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 GLORIOUS HOPE

 

“When we go out of this life, leave this body, we will desire to do many things we cannot do at all without the body. We will be seriously handicapped and we will long for the body; we will pray for early reunion with our bodies. We will know then what advantage it is to have a body….” (Melvin J. Ballard, “Crusade for Righteousness” p 213)

I have never much appreciated my body in until I entered the stage of prolonged bad health. Simple tasks became huge ordeals and successfully putting on socks came to be a triumph. I have longed to walk unassisted and to perform the simplest tasks with ease, the ones I used to take for granted.

The other day as I was struggling with my socks and its frustration, I came to understand the above quote. I could see how a spirit without a body he or she once experienced would feel without it. Indeed, we get a glimpse of that from President Joseph F. Smith’s vision of the spirit world which tells us that ‘the dead looked upon the long absence of their spirits from their bodies as a bondage’ (D&C 138:50). I began to appreciate that maybe my body is a privilege……

The other day I quoted Melvin J. Ballard who shared his conviction of our unreserved willingness to come to earth and obtain a body whether it be cripped, maimed, or deformed. I thought as I was struggling with my socks, surely those afflicted with such bodies would have regretted that choice. I know all about physical pain and limit of movement. I cannot imagine that to be my whole earthly experience.

Elder Ballard continued to express our pre-earthly knowledge of the necessity of a body for our ascension to godhood which enabled us to be centered on an eternal view rather than the sorrows and troubles of this life ("Sermons and Missionary Services of Melvin J. Ballard, p 179). Reconciling our pre-earthly perspective and the reality of living on this side of the veil is something of a challenge though.

In his last conference talk Elder Bednar spoke about enduring to the end and he connected to it a very necessary component, that of trust. It is something that has been on my mind of late. As I considered his talk I realized that this is the key to acceptance of earthly suffering and the power to endure to the end.

I realized my willingness to trust that my life is playing out according to God’s plan for me and my trust that what is to come in next life is imperative for my existence here and now.

And my ultimate trust comes with a hope which is this: to be faithful and valiant in my testimony of Jesus whilst in mortality with ‘a hope of a glorious resurrection, through the grace of God the Father and his Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ’ (D&C 138:12-14)

Because the valleys do not

Lead to where I need to be,

You give me mountains to climb

To reach Your divinity.

 

You are so high

And my reach is so low.

To come to Your arms

I accept the mountains

That show me which way to go.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Ponder Anew by LDS Book Store)

THE SCHOOL OF SPIRITS

 

I love the fact that the scriptures are a bridge across time and testify of the one and only truth in different dispensations. What Abraham was given to know almost 2,000 years B.C. about “the intelligences that were organised before the world was”, President Joseph Fielding Smith was also told in the year 1918 A.D. during his vision of the spirit world where he witnessed the presence of the ‘noble and great intelligences’ who were chosen as leaders in Christ’s Church (Abraham 3:22,23). After seeing the early leaders of this dispensation, his vision was expanded to others:

“I observed that they were also among the noble and great ones who were chosen in the beginning to be rulers in the Church of God. Even before they were born, they, with MANY OTHERS, received their first lessons in the world of spirits and were prepared to come forth in the due time of the Lord to labor in his vineyard for the salvation of the souls of men.” (D&C 138:55,56)

It is worthy to notice that the noble and great ones were not only the leaders but ‘many others’ who have been called to labour for the salvation of God’s children, whether in this life or the spirit world. Many of these spirits were faithful daughters of Mother Eve ‘who had lived through the ages and worshiped the true and living God’ (D&C 138:39). This is us.

No doubt our preparation was based on our commitment, our intelligence, our talents and the growth we had already acquired. Of this preparation, President Joseph Fielding Smith taught: “During the ages in which we dwelt in the pre-mortal state, we not only developed our various characteristics and showed our worthiness and ability, or the lack of it, but we were also where such progress could be observed.

“It was natural for our Father to discern and choose those who were most worthy and evaluate the talents of each individual. He knew not only what each of us COULD do, but also what each of us WOULD do when put to the test and when responsibility was given us”. (“The Way to Perfection” [1970], 50-51).

If you ever feel that you have nothing to offer to the Church, your circle of family and friends or even the world, don’t. We are a chain of humanity. Each of us contributes in different ways. Even if it is just to increase light in the world of darkness, by our goodness, our testimony, our service, our love. The Father places each one of His children in time and place where they can be of advantage and where their spirit can shine to be ‘the light of the world’ in whatever capacity is theirs (Matthew 5:14-16).

Elder Bruce R. McConkie taught that “the greatest and most important talent or capacity that any of the spirit children of the Father could gain is the talent of spirituality” (“A New Witness for the Articles of Faith” [1985] p 512). Why is this talent the most important? Because we need it to testify of God the Father and His Son and to labour for the salvation of souls.

If you love God and accept His Beloved Son as your Saviour, you are one of the noble and great ones…..your love for Him will spread throughout the world and touch people you might never even get to know.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Christ by Farid Fadel)

THE WORD

 

Some years ago I fell into following a lovely lady on YouTube who had her own ministry in America.  She was inspirational and called herself ‘the cheerleader of your dreams’. She quoted a lot of scriptures but took many out of context and adapted them to her premise of ‘living your dreams’ and getting everything you wanted.

With time I realized her understanding of the scriptures was rather limited and even shallow because she did not understand the connection of most of them to the House of Israel concept, Christ’s Church or the Plan of Salvation. In other words, she didn’t understand them deeply enough. She presumed the scriptures were tailored to the individual and missed the bigger picture.

In the end her scripture quoting frustrated me because I knew better what those scriptures meant, not because I was smarter but because I had been exposed to additional scriptures we have in the Church which give us the complete truth. I became so grateful for the treasure trove of scriptures we have and the continuous revelation we believe in.

I reflected on all the people in Christendom who believe that the Bible is complete and who cry: “A Bible! A Bible! We have got a Bible, and there cannot be any more Bible” (2 Nephi 29:3). Christ called such people fools who supposed that the Bible contains all His words. Those who reject so thoughtlessly more of His words, reject Him.  

Just recently I read an absolutely excellent article printed in the January 1995 Ensign titled “Scripture Reading and Revelation” by Elder Dallin H. Oaks. I could not possibly summarise here the wealth of knowledge and instruction given by Elder Oaks but there is something that stood out to me that I would like to share.

The premise of the article was gaining understanding of scriptures with what he called ‘open canon’, meaning the scriptures are open to greater understanding through revelation by the Holy Ghost and the living prophets, just to name a couple. I highly recommend you read this article.

The greatest proof of revelations of the living prophets comes to us through Joseph Smith. The Church has adopted these revelations into our theology and compiled them into Doctrine and Covenants. This set of scripture is actually an ‘open canon’ in a very important way because it continues to incorporate additional revelations as they come from the living prophets.

One example of this is one of my favourite sections in the entire Doctrine and Covenants, Section 138, which records the vision President Joseph F. Smith had of the Saviour’s visit to the spirit world during the three days His body lay in the tomb. This Section records the most powerful moment in time when the Saviour, having completed His crucible, came to the faithful in the world of spirits who awaited Him anxiously ‘rejoicing in the hour of their deliverance from the chains of death’ (v18).

When He appeared “….they bowed the knee and acknowledged the Son of God as their Redeemer and Deliverer….the radiance from the presence of the Lord rested upon them and they sang praises unto His holy name.” (v 23, 24)

This vision was accepted as scripture and added to the Doctrine and Covenants in 1918. The point is this. If our present prophet had a vision that the Council of the Twelve accepted as scripture and they added it to the Doctrine and Covenants, how would each of us feel about ‘open canon’? How we would feel would be a sure indication of how strong our testimony is of our present prophet.

When I study Doctrine and Covenants I know the icing on the cake is coming at the end. I know I will meet the Saviour there in Section 138 and I will cry tears of joy for the life He laid on the sacrificial table for all the faithful who love Him and accept His word.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art by Land of Dreams)

FULNESS OF JOY

 

When the Saviour was still with His disciples, they asked Him of the signs of His second coming. One might wonder why they would be so anxious to know that, seeing so much time would transpire between the meridian of time and the last days. Herein is the actual answer. They knew it would be a long time and that they would anxiously await the day of Redemption, for one reason: they would look ‘upon the long absence of their spirits from their bodies’ as a ‘bondage’ (D&C 45:17).

The evidence of this truth is recorded in Section 138 of the Doctrine and Covenants which describes the jubilation of the righteous in the spirit world when the Saviour came to them following His death ‘declaring liberty to the captives who had been faithful’ from the chains of death, ‘for the dead had looked upon the long absence of their spirits from their bodies as a ‘bondage’ (v 18).

Years ago I read one General Authority saying that we were so eager to come to earth that we were willing to accept lame, infirm, handicapped and even dysfunctional bodies. It puzzled me terribly because I had never looked upon my body as a great blessing.

At the time I presumed that we understood possessing a body only theoretically but not experientially, that we didn’t really know what it is like to have a body because we had never had one before. It was theory vs reality, like a woman who longed for a child ignorantly, not knowing what giving birth is really like.

So why would we look upon the absence of our bodies as bondage once we have experienced earth life with all its pains and sorrows, most of which are due to having a ‘corruptible’ body subject to illness and discomfort, a body which is ‘subject to the power of the Devil, and is under the mighty influence of that fallen nature that is of the earth’ (David A. Bednar, “Ye Are the Temple of God”, Ensign Sept 2001). This is why:

“When we go out of this life, leave this body, we will desire to do many things we cannot do at all without the body. We will be seriously handicapped and we will long for the body; we will pray for early reunion with our bodies. We will know then what advantage it is to have a body.

“Then every man and woman who is putting off until the next life the task of correcting and overcoming the weakness of the flesh are sentencing themselves to years of bondage, for no man or woman will come forth in the Resurrection until he has completed his work, until he has overcome, until he has done as much as he can do. (Melving J. Ballard, “Crusade for Righteousness, p 213).

A sobering thought, but this is the real reason. We are told that those who awaited the day of Resurrection in the spirit world, awaited it with eagerness ‘that they might receive a fulness of joy’ (D&C 138:17).

Think of all the pain and suffering of this life and contrast that to the perfect happiness we saw our heavenly parents in possession of before we were born. We wanted that……and we wanted this:

“The body that has been given to us was for the purpose of allowing the spirit to exalt itself to a nobler condition.”  (Melvin J. Ballard, “Crusade for Righteousness, p 12)

And so ‘the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy’ when the Saviour of our souls ‘laid the foundations of the earth’ (Job 38:4,7)…..and all glory and honour be to His name!!!  Forever and ever…...

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: World by Greg Olsen)

 

A BIRTH AND A DEATH

 

 

I cannot celebrate the Saviour’s birth without being reminded of His death. Every time I see the baby in the manger these words echo in my mind: “To this end was I born and for this cause came I into the world….” (John 18:37). You cannot have birth without death and you cannot have death without birth.

When I think of both, my consolation comes from remembering that the jubilation of Christ’s birth was outdone by the jubilation upon His return in triumph beyond the veil. Imagine the tears of sorrow at the cross and compare them to tears of celebration and gratitude that greeted the Saviour as He entered the spirit world:

“And there were gathered together in one place an innumerable company of the spirits of the just, who had been faithful in the testimony of Jesus while they lived in mortality…they were filled with joy and gladness and were rejoicing together because the day of their deliverance was at hand….while this vast multitude waited and conversed, rejoicing in the hour of their deliverance from the chains of death, the Son of God appeared, declaring liberty to the captives who had been faithful…..

“And the saints rejoiced in their redemption, and bowed the knee and acknowledged the Son of God as their Redeemer, and Deliverer from death and the chains of hell. Their countenances shone and the radiance from the presence of the Lord rested upon them, and they sang praises unto His holy name….” (D&C 138:12-18; 23-24)

And what of us who had not yet been born into mortality? We who awaited the return of Him who knew our earthly lives before we did? I imagine the gratitude would have been overwhelming. I imagine we fell down before Him in adoration and praise, knowing our salvation was secure and that the Atonement was fixed and in place to enable us to endure our tribulations and resist the evil forces that would seek to destroy us.

I imagine that the very heavens echoed the shouts of our praise. I imagine we wept tears of exquisite joy as we saw our God take His place upon His throne and I imagine all eternity shook as we cried with one voice: “Glory and honour, and power, and might, be ascribed to our God…..let the sun, moon and morning stars sing together and let all the sons of God shout for joy! And let the eternal creations declare his name forever and ever!” (D&C 84:102; 128:23)

 

Did you miss Your throne divine

When You crossed the threshold of the stable?

 And did You clutch my worth inside You

That made Your mortal task divinely able?

 

I heard the angels in the field

Sing praises to Your name;

And I sorrowed knowing, like holy water,

Your love would spill on sacrificial altar.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Jesus Ascends by Chris Brazelton)

ANGELS IN OUR MIDST

 

 

“I am convinced that one of the profound themes of the Book of Mormon is the role and prevalence and central participation of angels in the gospel story….One of the things that will become more important in our lives the longer we live is the reality of angels, their work and their ministry.

"I refer here not alone to the angel Moroni but also to those more personal ministering angels who are with us and around us, empowered to help us and who do exactly that (see 3 Nephi 7:18; Moroni 7:29-32,37; D&C 107:20).

"I believe we need to speak of and believe in and bear testimony of the ministry of angels more than we sometimes do. They constitute one of God’s great methods of witnessing through the veil, and no document in all this world teaches that principle so clearly and so powerfully as does the Book of Mormon.”

-        - Jeffrey R. Holland, For A Wise Purpose, Ensign January 1996, 16-17

“In the gospel of Jesus Christ, you have help from both sides of the veil, and you must never forget that. When disappointment and discouragement strike – and they will – you remember and never forget that if our yes could be opened we would see horses and chariots of fire as far as the eye can see riding at reckless speed to come to our protection. They will always be there, these armies of heaven, in defense of Abraham’s seed.”

-        - Jeffrey R. Holland, For Times of Trouble, BYU Speeches

 

Angels are you near me

To catch me if I fall?

Do you stand guard at the entrance

Of my heart

On God’s errand and sentinel’s call?

 

Do you pave the way

And steady my feet,

And ensure my enemy’s defeat?

 

You are unsung heroes

Of every journey’s flight

You are phantoms of love

Concealed from mortal sight.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Lightworkers by Greg Olsen)

THE SUM OF US

 

“Some have wondered why the Lord would appear to an enemy of the Church like Saul and subsequently call him to His ministry. Elder Bruce R. McConkie explained that this difficulty is resolved by understanding that the Lord’s plan of salvation encompasses our premortal life: ‘Saul was foreordained; nothing he had done on earth qualified him for what was ahead; but his native spiritual endowment, nurtured and earned in pre-existence, prepared him for the coming ministry’ (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 2:91)” (New Testament Institute Student Manual, Gospel Library)

 

It is truly amazing that the Lord would call two of the worst sinners to be mighty men in His Church and to bring thousands of souls to repentance. I speak of Saul of Tarsus, known as Paul the apostle, and Alma the Younger. When the Lord revealed the eternal nature of spirits to Abraham, he was shown the intelligences that ‘were organised before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones’ whom He determined to make rulers on earth (Abraham 3:22,23). Amongst those great ones were no doubt Paul and Alma. And this is what makes this doctrine one of comfort……imagine if we were judged only on the merit of this fallen world that we reside in now. How many of us would be fit for anything? Another comforting thought…..imagine if there was no room for error whilst in mortality! How many of us would be doomed??? The answer is, ALL. 

 

I am an idealist. I struggle with this life and what I am like here. I want the ideal me, now. I long to be the me I once was before my mortal birth: zealous, fearless and of perfect faith. Another comforting thought: God remembers me from that time and sees me in my entirety. My dearest friend always reminds me of that. My greatest attribute is that I love the truth and am very passionate about it. It keeps me afloat and ensures I stay on the straight and narrow. It keeps me grounded. Another comforting thought……the Saviour atoned for us as we are now, in this imperfect sinful world. Sometimes we feel inadequate and even worthless but I am certain He looks at us and thinks: If only you knew who you REALLY are!

 

Your truth in my soul, burns and burns

And guides me over and over back to Thee.

I hear the sweet sounds of home

Etched in my everlasting memory.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: The Robe of Righteousness by Phil McKay)

TRIUMPHANT CHRIST

 

 

Nothing touches my heart like the jubilation that greeted the Saviour when He arrived in the spirit world following His triumphant mortal mission. As the multitude of FAITHFUL spirits who ‘awaited the hour of their deliverance from the chains of death’ rejoiced and bowed before the Saviour, when He appeared, acknowledging Him as the Redeemer and Deliverer, their countenance shone and they sang praises unto His holy name (D&C 138:18,23,24).

 

Can you envisage this scene of joy and heartfelt gratitude? Can you imagine the sung praises  echoing throughout the heavens??? Was it not fitting that after the rejection, humiliation, derision and torture of the Garden and the cross at the hands of sinners, the Saviour would receive such a triumphant welcome from the faithful who rejoiced in His sacrifice, who believed in Him, who accepted Him, who loved Him??? Did He weep at such heartfelt acceptance and gratitude for what He had done and the honour that was paid to Him? 

 

The Saviour did not go to the unjust and the ungodly and to them His voice was not raised for they resided where the darkness reigned (vs 20,21,37) but following such heart rendering joy, the never ending merciful heart of the Saviour of the world would not forget that He atoned for them also and so to them He sent ‘the spirits of the prophets who had testified of Him in the flesh’ to proclaim His power of deliverance (vs 28,29,30,36). Amongst the wicked was the multitude of spirits who had perished in The Flood, over whom the Father wept when He showed them to Enoch (Moses 7:29-34) and to whom Noah preached for 120 years before the flood came (Genesis 6:3; Moses 8:17). Is this second chance not the merciful heart of God? Is this not love unfeigned and mercy unflawed? Is not this the heart of Jesus? This is the God we love, this is the God we worship, this is the Redeemer of our souls and the Saviour of our hearts and should we not sing praises to His holy name now and forever???

 

There is none like Thee,

My Saviour and my King

With power and glory in Thy wings!

How great Thy wisdom,

How great Thy mercy,

How great Thy love

That fills my joyful heart;

How very great Thou art!

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Jesus of Nazareth by John Zamudio)

THE WEAK THINGS OF THE WORLD

 I come from generations of European peasants. Poverty is ingrained in my family's consciousness.  My grandfather was raised to till the ground and farm the land he inherited from his family. To him, that was the way of life. The oldest of five sons, my father, was meant to inherit and carry on the family tradition. He, however, and four brothers that followed him were not interested in taking over the land. My father went into trade to become a bricklayer. His father was outraged and told him in very clear terms that he would not receive any support from him during his apprenticeship or ever after. All the sons went their separate ways and perpetuated the poverty consciousness they grew up with but the second youngest dared to break free from the family mold. Not surprisingly he was the only one that succeeded in his efforts to carve a successful life for himself.  This uncle of mine was born with certain talents that he would not deny. It became very evident early in his life that he had a talent for art. He loved drawing so much that he would secretly go to his friend's house after school and spend a considerable time there unrestrained, drawing to his heart's content. When he would eventually come home he would receive a beating from his father who thought drawing was foolishness and wanted to punish him for not being there to attend to family chores. When this uncle grew up he moved to the city, educated himself and became a very talented architect. He didn't stop there however. He proceeded to accomplish everything in his life that he wanted to do. Besides a lucrative career, he painted, he raced cars, invested himself in archeology, wrote books on his finds and opened a museum for gems and crystals. I am guessing he did all this because he knew who he was and chose to believe in himself. Whenever this uncle would visit us, he would be very respectful to my father who was the oldest brother in the family, but the differences between them were startling. My uncle lived in another city and he very much behaved like an educated city dweller that he was. He spoke with a city dialect and carried himself with dignity. My father, on the other hand, turned to drink to silence his fear of poverty which he could not break away from to his dying day. In other words, he remained a peasant.

I guess my uncle felt in his heart that he was not a peasant, even though he descended from generations of such before him. I am guessing that he recognized who he really was and sought to change the course of his destiny. I consider him exceptionally smart because he believed in the possibility of change. We know through Epigenetics that environmental factors such as diet and lifestyle can change gene activity in subsequent generations suggesting that DNA is not fixed, that DNA can be switched on or off and that we can change it by the choices we make: diet, lifestyle, thoughts, attitude, awareness and therapy. This means that we do not have to be poor, fat or sick like our progenitors. We do not have to follow those before us like blind sheep. Because we are all individuals, we all have different individual paths irrespective of our families before us. These paths are spiritually engineered and are individualized plans for mortality and beyond. The Saviour is a perfect example of this. Born into Jewish traditions and laws that His family had followed for centuries, He fulfilled the laws and changed the course of not only His family but the entire human race. The Saviour was true to who He was and to His mortal and spiritual destiny, no matter what the sacrifice.

We women of the free world have so much in this day and age. We have the ability and freedom to be whatever we want to be but more importantly than that, we have the freedom to be who we truly are. We are not stuffed into corsets, denied ownership of property or rights to an education. We have come a long way yet still many of us are forcing ourselves into molds created by others intent on proving that women are capable of anything and everything. The quest for equality has caused us to lose many womanly traits that are so badly needed in the world today. Many of us follow society's expectations at the risk of individuality and freedom to choose paths in mortality that will ensure our spiritual well being. Our ultimate destiny is to live with God forever. However, the path to eternal bliss begins here and now. It is our duty to perfect ourselves on this path of mortality employing our strongest capabilities and relying on God's assistance to get us to where we should be. There is a curse spoken by one tribe in Asia to their enemies that says "may you stay in one place for the rest of your life" or "may you stay where you are forever and may it torment you for the rest of your life". A life of regret would certainly be a curse we could carry upon us forever. We live in the most exciting and vibrant dispensation of all times. Joseph Smith stated once that "prophets, priests and kings have looked forward with joyful anticipation to the day in which we live; and fired with heavenly and joyful anticipations they have sung, written and prophesied of this our day...." (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p 231). Never before has the human race had the opportunities and resources we now have to polish ourselves and prepare ourselves for the golden age of the Millenium. Never before have we been given so much to ensure our spiritual destiny is obtainable. We stand at the threshold of another whole year of opportunities to repent, overcome, subdue, improve, and achieve.

When Joseph Smith said that prophets, priests and kings have looked forward with joyful anticipation to our day, he added that we are "the favoured people that God has made choice of to bring about the Latter-day glory; it is left for us to see, participate in and help to roll forward the Latter-day glory, the dispensation of the fullness of times", for of whom much is given, much is required, therefore, the obligation is two fold: to perfect ourselves and to perfect others. Do you feel weak or strong when you reflect on this responsibility? If you feel weak cast your mind on the humble beginnings of this dispensation and those who were commanded to lay the foundation of 'the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth' (D&C 1:30). In the words of one talented writer: "Who would lay the foundations of the Kingdom of God on the earth in the last Dispensation? Two simple farmers and a one-room school teacher would become the principle witnesses of the Book of Mormon. A potter, a glazer and simple carpenter would be called to stand firm by the Prophet Joseph. A twenty-three year old printer, who never joined the Church, would actually print and publish the Book of Mormon. A simple German farming family would provide a small 20 x 30 foot cabin as the first headquarters of the Church. A poor. unsuccessful homesteader who had never really been able to finish his payments on his land would be called off a canal boat to become of the great missionaries of these last days. The list could go on and on. And all of these led by a simple farm boy from western New York. And this would indeed be the stone cut out of the mountain without hands that will roll forth and fill the whole earth" (Scott Facer Proctor, "The Voice of Warning shall be Unto All People" Meridian Magazine).

How could such humble and weak men of the earth accomplish so great a work? The answer was given through Joseph F. Smith's vision of the spirit world where he saw Joseph Smith, his brother Hyrum and others. He observed that they were "among the noble and great ones who were chosen in the beginning to be rulers in the Church of God. Even before they were born, they, with many others received their first lessons in the world of spirits and were prepared to come forth in the due time of the Lord to labour in his vineyard for the salvation of the souls of men" (D&C 138:55,56). We are 'the others' who came to earth disguised as the weak and simple ones. We are the ones the Lord spoke of when he said 'the weak things of the world shall come forth and break down the mighty and strong ones...." (D&C 1:19). We are the ones crowned with nobility and greatness to accomplish the great work of bringing salvation to the souls of men.

Our destiny is our destination, being eternal life in the presence of God. May we strive to stay on the path that leads to this holy place, the place of our eternal home.

"Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, 

and called thee from the chief men thereof, 

and said unto thee,

Thou art my servant; 

I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away.

Fear thou not; for I am with thee:

be not dismayed; for I am thy God:

I will strengthen thee; 

yea, I will help thee;

yea, I will uphold thee with the

right hand of my righteousness."

- Isaiah 41:9,10