A TRAIL OF LOVE

 

My favourite book of the New Testament is the Gospel of John, ‘the disciple whom Jesus loved (John 21:7,20). I see love permeating all of John’s writing. The most endearing is his account of events prior to Christ’s death.  Matthew and Mark wrote briefly of Christ's visit to the town of Bethany before His death. They both said that He was in the house of Simon, the leper, and 'a woman' came and anointed him with precious oil (Matt 26:6,7; Mark 14:3). Luke doesn't even mention the incident. John however, gives us a much clearer view and why it was important for it to be recorded properly. John records that six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany (John 12:1-3).  Why Bethany? Because in Bethany lived Lazarus and his sisters Mary and Martha. This is where Jesus was loved, comforted, accepted and believed so Bethany was his place of refuge. The Passover was imminent and it heralded the beginning of the end.  Imagine with what heavy heart Jesus came to Lazarus' house for the last time. And imagine what solace He felt as the woman who anointed Him was, according to John, not just any woman but Mary, who sat at His feet and hungered for His words of eternal life. It makes sense that Mary would be the woman who would anoint Him for his burial (John 12:7). Mary anointed not only his feet but his head also (Mark 14:3), 'an act of reverential homage rarely rendered even to kings' (James Talmage, "Jesus The Christ", p 512 ). 

Mary spared no expense for the one she loved for she anointed Him with the costly ointment of spikenard. Lazarus' family was wealthy and well known to all the Jews in Jerusalem, especially to the Jewish Council who sought to kill him because Christ raised him from the dead which caused many of the Jews to believe on Him (John 12:10-11). And did Lazarus withdraw his hospitality and shun Jesus because his life was in jeopardy? No, because he loved Him.  So you see He was in a house of love before He began His journey to His death. John wrote this. He made special mention of it because I believe it was important to him to record that even though Christ was despised, bruised and rejected, He was also loved.

None of the other gospels speak of the discourse on love that Jesus delivered at the Last Supper but The Beloved's does. His account of the Last Supper begins with:  'He loved His own which were in the world and He loved them unto the end' (John 13:1). His account of the discourse of love which is related to the Sacrament and our remembrance of Him mentions love 22 times. John records the Saviour giving an amazing promise to all who are sanctified through the cleansing power of the sacrament and who are motivated through their love for Him to obey His commandments. The promise is that they can enjoy the literal companionship of the Father and the Son in this life (John 14:23). This is an amazing promise the Saviour made to those who love Him and keep His commandments. None of the other gospels record such an important promise, only John. Is it any wonder He was called The Beloved?

With all the Saviour suffered on that fateful Friday, we can be assured He carried love in His heart and ‘endured the cross for the joy that was set before him’ (Hebrews 12:1-2).

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Washing Jesus' Feet by Brian Call)

DIVINE HOUR OF SOLITUDE

 

“Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none.”  (Psalm 69:20)

The Saviour made many references to the Father during His earthly ministry. One year I counted He referred to Him 147 times during His visit to the Americas. His closeness with the Father is unmistakable. As Jesus neared the pinnacle of His mission, He was sure that this closeness would see Him through His hour of agony. He knew and acknowledged that everyone else would forsake Him, even His closest disciples, thus He said to them: “…..the hour cometh….that ye shall be scattered….and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me” (John 16:32). Imagine then the shock that induced the heart-breaking words that came from His agony on the cross: “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46).

As in all experiences of mortality, there is a purpose. Christ’s experience on the cross is no exception. In fact, it heralded the completion of suffering that was the major part of the Atonement. The Father withdrew because:

1. Where there is sin, God’s spirit withdraws (Mosiah 2:36; Helaman 13:8; D&C 1:33). When on the cross, the agony of the Garden returned and intensified so the Saviour took upon himself once again, all sin and thus He became estranged or separated from God and his divine Spirit. (See Talmage, Jesus The Christ, p 661 and McConkie, Mortal Messiah, 4:232, note 22)
2. In that hour of solitude, it was needful for the Saviour to experience the full consequence of sin which leads to spiritual death, meaning being cut off from the presence of God, and His role in redemption of same (Helaman 14:16-18; Alma 12:16; Mormon 9:13-14; D&C 76:36-38; Jacob 3:11)
3. To glorify His Son, the Father allowed the glory to be exclusively His, hence the Saviour could say: “I have trodden the winepress alone: Isaiah 63:3; D&C 76:107, 88:106; 133:48,50).

And so what appears on the surface as cruelty, had a divine purpose. In our extreme moments of earthly suffering, may we remember that it is needful for us to sometimes suffer it alone that the ultimate purpose and tutoring may be accomplished…..but once the lessons are learnt, the test passed and the power gained,  the Saviour can step in and take away the burden. He can then say on our behalf, “It is finished”.

A life well lived,

The price willingly paid,

A glorious victory

At His feet laid.

-    CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Behold the Man by Christopher Young)

 

UNSHAKEN FAITH

When we think of the power of faith, we usually cast our minds on the Brother of Jared whose power of faith was so strong that the Lord could not be restrained from revealing himself (Ether 3:9-13). We might say, when faith is exercised, God is bound (see James Talmage, Articles of Faith, Chapter 5,  p 103).

There is another story of faith in the Book of Mormon that intrigues me to my core. It is the story of Enos whose faith became ‘unshaken’ in the Lord during his lengthy prayer in the forest (Enos 1:2,11). Faith is mentioned seven times in one chapter that constitutes the book of Enos. So unshaken in his faith Enos became that the Lord told him that his desires will be granted him (v 12, 15). And this was the desire of Enos: that the record of his people be preserved and brought unto salvation of the Lamanites at a future date (v 13). The Lord informed him that his predecessors too have ‘required’ this of Him and that their faith will be honoured also and the records therefore preserved (v 18). So bound did the Lord feel by the faith of these righteous men that he made a covenant with Enos as to the fulfilment of His request (v 16).

This is what fascinates me:

1. A covenant is usually predicated on what the Lord says and not what we say. When He says, “I am bound when you do what I say” (D&C 82:10), it says to my mind that He is the one that sets the terms. Did Enos and his forefathers play such an important part in bringing forth the Book of Mormon? It makes one think that we are all more involved in the salvation process of the human race than we realise, that The Plan of Salvation is not a singular act. All individual efforts go toward the success of the whole.
2. I cannot imagine faith of such magnitude that would bind the Saviour to a covenant. This is something to contemplate seriously for deeper understanding of the power of faith. The only explanation in this instance that is presented to my mind, is the motive of Enos’ faith for preservation of the plates. It was not the plates or the record of his people that he was so determined be brought to light, but what was in them…..and that was, according to Enos’ son Jarom, the revealed Plan of Salvation (Jarom 1:2). According to the Guide to Scriptures, only Jarom and Alma used that term (Alma 24:14; 42:5) in the Book of Mormon. Elsewhere in the scriptures, it is referred to as the Plan of Redemption.

Since Jesus Christ is central to the Father's Plan of Salvation and  Redemption and this is what the keepers of the gold plates desired to be preserved and brought to light, it means only one thing – their faith was grounded in the Saviour of the world. Is it any wonder that the Lord felt bound by their faith? He is a personal God who honours his righteous and faithful people and those who would have him be their God (1 Nephi 17:40). What could we not accomplish if our faith in Him, who possesses all power, is sufficient??? There are yet many more records that need to be brought to light. Are we yearning for more word of God??? Are we praying and asking in faith for these records to be revealed to us or are we leaving it all to God? Do we feel that we have a part in the accomplishment of His righteous purposes? Again, the Plan of Salvation is not a singular act. We are all players and the stage is set. 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: My Father's Work by Chris Brazelton)

 

TEMPLE MANIFESTATIONS

 

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

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

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

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

All this gave me to understand that in this other book is preserved the names and perfect dates of every spirit that ever came to earth. It is also made plain therein, how all things will be proven by two or three witnesses; for instance, in case a child is left on a doorstep, the guardian angel of the child, that of the father and of the mother constitute three witnesses to the child’s parentage. There are two witnesses to all things which transpire between any two persons. Also, God can give into the Temples a perfect record of the Lamanites, for instance, or any other people who have no earth record.

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

I bear record that this testimony is true for I received it from an angel in the house of the Lord.”  (“Temple Manifestations – The St. George Temple, p 75-76)

 

Your life has come and gone

But your footprints remain

And your blood courses through my veins.

Because of God’s eternal grace

We will once again embrace.

I weep not that we are now apart,

For I carry you with me,

I carry you in my heart.

 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Mother to Mother by Katie Garner)

IN REMEMBRANCE

 

 

The approaching Easter is leading me to ponder a lot about the gift of resurrection. Two significant things have stood out to me from the Book of Mormon, that are leading me to rejoice about the resurrection of Christ:

•  When the Saviour instituted the ordinance of the Sacrament, He instructed His disciples to do this “in remembrance of my body which I give a ransom for you” (JST Matthew 26:26b). The emphasis here is on the broken body of Christ which was offered as sacrifice. When visiting the Americas, He instructed the Nephites, “this shall ye do in remembrance of my body, which I have shown unto you” (3 Nephi 18:7). The emphasis here is on the resurrected body of Christ. In other words, ‘even though I was broken and dead, I am now alive and well. Rejoice, for in me is life’. Each time we partake of the Sacrament, our sorrow for the broken body of Christ should be equaled with our joy for His resurrection and the gift of immortality.

• When yet in mortality, the Saviour told His disciples, “Ye are therefore commanded to be perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (JST Matthew 5:48). When visiting the Nephites, the Saviour included Himself in that statement by saying, “Therefore, I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (3 Nephi 12:48). Why did He include himself? Because you cannot become perfect without resurrection. I am not saying that Christ was not perfect in character and His spirit, which He was. I am talking about perfection as in completion. In other words: resurrected, complete, finished. This should help us understand that we can only become perfect on resurrection day. Not that resurrection alone will grant that perfection, but that having completed our mortal probation and being sanctified through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we will be resurrected to perfection of both body and spirit. Now that is something to rejoice about!

The glory and majesty of the resurrected Christ is unfathomable to me. I yearn for an experience such as this: “When I was doing missionary work with some of our brethren among the Indians…I found myself one evening in the dreams of the night, in that sacred building, the Temple. After a season of prayer and rejoicing, I was informed that I should have the privilege of entering into one of those rooms, to meet a glorious Personage, and as I entered the door, I saw, seated on a raised platform, the most glorious Being my eyes have ever beheld, or that I even conceived existed in all the eternal worlds. As I approached to be introduced, He arose and stepped towards me with extended arms, and He smiled as He softly spoke my name. If I shall live to be a million years old, I shall never forget that smile. He took me into His arms and kissed me, pressed me to His bosom, and blessed me, until the marrow of my bones seemed to melt! When He had finished, I fell at His feet, and as I bathed them with my tears and kisses, I saw the prints of the nails in the feet of the Redeemer of the world. The feeling that I had in the presence of Him who hath all things in His hands, to have His love, His affection, and His blessings was such that if I ever can receive that of which I had but a foretaste, I would give all that I am, all that I hope to be, to feel what I then felt!”   (Apostle Melvin J. Ballard, Temple Manifestations, p 153)

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: The Risen Lord by Arnold Friberg)

BEING UNSHAKEABLE

 

 

Could we have a better example of steadfastness in the Book of Mormon than Jacob, the brother of Nephi? His valiant defeat of the anti-Christ Sherem is the prime example of his unshakeable faith.

 

Immediately at the beginning of his narration, Jacob made it clear that Sherem pursued an empty goal to ‘shake him from the faith, notwithstanding the many revelations and the many things which he had seen such as angels who had ministered to him and hearing the voice of the Lord…..therefore he could not be shaken’ (Jacob 7:5). And herein begins the formula for guarding against deceit. Imagine being so spiritually healthy and in tune that you see angels and hear the voice of the Lord! Which one of us would not want that???

 

In today’s world of social media, anti-Mormon literature abounds. Those who are convinced of the propaganda they generate are ever zealous to prove us wrong in believing our doctrine. It can be stressful and unnerving. Knowing the scriptures and the teachings of the living prophets goes a long way to ensuring we are impervious to attempts of deceit but Jacob goes further to show us an impenetrable shield of faith to withstand falsehoods. He states that ‘the Lord poured his Spirit into his soul’ to enable him to confound Sherem in his words (Jacob 7:8) and then the very sure, ultimate way, of knowing the truth: “it has been made manifest unto me by the power of the Holy Ghost” (Jacob 7:12).

 

Knowing the scriptures and the teaching of the prophets is a start but the ultimate way to conviction is the power of the Holy Ghost. Once you know by this power, you know…. and nobody can convince you otherwise. This is the power by which Jacob knew if Christ would not come and “there should be no atonement made all mankind must be lost” (v12)…….and because he knew, he could not be shaken. The Holy Ghost is the witness, the testator of truth, the illuminator of our path. We should crave his presence constantly in the caverns of our hearts.

Whereas Jacob defeated the anti-Christ, he did something even more noble……he influenced his son Enos to believe the truth which he himself was convinced of. This was his greatest legacy…passing on his testimony to his posterity. Enos hungered for a remission of his sins. This hunger came from remembering the words which his father often spoke about eternal life (Enos 1:3,4). So Enos prayed and received a remission of his sins, hoping that one day he will hear :"Come unto me, ye blessed, there is a place prepared for you in the mansions of my Father" (Enos 1:27). This hope he owed to his father Jacob, the brother of Nephi, the defender of the faith, the foe to the anti-Christ, Jacob the believer.   

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Jacob the Teacher by Elspeth C. Young)

THE GREATEST HOPE

 

Imagine this mortal experience being wasted. All your learning, your progress, your growth, your suffering, your family associations, disappearing and coming to naught. What a fruitless and nonsensical exercise this life would be! But the approaching Easter stands before us as a symbol of the greatest hope ever given to mortal men. What is that hope? It is the promise of immortality through the Atonement of the Saviour Jesus Christ. One part of the Atonement in particular, the Resurrection.

From Elder Dallin H. Oaks: “I wonder if we fully appreciate the enormous significance of our belief in a literal, universal resurrection. The assurance of immortality is fundamental to our faith. The Prophet Joseph Smith declared: “The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven, and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith [1976], p 121). Of all things in that glorious ministry, why did the Prophet Joseph Smith use the testimony of the Saviour’s death, burial and resurrection as the fundamental principle of our religion, saying that all other things….are only appendanges to it? The answer is found in the fact that the Saviour’s Resurrection is central to what the prophets have called ‘the great and eternal plan of deliverance from death’ (2 Nephi 11:5) (In CR Apr 2000, 17; or Ensign May 2000, p 15)

This is the importance of deliverance from death: “….if the flesh should rise no more our spirits must become subject to that angel who fell from before the presence of the Eternal God, and became the devil, to rise no more. And our spirits must have become like unto him and we become devils, angels to a devil, to be shut out from the presence of our God, and to remain with the father of lies, in misery, like unto himself…..” (2 Nephi 9:8-9). Imagine that as our eternal destiny!

The Saviour’s resurrection offers us something that nothing else can, it offers us a fulness of joy forever (D&C 93:33-34). This is the power of the resurrection for each of us:

We are born into corruption but raised to incorruption;

We are born into dis-honour but raised to glory.

We are born into weakness but raised to power.

(1 Corinthians 15:42, 43)

May we look past the Easter bunny and the chocolate, even past the crucifixion and all the suffering and look towards the greatest hope for all humankind, the gift of resurrection. And may we thank our God for it every day, now and forever….. 

With what heavy steps

You approached the garden’s gate!

You suffered, You atoned,

You hung lifeless on the cross,

As you met Your appointed fate.

 

I waited for my turn on earth

And watched with angels

Your rise from the darkened tomb

That could not contain

The magnitude of You.

 

I saw Your glory that shone so bright

Defeating death and making all anew

And I wept for the greatness of hope

That rose with You. 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Clouds of Heaven by Chris Brazelton)