THE TREE OF LOVE

 

I don’t know about the rest of the world, but here in Australia, Easter goodies start appearing in stores as soon as the Christmas fare has been cleared away. I used to view this as greedy commercialism but this year I have begun to think differently. Greedy commercialism or not, the world’s focus on Christ diminishes post-Christmas and the Easter goodies now in our stores can somehow keep us in remembrance of Him as we near an even more significant event than His birth. 

 

It is my hope that before Easter, we will as members of His Church, reflect upon a set of enormously significant scriptures found in 2 Nephi. When Nephi, being the dutiful son that he was, inquired of God the meaning of the tree of life that his father had seen in a dream, an angel appeared to him to tutor him.  When the angel asked Nephi if he knew what the tree represented,  Nephi answered that it is the love of God, most desirable above all (2 Nephi 11:22,23).  Immediately following his answer he was shown a vision of the Savior during His mortal ministry.  It becomes very clear through Nephi's vision that the love of God is manifest to his children through the gift of His only begotten son.

 

Living on this side of the veil and experiencing the harshness of mortal life, it is easy at times to feel unloved by God because he allows misfortune to befall us or we don't get in life what we want.  We wonder how He could possibly love us when we are in the depths of despair and need so much that we don't have.  All the while we are wondering where the love of God is for us, He is hoping against all hope that we would open our eyes and see that He could not give us greater proof of His love than He has already done so through His son.  Why would Jesus be the ultimate expression of God's love for us?  Because through him God is offering us the greatest gift he could possibly give us, the gift of eternal life.  This life is but a moment, a few years of school so to speak but eternity is forever.  For this reason God's greatest desire is not that we have everything in this life but in the next and there is only one person who can make that happen.

 

Now that the celebration of His birth is over, let us prepare for the reminder of one event that we should never forget…..

 

The fruit, so precious and sweet,

The Father laid at our feet.

No greater gift He had to offer

The broken, the lost and the weary

Than the tree of life,

Yielding fruit with endless supply.

He gathers the fruit spilt on the ground

That multiplies with each harvest of

Penitent hearts.

The fruit, so precious and sweet,

Grows on the cross at the Father’s feet.

 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

Art: The Tree of Life by Annie Henrie Nader

 

THE DIVINE HOUSE OF ISRAEL - A FAVOURED PEOPLE

 

As I finished studying 3 Nephi this morning I was overwhelmed with gratitude for my believing heart. I have read the final chapter of this book many times before but not until today did I feel my heart swell with thankfulness for my ability to believe. 

 

Mormon ended this book with a clear view of our day when the Gentiles would disbelieve and even ‘spurn’ and ‘hiss’ at the Lord’s doing in bringing about the Book of Mormon and the restoration of His Church (3 Nephi 29:4,8). These are very strong yet adequately descriptive words of exactly what is happening in our day. To ‘spurn’ means to reject with disdain and to ‘hiss’ means to express contempt. I have had comments in this Group by non-members doing exactly this under the pretext of helping me ‘find my way back to God’. What is more disturbing for me is knowing Church members who have fallen away and are ‘spurning’ and ‘hissing’….

 

Mormon also ended 3 Nephi admonishing the Gentiles to come unto Christ and be numbered with His favoured people, the House of Israel (3 N 30:2).  Words cannot express to you my love for this special group of believers who have a divine destiny. Political correctness of today would accuse us of being elitists by saying we are favoured of God, but we are. To understand the scriptures is to know this. The Saviour so loved the House of Israel that He called it ‘the apple of His eye’ (Deuteronomy 32:9,10; Zechariah 2:8; Psalm 17:8). He went so far as to say that Israel is favoured above all nations of the earth (Deuteronomy 7:6); that He would sacrifice all  others for Israel;  and gather them from the ends of the earth (Isaiah 43:1-7). I testify that WE are the treasure at the center of His heart because He ‘loveth those who would have Him be their God’ (1 N 17:40)

 

My fellow Israelites, you are cherished, you are loved, you are special, you reside in the deepest caverns of His heart….you are His people…..

 

Thy love for Thy people is beyond compare,

Thy mercy affixed forever more.

Thy power delivered us and 

Thy loving kindness has gathered us;

We are restored to our rightful place

A servant in Thy might,

We are Israel, children of light.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

Art: Joy by Youngsung Kim

 

 

 

FAITH TO BE HEALED

 

"I am convinced that no soul has ever been whipped into this mortal existence; that each one of us came willingly, cheerfully, and gladly; even though we might have known that we were to inherit a body that was crippled, maimed, and deformed, still we were glad to come.....We knew that it meant sorrow, pain, and ultimately, death, and yet we rejoiced in the prospect to come. We saw beyond the valley of the shadow of death, with all of its pain, with all of its suffering, the grand vistas of the eternities, providing for man's eternal and endless progress, on, up and up, until we should attain unto what God is. Yet we knew that we could never ascend until we had descended and had been given a mortal tabernacle, and the union of the spirit and the body had become an accomplished fact. So by the attraction of it all we came gladly and willingly, for our eyes were not so much centred upon the sorrows and troubles of life as upon the grandness of that which lies beyond." (Melvin J. Ballard, "Sermons and Missionary Services of Melvin J. Ballard", p. 179)

It is staggering to think we rejoiced to come despite all we would suffer in mortality. Quite clearly we focused more on the grand result rather than the process and I feel we did this for one reason, that reason being our faith in the sustaining and saving power of Christ. Because of this faith we do not need to suffer as much as we do in this life. When the Saviour visited the Nephites post resurrection He told them that their faith was sufficient for Him to heal them (3 N 17:8). Mormon records that they brought to Him ‘their sick and ‘afflicted in any manner’ (v9), which suggests physical and mental sicknesses, and the Saviour healed them all. After all the healings and miracles He performed among them, the Saviour told them it was because of their exceeding faith which He had never seen among the Jews (3 N 19:35).

Some people who turn to God receive an immediate healing and for some it comes over time. Some never receive a total healing but are given strength to bear their mortal frailties. I don't know why. I do know that our part is to exercise utmost faith to receive the healing. I also know that there is a plan for each of us and that we all need to experience suffering at some time to become like Christ who suffered it all. To receive the desired end some need an instant miracle to convince them of Christ's power and love; some need to learn lessons that come through continuous suffering with increments of His sustaining power; and some need to learn to trust and believe and be proved by their patience. I also believe that nobody's acknowledgement of the Saviour's power will go unanswered and their faith not honoured, sometime, somewhere. My heart goes out to those who are in the waiting room. I know something of that place. My belief is though that you will not be left there forever, just don't be afraid, but only believe.

I pledged my life into thy hands

When by example you showed me how;

I promised my pains to endure

When I was with You and even now.

You dried my tears when I barely coped

And carried me when I could walk no more;

You fed me truths I needed to know

And nurtured my flight into the unknown.

I found you at every turn

In the shadow of my heart;

With eager haste I approach Thy throne

And offer my meagre part.

• CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: A Thread of Faith by Howard Lyon)

THE POWER OF SACRAMENT

 

There is a priesthood ordinance that can elevate us, with a steady continuous process, to heights we should all want to reach. It is the ordinance of Sacrament. Much can be written about this subject but I will recount here what was impressed upon my mind recently as I was reading Christ’s teachings to the Nephites regarding this. 

 

The Saviour’s admonition to the Nephites to partake of the sacrament was first and foremost so that they always remember Him and thereby have His spirit to be with them (3 N 18:7). Mormon goes on to explain that as the people partook of the bread and the wine they were ‘filled’ (3 N 18:9). This was not a physical fulness but the fulness of the spirit which He promised them. And here is an amazing promise: In his conference address of October 1998, Elder Oaks defined the blessings of the sacrament saying that the ministering of angels, which certainly appeared to the Nephites (3 N 19:15), is also a part of the promises of the sacrament prayers to those who ‘worthily’ partake of the sacrament. This state of worthiness is something we need to understand more clearly. Often we think this means that we are worthy if we are not violating any commandments but if this was true, none of us would be taking the sacrament…..being worthy to partake means approaching the sacramental table with a broken heart and a contrite and penitent spirit. It means taking the sacrament with a promise that we will forsake whatever wrong we are doing. It means covenanting to repent. Partaking of the sacrament means renewing our baptismal covenant which is the covenant of obedience  therefore each time we take the sacrament, we should be covenanting to be obedient. Being unworthy, however, means having no such intention and taking the sacrament anyway. I urge you to read Elder Groberg’s conference talk of April 1989 for further clarification of this. 

 

The Saviour also told the Nephites another very significant component of the sacrament. He said if they always remember Him they will be built upon His rock (3 N 18:12) but if they don’t, the gates of hell are ready open to receive them (v3)…. so the sacrament becomes a protection from the adversary. Here’s why we would want this protection: Jesus warned the Nephites, like he warned Peter, that Satan desires to have them that he may sift them as wheat (3 N 18:18). I grew up in Croatia witnessing wheat harvests and I actually know what sifting of the wheat looks like and I can tell you I wouldn’t want to be sifted….consider Bruce R. McConkie’s eloquent explanation of this: “In essence and thought content Jesus is saying, ‘Peter, Satan wants you in his harvest. He wants to harvest your soul, and bring you into his granary, into his garner, where he will have you as his disciple’….” (Sermons and Writings of Bruce R. McConkie, ed. Mark L. McConkie [1998], 127).

 

To conquer the enemy, we must know the enemy. I posted the following before but feel impressed to do so again: Satan’s goal is to steal our spiritual identity; kill our faith in God; and destroy our commitment to Christ. And this is how he operates:  

 

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.

 

The covenant of obedience through the sacrament gives us the power to defeat the enemy of our souls. He is the thief in the night, the enemy of all righteousness, the destroyer, the ever vigilant annihilator of all dreams, hopes and the higher ground we must ascend to. But this does not have to be so for us because the path has been provided through Him to whom we belong.

 

Like a bird in flight

My sins ascend to Thee

Rising from the ashes of mortality

They seek your love to set them free.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Forgiven by Greg Olsen)

HONOURING THE FATHER

 

I have often wondered how the children who are born into abusive homes are expected to obey the commandment ‘honour thy father and thy mother’. I have no words about some stories of abused children that have come to light recently in our society. It is beyond me to understand such parental abuse. One of the members of our Group commented recently that she was born into a very abusive home and ‘while she didn’t understand why at the time, she is grateful for all that she has been through to become the awesome daughter of God that she now is’. I was elated to hear this. I ache for those who have been damaged beyond their capacity to rise above their childhood trauma but I somehow think the Saviour will one day make this right, as He will with many other things. Somehow, some day, they will be given the ability to rise and overcome and be healed.

 

Right now I am revisiting the Saviour’s visit to the Americas in the Book of Mormon and I have noticed something significant that has made me reflect on this commandment. I wonder if the commandment to honour our earthly parents is symbolic of a greater one. When the Father introduced His Son to the Nephites, He stated: “Behold my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” and then immediately He said, “in whom I have glorified my name” (3 N 11:7). When the Saviour identified himself as Jesus Christ He stated the same thing: “….I have glorified the Father” (3 N 11:11). This immediately brought to my mind: “This is my work and MY GLORY - to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39). This statement is dual in meaning. It means, as the Father exalts us to eternal life to possess glory ourselves, we add to His already existent glory. The more children He exalts, the more glory He gains. This is what the Saviour meant when He said He glorified the Father and He certainly obeyed the commandment to ‘honour his father and mother’. 

 

Now cast your mind back to our pre-existence. When the Saviour volunteered to bring us back to the Father’s presence He said: “Father, thy will be done, and the GLORY be thine forever” (Moses 4:2). I am not discounting the fact that the Saviour loved us and wanted to save us because of that but I am convinced His first and foremost reason was to preserve and add to Father’s glory. What makes me wonder is this…..how many of us defended the Father’s plan because our love for Him was more important to us than the free agency which we fought to preserve? How many of us fought for Him more than we fought for ourselves?

 

For years, the Saviour was first and foremost in my mind but now I am at this stage of my life where I am beginning to see the Father and not just the Son. This is what the Son does, He reveals the Father (Matthew 11:27). And with this clearer view my desire to bring honour and glory to His name grows. I pray for this ability each day. It has changed my life. It has granted me a dimension of obedience and love I have not seen in myself before. It has lifted me above this world. This disclosure is offered here with hope that it will lift someone who has suffered parental abuse. May you turn to the Father who loves you with a perfect love and who can bring you home to be in His glorious presence forever. 

 

Grant me the hope Father

In this darkness

That I will one day see Your light;

And spare me Father the afflictions

Of my lonely heart.

Bear me up as on eagles’ wings

And carry me into

Thy benevolent embrace

That we might never again part

But instead bask in the union

Of our celestial hearts. 

 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: The Anointed One by Joseph Brickey)

DIVINE ORIGIN OF MAN

 

There is a Ridley Scott movie entitled "Exodus, Gods and Kings". I was excited to see this movie as it has been many years since the last depiction of Moses' story which was "The Ten Commandments". Even though "Exodus, Gods and Kings" was a very well made movie I felt it was very much lacking in spirit. I do not know if Ridley Scott is a religious man or what his motivation was for making this movie which was dedicated to his late brother. The insight I gleaned from my observation of this movie is not in line with criticism of his work. My insight has to do with the depiction of Moses and his non-existent relationship with God. This Moses was portrayed as someone who knew not God and as a result doubted Him at every turn. As I contemplated this, I reflected upon Moses' encounter with God, the account of which we have in The Pearl of Great Price. The Book of Moses in The Pearl of Great Price records that God who introduced Himself to Moses as 'the Lord God Almighty' (Moses 1:3) addressed Moses as 'my son' and proceeded to do so more than once inferring a paternal relationship. 

 

God gave Moses the vision of all the worlds He has created and the purpose of this earth. This is followed by the most powerful statement God has ever made: "For behold, this is my work and my glory - to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39). The majestic I Am who created the earth that Moses stood on considered Moses and all who dwell on this earth His greatest creations. And not just any creations, but spiritual offspring of divine origin.

 

I wondered if Ridley Scott's Moses would have been different if he had read The Pearl of Great Price. As I pondered more about this, a familiar scripture came into my mind: "And because my words shall hiss forth - many of the Gentiles shall say: A Bible! A Bible! We have got a Bible, and there cannot be any more Bible" (2 Nephi 29:3). Would we know better of Moses and the origin of man if we despised revelation and rejected further words of God? Are we grateful for additional scripture that sits on our bookshelves? Are we studying with real intent the words of eternal life that are at our disposal? God said something else very significant to Moses: "And in a day when the children of men shall esteem my words as naught and take many of them from the book which thou shalt write, behold, I will raise up another like unto thee; and they [the lost words] shall be had again among the children of men - among as many as shall believe" (Moses 1:41). 'Another like unto thee' is of course Joseph Smith (2 Nephi 3:7-9) who gave us the Book of Moses as a result of revelation whilst translating the Bible in June 1830. How much the adversary had to gain by having the Book of Moses lost from the Bible! But the work of God cannot be frustrated and the enemy will never win. 

 

 

Your truth pierces my soul

And binds me to Your loving heart.

Your teaching moments

Find my hungry mind

And feed me like a bird in flight

Searching for a morsel

That gladdens its hungry heart.

Your mysteries are laid at my feet

And I, I come to you Father

Clutching these riches that are mine to keep.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

ART: From the video dramatization of J. R. Holland, “Cast Not Away Therefore Your Confidence” (BYU Devotional Address, 2 March 1999).

THE PRIVILEGE OF DISCIPLESHIP

 

 

I have been an admirer of Mormon for many years and here’s why: Mormon lived during the most evil period of American history and witnessed the destruction of the entire Nephite civilization. At the tender age of 16 he became the leader of  the Nephite armies (Mormon 2:1,2),  an appointment which began his valiant ministry among the Nephites with firm hopes of circumventing inevitable doom. His frantic and heart wrenching calls to repentance despite his better judgment were for one purpose only - "to declare His word among His people, that they might have everlasting life" (3 Nephi 5:13).  Likewise, his purpose in writing and compiling The Book of Mormon was to have us, in our day, "come unto Christ" (Mormon 8:35). Mormon did this for this one outstanding reason. It sends shivers up my spine when I read: "And behold I am called Mormon.....and I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of  God..." (3 Nephi 5:12,13).

 

And here is food for thought: “The word ‘disciple’ comes from the Latin meaning ‘a learner’. A disciple of Christ is one who is learning to be like Christ – learning to think, to feel, and to act as he does. To be a true disciple, to fulfil that learning task, is the most demanding regimen known to man. No other discipline compares….in either requirements or rewards. It involves the total transformation of a person from the state of the natural man to that of a saint, one who loves the Lord and serves with all of his heart, might, mind and strength.” (Chauncey C. Riddle, ‘Becoming a Disciple’, Ensign Sept 1974, p 81).

 

A further food for thought for those of you who are suffering: “…the very act of choosing to be a disciple can bring to us a certain special suffering….such suffering and chastening is the dimension that comes with deep discipleship, when the Lord takes us to the very edge of our faith, we teeter at the edge of our trust….in a form of learning as it is administered at the hands of a loving Father.” (Neal A Maxwell). 

 

What I see in Mormon as  Christ’s disciple is someone who has absolute, unrestrained devotion to His teachings and a sacrifice of all that is necessary to maintain such commitment. Despite the challenge of living in such an evil day, my hat goes off to this man who found a reason to rejoice: “I am Mormon, and a pure descendant of Lehi. I have reason to bless my God and my Saviour Jesus Christ…that he hath given me and my people so much knowledge unto the salvation of our souls” (3 Nephi 5:20). It’s the scripture that I will carry with me into 2022. 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN