being cleared, someone would inevitably lean over to say, ‘keep the fork’. It was my favourite part because I knew that something better was coming….like velvety chocolate cake or deep-dish apple pie. Something wonderful, and with substance!

“So I just want people to see me there in that casket with a fork in my hand and I want them to wonder, ‘what’s with the fork?’. Then I want you to tell them: “Keep your fork, the best is yet to come.”

At the funeral, people were walking by the young woman’s casket and they saw the pretty dress she was wearing and the fork placed in her right hand. Over and over, the pastor heard the question, ‘what’s with the fork?’, and over and over he smiled.

During his message, the pastor told the people of the conversation he had with the young woman shortly before she died. He also told them about the fork and how he could not stop thinking about it and that they should not either.´

-        Author Unknown

I could not help but reflect on the Saviour post Easter when I read this story. I wonder if He was reminded at every step of His difficult life that the best was yet to come. Paul tells us that He endured the cross for the joy that was set before Him (Hebrews 12:2).

I also reflect on the joy of heaven’s faithful host who bowed the knee and sang His praise to welcome Him home when the crucible of His life was finished (D&C 138:23,24). So it will be with all of us if we endure in faith to the end. The best is yet to come. Believe it, hope for it and keep your fork!

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art by Chris Brazelton)

FOR THE FATHER

 

We focused a lot on the suffering of Christ this Easter. Indeed, He suffered greatly to save us from our sins. His multi-faceted life, however, deserves a greater attention than we give it:

“Of the many magnificent purposes served in the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ, one great aspect of that mission often goes uncelebrated. His followers did not understand it fully at the time, and many in modern Christianity do not grasp it now, but the Saviour Himself spoke of it repeatedly and emphatically.

“It is the grand truth that in all that Jesus came to say and do, including and especially in His atoning suffering and sacrifice, He was showing us who and what God, our Eternal Father, is like, how completely devoted He is to His children in every age and nation. In word and in deed Jesus was trying to reveal the make personal to us the true nature of His Father, our Father in Heaven.” (Elder Jeffrey R Holland, “The Grandeur of God”, CR October 2003).

The Saviour showed us what the Father is like through His teachings, His example, and through His very being. When Philip asked Jesus to show them the Father, Jesus answered: “He who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:8,9). Consider how one component of His Atonement, the resurrection, applies to this:

“Any who dismiss the concept of an embodied God, dismiss both the mortal and the resurrected Christ. If having a body is not only not needed but not desirable by Deity, why did the Redeemer of mankind redeem His body, redeeming it from the grasp of death and the grave, guaranteeing it would never again be separated from His spirit in time or eternity?” (Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, “The Only True God and Jesus Christ Whom He Hath Sent”, Ensign, November 2007)

This is more important than we think. There have been so many misconceptions about the nature of God, such as a belief that He is a spirit without ‘parts and passions’. The resurrection of Christ disproves that.

The most pious Orthodox Jews have never been able to ‘internalise’ God because of their perception of Him. They could never call Him “Father” as Christians do. This is because they have such profound reverence toward His holiness that they cannot speak or write His name. Even the rabbis admit they do not have a clear perception of who God really is.  (Marshall D. Isaacson, “Children of the Covenant”, p 30,123)

The Lord’s prayer alone teaches us that God is a father, and not some mystic unfathomable spirit floating in space. Consider the start of the prayer : ”Our Father, who art in heaven…..(Matthew 6:9). And then the nature of that Father: “….your Father knoweth what things ye have need of before ye ask him” (v 8). This is a God who is first and foremost a Father, who cares for His children like any father would do.

This was a new concept to the Jewish population of Christ’s time. This was one of the reasons why they rejected Him. The Saviour’s so called ‘blasphemous’ declaration of Himself as the Son of God was a nail in His coffin.

The Saviour spoke of the Father incessantly throughout His ministry, among the Jews and the Nephites. The references in the holy canon are too numerous to list.

We always talk about the great suffering and sacrifice of Christ having been executed because of the Saviour’s great love for us. And it is true, He certainly loved us but the real reason He did it was to bring us to the Father. He did it for Him, more than anybody.

Have there ever been more loving words than these: “Here am I, send me! Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever” (Abraham 3:27; Moses 4:2).  I think not.

The Church brings us to Christ and Christ brings us to the Father. He is the final destination in our spiritual evolvement: The Father who has created us, who has reared us, who has loved us, who sent His Beloved Son to redeem us so He can have us in His arms forever….

 - CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: The Trial of Jesus by Mindi Oaten)

BELOVED MASTER

 

The most exhilarating part of the Saviour's earthly life would have to be post resurrection.

Imagine abandoning your life’s work to be an apostle of a man who claimed to be the Son of God. Imagine all the hours you have put in being His disciple, all the hope you had in His promises and His teachings. Imagine the tutoring and the love you have experienced at His side.

Then imagine all of that coming to an end as you saw Him crucified.   Imagine having your witness of His divinity crushed as you saw Him dying on the cross because He would not fight back. All your belief in His divinity would be crushed and an enormous wave of doubt would flood your whole being. Could the Romans, who were mere men, kill Christ if He were really God?

All hope seemed to be gone. Then on the third day, the grief would not end for the Master whom His disciples loved was gone from the sepulchre where He lay. With haste Peter and John ran to the sepulchre with eagerness, no doubt with the Master’s words echoing in their ears:

“A little while and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me…..ye shall weep and lament….and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy” (John 16:16,20). Did they have hope in His saying that He must rise again from the dead as they ran to that tomb??? (John 20:9).

This was the moment in time when the lives of Peter and John changed forever. The Saviour’s life came to an end but theirs was just beginning. They saw their beloved Master again, in His immortal body, and were given the understanding of the scriptures which spoke of His death and rising from the dead the third day (Luke 24:45,46).

The third time Jesus showed himself to His disciples at the sea of Tiberias, He made it clear what their mission was. Lacking in direction, Peter and some the Twelve went fishing (John 21:1-3). After all, this is what they knew best but that night they caught nothing.

When in the morning they saw Jesus standing on the shore, they followed his instruction to cast the net on the right side of the ship and when they did so, the net came up full of ‘the multitude of fishes’ (John 21: 6). This was the lesson: they were to ‘feed His sheep’ and be the fishers of men (vs 15-17)

Peter and John were spiritually transformed following the ascension of Him whom they called the Beloved Master (Luke 8:24; Mark 9:5; 13:1; John 13:13). A leader in his own right, appointed by the Saviour himself to hold the keys of the Kingdom (Matthew 16:13-19), Peter became a spiritual giant whose very shadow was believed would heal the sick in the streets (Acts 5:15).  

He accepted graciously the manner of his death as foretold by Jesus (John 21:18,19; 2 Peter: 1:13, 14) and died in Rome during the reign of emperor Nero in 64 A.D. In the Roman Empire, crucifixions took many shapes which are too indelicate to mention (Seneca, Dialogue “To Marcia on Consolation”, in Moral Essays, 6.20.3).

According to tradition, Peter was crucified upside down, a death of his choice having felt unworthy to die in the same manner as his Master. Perhaps his three denials of Him echoed in his pool of memories to the very end (John 13:38; Mark 14:66-72).

And what can we say of John, the most beloved disciple (John 21:7,20) whom the Saviour named the Son of Thunder (Luke 9:52-56: Mark 3:17)?  He who lives still and sorrows for the sins of the world. Peter chose a speedy death to be reunited with the beloved Master but John chose a more noble path by remaining on earth to bring souls unto Him until the end of the world. I am in awe of John the Beloved.

I am grateful for the legacy these men left behind, a legacy of faith and works and their powerful testimonies in the words that I am privileged to read.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Hope by Liz Lemon Swindle)

MORONI'S LAMENT

 

I was led to read Ether 12 this morning and paid particular attention to Moroni’s interlude on faith amongst his account of the Brother of Jared’s experience with the Lord.

I actually sorrowed for this man as I read his lament over the Nephite’s inadequacy in writing because of their ‘awkwardness of hands’ (v 24). Having just dealt with the written account of the Brother of Jared, Moroni felt even worse, for the words of the Brother of Jared were ‘overpowering of man to read them’ (v 24)…..something he felt the rest of the writers of the golden plates lacked.

Moroni worried that the Gentiles will mock the Book of Mormon because of this lack of skill (v 25). I have always considered Moroni’s interlude on faith and abridgement of the Jaredite story as one of the gems of the Book of Mormon, if not the greatest gem.

Imagine my surprise when, immediately after reading Moroni’s account, I went to Hugh Nibley’s book, “An Approach to the Book of Mormon” with the intent to read a broader view of the Jaredites and came across something that left my mouth gaping:

“Nothing in the Book of Mormon has elicited louder whoops and howls of derision than the account in the second and third chapters of the book of Ether of the ships of the Jaredites…..”  Hugh Nibley then went on to list some critics who basically left me speechless:

“According to J.C. Bennett, the illumination by shining stones, was the “climax” of all of Joseph Smith’s indiscretions, in which he “used his utmost endeavours to see how far he could impose on the gullibility of mankind. It would be useless to make further comments to prove the absurdities of this extraordinary book”.

“In 1855 T. Taylder declared this story to be nothing less than “a libel on the wisdom of God”. “It seems impossible”, another investigator wrote, “for sensible men to credit such trash”.  “My soul is filled with disgust at this monstrous absurdity”, cried the Reverend C. Fenwick Ward as he perused the pages of Ether, “that I dare not trust myself to comment upon it”.

Fawn M. Brodie claimed that “Joseph Smith wrote the book of Ether as a sort of afterthought to cover up the scientific blunders and inaccuracies of the rest of the Book of Mormon which were causing him disturbing doubts and misgivings”.

-        Hugh Nibley, An Approach to the Book of Mormon, p 340,341

Brother Nibley quoted all the sources of these criticisms and I honestly wondered how he could stomach reading such books.

Brother Nibley also quoted many ancient sources that have since come to light comparing the Brother of Jared’s stones to that of Noah who also had a stone for light in the ark and many other ancient practices with likewise stones. He pointed out that none of these ancient sources would have been available to Joseph Smith in his time or to the critics of his day.  And the critics of our day wouldn’t bother searching them.

I sorrowed even more for Moroni and his efforts to bring the Book of Mormon to the light of day but was comforted by the Lord’s advice to him:

“Fools mock, but they shall mourn; and my grace is sufficient for the meek, that they shall take no advantage of your weakness.”  (Ether 12:26)

I thought of all the people I know who have turned their backs on the Church and those who have discounted and rejected the Book of Mormon and I hoped that the Saviour’s mercy will be sufficient…..

I am astounded that anyone could read the Book of Mormon and not be affected by the spirit of it. Once again, I am reminded of: “My sheep hear my voice” (John 10:27).  If you believe, you are that sheep…..I am comforted knowing many who are.

 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Brother of Jared by Emily Pugmire)

LOVE UNFEIGNED

 

There is a word in Hebrew which is difficult to render in English. It is usually translated as ‘steadfast love’. The Hebrew word is HESED. It is a covenant word that refers to the faithfulness or loyal love that binds two people together in covenant.

This love is motivated by an inner loyalty which arises out of the relationship itself and not by legal obligation. Such covenant love has the quality of constancy, firmness and steadfastness. It is a love you have for another that you would never break because of deep loyalty you feel towards them.

I am feeling today the responsibility of my covenant that I made with the Saviour in my pre-mortal life. Perhaps because I am struggling presently with my mortality and feeling very inadequate. My patriarchal blessing says I made promises in pre-earth life but I feel deep down it was a covenant and not just a flighty promise that I made to stay faithful to Him and the cause of salvation.

It has always fascinated me that the Saviour presents His relationship to His Church in a marital setting (2 Corinthians 11:2; Revelation 19:7-8; 21:2,9). At times I have thought it strange that He will be the bridegroom and the Church His bride at the Second Coming….until I came to understand that this is about love. That those who truly and undeniably love Him will be like a bride coming to the wedding with love unfeigned. She will be bound to the bridegroom by HESED.

Hosea speaks of Israel of the Old Testament as a fickle woman that lacks steadfastness and trustworthiness of true covenant love. He describes Ephraim as ‘a silly dove without heart’ (Hosea 7:11). In Hosea’s ‘vivid figure, Israel’s HESED was like a transient morning cloud, or like the morning dew that evaporates quickly (Hosea 6:4)’  (Old Testament Student Manual comments for Hosea 6:6).

The only way to understand HESED is to understand God’s love for the House of Israel. The scriptures are replete with message of love from the Saviour toward us: we are chosen to be a special people above all people upon the face of the earth (Det 7:6); He would sacrifice others for Israel (Isaiah 43:1-7); He has redeemed us because we are His (Isaiah 43:1-3); Israel is ‘the apple of His eye’ (Det 32:9,10; Zechariah 2:8; Psalm 17:8). Does this not make you feel special?

And this is the pinnacle of His love: Even though we often wander and break our covenant with Him, the Saviour will NEVER break His covenant with us, His people (Deuteronomy 4:31; Leviticus 26:44,46; Isaiah 49:15,16; 2 Kings 13:23). And this is why: “I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands….” (Isaiah 49:16).

This is HESED.

Such love as Yours

Burning bright in my heart,

I will forever know.

Through highs and lows,

Through depths unknown,

Its flame I will carry with me

Wherever I go.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Your Faith Has Saved You by Randy Riemel)

THE GOLDEN GRAIN OF GOD

 

During His ministry, the Saviour related a lot of His teachings to the agricultural practices of His day. I love it when I come across examples of this in the scriptures because it takes me back to my European upbringing.

When the Saviour says that ‘the angels are waiting the great command to reap down the earth, to gather the tares that they may be burned’, I am immediately taken back to the wheat harvests that I witnessed in my youth.

The angels are waiting eagerly to reap as “all eternity is pained” because ‘all flesh is corrupted’ (D&C 38:11,12).  If all flesh is corrupted why gather and burn the tares only?  Because interspersed among the tares is something very valuable, ‘the golden wheat’…..

When Jesus visited the Nephites, He gave them the same warning He gave to Peter. He told them that Satan desired to have them that he may sift them as wheat (3 Nephi 18:18; Luke 22:31). I know something about this process. It is called ‘threshing’.

In agriculture, the process of threshing removes the thin, dry, scaly husks around the grains of wheat which act as a protective barrier as the wheat matures. Once the wheat is harvested, this casing, called ‘chaff’ has to be removed as it is not digestible by humans.

The thrashing happens either through a machine or among the less affluent farmers, manually by hand. I have memories of my grandfather sifting the wheat in a broad, round wooden sieve, shaking it from side to side to loosen the chaff from the wheat. It was a very vigorous process. The wheat was then thrown up lightly and the chaff blown away by the wind while the wheat which was heavier fell back into the sieve. This sifting was essential to expose and gather the golden grain.

I picture Satan greedily and viciously sifting us as wheat in a wooden sieve. He wants us as he wanted Peter because every grain is as important to him as it is to God:

In essence, Jesus was saying: “Peter, Satan wants you in his harvest. He wants to harvest your soul and bring you into his granary, into his garner, where he will have you as his disciple’. It is the same figure we use when we say that the field is white, already to harvest. And we go out and preach the gospel and harvest the souls of men. Satan wanted Peter, he wanted to sift him as wheat or to harvest his soul.”  (Sermons and Writings of Bruce R. McConkie, ed. Mark L. McConkie [1998], 127).

In 1830 the Lord issued a call for the ‘weak things of the world’ to thresh the nations by the power of His Spirit (D&C 35:13). As the missionary labours expanded, The Lord’s granary grew and continues  to grow to this day. We are the ‘weak things of the world’ but His Spirit is the mighty force of conversion which is gathering the golden wheat.

Satan might have attempted to sift Peter but he did not succeed in harvesting his soul. He is attempting the same with us because as the saints of the Saviour’s Church, we are valuable not only to God but to the world also. We stand as an ensign to the nations. Peter was important in the infancy of the Church but we are important in the winding up scenes of the world.

The Church has to stand to fulfil its divine destiny as the Kingdom of God. Our value is greater than we realise. May we be strong enough to survive the sifting and garner each golden grain of God.  

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art:  Ready to Harvest by LeafyTreeCo)

 

 

 

WHO YOU ARE

 

“An old rabbi once said that every man ought to carry two pieces of paper in his pocket.

“In times of self-satisfaction and complacency he should read the one that says: “I am dust and ashes”.

“When dejected and dispirited he should read the other that says: “For my sake was the world created”.

“And at all times he should remember: “I am made from the dust but it is in God’s image I am made”.

-        Author Unknown

When Moses encountered God on Mount Sinai, God revealed Himself to him and Moses saw the glory of God and every particle of this earth and all the children of men (Moses 1:8,27) that have ever been created.

The vision of God's power was overwhelming to a man who grew up in an Egyptian court believing that Pharoah was god and there was no one greater than him so he exclaimed that now he could see that man is nothing (Moses :10).

God, however, didn't want Moses to miss the point so He showed him the same vision again and concluded it with the most important message in the scriptures: "For behold this is my work and my glory - to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39). The point that God didn't want Moses to miss is this: amongst all of God's creations, none are greater than man…..

Moses learnt something else of great importance on that occasion. God addressed Moses as, “my son” (Moses 1:7). Moses comprehended the significance of this straight away. When Satan appeared to him after the vision was given for the first time demanding that Moses worship him, he addressed him as “Moses, son of man”, emphasizing his mortality and thereby attempting to discredit his divine origin.

Moses’ rebuttal was perfect: “I am a son of God…..get thee hence, Satan, deceive me not…” (Moses 1:13).  

Satan’s crushing ideologies of the world seek to destroy our belief in our divine origin now more than ever but he can never alter the truth that the seeds of deity are implanted within each of us. Because we are the literal offspring of God the Father, the potential within us to rise to the greatest heights of our existence is unmistakable.

When the enemy comes to you in his clever disguise to discourage you and confuse you as to who you are, believe him not.

When the Saviour came to earth, He repeatedly affirmed He was the Son of God. He knew who He was and He behaved as such and fulfilled His mission as such. We might not be as great as Him but in the words of Moses: “…I am a son of God, in the similitude of his Only Begotten….” (Moses 1:13)

Let the everlasting hills and mountains

Hear Thy exalted voice;

That the ends of the earth

Might proclaim Thy eternal fame.

May all who hear, walk in Thy holy name

And seek Thy mercy and Thy grace;

And may those found worthy

Be endowed with Thy image

In the countenance of their face.

 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Gentle Christ by Del Parson)

HIS WORK WILL GO FORTH

 

 

This is a condensed version of how the Book of Mormon would read if Dr. Seuss wrote it…..

 

NEPHI:

Of goodly parents I was born

I’ve never drunk, I’ve never sworn

This is Lehi, he’s my dad

Laman, Lemuel, they are bad

And who is this?  Why this is Sam.

SAM:

In a tent my father dwelt.

LAMAN:

And it’s so hot, I think I’ll melt.

LEMUEL:

Our father’s brain is out of whack.

LAMAN:

Yeah, it’s too hot, I’m going back.

LEHI:

Then go and get the plates my dear.

NEPHI:

I will go and I will do

There’s the angel, that’s my cue

Laban’s had too much to drink

Now he’ll lose his head, I think.

LAMAN:

Our gold and silver we have spent

I do not like it in this tent

LEMUEL:

I cannot read the Liahona

I must have drunk too much Corona

LAMAN:

We hate it here, we have no lives.

LEHI:

Then go back to the city and get some wives.

LEHI:

A tree, a tree, I see a tree!!

The fruit is white, the fruit is free!

A floating building, could it be?

Why do they laugh and stare at me?

Laman, Lemuel, come and see!

LAMAN:

We will not eat your precious fruit

LEMUEL:

We will not eat your fruit I say

LAMAN:

We will not eat it on a tray

LEMUEL:

And we won’t eat it in a tent

Not even if your clothes you’ve rent

LAMAN:

We’d rather have a can of spam

LAMAN & LEMUEL:

We will not eat it, Sam I am

SAM:

You do not like it, so you say

Try it, try it, and you may

Try it and you may, I say

LAMAN & LAMUEL:

Say, we like this fruit of life

Sorry that we caused such strife

You’ve saved us from an awful jam

Thank you, thank you, Sam I am!

 

I don’t know who wrote this but the style certainly has a Dr. Seuss signature: it’s funny, it’s entertaining and has a cheery ending, like all his books. But if Dr. Seuss wrote the Book of Mormon, there would be no American Indian today.

In Section 3 of the Doctrine and Covenants, we read the Lord’s declaration that His work shall go forth, no matter what, so that the purposes of the Book of Mormon shall be fulfilled (vs 16-20). President Joseph Fielding Smith had this to say regarding this, which stands to me as the greatest proof of Joseph’s sacred calling:

“If Joseph Smith had been guilty of practicing a fraud, if he had endeavoured to palm off the Book of Mormon on this hostile and unbelieving world, he would have never dared to say that it would go forth to the convincing of Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ. Even if he had been foolish enough to make such a declaration and the work being fake, it would have come to a speedy and ridiculous end. It would have never survived the first year of its existence. It would have been full of flaws and scrutinizing gaze of the world would have exposed it in all its folly.”  (Church History and Modern Revelation, 1:28-29)

And imagine if Joseph was an educated and popular writer of his time and he sat down to write the history of the American Indian claiming it’s a translation of an ancient historical record. Would not the critics have recognized his literary style in the fake Book of Mormon and discredited his claims?

Hence the uneducated farmer…..oh the great wisdom and foresight of our God!!!

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Translation Process by LDS ART)