THE KING OF GLORY

Behold He Comes by Danny Hahlbohm

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.

“Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.” (Isaiah 9:6,7)

The second part of the Messianic Hope promises the “King of Glory”, the prophecy of which foretells the Second Coming of Christ when He will subdue all enemies under His feet; put down all kingdoms, will sit on the throne of David, and ‘the government shall be upon his shoulder’ (Isaiah 9:6). His second advent will bring in one thousand years of His Millennial reign.  

The period of the Millenium will be so glorious it will overshadow the previous six thousand years of the history of this earth. There will be no sorrow, sickness, crime or death; all things will become new, the enmity between man and beast will cease, the knowledge of the Lord shall flood the earth and all will be revealed, even how the earth was made (D&C 101:23-34), Satan will be bound so he can tempt no man (D&C 101:28) and the pure language of Adam will be restored so that we can all serve Him ‘with one consent’ (Zephaniah 3:9).

And here is something brilliant. When we think of the ‘Messianic prophecies’, we usually think of the prophets and the scriptures, but in truth, every believer in Christ has a part in these prophecies.

“Every proper and perfect prayer uttered by a righteous man, woman, or child, from the day Adam stepped through Eden’s portals into his lone and dreary habitation, to the day the angelic hosts acclaimed the birth of God’s own Son, was in fact a Messianic prophecy.

“The mere saying, with sincerity and understanding, of the words of the prayer itself constituted a Messianic affirmation…..thus witnessing that they knew that salvation came through Him and His atoning blood.

“Similarly, every true prayer today is a reaffirmation that Jesus is the Lord and that through His blood the believing saints are redeemed.

“And so with every baptism, every priesthood ordination, every patriarchal blessing, every act of administering to the sick, every divine ordinance or performance ordained of God, every sacrifice, symbolism, and similitude; all that God ever gave to His people – all was ordained and established in such a way as to testify of His Son and center the faith of believing people in Him and in the redemption He was foreordained to make.

“The words of those who have spoken of Christ since He lived upon this earth, and believed in His coming, are ‘Messianic testimonies’……in fulfilment of the prophecies of His birth and His Second Coming..”  (Bruce R. McConkie, The Promised Messiah, 26,27

And so every testimony we bear of Christ, every prayer we utter, and every act done in His name, affirms that Christ lived and that He will return. Each time we do so, we confirm the fulfilment of the Messianic Prophecy of His birth and the Messianic Hope of His Second Coming. Every man, woman and child who believes and lives with expectation of salvation through His name, has the power of this prophecy. If you are a believer, this is Christ’s promise to you:

“In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee….No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.” (see Isaiah 54:12-17)

One day when You return

from your glorious throne

In Millenial splendour

Your power to display;

I will kneel and confess Your greatness;

I will join the heavenly throng in song,

And I will sorrow for the lost

For whom You suffered for so long.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

 

A MESSAGE OF COMFORT

 

Jerusalem O Jerusalem by Greg Olsen

“Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.” (Isaiah 40:1,2)

Imagine having in your family a history of suffering and humanity’s hatred. The Jewish nation has been hated and persecuted from the time of their dispersion into the world. Isaiah prophesied all the calamities that would befall them from the time of their scattering to the arrival of the long-awaited Messiah who would come at the end of time.

Judah was to be sent through the ‘furnace of affliction’ (Isaiah 48:10) for rejecting her King when He came among them. A look at Jewish history and present-day circumstances tells us that this nation is still going through that furnace but one day soon her sentence will be served and her penalty will be paid. Think for a minute of the furnace of the Holocaust. Imagine having that in your family history. However, the most extreme heat of the furnace is yet to be felt when the nations of the earth join against the nation of Israel:

“The bankrupt nations, envying the wealth of the sons of Judah, will seek a pretext to make war upon the, and will invade the ‘holy land’ to ‘take a prey and a spoil’……At the crisis of their fate, when the hostile troops of several nations are ravaging the city and all the horrors of war are overwhelming the people of Jerusalem, He [the Christ] will set his feet upon the Mount of Olives, which will cleave and part asunder at his touch.

“Attended by a host from heaven, he will overthrow and destroy the combined armies of the Gentiles, and appear to the worshipping Jews as the mighty Deliverer and Conqueror so long expected by their race; and while love, gratitude, awe, and admiration swell their bosoms, the Deliverer will show them the tokens of his crucifixion and disclose himself as Jesus of Nazareth, whom they had reviled and whom their fathers put to death. Then will unbelief depart from their souls, and ‘the blindness in part which has happened unto Israel’ be removed”. (Elder Charles W. Penrose, “The Second Advent”, Millenial Star, 10 Sept 1859, pp 582-83).

Then will the warfare be over and her iniquity pardoned but the immediately preceding devastation of Judah will be colossal. One-tenth of Jerusalem will be destroyed, and 7000 men will be slain (Revelation 11:13). We are talking here about fathers and brothers and husbands…..and families left destitute without male protection.

“So great will be the devastation that for seven years Israel will be able to live off the spoils of war left behind (see Ezekiel 39:8-10). It will take seven months to bury the dead, and thereafter burial teams will search out the remaining bodies in an attempt to cleanse the land. Isaiah said that the Lord “hath delivered them to the slaughter…and the mountains shall be melted with their blood (Isaiah 34:2-3).”  (Old Testament Student Manual Book 2, Enrichment I, p 295)

Of equal interest to the scripture of comfort and promise of deliverance is the third verse in Isaiah 40 which speaks of “the voice of him that crieth in the wilderness”. This is a dual prophecy which speaks of John the Baptist who prepared the way for the Saviour’s first advent and who has had a role in such like preparation for the second advent.

Luke quoted Isaiah 40:3-5 which are clearly millennial in application. When Joseph Smith revised Luke’s passage, he added five verses that also apply to the Second Coming which clearly identify the Saviour for whom the forerunner would again prepare the way (see JST Luke 3:5-9).

This forerunner of the last days was to make possible the preaching of the gospel to the Gentiles and to gather together those who are lost, who are of the sheepfold of Israel. John the Baptist came to this forerunner, Joseph Smith, on May 15, 1829, to restore the Aaronic Priesthood in preparation for the preaching of the gospel and the gathering of Israel:

“The Lord declared, through one of his prophets, that before his second coming a messenger should be sent to prepare the way and make it straight…..John, the messenger who came to prepare the way before the Lord in the former dispensation, also came in this dispensation as a messenger to Joseph Smith….I maintain that Joseph Smith was the messenger whom the Lord sent to prepare the way before him. He came, and under direction of holy messengers laid the foundation for the kingdom of God and of this marvelous work and a wonder that the world might be prepared for the coming of the Lord.” (President Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 1:193-95)

 

When in the clouds of glory You appear

To save Judah distressed and all alone

Your mercy will flow from the dreaded hill

Where in times past they crucified their own.

When on the Mount of Olives suddenly you meet

They will know You

And accept salvation at Your feet.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

 

ODE TO DAVID

 

David's First Goliath by Jay Bryant Ward

You are my Shepherd,

You are my God and my King,

Your suffering mercy spills

And anoints me still.

 

I cannot contain Your greatness

Nor Your mercy, compassion,

Or love,

I am the sheep that strayed

From the green pastures of Your heart.

 

I am Your father David,

On whose throne one day You will sit

Even in the clouds of glory

I will see my Shepherd still.

 

-      Cathryne Allen

WHEN HE COMES

 

Parting the Veil by Jon McNaughton

Psalm 50:3-5 –  Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence; a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him. He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people. Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.

Psalm 96:12,13 – Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice before the Lord: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.

Psalm 98:8,9 – Let the floods clap their hands: let the hills be joyful together before the Lord; for he cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity.

When the Lord comes the second time, He will come in the fulness of His glory. The effect of this fulness on the earth and its inhabitants will be such that:

1.       Mountains will flow down at His presence (D&C 133:40,44; Micah 1:4)

2.       The waters on the earth will boil (D&C 133:41)

3.       All nations will tremble at His presence (D&C 133:42)

4.       The sun will hide, the moon will withhold its light, and the stars will be hurled from their places (D&C133:49)

5.       The wicked will be burned by the brightness of fire of the glory of the Lord (Malachi 4:1-3; 2 Thessalonians 2:8)

“When Christ comes the saints who are on the earth will be quickened and caught up to meet him….A change will come over all who remain on the earth; they will be quickened so that they will not be subject unto death until they are old. Men shall ‘die’ when they are one hundred years of age, and the change shall be made suddenly to the immortal state. Graves will not be made during this thousand years….death shall come as a peaceful transition from the mortal to the immortal state. (Elder Joseph Fielding Smith, Way to Perfection, pp 298-99, 311)

Nephi saw us in our day and testified that the ‘power of the Lamb of God descended upon the saints of the Church of the Lamb’, and upon the covenant people of the Lord…and we were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory’ (1 Nephi 14:14). It is time for us, the covenant people, to rise to that privilege. We are the chosen for this time and this place to usher in the greatest event of the history of mankind. The winding up scenes will not be easy, they will not be pleasant, but they will be worth the sacrifice, the perseverance, the wait…and when He comes, the tears of the faithful…..

 

When You appear

in the Millenial day;

Those who know Your grace

Will gather like Your sheep

In the blazing sun of glory

To come to Your embrace.

- Cathryne Allen 

WHEN HE RETURNS

 

Loving Reverence by Greg Collins

One day when You return for Your glorious reign 

In Millenial splendour

Your power to display;

I will kneel and confess Your greatness;

I will join the heavenly throng in song,

And I will sorrow for the lost

For whom You suffered for so long.

- Cathryne Allen 

PSALMS OF THE HEART 5

 

Second Coming by Ron DiCianni

Book Five (Psalms 107-150): Celebrates restoration, features the Songs of Ascent, and ends in massive praise.

“O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.” (107:1)

“Christ has, on occasion, been rightfully angry with backsliding Israel, but that has always been brief and temporary – “a small moment”. Compassion and mercy always return and prevail in a most reassuring way. The mountains and the hills may disappear. The water of the great seas may dry up. The least likely things in the world may happen, but the Lord’s kindness and peace will never be taken from his covenant people. He has sworn with a heavenly oath that he will not be wroth with them forever.” (Jeffrey R. Holland, Christ and the New Covenant [1997], 290)

The final chapters of the book of Psalms gives a clear understanding to the reader that Judah had learnt well about sorrow in its’ captivity: “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion” (137:1).

 These chapters are grounded in God’s mercy and hope of the nation’s restoration: “Let Israel hope in the Lord: for with the Lord there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption. And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities” (130:7,8). In remembering past deliverance from their enemies and bondage, the reliance on the Lord’s mercy became foremost in their minds. Psalm 136 is so heavy on gratitude that every one of 26 verses ends in “for his mercy endureth for ever”.

Judah was delivered from the Babylonian and Persian captivity in two colonies between 515 B.C. and 458 B.C. The temple was rebuilt and Jerusalem’s restoration began and became what it is today. Not all the Jews chose to return to their land, however, and so began a voluntary world-wide dispersion referred to as diaspora which endures to this day.

“The Lord never intended for Israel and Judah to remain scattered. Isaiah prophesied that “the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people…and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth” (Isaiah 11:11-12). Psalm 147:2 reads: “The Lord doth build up Jerusalem: he gathereth together the outcasts [diasporai] of Israel.” Nephi added this significant idea to the teachings of the restoration of the Jews: “After [the Jews] have been scattered…even down from generation to generation….they shall be persuaded to believe in Christ, the Son of God, and the atonement” (2 Nephi 25:16).

“Elder Wilford Woodruff, issued an epistle to the world on 22 February 1879 and, in part, addressed himself to the dispersed of Judah: “For the fulness of the Gentiles has come in, and the Lord has decreed that the Jews should be gathered from all the Gentile nations where they have been driven, into their own land, in fulfilment of the words of Moses their lawgiver. And this is the will of your great Eloheim, O House of Judah, and whenever you shall be called upon to perform this work, the God of Israel will help you. You have a great future and destiny before you and you cannot avoid fulfilling it; you are the royal chosen seed, and the God of your father’s house has kept you distinct as a nation for eighteen hundred years, under all the oppression of the whole Gentile world. You may not wait until you believe on Jesus of Nazareth, but when you meet with Shiloh your king, you will know him, your destiny is marked out, you cannot avoid it.” (Old Testament Student Manual Enrichment: The Persian Empire, the Return of the Jews, and the Diaspora; In Matthias F. Cowley, Wilford Woodruff, pp 509-10)

The Messiah will come. He will descend on the Mount of Olives with the nail prints in His hands and His feet and the Kingdom of Judah will come to know that there is no Saviour beside Him;  none else in heaven above, or earth beneath, or waters beneath the earth, nothing, nobody, nowhere, there is none other name given under heaven save it be this Jesus Christ whereby man can be saved (Isaiah 43:10-11; 45,5,6,14,18,22; 46:9; Deut 4:35,39; 5:8; 1 kings 8:60, 2 Nephi 2:8; 25:20; 31:21; Moses 6:52; D&C 76:1)

Then they will say:

We are Israel, Thy chosen seed

Who in times past disregarded Thee

But now through Thy infinite love

We are gathered to Thee.

In Thine mercy Thou has sought to gather us

In Thine heart Thou hast chosen to cherish us;

In Thee is deliverance from our barren years

In Thee is mercy for our penitent tears.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

OUR KING

 

(Art: Second Coming designed by Crafton Art Prints)

Thou art our everlasting God

Jehovah, our King,

Who has loved us and chosen us as Thine own;

Keep us as the apple of Thine eye,

Hide us under the shadow of Thy wings

That we might never stray

And cause Thee sorrow;

And help us wait for Thee

In the dawning of tomorrow.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

THE COMFORT OF BONDAGE

 

 

It always amazes me how the Saviour never washes His hands of Israel no matter how unfaithful they have been. Even when they fall into captivity, He plans and puts into place the process of rescue well before it is supposed to take place. He is a God of order and success.  The return of the Jews from Babylon to Jerusalem 70 years after their captivity began, as predicted by Jeremiah in his book (25:11,12; 29:10) is the prime example of this.

Behind the fulfilment of this prophecy was a Persian king that Jehovah prepared who conquered Babylonians by the name of Cyrus. It is suggested by historians that when Cyrus conquered Babylon that he found Daniel there in his governmental capacity, and that Daniel pointed out to him the prophecy of Isaiah that was given 140 years before the fall of Jerusalem (Isaiah 44:28, 45). Adding seventy years after the fall, makes 210 years of prophecy before Cyrus even appeared in Babylon. Astonishing, isn’t it?

The prophecy states that the Lord would raise up a mighty king who would free the Jewish captives in Babylon and allow them to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple and the holy city. Cyrus was so impressed with this prophecy about himself that he sent out the proclamation amongst the Jews in Babylon that ‘the Lord God of heaven had charged [him] to build him a house at Jerusalem’ (Ezra 1:2) and asked who among all of God’s people wanted to return. He actually offered freedom to anyone who wanted it.

Now this is the most astonishing bit. Approximately 50,000 people chose to return to Jerusalem while MOST chose not to return having been absorbed into the Babylonian way of life and the comfort of bondage. And this is why. In 605 BC King Nebuchadnezzar of the Neo-Babylonian Empire (now Iraq) was the beginning of Babylon’s greatness and glory. Using slaves from various areas of the empire, he inaugurated a massive building program to make Babylon the greatest city in the world. Opulence, greatness and glory was the object.

The grandeur of Babylon was incredibly impressive but with such opulence and wealth also came moral decay, wickedness and iniquity. Will Durant, a secular historian wrote that “even Alexander [the Great], who was not above dying of drinking was shocked by the morals of Babylon (Our Oriental Heritage, p 244).

Babylon became the antithesis of godliness. The very name of this city stood as the symbol for worldliness, spiritual wickedness and Satan’s kingdom. Scripturally it is known as: “the great whore” and “the mother of harlots and abominations (Rev 17:1; 5; D& C 133:14; 1:16; 1 Nephi 13:5-9; Babylonia and the Conquest of Judah, Old Testament Student Manual p 244).

There is one thing that stands out to me regarding Israel who fell into bondage with Babylon. God himself was in charge of this catastrophe promising Israel that He would bring a nation against them  because of their sins and rejection of Him as their God (Jeremiah 25:7-9). So this is what stands out…..He did not give them into bondage to just any nation but the worst there was, Babylon, a nation so spiritually corroded that it stands out as an obvious product of Israel’s idol worship.

In other words, if they wanted to worship false idols and gods, this is what they got…..spiritual decay and spiritual bondage. This is a classical example of cause and effect. You want other gods? You get what other gods can give you!

The name “Babylon” is today synonymous with ‘the world’. In Section 133 of the Doctrine and Covenants, the saints are commanded to ‘come out of Babylon’ in preparation for the Second Coming (v 5,7). So powerful is its grip that ancient Israelites did not want to leave it.  I wonder how many of us will heed the call this time…..

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

THE MIGHTY DAVID

 

There has not been a king who loved the God of Israel more than King David. When he conquered Jerusalem he brought the ark of the covenant into the city ‘with gladness’ and led a procession of Israelites playing instruments, shouting, singing and dancing ‘before the Lord with all his might’ in praise of the God he worshipped (2 Samuel 6:12-15). No king of Israel was more free from idolatrous inclinations or practices than David. Because of this, he became the standard of excellence that all subsequent kings came to be measured by (The Old Testament Student Manual Book 2, Enrichment F-1).

David’s valour and his accomplishments as  king were outstanding. His reign is known in the annals of history as ‘the golden age of Israel’ (The Old Testament Student Manual Book 1 p 287). His love for the God of Israel can leave you breathless through the psalms he wrote about Him. But David was also the greatest tragedy of the ancient world. His life is the most dualistic out of any and accentuates Jehovah’s warning about kings. It goes on to show, the higher the rise, the greater the fall. To understand the tragedy of the fall we must understand his accomplishments as a king.

David did three things for temporal Israel that typify what Christ will do for spiritual Israel.  Firstly, following Saul's death, Israel's kingdom was divided in two for seven years. The tribe of Judah accepted David as their king and the rest of the tribes of Israel were ruled by Ishbosheth, one of the sons of Saul, whom Abner, Saul's commanding general set up as the new king (2 Sam 2:8-9).

 

Despite being anointed as Israel's king, by Samuel, the prophet, David refrained from taking action against Ishbosheth in honour of the covenant he made with Jonathan not to retaliate against Saul's family when he came to power. Following Ishbosheth's murder David showed great wisdom and judgment by executing the two men responsible (see (2 Samuel 3). This brought him into favour with the tribes under Ishbosheth and ultimately united all twelve tribes into one nation under the ultimate leadership of God.

 

Secondly, David succeeded in winning the whole extent of the promised land for the covenant people. For the first time the chosen people of the Lord controlled the whole land promised to Abraham's posterity nearly a thousand years earlier.

 

Thirdly, David established Zion or Jerusalem as the spiritual and political center of Israel. Under David's reign Israel reached its golden age. Never before had Israel achieved such heights of power nor did they ever again. (Old Testament Student Manual, Book 1 p 291)

 

All this for the love of Jehovah and then this: “….As the transgressor moves deeper and deeper in his sin, and the error is entrenched more deeply and the will to change is weakened, it becomes increasingly near-hopeless, and he skids down and down until either he does not want to climb back or he has lost the power to do so.” (President Spencer W. Kimball, The Miracle of Forgiveness [1969], 117). This became the tragic path of David but more of that later….

 

So do we hold David in our esteem as the greatest Israel king or do we think of him as a tragedy to be remembered???

 

David was anointed to sit on the throne of Israel and to establish the royal family that would produce the King of Kings who would one day sit ‘on the throne of his father David’ (Luke 1:32-33).  My question is this: was David chosen to be an example of the good King who was to come or was he chosen to show that no king can be as good as the King that was to come????? I often think our present-day governments will with their weakness and corruption accentuate the blessing that the King of Kings will be when He comes to govern the world.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: King David Playing the Harp by Gerard Van Honthorst [1622]

HE WILL COME

 

Isaiah’s “King of Glory” prophecy foretells the Saviour’s Second Coming when He will come and subdue all Israel’s enemies under His feet; put down all kingdoms; will sit on the throne of ‘His father’ David; and ‘the government shall be upon his shoulder’ (Isaiah 9:6).

In the words of Bruce R. McConkie: “He came once – born in a stable, cradled in a manger – to redeem His people; to restore His everlasting gospel; to work out the infinite and eternal atonement; to bring salvation. He shall come again – with ten thousands of his saints, in all the glory of his Father’s kingdom – to slay the wicked by the breath of his lips; to cleanse the vineyard of corruption; to ransom those who love His appearing: to bring salvation.”  

(Bruce R. McConkie, The Promised Messiah, p 1)

He will come –

-          When we come out of every nation to Zion, the city of New Jerusalem, singing songs of everlasting joy (D&C 45:71);

-          When the Ten Tribes return from the land of the north (D&C 110:11; Jeremiah 3:18; D&C 133:26-34);

-          When the City of Enoch descends from the spiritual realm and ‘we fall upon their necks and we kiss each other’ in love and fellowship of Zion (Moses 7:63);

When He comes –

-          We will dwell in New Jerusalem, the city of our God, and Christ will be our light by day and the whole city will be lighted up by the glory of His presence (Isaiah 60:19-22);

-          Because of His presence there will be perpetual peace; there will be no illness, no tears, no suffering and no death.

It’s a time worth waiting for….and preparing for. In Section 105 of Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord spoke of the importance of preparation for the establishment of Zion which must be ‘redeemed’ before He comes:

1.      He wants His leaders to be prepared (vv 9-10);

2.      He wants the Saints to be taught more perfectly what He requires of them (v 10);;

3.      He wants the Saints to gain experience in knowing their duty and doctrine of God (v 10; John 7:17);

4.      He wants His Saints to be endowed with power from on high (v 11);

5.      He wants the Saints to be faithful, enduring in humility to the end (v 12).

It is clear by the very first requirement that the Church is built on leadership which will extend into the Millenium. I often wonder about the Church members who criticize the Church leaders and do not support them as prophets, seers and revelators. How will they be prepared to live a Zion life under leadership they are not trained to follow? Make no mistake, The Saviour will delegate the administration of His kingdom. If we are not prepared to take instruction now, we will not be able to accept it then.

The scriptures teach us that there will appear one grand sign of the Son of Man in heaven as the Saviour arrives (D&C 88:93; Matt 24:30). Joseph Smith has said that the people of the world will not recognize it and will say it is a planet or a comet etc…..”but the Son of man will come as the sign of the coming of the Son of Man, which will be as the light of the morning, cometh out of the east.” (History of the Church, 5:336-37; see also D&C 43:20-27).

 

When in clouds of glory You appear,

We the faithful will know Your name.

We will know Your angels and the host

Of heaven coming to testify of Your fame.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Parting the Veil by John McNaughton)

THE LAST DISPENSATION OF TIME

 

“Joseph Smith continued visiting me and others up to a certain time and then stopped. The last time I saw him was in heaven. He came and spoke to me. He said that he could not stop to talk to me because he was in a hurry.

“The next man I met was Father Smith; he couldn’t talk to me because he was in a hurry. I met half a dozen brethren who held high positions on earth, and none of them could stop to talk to me because they were in a hurry. I was much astonished.

“By and by I saw the Prophet again, and I got a privilege to ask him a question: “Now”, said I, “I want to know why you are in a hurry? I have been in a hurry my whole life, but I expected my hurry would be over when I get into the kingdom of heaven, if I ever did.”

“Joseph said: “I will tell you Brother Woodruff, every dispensation that has had the priesthood on earth and has gone into celestial kingdom, has had a certain amount of work to do to prepare to go to the earth with the Saviour when He goes to reign on earth. Each dispensation has had ample time to do this work. We have not. We are the last dispensation and so much work has to be done and we need to be in a hurry in order to accomplish it.

“Of course, that was satisfactory with me, but it was new doctrine to me.”

-          Wilford Woodruff, Discourses Delivered at Weber Stake Conference, Ogden, 19 October 1896; as published in Deseret News Weekly, Volume 53, #21)

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Time Is At Hand by Danny Hahlbohm)

a

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A CALL TO BATTLE

 

There is a desire in my soul

That wants to conquer Goliath

And watch him fall….

This warrior within me never sleeps

And yearns to hear the angels’ call,

A call to battle to make the devil fall.

And when Christ comes in clouds so holy

He will conquer that enemy

And we will confess His glory.

 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Put On the Armour of God by Celestial Heritage)

PREPARING FOR ZION

 

I was working at the Church Office in Sydney when Elder Bruce C. Hafen was the Area President here in Australia. He was generous enough to share some knowledge with me which I valued highly. He told me that the directive of the Church at the time given to the leaders was to prepare the members for Zion. That was some 25 years ago.

This made me see how important the Church is as an organisation because of its leaders who are implementing this preparation. We are told certain conditions need to be met before Zion can be established as ‘the bridge between the world as it is and the world as God designed it and meant it to be’ (Hugh Nibley, “Approaching Zion” p 4).

Section 105 of the Doctrine and Covenants speaks in detail of the needed preparation of the saints before the Lord can ‘redeem Zion’ but the very first requirement is relative to the elders of the Church which are to be endowed with power from on high so that we, the members, might be taught more perfectly what God requires of us (D&C 105:10,11). The structure of the Church is based on leadership. The leaders are to be taught and trained as much as the members below them. The leaders are meant to learn to lead and we are meant to learn to follow.

There are some who believe they can be inactive in the Church and in the end show up at New Jerusalem’s gate expecting to live a Zion life. Imagine arriving to Zion without any experience behind you that would have taught you to be obedient to the leaders’ instructions and to be united with other members of the Church community. I have wondered how they could become obedient to the leaders overnight when they didn’t value their leadership beforehand. I know some wonderful and good members of the Church who are inactive and are highly critical of the leaders. There are some who do not support the general authorities of the Church and tend to believe they are ‘nice old men’ but not prophets, seers and revelators.

The leaders might not be perfect but the Lord values their leadership of His saints. This is how important it is to honour the administration of the Church in preparation for the Second Coming:

“The coming of the Son of Man never will be – never can be till the judgments spoken of for this hour are poured out: which judgments are commenced. Paul says, “Ye are the children of the light, and not of the darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief in the night.” It is not the design of the Almighty to come upon the earth and crush it and grind it to powder, BUT HE WILL REVEAL IT TO HIS SERVANTS THE PROPHETS (Amos 3:7)” (Teachings of Joseph Smith, p 286)

The leaders of the Church might not know the exact day and the hour but the proximity of it will be very real to the Church because of the preparation that the leaders will have put into place for the readiness of the Kingdom. The New Jerusalem for one will have to be ready and peopled to receive our King.

We, the children of light, have more information regarding the Second Coming than the rest of the world. The signs of the times are clear in modern day revelation as contained in Doctrine and Covenants. We know the sequence of events that are to take place. We are not dumb sheep without knowledge and without untrained shepherds. The Lord has not left us unawares and clueless. He wants His people to be ready and He wants us all in Zion to welcome Him.

There will be no excuse if we are not there on that auspicious day….

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Second Coming by Ron DiCianni)

TO SERVE GOD 2

 

Whereas ancient Israel’s conquest was a physical one, ours is a spiritual one. Israel’s charge was to conquer land for the temporal and eternal possession, our charge is to create a Zion society of God’s chosen people. Both responsibilities rested on one commandment, to serve God but in two different ways.

Ancient Israel was to serve God through obedience to His commandments and worship through the law of Moses, we are to serve God by our obedience to His commandments and to serve one another to prepare us for Zion. Consider these two commandments that came long after the conquest of Canaan:

-          Matt 25:40: “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me……and: Matt 25:45 – when we don’t do it for “the least of these”, we don’t do it for Him;

-          Mosiah 2:17: “….when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.”

Our societal structure is more different from the ancient one which depended so much on possession of land and as a result was more used to physical warfare. We, however, fight a spiritual battle with the prince of darkness who seeks to destroy us spiritually in diving us to the point where our hearts have turned cold one towards another (D&C 45:26,27). This is not to overlook the increase of wars and rumours of wars in these latter-days as prophesied (Mark 13:7)

This is why the spiritual battle is more devastating to God’s people today. Zion can only be built in preparation for the Saviour’s return ‘according to the union required by the law of the celestial kingdom’ (D&C 105:3-5). It is this union that enables men to obey the law of consecration whereby they impart of their ‘substance, as becometh saints, to the poor and the afflicted’ (v 3). This was the success of the city of Enoch. Because they were of one heart and one mind they willingly met each other’s needs so there was no poor among them (Moses 7:18).

If God’s goal for the human family is unity, you can be assured that Satan’s is division. Right now the world is divided into left and right and contention and disunity is rife. The Church leaders are constantly warning us against this because our destiny as the Church of Jesus Christ is great.

The celestial law that will get us to Zion is not just about obedience but also love. Love leads to unity. The Lord called the city of Enoch, Zion the Pure in Heart. The people of this city ‘walked’ with God (Moses 7:69) which means they were ‘true’ followers of Jesus Christ and as true followers of Jesus Christ they were endowed with the ‘pure love' of Christ (Moroni 7:48).

This is the key: He leads and we follow. We follow His example of love, compassion, understanding, tolerance, respect, giving and ministering……today obedience, tomorrow Zion, the day after, Celestial Kingdom. In Joseph’s words: “We are on the pathway to eternal fame, and immortal glory.”

I knelt before the throne of God

And asked of Him today:

Lord, when will I become like Thee?

To my feeble self He answered:

When you start to walk with me.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Come Follow Me by Gabriel Heaton)