ISRAEL, THE CHOSEN II

 

I was blessed with a marvellous revelation this past weekend, after seeking understanding to bring me peace regarding the world as we know it that is crumbling at our feet. It not only brought me peace but discernment of what we, the saints of the last days, are facing. In the midst of all the commotion in the world, we will be part of exciting events that are hastening the return of Him whom we so eagerly expect. Now is the time to not only lose fear and trust in His protection but to hang onto the promise President Uchdorf made in October 2020 General Conference that 'God will yet do something unimaginable'. I believe what is ahead of us is of more grandeur than what is behind us in regards to the 'great and marvelous work' the Lord has set His hand to.

Since the beginning of the Church, we have been engaged in the gathering of the House of Israel. This has been a noble endeavour but this is nothing compared to what is ahead. Jeremiah tells us that the day will come when the Lord will no longer be referred to as the Lord who brought the children of Israel out of Egypt in a mass Exodus, but that he will be known as the Lord who 'brought up the children of Israel from all the lands whither he had driven them' (Jeremiah 16:14-16). This is the most profound prophecy of our day and it will be fulfilled on a massive scale. There are some amazing things ahead of us and we should begin to look forward to them.

We are a special body of people, a 'peculiar' people'. We should be happy to bear this label upon our heads. The original meaning of this word in Hebrew means 'private property which is laid up or reserved; select, precious, endeared, something exceedingly prized and diligently preserved'. We are a 'particular' people. We are Israel, God's chosen people, because we are on the covenant path. We are a 'peculiar treasure' (Exodus 19:5); a 'royal priesthood, an holy nation' (1 Peter 2:9). We have reason to rejoice because we are part of something grand. He who is preparing to return has chosen us for such a time as this, where we will shine forth as valiant people who have covenanted with Him long before the world began that we will stand firm in the midst of evil and bring forth a 'marvellous work and a wonder'.

We Israel, Thine inheritance

Are the workmanship of Thy hands;

We have eaten the bread of adversity

And drunk the water of affliction;

We wait upon Thy promises

To gather us and nourish us

With peace as a river

And righteousness as the waves of the sea;

We will come to Zion with songs

And everlasting joy upon our heads

To shout praises to Thy holy name

To worship Thee as our God and our King.

• Cathryne Allen

(Art: Second Coming by John McNaughton)

BEAUTY FOR ASHES

 

I am fascinated with the reverence we pay to beauty in our society. This post is not just for women but for men also. Even though men are more resilient when it comes to this subject, I suspect they too are affected by the world's push to be a slave to the ‘aesthetics’, hence the obsession with gyms and weight lifting. I get it, everyone wants to look good because beauty gladdens the eye. Beauty has been revered from day immemorial. In this day and age, however, it is reaching its peak. For women it is all about ‘the glow’ and ‘anti-aging’. If you are 60, you are supposed to look like you are 40. You are not allowed to age hence every skin care product out there is labelled ANTI-aging. I am in no way advocating neglect of the body but would like to accentuate here the need to care for the spirit more.

Since we live in ‘bodies corruptible’, physical beauty is not lasting and aging is inevitable. I remember Elder Haight saying in one general conference that aging is God's reminder that He will not leave us here forever. And thank goodness for that! For now we are telestial beings which means we are in our crudest form. We are required to be physically grounded but spiritually we are meant to be above this world.

When the early saints were enduring severe persecution in 1833, the Saviour told them ‘…care not for the body, neither the life of the body; but care for the soul, and for the life of the soul.’ (D&C 101:37). He also said: "...fear not even unto death" (v36). Even though this advice was given in reference to persecution, I would like to propose that this has meaning for us also. Firstly, there is a lot of fear out there right now regarding the body and death. My second point is this: The body that we lay down in this life will not be so much the body that we will be resurrected to.

When we are resurrected, our bodies will be glorified to the extent of our righteousness. They will match the beauty of the soul residing within it. They will not match the level of exercise and nutrition we focused all our efforts on whilst neglecting the spirit within. It is the spirit that our glorified body will match. That’s why the telestial bodies resemble the glory of the stars; terrestrial, the moon; and celestial, the sun.

When the Saviour returns to earth in His glory, there will be no more need for the sun and the moon to give light to His covenant people in New Jerusalem. The city will be lighted up by the glory of His presence (Isaiah 60:19-22; Orson Pratt, Journal of Discourses 14:355-56)). He will be the sun.....This is what it means to be of celestial glory. Can you imagine a more beautiful body than that???

The Lord created us to eternal beauty of both body and spirit. Instead of obsessing over endless gym sessions and multiplying wrinkles, and fearing death, we should first and foremost seek Him who gives us beauty of eternal life…who elevates us above the cares of this world and who sets us free from the world and gives us hope of life everlasting....

Let your soul and spirit fly into eternal glory.....

Whenever my mind idles

My thoughts fly to Thee

And I am free;

Whenever my mind empties,

It fills with thoughts of Thee

And I am free;

Whenever my mind wanders,

It finds a path to Thee

And I am free.

• Cathryne Allen

A SACRIFICE IN HIS SERVICE

I will spread the word

                                                          Your gift of salvation to honour

And satisfy man’s hidden hunger

I will help them know

Your arms are their shelter

Your heart is their home

Their only hope

For protection from the storm

 

 

In 1833 the prophet Joseph was instructed to head a mission with Sidney Rigdon which took them all the way to Canada (D&C 100). This calling came at the time that the enemies in Missouri were gathering their forces for an assault upon the Church. You can imagine the anxiety these brethren would have been under to leave their families at such a time. Nevertheless, they went and this mission was incredibly productive. It paved the way for Parley P. Pratt to find John Taylor, the future president of the Church, two years later. I am constantly amazed at the sacrifices that were required of the early saints for the restoration of the Gospel. 

One such man was John Murdock who was called to go on a mission to the Eastern States of America in 1832 and who had at that time been preaching the gospel for over a year whilst his children, motherless after the death of their mother, Julia Clapp, resided with other families in Ohio. His newborn twins were given to Joseph and Emma Smith to adopt. After the death of his wife, John Murdock sold his property to become a full-time missionary. He served several missions for the Church and in 1851 became Australia’s first Mission President. He survived the death of three wives and four children whilst serving many missions and faithfully fulfilling  many callings in the Church. 

 

Another early Church member worthy of mention is Elder Orson Hyde. Orson Hyde was just a new convert in 1832 when Joseph Smith gave him a blessing and told him that in due time he would go to Jerusalem, the land of his fathers, and that he would there prepare the way and facilitate the gathering of the Jewish people to their land. Elder Hyde left for this important mission at the beginning1840 but it took him over a year and a half to get to the Holy Land. He relied on the goodness of people he met along the way to finance this trip and by working his way through Europe whilst engaging in missionary work. He finally secured a passage to Jaffa on a ship with inadequate food and had to subsist on snails gathered from the coastal rocks for many days. On October 1841 he ascended the Mount of Olives and after spending considerable time thinking and writing the dedicatory prayer, he knelt and dedicated the land of Israel for the gathering, following which he erected a pile of stones as a witness and a testimony of what he had done. Having dedicated the Holy Land, he began a laborious journey home surviving the worst storm at sea he had ever experienced and spending four weeks in quarantine in Italy with the rest of his fellow passengers. His path home led him across the Alps and included a prolonged sojourn in Germany and England. He finally arrived home in December 1842 after what was almost certainly the most dangerous mission in the history of the early Church. He had not seen his family for three years. 

 

Nobody’s sacrifice, however, could equal that of John the Beloved who chose to remain on Earth until the Saviour's return ‘to bring souls unto Him’ (D&C 7:1-2). We of course don’t yet have John’s account of his time here since Jesus’ departure but I am certain it would make for riveting reading. I have often wondered what kind of courage it would have taken for John to choose this fate for himself. I imagine when your heart fully belongs to Him who offers salvation from the jaws of hell, you get to feel like Paul of old who said: "Woe be unto me if I preach not the Gospel" (1 Corinthians 9:16). Nevertheless, I cannot imagine living on this earth and 'sorrowing for the sins of the world' for 2,000 years like The Beloved has done. My thoughts go to him from time to time and gratitude fills my heart that we have such valiant souls who are so devoted to the Saviour of all mankind and who serve us, less valiant but not less deserving.....

 

 

I long to see the paths he wanders

To and fro the length of the earth

I wish to wipe his brow

At the end of the day

To uphold the magnitude of his holy work

Let me hold him close

And soothe his heavy heart

As the time for final gathering nears

And let me gather in my cupped hands

The hallowed drops of The Beloved's tears

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A CALL TO RIGHTEOUSNESS

 

I think it is safe to say that most of us are by now looking forward to the Millenium. I also think the day will come all too soon when we will be begging for it. 

I remember reading years ago a dedicatory prayer of one of the American temples, offered by Elder Featherstone, in which he said that the day will come when the only place the saints will feel peace will be within the walls of the holy temples. He also said that we will long to be able to bring our children to the temple to escape the world. Imagine the desperation……

Right now the adversary reigns supreme. Why? Because the world is giving him the power. The only power he can have is the power that we give him. Seeing he has no body, he operates through us who do. He has taken possession of the minds of many who are in power to be able to control the rest of us. Hence the Lord’s warning in the scriptures about ‘the conspiring men of the last days’ (D&C 89:4). 

One of my favourite passages of scripture in Isaiah are the ones that describe Satan’s eventual fall. Isaiah says he will be reduced to such nothingness that people will look upon him and ask: “Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms?” (Isaiah 14:12-20). We, as the body of the House of Israel, have an amazing responsibility. Mormon expressed it well when he said: “….for we have a labour to perform whilst in this tabernacle of clay, that we may conquer the enemy of all righteousness….” (Moroni 9:6). The conquering will result in the binding of Satan for a whole one thousand years. 

When the Saviour comes and all the telestial people are destroyed, there will be no one left who will heed Satan’s call, he will no longer have anyone who will give him any power and will therefore be ‘bound’. He will lose all power……but until then it is our responsibility to build ourselves, firstly by being aware of his tactics:

 

HIS THREE DOCTRINES:

1.     There is no punishment for sin;

2.     There is nothing after death;

3.     He does not exist.

HIS THREE LIES:

1.     Just once won’t hurt;

2.     No one will know;

3.     Everybody is doing it.

HIS VALUE SYSTEM:

1.     Selfishness;

2.     Self-indulgence;

3.     Immediate gratification.

HIS SALES TECHNIQUES:

1.     Pacifying;

2.     Flattering;

3.     Lulling.

HIS GOAL:

1.     To steal our spiritual identity;

2.     To kill our faith in God;

3.     To destroy our commitment to Christ.

 

Our only recourse to fight this foe is in Him who has already overcome and paved the way for the rest of us. By the virtue of our discipleship, we can have access to His power to overcome the enemy of all righteousness that we may meet Him at His appearing clothed in robes of righteousness (Isaiah 61:10; 2 Nephi 9:14; D&C 29:12;109:76), with clean hands and pure hearts worthy to be sanctified and exalted to our rightful place…..

Grant me power God

For purity of my thoughts

The cleanliness of my lips

The righteous paths I need to walk;

Grand me power to crush each tempter’s snare

That my hands may be clean

The hem of Thy robe to touch

When I kneel before Thy throne

To enter the splendour of my celestial home.

 

- Cathryne Allen 

(Art: The Robe of Righteousness by Phil McKay) 

 

ISRAEL, THE CHOSEN

 

Up until now I always believed that the persecution which the early saints suffered was brought upon them unjustly and unfairly. This year somehow as I have studied Doctrine and Covenants yet again, I took notice of something rather significant which I missed before. More than once, the Lord warned the saints that if they were not obedient to His commandments they would be visited 'with sore affliction, with pestilence, with plague, with sword, with vengeance, with devouring fire' (D&C 97:26; 101:1,2,6; 103:1-4). The saints, however, did not fully heed this warning and the promised devastation ensued starting in early November of 1833. 

This reminded me of ancient Israel who didn't heed God's warnings either and suffered greatly through persecution at the hands of the heathen nations around them until they lost their inheritance and were scattered throughout the world. They say history repeats itself......mostly because we don't learn from it. 

Nephi, the great visionary, saw us in the last days and the persecution that is facing us also (1 Nephi 14:12-17) but with a great difference. He says in verse 14 that even though our numbers were small on the face of the earth, we were armed with 'righteousness and with the power of God in great glory'. This to me accentuates the responsibility placed on us to be the people who will prepare the way for the Lord to fulfil all God's covenants which He has made with His people Israel (vs 17). Now is the time to up our obedience so we can increase our power. We don't know what is waiting for us but we do know that we will have the power to endure it and ensure the glorious destiny of the House of Israel.

We are modern day Israel. We have to do better and be better than we were in the past....so to Him who has chosen us from 'the hole of the pit whence we are digged' and 'the rock whence we are hewn'....from Abraham our father and Sarah our mother (Isaiah 51:1,2) we say this:

We are Israel, Thy chosen seed

Who in times past disregarded Thee

But now Thine angels rejoice over us

And Thou art as promised dew unto us

To bring us to life and nurture our growth

To make us mighty in this earthly abode;

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

Fear not Israel, you are free; you are special, you are loved, you are in the bosom of your God.....there to remain forever.

·       Cathryne Allen 

 

FEAR NOT THE WORLD

 

For the past year and a half I have allowed the state of the world and its' future to trouble me; so much so that it has started to emotionally and physically affect me. This morning as I studied Isaiah chapter 54, a ray of sunshine broke in on my vision of the whole situation and gave me clearer understanding. The chapter deals with the promises the Lord has made to the House of Israel in the last days.

My heart ached with vibration of words I heard the Saviour speak:

"For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee...O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted.....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.....whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake.....no weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper..."

The dawning of truth that came to me is this: we do not need to fear the world, because we are not OF the world. We are altogether a separate entity. This chapter speaks a lot about the Lord's protection of us, who are His inheritance (Deuteronomy 32:9) and His favoured people above all the people of the earth (Deuteronomy 7:6). We might be scattered throughout the world and not be gathered into one country physically but we are spiritually gathered under the shadow of His wings. This is our heritage as His servants (Isaiah 54:17). This is our right and our promise. This is our life line wherein should lie our hope.

Fear not Israel, your God is with you......He has graven you on the palms of His hands......(Isaiah 49:16).

• Cathryne Allen

(Art by Yongsung Kim)

WHEN LIFE IS UNFAIR

 

I was tempted my problems

To lay to Your charge

I considered them acutely unfair;

Then You opened my heart

And showed me Your godly task

Beyond human capacity to bear;

Knowing where you had gone

I would never need to go

I sorrowed and sought my arrogance to bury;

In humility I assent Your mortal burden

So valiant, so holy

I would never in this life have to carry.

I was feeling the weight of my problems and the state of the world the other day to the point of tears when for a split second I was given to understand the reality of the Saviour's mortal life and the crucible that was His and His only and I was humbled to the core of my being....for no other could bear what He bore. Elder Renlund delivered a talk relating to this subject in last General Conference entitled "Infuriating Unfairness" that is worth while to reference when we feel our life is unfair. To his remarks I add this, the sum of the Saviour's mortal life:

• Members of His family did not at first accept Him as the Messiah (John 7:5);
• People in His home town sought to kill Him (Luke 4:16-30);
• His countrymen rejected his Messianic calling (John 1:11);
• One friend betrayed Him, another denied knowing Him (Luke 22:48, 54-62);
• In the end all His disciples forsook him and fled (Matthew 25:56);
• His enemies demanded his crucifixion (Matthew 27:22-23)

We all know how the story ended.....the climax of His life, the crucible of Gethsemane and Calvary.....surely He who has 'borne our griefs and carried our sorrows' (Isaiah 53:4) has the power to bear us up now in the thick of things in these the last days.....

Be strong no matter what happens and believe.

• Cathryne Allen