TURNING OF THE HEARTS PART 1

 

 

I know something of the turning of the hearts to the fathers.

 

I struggled with a sense of powerlessness most of my life. I knew instinctively that this is not who I really am but the feeling persisted for most of my adulthood which led me to struggle with feelings of inadequacy.

 

I came to a realisation at one stage that this weakness had come to me from many generations of my family. I come from a long line of poor oppressed European peasants who had lived under the oppression of feudalism followed by socialism, the oppression which drummed into them that they could never rise above their station in life.

 

I had seen this mentality of powerlessness perpetrated in my family throughout my childhood and early adulthood in Europe. I have known my family's negative thoughts and their beliefs that influenced their lives and invited suffering.

 

From the time my family immigrated to Australia when I was 14,  and the Gospel came into my life, I could not understand why I was born into my family. I am the different one, the one that seeks and knows and loves God.

 

One day some years ago my frustration over my life which I felt was controlled by this sense of powerlessness sent me to my knees where through bitter tears I spat out to God that I hated my family and all the generations I have come from; that I hated who they were and what they had saddled me with. I felt I could not rise…..

 

I had never expressed such venomous thoughts before, to myself or to others, let alone to God. I begged to understand why I was sent into this family and why I carried their burden.  Within half an hour of my prayer, my heart and mind were flooded with immense understanding.

 

When the Saviour said 'my sheep hear my voice' (John 10:27) he was referring to those who are so spiritually advanced and who, because of it, recognise and wholeheartedly embrace the truth when it is presented to them. Bruce R. McConkie taught that this is a spiritual gift that was developed in pre-existence (Mormon Doctrine, p 81).

 

I count myself as one of His sheep. I was brought up in a strong Catholic community but I wanted to know God and I found the religion of my youth inadequate. I was 16 years of age when I sought and immediately accepted the Gospel into my life.

 

What has all this got to do with my ancestors? It has everything to do with our hearts being turned to our fathers. It was given to me to understand that those who are His sheep are often sent to families who need a spiritual shepherd. Someone who will, through their belief, give strength to those who need to be saved from their disbelief.

 

I understood through my revelation that what once was a physical oppression of my ancestors had become a spiritual one. How could a people who were made to believe that they could never rise above their station in this life, ever believe that they could rise to such a great station as godhood? When I understood this my heart was ‘turned’ to my fathers.

 

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve said that not only has God made the priesthood promises to the ancient patriarchs through which the nations of the earth will be blessed but that we “undoubtedly made them to our own lineal fathers and mothers, those who came to earth before the gospel was restored but whom we promised to provide its saving ordinances” (Christ and the New Covenant 1977, p. 297)

 

My patriarchal blessing tells me that I made a great promise in my pre-existence and that many of those spirits who were with me rejoiced when by my own testimony I fulfilled that ‘vow’ when I entered the waters of baptism. I know that vow was a promise to my fathers that I would make available to them the saving ordinances of the Gospel which would remove their stumbling block of disbelief. I know that I was chosen to be an under-shepherd in my family.

 

Oh the great mercies of our God!!! The mere ways of His wisdom are too overwhelming to contemplate! Who can comprehend His great works and means by which He saves and exalts His children??? And who can comprehend the path His Beloved Son willingly paved to bring all the sheep home…..to save every soul in His keep??? Surely every knee will bow and every tongue confess that He is the Christ, the Holy One of God in whom all mercy, power and glory belongs!

 

See Father, I brought home the sheep!
I did all that I could
To guard them in my keep.
They come to You Father
In whose arms they belong,
They come to You,
Whom they loved all along.

 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Finding the One by Liz Lemon Swindle)

FOREVER IN OUR HEARTS

There are few worth while shows currently airing on the television but there is one that is bound to touch the hearts of all those who view it. This show is called "Who Do You Think You Are?" I have watched this show twice now and each time have wept together with the celebrities who are assisted to trace their family lines and to discover great truths about their ancestors. The second show I watched featured Kelly Clarkson, a very famous and successful singer. She was tracing her three times great grandfather, Isaiah Rose, who as a youngster survived the horrors of the American Civil War and its' infamous Andersonville Prison in Georgia and who later became a Republican Senator for Ohio and the champion of the 'temperance movement', introducing ultimately successful legislation allowing individual counties to enact local legislation banning the sale of liquor. The most interesting part of Kelly Clarkson's family history journey is that she considered this experience the best thing she has ever done. Considering the enormous successful career she has had in the music industry, this statement spoke volumes about a very well known scripture that came to my mind as she spoke: "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers...." (Malachi 4:5,6)

On the evening of 21 September 1823, angel Moroni appeared to Joseph Smith and informed him of important events soon to transpire on the earth. He also told him that Elijah would come. He spoke of 'promises made to the fathers' (JS-H 1:39) in ancient times which would assist in turning the hearts of the children to their fathers. Elijah did come, he came to the Kirtland Temple on 3 April 1836 and brought with him the priesthood keys which were the sealing powers of the Melchizedek Priesthood, the means whereby that which is bound and sealed on earth is also bound and sealed in heavens (D&C 110:13-16).

It is very interesting to me that the scripture which speaks of Elijah's return and mission in Malachi concludes the Old Testament and that this lesson falls to be taught in Church at Christmas time, the time of year when our hearts are turned to our families. We think of Christmas as 'family time' and go to great lengths to get together with our families, some travelling great distances to do so. It seems we make every effort to reach out to each other at this time of the year, to eat together, to play together, to renew our bonds, to rejoice. I wonder how many of us, however, have sent our thoughts to family members that have come and gone, that are very little known to us, if at all, family members that are languishing in the spirit world awaiting deliverance made possible only by us, who have the keys and the priesthood power to open the doors of their prison, to bring them salvation, to offer them hope of redemption and eternal life. How many of them feel forgotten and uninvited, if only in spirit, to our tables bulging with Christmas fare, not feeling a part of our family togetherness? How many are waiting with bated breath for our next temple visit or our next 15 minutes of glancing at our family history? How many are hoping against all hope that we will retrieve from the deep recesses of our minds the promises we have made to one another before this world began, that we will not forget each other, that we will do all that is in our power to bring each other back home?

At this Christmas time, should we not make a promise to come to know those who have paved the path before us, who have made us what we are and brought us to this mortal journey? Should we not commit to come to know them and to liberate them from their prisons of longing to belong to the throng of God? Should we not work our hardest to bring us together as families and ultimately unite us as the human family and children of God? This is God's work and this is His glory, this is the plan of salvation.  The Saviour has made all this possible.  He has not left us subject to the sting of death but has redeemed us both body and soul through one amazing selfless act. Will we honour Him and His birth as we remember our loved ones who are yet to enfold us into their embrace for making available to them the greatest gift of all, the gift of eternal life.

FORGET NOT

As ancient Israel prepared to enter the promised land, they stood at the threshold of a greater danger than the one they left behind. It would seem nothing could be worse than slavery, however, in slavery they had physical bondage but spiritual freedom because they remembered God. Now, at the end of their wandering they faced physical freedom and the risk of spiritual bondage. As they prepared to embrace a life of ease, they also faced the danger of forgetting God and what he had done for them.  Israel had already proven they had short memories.  They had become complacent with miraculous ways that God took care of them during their 40 years in wilderness. Moses' last words to the Israelites were ones of admonishment to remember they were a covenant people and what God had done for them.  Moses knew that nothing could make them forget better than prosperity and a life of ease. He described the Land of Promise as a land of "great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not, and houses full of good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not...." (Det. 6:10,11).  As the Israelites overcame the land, they also inherited all that the conquered heathen nations left behind; houses and goods they never had to work for were given to them on a silver platter. Comfort breeds complacency and forgetfulness so Moses cautioned them:

"Then beware lest thou forget the Lord, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage".  (Deut. 6:12)

Much of the book of Deuteronomy consists of instructions and observances given to ancient Israel to assist them to remember.  Deuteronomy, or the Fifth Book of Moses is considered 'Second Law' or renewal of the covenant made at Mt Sinai. It is an exhortation to obey God out of love and reverence. It served to:

1. Teach obedience through love;
2. Teach significance of making covenants;
3. Look forward to Christ.

It is expected of us, the modern day Israel and members of the Saviour's Church to remember Him always and to cultivate that remembrance on daily basis. While ancient Israel had many outward, physical reminders of their status as the covenant people, our reminders tend to be more of a spiritual nature. While it is not required of us to build huts for us to live in for 7 days celebrating the Feast of the Tabernacles to remind us of our wilderness journey, it is required of us to step into the temple on ward temple night and be reminded that the earth was created for our sake.  While it is not required of us to eat the bitter herbs and celebrate the Passover in Egypt, it is required of us to take the sacrament every Sunday in remembrance of His body and his blood which was shed for us.  While it is not required of us to wear frontlets on our foreheads with the written law inside them, it is required of us to be spiritually born and have His image in our countenance (Alma 5:14)

The covenants that we make today with the God of Israel have the same objective as the covenants made anciently. They are intended to teach us obedience, the importance of making covenants and to look forward to the second coming of Christ. We also have the challenge to remember for we too have the trial of prosperity and a life of ease, more so now than ever before.  Not many of us think of ourselves as being rich but perhaps we should.  We have come a long way since the pony express, horse drawn carts and candle lit houses. We live in an age of instant gratification, advanced technology and conveniences beyond our forebears' wildest imaginations. For instance, by the world standards I would fall in the 'poor bracket' but by my grandmother's standards, I am rich. My grandmother never owned a washing machine or drove in an automobile and she never saw sliced bread. It's all in the perspective and we must have the correct one.  In the midst of the Depression, Melvin J. Ballard warned of the danger of wealth and prosperity which has the potential to cause us to forget God:

"We are in the age of self-indulgence. It is not peculiar to this Church, it is in the world. The spirit of it is rampant everywhere. It beats upon our shores from all points. It enters into the midst of the people. It is a deadly siege in an attempt to destroy that which persecution, mob, violence, privation and hardship failed to destroy - the integrity of this people. I am not a pessimist either. While I recognize the storms that are raging against our standards, I am as sure as that I live that the promises of the Lord will be fulfilled, and that this work shall not fail, nor shall it be given to another people. I recognize however, with my brethren, that the sorest trials that have ever come to the Church in any age of the world are the trials of peace and prosperity. But we are not to do a new thing, a thing that never has before been done - we are to take the Church of Christ not only through the age of persecution and mob violence, but through the age of peace and prosperity. For we must learn to endure faithfully even in peace and prosperity.

I am not praying for the return of persecution and poverty. I am praying for peace and prosperity; but above all things for strength and power to endure this test. For it was not the design and the intention of the Lord to have this people always in suffering in bondage and distress. They shall come to peace and prosperity, but it is the sorest trial that will come to them. (Elder Melvil J. Ballard, April 1929 Conference Report, p. 66)"

We, of the household of God, are of the House of Israel. We are the covenant people of the Lord, given the fullness of the gospel in this last dispensation of times. Unlike the ancient Israel, we have all the keys and covenants that lead to exaltation and eternal life. Sometimes I wonder how many of us realise the significance of this. The gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored in its fullness. The Book of Mormon along with the holy priesthood and its sacred ordinances attest to that. We are a favoured people and we have been given much so that we will not forget: sacrament, family home evening, daily prayer, scripture study, church and temple participation and bi-annual General Conferences.  All these religious practices keep us in remembrance of our God if we willingly partake.  President Kimball said this regarding the need to remember:

"You will always be in your sacrament meetings so that you will remember. When you look in the dictionary for the most important word, do you know what it is? It could be remember. Because all of you have made covenants - you know what to do and you know how to do it - our greatest need is to remember. That is why everyone goes to sacrament meeting every Sabbath day - to take the sacrament and listen to the priests pray that they 'may always remember Him and keep His commandments which he has given them'. Nobody should ever forget to go to sacrament meeting. Remember is the word. Remember is the program."
(Kimball, Spencer W., "Circles of Exaltation", Charge to Religious Educators, Second Edition, Salt Lake City, UT: Published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints)

Resolve to so live that you will forget not.

PRIESTHOOD REVELATION BRINGS JOY

"For many years, I have watched the process of continuous revelation which emanates from God through the keys, authority, and under direction of the President of the Church.  I testify that this revelatory power has directed this work since April 6, 1830.  That confirmation is the source of the greatest knowledge I have.  I counsel and pray that all will heed the ongoing prophetic voice of this Church, revealing the word of God in our day. (James E. Faust, "The Prophetic Voice", Ensign, May 1997, 7)"

Studying this lesson has made me see the magnitude of what the Church is accomplishing in preparation of the Saviour's coming.  The Church is a well oiled machine, perfectly organised and run under the direction of the priesthood who continue to receive revelation relative to this preparation.  The scriptures speak of prophets as "watch(men) upon the tower" who see "the enemy while he (is) yet afar off" (D&C 101:54).  Because we have continuous revelation and living prophets,  the Church is always one step ahead to ensure this preparation is ever forging onward. 

One of the greatest examples of this is the revelation extending the blessings of the priesthood to every worthy male member of the Church.  This revelation was presented to the Church and the world on September 30, 1978, at the 148th Semiannual General Conference of the Church.  I stand in awe of President Kimball who had pondered, meditated and prayed much to invite this revelation and bring about such an important change for the Church and its' membership.  At the time I was only a new convert in the Church and did not fully grasp what this revelation would really mean to the membership of the Church and the world.  I think I was of the opinion that it was 'really nice' that this had happened.  The Lord however, doesn't do 'really nice'.  He always fulfils his purposes and he does it on a grand scale.  This revelation had great impact on accelerating the missionary efforts so the Church can fulfil its' destiny of growing and filling the world, as prophesied by Joseph Smith.

I read the following story about the priesthood revelation and was reminded of what it feels like to long to be in the Church:

"Joseph William Billy Johnson of Cape Coast, Ghana, first received literature about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in 1964.  He knew that the Church doctrines he read in it were true, and he immediately began teaching them to his family, friends and anyone else who would listen to him.  It was not until four years later that he was able to obtain a copy of the Book of Mormon, to carefully read and pray about it, and to receive a witness of its truth.  In letters to Salt Lake City, he had asked for more information about the Church and for missionaries to come to Africa to teach and baptize him.  President McKay sent him literature and told him it was not yet time for missionaries to come to his country but that he should continue to study and have faith.

For 14 years Billy Johnson devoted himself to teaching the everlasting gospel and meeting with informal groups of believers.  While strengthened by many spiritual experiences, he and members of these groups became discouraged when their pleadings for missionaries were not answered quickly.

During a particularly difficult period, Billy returned home one day much discouraged.  As he struggled to obtain comfort and counsel from the Lord, he felt impressed to turn on his shortwave radio and find the BBC news broadcast.  He was finally able to tune in the BBC at midnight.  He recalls:

          "I heard the message of President Kimball's prophecy concerning the priesthood, that all
           worthy males in all of the world could receive the priesthood.  I burst into tears of joy,
           because I knew the priesthood would come to Africa, and if we did the right things, we
           would all receive the priesthood".

What joy spread through his heart as he heard the BBC news commentator announce the long-await revelation! (Richard Neitzel Holzapfel, "The Incomparable Blessings of the Priesthood", Ensign Oct. 1997, p. 50)

Why did Billy Johnson have to wait so long to be baptised?  Because the Church cannot exist anywhere without the administration of the priesthood. This man felt constrained to preach the Gospel in Ghana and converted so many people to it that he organised several branches and all with just one copy of the Book of Mormon.  Members of his branch were allowed just a few moments each to read from it.   There is another amazing story of Nigerian saints who had also organised themselves into a branch under the direction of one man, Anthony Obinna, and waited for the priesthood revelation to bring the saving ordinance and missionary work to Africa. Both of these stories can be found in full in the Church History section of the Church site, www.lds.org . It will make you weep and make you reflect on how much you value your Church membership.  It is astounding to me how the Lord prepared these people on one side of the world and put in place a prophet on the other side of the world who would consider the constant pleading of the African saints important enough to seek a revelation that would bring salvation to so many souls.  Such is the power of continuing revelation to latter-day prophets.



 



WHEN WE LOSE A LOVED ONE

While delivering an inspired discourse at the Salt Lake Tabernacle on Sunday, October 4, 1896, President Wilford Woodruff stated that while labouring in the St. George Temple, he had learned a new principle of the gospel pertaining to the redemption of the dead:

While in the St. George Temple I had a son, who was in the north country, drowned.  He was 21 years of age, and was a faithful young man.  He had a warning of this.  In a dream he was notified how he would die.  We had a testimony of that after his death.  I asked the Lord why he was taken from me.  The answer to me was, "You are doing a great deal for the redemption of your dead; but the law of redemption requires some of your own seed in the spirit world to attend to work connected with this".  That was a new principle to me; but it satisfied me why he was taken away.  I name this, because there are a great many instances like it among the Latter-day Saints.

Marriner Wood Merrill was a member of the Council of the Twelve Apostles from 1889 and Logan Temple President from 1884 to 1906.  Often his excessive temple labours fatigued him, which was later compounded by the death of one son, whose sudden passing Apostle Merrill could not reconcile.  Finally, on one evening following his exhaustive temple work, the Logan Temple President received a visit from his deceased son from the spirit world as recounted by President Heber J Grant:

He once told me that he could not reconcile himself to the death of his son Marriner, who had had charge of practically all his financial affairs, as he gave so much of his time to the Temple, until he received a manifestation in which Marriner seemed to be in the room with him, although not seen, and spoke to his father and said: "Pa, I am where the Lord wants me to be.  I am doing work of more importance than I would be on earth, and it is not pleasing to the Lord for you to grieve as you are doing over my death".  He said this reconciled him to the loss.

In a Church general conference Rudger Clawson of the Quorum of the Twelve related a marvellous manifestation received by one faithful Salt Lake Temple worker in which the status of married couples in the spirit prison who have not been sealed for eternity in a temple was revealed:

Upon one occasion I saw in vision my father and mother who were not members of the Church, who had not received the gospel in life, and I discovered that they were living separate and apart in the spirit world, and when I asked them how it was that they were so, my father said, "This is an enforced separation, and you are the only individual who can bring us together.  You can do this work.  Will you do it? - meaning that he should go to the House of the Lord and there officiate for his parents who were dead, and by the ordinance of sealing bring them together and unite them in the family relation beyond the veil.

"Temple Manifestations"  p. 77, 89, 131

 

 

 

SAVIOURS ON MOUNT ZION

Despite the fact that the forces of evil raged against the saints during the construction of the Salt Lake Temple, marvellous spiritual manifestations continued to attend those who laboured there.  One such labourer at the House of God received such a manifestation:

In the fall and winter of 1892-1893 I worked at painting in the Salt Lake Temple.  Although sick, I felt strongly impressed to go and do my very best.

At noon the third day after beginning, President Woodruff called all of the workmen together.  He said he had been told that some of the workmen had stated that it would be impossible to have the temple completed by April 6th.  he said when he looked at this body of men he didn't believe a word of it.  "Some of you may be sick and weak", (I thought he was talking to me) he continued, "Some of you may give out at night, but you will be here in the morning if you are faithful.  You are not here by accident.  You were ordained in the Eternal World to perform this work.  Brethren, I will be here April 6th to dedicate this building.  I know what I am talking about for this was shown me in a vision 50 years ago in the city of Boston".

Along about March, 1893, I found myself alone in the dining room - all had gone to bed.  I was sitting at the table when to my great surprise my old brother Alfred walked in, sat down opposite me at the table and smiled.  I said to him (he looked so natural), "When did you arrive in Utah?" (He had lived in New Zealand and I had not heard from him in years).

He said, "I have just come from the Spirit World, this is not my body that you see, it is lying in the tomb.  I want to tell you that when you were on your mission you told me many things about the Gospel, and the hereafter, and about the Spirit World being as real and tangible as the earth.  I realized that you had told the truth.  I attended the Mormon meetings".  he raised his hand and said with much warmth, "I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ with all my heart, I believe in faith and repentance and baptism for the remission of sins, but that is as far as I can go.  I look to you to do the work for me in the temple".  He continued, "You can go to any kind of sectarian meeting in the Spirit World.  All our kindred there knew you were trying to make up your mind to come and work on the temple.  You are watched closely, every move you make is known there; and we were glad you came.  We are all looking to you as our head in this great work.  I want to tell you that there are a great many spirits who weep and mourn because they have relatives in the Church here who are careless and are doing nothing for them".  He then disappeared.

As I sat pondering upon what I had seen and heard, with my hear filled with thanks and gratitude to God, the door opened again and my brother Alexander walked in and sat down in the chair that Alfred had just occupied.  He had died in 1852 in New Zealand.  I did the work for both he and Father in April 1885.  he had come from a different sphere, he looked more like an angel as his countenance was beautiful to look upon.  With a very pleasant smile he said, "Fred, I have come to thank you for doing my work for me; but you did not go quite far enough", and he paused.  Suddenly it was shown to me in large characters, "no man without the woman and no woman without the man in the Lord".

 

 

"Temple Manifestations", page 128

IN THE PALM OF HIS HAND

 

Elder John Mickelson Lang, a temple workers in the St. George Temple, received the following manifestation in the sacred structure in 1928:

One day while baptismal rites were being performed, I distinctly heard a voice at the east end of the font, very close to the ceiling calling the names of the dead to witness their own baptism, allowing a moment for each spirit to present itself.  After hearing many names called, I noticed a difference in the pronunciation of some of them.  It seemed that the spirit who was calling must have a different list to ours.  I was so impressed at the time that I placed my arm about the shoulders of Brother W.T. Morris, clerk, who was passing, and called his attention tot he sound of the voice, but it was not discernible to him.

This occurrence had taken place in March of 1928, and it continued to prey upon my mind for some months, until one day in October I had gone to an upper room of the Temple, as was my custom, to offer secret prayer, asking for the assistance of God in my work, and to thank Him for showing me that there was a recording angel in His house, to keep a perfect record of that which transpired.  I had finished my prayer and was about to leave the room when the question flashed through my mind, "But where and how does He get these names?  Some of them were not pronounced the same as ours".

God knew my thoughts; I never asked of Him to know.  The explanation came to me in these words:
"Every spirit that comes to earth has a guardian angel, whose duty it is to keep a record of the individual's parentage, the conditions under which it was born, its inheritance, environment, thoughts and desires, and when the individual's life is completed, the guardian angel's mission ends.  It returns, makes its report and hands in the record it has kept.  This record is placed upon the other book, spoken of as The Book of Life".

All this gave me to understand that in this other book is preserved the names and perfect dates of every spirit that ever came to earth. 

It is also made plain therein, how all things will be proved by two or three witnesses; for instance, in case a child is left on a doorstep, the guardian angel of the child, that of the father and of the mother constitute three witnesses to the child's parentage.  There are two witnesses to all things which transpire between any two persons.  Also, God can give into the Temples a perfect record of the Lamanites, for instance, or any other people who have no earth record.

God is perfect.  His record is perfect.  We will be judged from the books.

I bear record that this testimony is true for I received it from an angel in the house of the Lord.