KNOW WHO YOU ARE

 

“Why did the Lord ask such things of Abraham? Because knowing what his future would be and that he would be the father of an innumerable posterity, He was determined to test him. God did not do this for His own sake for He knew by His foreknowledge what Abraham would do; but the purpose was to impress upon Abraham a lesson and to enable him to attain unto knowledge that he could not obtain in any other way.

“That is why God tries all of us. It is not for His own knowledge for He knows all things beforehand. He knows all your lives and everything you will do. But He tries us for our own good that we may know ourselves; for it is most important that a man should know himself.”  (George G. Cannon, “Gospel Truth”, comp. Jerreld L. Newquist, 2 Vols [1974] 1:113)

Years ago I read something I saved as a guide to my own personal development: “Someone who takes the time to understand their relationship with God, who actively seeks alignment with their broader perspective, who deliberately seeks and finds alignment with who they really are; is more charismatic, more attractive, and more powerful than a group of millions who have not achieved this alignment.”  (Abraham Hicks)

Think of what Abraham achieved in his life and how powerful he became….his obedience was unparalleled and his pursuit of righteousness and seeking the blessings of the fathers through the priesthood brought him into alignment with God and the revelations he received regarding the Plan of Salvation (Abraham 3:22-28).

Abraham’s faithfulness to God, however, through the trial of Isaac’s sacrifice, gave him the knowledge of his role as the father of all the faithful through the Abrahamic Covenant. This trial of his faithfulness to God truly taught Abraham who Abraham was.   

Now look at the Saviour. Repeatedly throughout His earthly ministry, He affirmed who He was:

-        I am the bread of life (John 6:31, 51)

-        I am the light of the world (John 8:12)

-        I am the door of the sheep (John 10:7,9)

-        I am the good shepherd (John 10:11,14)

-        I am the resurrection and life (John 11:25)

-        I am the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6)

-        I am the true vine (John 15:1,5)

The Saviour was not born with this knowledge. This knowledge was added to Him in increments as He grew and progressed through His obedience until His ministry began (D&C 93:12-14). No need to mention of what the Saviour achieved because He learnt who He was through His alignment with the Father and through the trials He suffered “even more than man can suffer” (Mosiah 3:7).

Could He ever have been the Christ if He didn’t know who He was destined to be???

We too can know our destiny….

-     CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: The Light by Land of Dreams)

A PERSONAL GOD

 

I came across a comment recently on YouTube by a well-meaning Catholic man who admonished us to repent and to ask “our Lady of Fatima to pray for us and give our hearts to her as an offering to the Lord”.

I asked this person who this lady is and why we should pray to her. He gave a short description of her but never said why we should pray to her. I concluded that he himself didn’t know, only that his religion has taught him to do it, and I sorrowed that this man might never come to know God in this life.  

I have over the years expressed many times my gratitude to God for the truth that I have in my life. This truth has come to me by way of the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ which has taught me to have a personal relationship with God.

Until the recent years, the Saviour was in the forefront of my mind. He was all that I could see. Now who I see first and foremost is the Father. This has always meant to be so. The Church brings us to Christ and Christ brings us to the Father. Revealing the Father and making Him personal to us was one of the main purposes of the Saviour’s ministry among men (see Jeffrey R. Holland, “The Grandeur of God”, October 2003 GC)

Now when I pray to the Father I feel such closeness to Him that I yearn for His presence. This I believe is the culmination of years and years of yielding my heart to His Son. I also believe that yearning for the Father’s presence is the true and higher purpose of prayer.

This yearning was so strong in me one day as I prayed that immense fear gripped me that I might not ever enjoy being in His presence again. This opened the visual vista of being lost and living eternally with loneliness and unfulfilled longing. But then hope came to me so forcefully because what followed that fear was the deepest understanding I have ever received of the Atonement of Jesus Christ which filled me with inexpressible joy.

This time my understanding of this crucial Gospel principle was not educational, theological or intellectual but something so personal that it made God more real to me than ever before. I felt rescued and saved from eternal damnation. I understood what Jesus had done for me. That moment in my life was the beginning to my ever-growing desire to please the Father and be a source of joy and delight to Him.

It should sear our hearts when we read of Him weeping over His disobedient children (Moses 7:28,29). On Judgement Day, those who refused the redemption of Christ will know the deepest sorrow known to man. They will long for the Father they once knew and loved. Imagine the sorrow the Father too will know in that moment. It should be the quest of our lives to never allow Him to experience this…..but so live that we will make up for His loss.

When my days on earth are done

I will lift above the world below

And I will seek the gilded gate

To welcome me to my eternal home.

 

I will approach the foot of His throne,

I will kneel and I will weep

When in hope I give Him joy

For eternity to keep.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Father and Son by Danny Hahlbohm)

MERCIFUL REDEMPTION

 

“I once heard a child tell the parable of the lost sheep in a way that stirred fresh thoughts about who the lost sheep is. A little girl so tiny that we could barely see the top of her ponytails over the pulpit told the story in a sacrament meeting….She said:

“There was once a shepherd who had a hundred sheep. He loved his sheep, so he counted them every day. One day he counted: ‘……ninety-seven, ninety-eight, ninety-nine.’ A little sheep was lost. The shepherd went to find him. The little sheep was far off in the rocks and bushes. He was frightened and lonely. The shepherd went to find him. The little sheep heard him and was glad. He said: ‘Baa-aa’. The shepherd came and found the little sheep. He picked him up and carried him on his shoulder back to his mommy. Then he counted again: ‘…..ninety-eight, ninety-nine, one hundred.’ All the sheep were safely home.” (Bruce C.  Hafen, “The Broken Heart”, p 37-8)

Elder Hafen said that it dawned on him as he listened, that he was the lost sheep, that those he knew and loved were the lost sheep, that the people in the Church were the lost sheep, indeed he said we are all lost sheep…..because of our first parents, Adam and Eve who “were cast out of their garden of innocence into the lone and dreary world, and ‘out in the desert they wandered, hungry and helpless and cold’ (p 38).

The Atonement has so many facets that it is difficult at times to grasp it all. Perhaps the most important  would have to be Christ’s power to redeem us from The Fall. Having been removed from the Father’s presence, we are born strangers and pilgrims on this earth (D&C 45:13) but the Saviour’s Redemption means we can one day be restored to our former home.

The greatest scriptural symbol of Redemption is Ruth, a lowly woman of Moab who married an Israelite. She was a convert to the Lord, God of Israel ‘under whose wings she had come to trust’ (Ruth 2:12). When her Israelite husband died and left her with no children, Ruth became one of the lowliest of the earth, devoid of security or livelihood. When she returned to Bethlehem with her mother Naomi, she consented to a ‘levirate’ marriage with Naomi’s next of kin, as was the custom in Israel.

Through a levirate marriage, the woman was provided with children and restored to security and society and brought back to the family home. Here is where things become interesting. The Hebrew word for a man who would step up to this responsibility was GO’EL. The King James Version of the Bible translates it as simply ‘kinsman’ but the proper and literal meaning of GO’EL is ‘redeemer’ (Rasmussen, “Introduction to the Old Testament”, 1:157)

Ruth’s GO’EL was Boaz. Boaz became Ruth’s redeemer and restorer of all she had lost. Boaz and Ruth had a son whose name was Obed, who became the father of Jesse, who was the father of King David, who was the progenitor of Mary, who was the mother of Christ.

Consider for a moment how Christ redeems us from our fallen state and restores us to the presence of the Father and our eternal home. The Saviour himself affirms His role as the GO’EL when He refers to himself as the bridegroom and us, Israel, as the bride (Matthew 25:1-13; D&C 33:17; 65:3; 88:92; 133:10). He is the greatest GO’EL of all….. the Redeemer, the Restorer, the Hope of Israel, the Shepherd who leads home all that are lost.

Elder Hafen tried to imagine how he would feel if he was found unworthy on Judgment Day to return to Father’s presence. He said he didn’t think he could stand a longing for eternity that could not be fulfilled (p 88). I am of certainty that I would feel like Cain of old who said when he was banished from God’s presence to be a vagabond on this earth: “My punishment is greater than I can bear.”  (Genesis 4:13)

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Guiding Them Home by Yongsung Kim)

A MOTHER'S ANGUISH

 

With Mother’s Day coming up, I am mindful of women who greet this day with broken hearts:  women who have lost children, women who have never had children, and women who have wayward children. I fall in the last category, very often wondering what I could have done better in my life to have prevented the troublesome life of my daughter.

I worried for a long time that I have not been a better parent to my children and also that my parents were not better parents to me.  I have agonised over the issues and hang ups that have followed me from my childhood and weaknesses and incorrect teachings and false thinking that have been passed down to me by my parents. 

Likewise, I have worried about all the bad 'stuff' I have passed on to my children.  I read many years ago about 'intergenerational sins' and how easily we can pass them on to generations of our posterity, seemingly innocent weaknesses and faulty thinking that somehow end up being serious stumbling blocks to someone down the line.  In other words, how we live not only affects us but many others whose lives we impact. It’s a sobering and frightening thought. This well-meaning parable of the lost sheep sears my heart:

“Twas a grown-up sheep that wandered away from the ninety and nine in the fold.

And out on the hilltops and out in the storm twas a sheep that the Good Shepherd sought,

And back to the flock and back to the fold twas a sheep that the Good Shepherd brought.

Now why should the sheep be so carefully fed and cared for still today?

Because there is danger if they go wrong, they will lead the lambs astray.

For the lambs will follow the sheep you know wherever they wander, wherever they go.

If the sheep go wrong, it will not be long till the lambs are as wrong as they.

So still with the sheep do we earnestly plead for the sake of the lambs today,

If the lambs are lost what a terrible cost some sheep will have to pay.”

-        Author Unknown, A variation of C.C. Miller’s “Parable of the Lost Sheep”

If you feel the weight of this message, know that the hope lies in the second sentence. There is someone on your side invested in your responsibility of parenthood. The Good Shepherd can feed you to rise to the greatest work you will ever do in your mortality, that of being a parent. And when you stumble, He will pay the price for your parental flaws. A close friend of mine shared with me the truth of this that has brought some peace to my heart:

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

Be comforted. Whatever the pain in your heart, the Good Shepherd will heal your wounds. 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: The Good Shepherd by Chris Brazelton)

HEAVEN'S BLESSING

 

 

“If the power of the priesthood were not upon the earth, the adversary would have the freedom to roam and reign without restraint. There would be no gift of the Holy Ghost to direct and enlighten us; no prophets to speak in the name of the Lord; no temples where we could make sacred, eternal covenants, no authority to bless or baptize, to heal or comfort. Without the power of the priesthood, ‘the whole earth would be utterly wasted’. There would be no light, no hope – only darkness.”

-        Elder Robert D. Hales, “Blessings of the Priesthood”, GC October 1995

I am grateful for the Plan of Salvation and for the order which has existed from the beginning for its execution here in mortality. I am grateful for God’s sons who have since the days of Adam ensured the continuation of the blessing of the holy priesthood from the Father and His Son.

Imagine if the world we were required to live in was cloaked in darkness. Imagine if everything the priesthood makes possible was taken from the earth. What would be the point of being here?

Going back in time, if there was no priesthood, there would not have been creation at the hands of the Son of Man of Holiness, no Atonement, no salvation. Our growth would have been impeded forever.

I look at the power in the Son of God on the cross. Besides the fact that He was half immortal, He was endowed with strength that is in every man which gives him the potential of achieving godhood. And not only the strength, the Saviour had amazing courage and commitment and willingness to endure suffering on behalf of another. Going back in time again, there were no women volunteering for the experience of the cross.

This courage and strength is inherent in all men for what married man on earth does not feel the responsibility and willingness to protect his wife and children? I ache to see men emasculated in our society and their importance and worth somewhat unappreciated.

I pay homage to the sons of God who take their responsibility upon this earth now and eternally with unwavering commitment. Being created in the image of the Man of Holiness, the Father, the Eternal, and having an example before them like His Beloved Son, they stood loyally by God and by Jesus in their first estate and did not flinch.

“If you had flinched, then you would not be here with the Priesthood upon you. The evidence that you were loyal, that you were true, and that you did not waver is to be found in the fact that you have received the Gospel – and the everlasting Priesthood.”

-        George Q. Cannon, azquotes.com

Men, you are strong and brave and true…..we need you!

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: The Saviour by Tina Lecour)

STRANGERS AND PILGRIMS

 

I have come to see what an advantage it is to live on this planet of suffering. The worse it gets, the more uncomfortable we should feel. The more unhappiness we experience here, the more we will long for our true home.

If this life was a life of ease, plenty, and perfection, we would be quite satisfied to live in the telestial world forever and would not yearn for things of a better. We would not seek God and we would not make an effort to return to Him.

When we reach the point where we feel that we do not belong here, we are in good company. We are, like the ancients who feared and loved God, strangers and pilgrims on this earth (D&C 45:11-13; Jacob 7:26; Hebrews 11:4-13). A clear reminder to us that we should not get too comfortable here because we do not belong here.

To be cut off from the presence of God is the greatest tragedy there is. Cain considered his banishment from His presence more than he could bear (Genesis 4:13,14).

I think the Saviour knew in the beginning what it means to be cut off from Father’s presence forever. This is why He yearned to save us from this devastation, hence so much emphasis on the sheep that are ‘lost’.

How many tears will be shed on judgment day by ‘the lost’ when God’s presence is denied to them forever? Imagine how joyful will be some who enter His presence, to finally be home once again.

When the world gets you down, look up.

 

Some days You seem so near

And some days so far.

I long to see Your face,

To walk the clouds with You

With poise and godly grace.

 

I know You are there

Keeping at bay the darkness of despair

And gifting me memories of You

To fill the loneliness that I tearfully bear.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Artist Unknown)

TO SERVE GOD

 

I have very fond memories of my childhood in Croatia. I spent every school holiday with my relatives in the village from which we came. Because of it I am very familiar with the agrarian way of life. I know what shepherds are. I have witnessed harvests, attended yearly village festivals, journeyed in open wagons. It makes the New and Old Testament very relatable. My patriarchal blessing says I have a rich heritage. Indeed.

When I read the Saviour saying to his disciples, “…..look on the fields, for they are white already to harvest”, I recall running my hand through the heavy ripe heads of wheat shining like gold in the sun (John 4:35). I love that the Saviour compared those who are ready to receive the truth to ripe wheat. And I love the imagery of the harvest.  It appeals to my understanding.

The harvest began well and truly in our dispensation with Joseph and the restoration of the Church. The results of the missionary labours in 1800s were astounding. People truly were like ripe golden wheat:

“In the early days of the Restoration, thousands were prepared to receive the gospel. So many came into the Church that the enemies of the work were frightened. It was not one of a city or two of a family who joined; whole congregations united themselves with the work. Wilford Woodruff alone baptized over two thousand converts in less than a year’s ministry in Great Britain.” (Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual commentary for D&C 4:4, p 12)

In Section 4 of the Doctrine and Covenants, the Saviour used the imagery of the sickle for harvesting. This too evokes memories. I remember my grandfather cutting down the wheat with a sickle. Sometimes he would use a small sickle with a short handle and a curved blade. He would cut with one hand and hold the stalks with the other.

At other times he would use a large sickle with a long handle and cut through the field while my grandmother would walk behind him and gather the stalks that fell. It was arduous work. The trick in how fast this could be done lay in the sharpness of the sickle. If the blade was sharp it would cut through the wheat like butter and the work was quicker.

Elder Kevin R. Duncan of the Seventy spoke of the importance of a sharp sickle and how it relates to our preparedness to be profitable servants of God. He pointed out that our spiritual sickles need to be kept sharpened in order to produce a worthy harvest. The qualities needed to qualify for the work are in D&C 4:5,6  (Abandoned Seeds in Rocky Places, New Era, July 2014, 18).

Regarding chapter 4 of Doctrine and Covenants, President Joseph Fielding Smith remarked:  “Perhaps there is no other revelation in all our scriptures that embodies greater instruction pertaining to the manner of qualification of members of the Church for the service of God, and in such condensed form than this revelation. It is as broad, as high and as deep as eternity” (Church History and Modern Revelation [1953], 1:35)

I consider Joseph’s take on service superior to all the rest. While a prisoner in Liberty jail, he wrote to the Church members. Despite the iron yoke of hell, he told the saints that they still owed ‘an imperative duty to all the rising generation and to all the pure in heart….for there are many yet on the earth who are kept from the truth because they know not where to find it….’  Joseph admonished that ‘we should waste and wear out our lives in bringing to light all the hidden things of darkness’ and give the world the truth.

This is being like Christ. This is following in the footsteps of Him who indeed wore himself out in bringing truth to the world, forgiveness to the sinful, love for the righteous and joy un-surpassing for those who endure to the end. Didn’t He descend to the bottomless pit of human suffering for me and you, for the ungrateful, for the unaccepting and indeed for all creation???

He will come and He will make up His jewels from among the righteous and spare them, ‘as a man spareth his own son that serveth him’  (Malachi 3:17)

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Reaping the Harvest by Nathan Greene)

FORERUNNERS

 

 

In the ancient world there were men who held an important job. They were required to go ahead of a travelling party to clear the path of fallen trees, rocks, undesirable persons or any obstacles that would prevent the travelling party from finishing their journey. They prepared the way. They were called 'forerunners'.

 

The most famous 'forerunner' to whom this title was applied symbolically was John the Baptist. Not much is known of John's personal life besides the role he played in the accomplishment of Christ's mission, but this much we do know. He was born to two elderly people according to God's promise to be 'the voice crying in the wilderness' to herald the arrival of one greater than he, as prophesied by Isaiah (40:3) and Malachi (3:1). Like Mary and Joseph, he was another noble son of God entrusted with an important earthly mission long before the world began.

 

When John the Baptist was two and a half years old a decree went out from Herod the king that all boy children two years and younger should be slain. John escaped this deadly fate because of the selfless courage of his father Zacharias who caused his wife Elizabeth to take him to the desert where he was raised to manhood. This move cost Zacharias his life.  (See Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p 261; Matthew 23:35).

 

So apart from his miraculous birth and a rough upbringing what we know most from the scriptures is that John's life was solely focused on being the 'forerunner' of the long-awaited Messiah. One might ask why the Son of God would need anyone to prepare the way before Him?

 

We know that first and foremost there needed to be a person with proper priesthood authority that could baptise Jesus, even though He needed no baptism. John had this priesthood power and authority from his righteous father who was a priest.

 

John's ministry also provided a nucleus of faithful baptised believers from whom Jesus could call His apostles. These were men already converted and ready to serve, hence their ability to walk away from their professions and families the instant the Saviour called them. Such was the power of John the Baptist, a martyr, who valiantly testified, taught and prepared the way and whom Jesus characterized as "a burning and a shining light" (John 5:35).

 

In my patriarchal blessing there is an interesting sentence that goes like this: "As you remain faithful to your trust, your guardian angels will never forsake you. They will go before you to 'prepare the way' and will be close to you and give you strength to resist evil."

 

As I studied about John the Baptist one year my thoughts were cast upon this sentence and I realised I had 'forerunners' in my life. I wondered how much harder I would have struggled in my life had not an obstacle been removed from my path here and there, a temptation repressed, a disaster averted, a hurtful incident prevented. I realised that I could very well have come this far more on the merits of my forerunners than on my own strength.

 

I believe we all have forerunners; those who have gone on before us who are invested in our success, our ancestors, who cry when we cry and rejoice when we rejoice, who are whispering to us when the jaws of hell try to destroy us, what Elisha of old said to his servant who trembled at the sight of the approaching Syrians:

 

"Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they 

that be with them"

 

And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee,

open his eyes, that he may see.

And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man;

and he saw:

and behold, the mountain was full of horses and

chariots of fire....."

 

2 Kings 6:16,17

 

Next time life overwhelms you, open your eyes and see your chariots of fire…..

 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Ministering Angels by Wendy Keller)

A HUMAN STORY

 

I watched a short video yesterday on the Church website about the birth of Jesus called “Light the World”. What I saw sent me into an emotional appreciation for two humans, a young girl and a man who stood by her side, enabling the Creator of the Universe and the Saviour of all mankind to enter the world of mortality.

It reminded me of the Jews who spat His birth into the Saviour’s face by calling Him ‘a child of fornication’ (John 8:41). What an incredible insult to the purity of a woman who put everything on the line of her reputation to enable the salvation of the very people who would crucify the fruit of her womb!

Christ’s condescension and His willingness to implement the Plan of Salvation at such a high cost has me in awe. However, the credit to the success of that plan rests not only on His shoulders but on the shoulders of many of us who have covenanted before the world began that we would be yoked with Him to uphold His work.

Girls in the meridian of time married young so historians claim that according to the traditions of the day, Mary was a young girl of 15 when she gave birth to Jesus. To take on such a responsibility of raising the child of so much importance would make many of us retreat. But Mary accepted long ago and she saw it through.

We don’t know much about Joseph, but we know this. He was a just man (Matthew 1:19). He was also an obedient son of God who took Mary for his wife under instruction from God, not fearing any man (Matthew 1:24).

To say that Joseph took his responsibility as Jesus’ guardian seriously would be an understatement. He followed every instruction he received, fearing nothing. When instructed to protect Jesus from Herod’s edict, he took the family to Egypt (Matthew 2:12-15).

The third time an angel appeared to Joseph, he advised him that Herod was dead and that he should take Jesus back to Israel. Joseph was not only obedient but over-cautious in protecting his charge, and instead of Judea, he took his family to Galilee (Matthew 2:21-23).

The Pearl of Great Price tells us that after much planning God created all things spiritually before they were created physically. Abraham points out that the hosts of heaven were involved in sustaining His plans. Many noble and great ones were chosen to be rulers (Abraham 3:22,23).

Abraham was chosen to be the father of the faithful and the keeper of the covenant, Moses was chosen to be the law giver of Israel, Mary was chosen to be the mother of the Son of God; Joseph, His protector. Joseph Smith, the restorer of the Church…..and so on.

We, likewise, have been chosen, if for nothing else but to be the pegs that hold up the tent of Christ’s church throughout the world. It goes without saying that God’s Plan of Salvation for his children, could not succeed without His children.

We are mere humans but of the highest importance. We stand in our place in this world to ensure the success of a story of all stories. Each righteous soul shining forth to light the world……

As miraculous and amazing as was that baby in the stable, Mary and Joseph were second to Him.

 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: On To Egypt by Rose Datoc Dall)

ARRAYED IN WHITE

 

The sheer contemplation of eternity overwhelms me. What in pre-mortality was a concept so plain to my understanding, now begs to unravel the mystery that plagues me. The treasures in the Book of Revelation just keep giving. Nowhere in the holy writ do I get a glimpse into eternity like I do in this book. The picture this book gives us of the throne of God the Father surrounded by His exalted children, arrayed in white apparel, praising Him because their robes had been washed in the blood of the Lamb is beyond breathtaking. It was explained to John that these so arrayed ‘came out of great tribulation’ and that they ‘shall hunger no more….for the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes’ (Revelation 7:9-17). When you put this into the context of our exaltation being His work, you can understand how His exalted children also become His glory (Moses 1:39).

And here is another glimpse into our eternity. John saw animals and people not only praising God the Father but worshipping Him ‘forever’ (Revelation 4:8-11). This truth stands: we will continue to worship Heavenly Father in the eternities to come because He will ALWAYS be our God. It gives you a clearer picture of how we glorify God through the lives that we live, because that glory lives on.  (see New Testament Institute Manual for clarification of these quoted scriptures and Neal A. Maxwell’s “From Whom All Blessings Flow”, Ensign, May 1997, p 12).

The most supernal glimpse into the splendor of eternity would have to be John’s vision of the book of life with the seven seals revealing the history of this earth. And here is the tenderness of it….John says he ‘wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon’ (5:4). Why did John weep? Because the book contained the history of every living soul upon this earth and souls matter, they matter very much. And then hope…..John was told not to weep because the Lion of Judah, the Root of David, who was slain and had redeemed us was worthy to open the book (5:5,9). And John heard ‘every creature in heaven and on earth, and under the earth saying: Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever’ (5:13). Imagine the spiritual energy, the rapture, the ecstasy of this moment in the celestial realm. This glimpse would be overwhelming to a mere mortal. But it was a moment of love to John who sat alone at Patmos and who would live through all the tribulations of this world until the last day when the King of Kings comes again and greets him exclaiming: John, my Beloved!

If you want to ‘think celestial’ like President Nelson advised, study the Book of Revelation.

Our exaltation would never be possible without the condescension of Christ. The birth was the beginning of the end. Without the birth, there would be no salvation, no exaltation, no glory. The glory begins with the lowliest of all births amongst animals of this earth and lambs in the field witnessing the greatest act of humility in the arrival of the King. 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

THE BITTER CUP

 

“The scriptures tell us that Christ was ‘sore amazed’ at how exquisite the pain whilst in the Garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14:32-34). When we come to the moments in our lives when we ourselves are ‘sore amazed’, we are lifted to higher ground, the ground the Saviour stood on. It is in these moments in life that we connect to the reality of His suffering. Once we have made that connection, we become empowered to endure sorrow and pain and triumph over every foe of this earthly life, even as He did. The Saviour then becomes real and the Atonement becomes active in our lives.”

The above quote is something I wrote years ago when understanding of suffering came upon me. It is always a sobering moment when an idealist meets a challenge to their ideals though. I am that idealist. I believe in the ideal but living without it in this life has been a struggle for me. I am still trying to grasp the meaning of suffering on an emotional level. Understanding something intellectually and understanding it emotionally can be worlds apart. Understanding emotionally involves experience and experience sometimes means pain.

Consider Job. The most endearing thing about him was not his persistent endurance, as admirable as that was, but that his suffering caused him to be ‘weary of life’ and wish he had never been born (Job 3:3; 10:1). What an exquisite blend of excellence and humanity. Maybe Job teaches us that there is as much honour in pressing forward despite our lack of desire to do so as there is in cheerfully bearing our misfortunes without any complaint. I applaud those who can do the latter for in my opinion they are not many. Most of us don’t find joy in suffering. The honour is in not giving up rather than believing that we should be strong enough to never complain and thereby beating ourselves up from ensuing guilt that comes from such an expectation. I have known such guilt, I am an idealist.

The Saviour has had the hardest life of any of us. Even He asked for ‘the cup’ to be removed from Him (Mark 14:36) but His integrity did not fail Him and He drank the bitter dregs and thereby paved the way for us to do the same (John 18:11; 3 Nephi 11:11; D&C 19:18). Job endured and was rewarded with double of what he previously had (Job 42:10). The Saviour endured and He became the God of Heaven and inherited all that the Father has. May we be valiant in doing the same and follow the path to glory that awaits us.

Teach me dear God to look upward

And hope for the glories

That will one day be mine.

Help me to rise on wings of faith;

Lift me above valleys,

Mountains and seas

That I might forsake this world of suffering

And fly with haste to Thee.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Come and See by Tyler Anderson)

THE SACRED ROAD TO EMMAUS

 

 

 

“Did not our hearts burn within us…….while he opened to us the scriptures?” was the heartfelt reflection of two believers who enjoyed the company of the resurrected Christ on the road to a village called Emmaus (Luke 24:32). 

 

The story goes that the Saviour joined two men, post resurrection, travelling to Emmaus, who were discussing the hottest topic of the day, His possible resurrection. The travellers told Him they ‘trusted’ the Galilean was the Messiah who would redeem Israel but were now sceptical because He had died (v 21). The Saviour was gracious even though He chided them for their unbelief (v 25). He then expounded to them all that was prophesied of Him ‘beginning at Moses and all the prophets’ (v27). His point was, ‘how is it that you know the scriptures but you don’t believe them’??? Indeed, many who were witnesses of His mortal mission did not believe Him because they did not understand the scriptures which testified of Him and what He would do as the Redeemer and Saviour of the world. 

 

Luke tells us that these disciples’ eyes were restrained from knowing Him (v 16a). Could it be that it was more important for Jesus that they believed on Him through the scriptures than through showing them His resurrected body? Did He not say to Thomas, 'blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed'? (John 20:29)

The lesson is this: the ‘burn’ comes from only one place: The Holy Ghost. The lesson is also this: the Saviour is in our midst STILL through the medium of The Holy Ghost. It is he who can open our eyes and our hearts so that we will not only believe but KNOW Christ. And where is the Christ most if not in the scriptures? If we study the scriptures without the presence of the Holy Ghost we are just building upon our knowledge and not our testimony. We need to feel ‘the burn’ to know. We all know what we must do to be worthy of his sacred companionship. As you travel on your personal road to Emmaus may the scriptures be burnt upon the tablets of your heart and may you know, and not just believe, that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Saviour of the world. He is the Resurrection and the life. He is the Redeemer of your soul. He is the road…… 

 

 

I gave you My all:

My heart, my body, my soul.

I paved the way

And conquered death.

I am in your midst;

I am the only,

I am the last,

And I am the first.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: The Road to Emmaus by Liz Lemon Swindle)