THE PLAN

 

“In the theology of the restored church of Jesus Christ, the purpose of mortal life is to prepare us to realize our destiny as sons and daughters of God – to become like Him….. through the Atonement of the Only Begotten of the Father, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ” (President Dallin H. Oaks, “Apostasy and Restoration”, Ensign May 1995, 86-87).

Even though the Doctrine and Covenants describes our latter-day theology of our ultimate destiny, it does not give it a name. The Book of Mormon, on the other hand, refers to it by many names among which is the name we use in the Church, “the plan of salvation” (Jarom 1:2; Alma 24:14, 42:5).

Among other names given in the Book of Mormon are these: “the merciful plan of the great Creator (2 Nephi 9:6); the plan of our God (2 Nephi 9:13); “the great and eternal plan (2 Nephi 11:5); “the great plan of the Eternal God (Alma 34:9); “the plan of happiness (Alma 42:8,16). The “plan of redemption” appears fifteen times in the Book of Mormon. You could write books about this subject.

We are told one of the reasons we are here is to learn lessons through mortality that we could not otherwise learn while we were spirits, that mortality alone can propel us into further progression in our quest for godhood. I have come to see throughout my life that through opposition and conflict one truly does need a body to overcome and learn resistance, wisdom, and most importantly the process of cause and effect, in other words, consequences that come through exercise of free will.

I have a fourteen-year-old grand-daughter who claims she is old enough to make her own informed decisions. If only she could see that her brain is still so under-developed she can’t grasp life at all. Later she will learn that obeying parents when you are young trains you for higher obedience to God when you are an adult.

We are so eager for the adventure called life when we are young but we tend to miss many lessons when we need them most. And some of those we miss tend to repeat themselves a few times until we get it, thanks to God’s mercy. I marvel how merciful, tolerant and forgiving He is towards our humanity. Where would we be without Him?

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 none greater than him so he exclaimed that now he could see that man is nothing (v 10).

God, however, didn't want Moses to miss the point so He showed him the same vision again and He ended it with the sum of what we call The Plan of Salvation: “For behold, this  is my work and my glory – to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39)….because Moses, among all of God’s creations, none are greater than man, man is everything.

The lessons of my life flowed like a river

Winding through days, months and years;

I rescued a few but missed so many

From the currents as I saw them passing;

They drowned in the daze of my ignorance,

Unwanted and ignored but yet abiding.

I fish them now from the pool of my memory

And give them life everlasting.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Moses by Greg Sargent)

FAREWELL MY STRIPLING WARRIOR

 

 

A couple of days ago I did a post entitled “Hearts of the Mothers”. I posted this picture of the painting entitled “Farewell My Stripling Warrior” by Del Parson. I get highly emotional whenever I think of the inspiration which the artist used for this painting. This inspiration came to him when he watched his wife and his son say their goodbyes at the airport as his son was leaving for his mission. His wife was struggling to let go while the son, who was hugging her, was looking past her at the plane that was waiting for him. He was ready to go.

Del Parson said this farewell of his son made him remember the 2,000 Stripling Warriors (Alma 53:17-22). It is always difficult to watch your children move on but sending them off to war is another level of apprehension and anxiety. My daughter had a turbulent teenage-hood so when she went on her mission, it was the best eighteen months of my life. I knew where she was, what she was doing and who was watching over her. And she was on home soil. My worries about her completely ceased. She is now inactive again and the worries have returned as she navigates her journey through this perilous life.

This painting has made me reflect on our time on earth. I have wondered how the tender feelings of our heavenly parents were affected as we ‘looked towards the plane’, eager for new experiences, eager to prove ourselves, eager to be ‘grown up’. Did we feel we had outgrown our heavenly home? The question, however, that begs to be asked even more is, do we feel eager to return? When I reflect on this question, I remember Alma recounting his conversion story to Helaman during which he saw God sitting upon his throne and he said, his soul longed to be there (Alma 36:22).

And now that we are here, are we being Stripling Warriors exercising faith in God worthy of our return? In his book, “But A Few Days”, Elder Neal A. Maxwell, spoke of our home coming in these terms:

“If there is an imagery upon which I would focus, it is two scriptures from the Book of Mormon. The one in which we are reminded that Jesus himself is the gate keeper and that ‘he employeth no servant there’ (2 Nephi 9:41). I will tell you…out of the conviction of my soul…what I think the major reason is (why he ‘employeth no servant there’), as contained in another Book of Mormon scripture which says he waits for you ‘with open arms’ (Mormon 6:17). That’s why He’s there! He waits for you with open arms. That imagery is too powerful to brush aside….It is imagery that should work itself into the very center core of one’s mind – a rendezvous impending, a moment in time and space, the likes of which there is none other……”  (Neal A. Maxwell, “But A Few Days”, p 7).

Can you imagine such a reunion? The crimson drops of Calvary would become the happy tears of home coming……

 

I yearn to see the dwelling of Thy heart

And remember the splendour of my home;

I yearn to feel the closeness of Thy presence

And the warmth of Thy embrace.

Grant me Father eyes that I might see,

And a heart that it might understand

The power of Thy love and Thy eternal grace.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Farewell My Stripling Warrior by Del Parson)