MIGHTY TO ENDURE

 

"If all the sick for whom we pray were healed, if all the righteous were protected and the wicked destroyed, the whole program of the Father would be annulled and the basic principle of the gospel, free agency, would be ended. No man would have to live by faith. 

If joy and peace and rewards were instantaneously given the doer of good, there would be no evil – all would do good but not because of the rightness of doing good. There would be no test of strength, no development of character, no growth of powers, no free agency, only satanic controls. Should all prayers be immediately answered according our desires and our limited understanding, then there would be little or no suffering, sorrow, disappointment, or even death, and if these were not, there would also be no joy, success, resurrection, nor eternal life and godhood.” 

(President Spencer W. Kimball, Faith Precedes the Miracle, p 97).

 

I have just one thing to add to this powerful message. Years ago I read an article written by a young woman in the Church whose father had died of cancer. She described his end as horrific. She said she learnt that the popular belief that ‘God would not give us anything we could not handle’ is false. She was convinced that God would do exactly that, for one purpose and one purpose only, to bring us to Christ, because this is what happened to her father. I wholeheartedly agree with this concept because I believe that everything in this life is designed for this very purpose: to bring us to the Saviour who can make us mighty to endure; deliver us from any evil; and ultimately bring us to salvation. Whatever the plan for our life, whatever the individual tutoring we have agreed to before we were born, we have this promise: “I will go before you and be your rearward; and I will be in your midst…..” (D&C 49:27).

 

The winds of tribulation scatter my hopes

Like feathers they lift to the sky

They find you there ever waiting to answer my pleas

To restore that which is lost

To renew that which is broken

To gift that which was never foreseen

To make me rise to heights unknown

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

OUR MISERY

 

Whenever I study the Old Testament, I am astounded by the Saviour’s willingness to rescue and deliver the children of Israel from the effects of their continuous round of apostasy and repentance. He did this for one reason, because ‘his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel’….(Judges 10:16).

We are told The Atonement was performed for each person individually and not for God’s children collectively. I myself cannot fully comprehend that but I do wholeheartedly believe it. I know that the Saviour sorrows for our individual weakened state of mortality and that the healing effects of the Atonement are truly efficacious individually because I have witnessed this personally in my own life. There was a time following my divorce when I thought the pain I was going through was going to consume me. I knew that no person or healing method on earth could deliver me from it and that the Saviour of all mankind was my only hope. My daily, and sometimes hourly, petitions were carefully worded to include my complete faith and trust in His power of deliverance. Not only was I healed but I was given the power to forgive. To this day I cannot hold a grudge and am quick to forgive anyone who wrongs me in any way. I know that only the Saviour could have gifted me this power because forgiveness is central to the perfection of His character.

I testify to you that your faith can access the Saviour’s merciful power to heal you, give you strength to overcome, and lift you, because He ‘feels your misery’. Believe it, pray for it, and see it. He will come to those who believe He is the one true and living God who can sustain, empower and deliver. You have nothing to fear from the debilitating and crushing effects of mortality. You, who are of the elect House of Israel, are meant for greater things. You are meant to be lifted and exalted. You are special. You are loved. You are counted on. Be comforted and believe.

• Cathryne Allen

I DO ALWAYS THOSE THINGS WHICH PLEASE HIM

 

I reflected on something during this past Easter that has changed my life. It came to me this year because I was ready for it. 

 

It has been extremely difficult for me for many years to actually verbalise to God my ‘full’ submission to His will. I have had a desire to do it but the actual commitment always conjured up in my mind that God’s will would probably include pain; more than I have already suffered. Remember King Benjamin’s discourse on overcoming the natural man, part of which states that we need to be willing ‘to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict’ upon us (Mosiah 3:19)? “Inflict” is a hard word. The dictionary defines it as: to impose as something that must be borne or suffered; to impose anything unwelcome; to deal or deliver as a blow. Hence my fear….

What intrigued me this Easter was the Saviour’s complete willingness to suffer ‘the blow’. Before facing the agony of Gethsemane, Jesus said to His disciples that the hour was coming when they would be scattered and go their own way leaving Him alone and then He said: “….yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me” (John 16:32). On another occasion He clarified this by saying: “And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him” (John 8:29). These statements indicate that He had confidence in Father’s assistance for the duration of his upcoming crucible because He was willing to do His will. Imagine His surprise when that assistance was withdrawn; when He became ‘sore amazed’ (Mark 14:33) to the point of asking: “My God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). Did He have the power to come down from the cross when that question crossed His lips? Yes He did. But even when He felt abandoned, He pressed on submitting to Father’s will, no matter how gruesome the inflicted ‘blow. And then He was able to say prior to His last moment: “….Father it is finished, thy will is done….” (JST Matthew 27:50a)

 

Some years ago I had a priesthood blessing from my Bishop. In it he said that my life was planned for me in pre-existence and that I accepted that plan because of my great faith in Jesus Christ. Last year I had a very vivid memory of a moment in my pre-earth life. I was sitting with the Saviour and I heard Him say to me: “I will save you and I will make up for everything.” I understood then more fully why I had accepted that plan, which has included some painful ‘blows’. I remembered His promise to me this Easter and I knew I was ready to fully submit and I have wondered since I have done so why I had waited so long because so many of my fears and worries have fled and have been replaced by trust that ‘all things work together for good to them that love God’ (Romans 8:28). 

 

We might have to suffer some blows in this life. And we might have to suffer them alone. But fortunate for us Christ has suffered them all. By virtue of our discipleship, we have access to His  reservoir of endurance, strength and power that is offered to all the faithful. May we be able to say, without trepidation and fear: “I do always those things that please Him”, following the example of Him who submitted to it all that He might overcome all and make it possible for us to bear it all.

 

 

Cathryne Allen

(Art by Yongsung Kim)

IF YE ARE NOT ONE, YE ARE NOT MINE

 

The Sunday School lesson for this Sunday teaches us that God gathers his people into one, if for no other reason but simply because we are stronger as a whole. This can be seen through a very interesting story in the Old Testament.

In his farewell address, Moses admonished the children of Israel, repeatedly, to worship the one true and living God and that they should have no other gods before Him. This farewell constitutes the entire book of Deuteronomy with strong emphasis on dangers of worshipping false gods. Because the inhabitants of Canaan were ripe in iniquity and idol worship (1 Nephi 17:32-35) they presented a very real threat to the covenant people. For this reason Israel was commanded to cleanse the entire land before they took possession, which they failed to do miserably because of their disobedience. As they conquered cities before them, however, lands were appropriated to them for their settlement. The first to receive land were the tribes of Reuben, Gad and half of Mannesah. They settled in the land of Gilead which divided them from the rest of Israel by river Jordan (Joshua 22:9). After these three tribes assisted in further conquest of the land, Joshua sent them back to Gilead to live peacefully in their newly appointed inheritance. Upon their return home, these tribes built an altar by river Jordan. When the rest of Israel heard of it they were outraged presuming the altar was built for idol worship. They sent Phineas, the son of Eleazor the priest, with the heads of the tribes, to call the tribes of Reuben, Gad and half of Mannesah to repentance. In their defence, these two and a half tribes explained that the altar was not made for any worship but was meant to stand as a witness to the rest of Israel, for generations to come, that the tribe of Reuben and Gad and Mannesah were united with the rest of Israel in the worship of one true and living God (Joshua 22:34); that even though they were divided geographically from the rest of the House of Israel, they were still a link in the chain and that they would not be the downfall of Israel. They knew that if they turned to the worship of other gods, the ripple effect would be detrimental to the whole House of Israel.

So it is with us. We of modern day Israel are individual links in a great chain which binds the covenant people. How we live our lives and how we worship God has great impact upon not only us personally but upon the body of Christ collectively because "no one sins in isolation. We cannot say that our actions influence only ourselves for even if we do something sinful that is completely personal, our individual loss of spiritual power means a lessening of power for all mankind and contributes to the withdrawal of the Lord's spirit, and that is damaging to all......". (Old Testament Student Manual Genesis-2 Samuel, p 243). We cannot afford to be the downfall of modern day Israel. We bear a grave responsibility for the gathering of God's people. Each link in the chain is important and contributes towards this goal through individual gifts, talents and personal power. When we worship the world instead of God we forfeit that power and cannot accomplish our collective purpose.

May each one of us erect personal altars in our lives as a witness to the rest that we will honour our commitment to the divine destiny of the House of Israel.

- Cathryne Allen

THE MISERY OF ISRAEL

 

Are you struggling with feelings of unworthiness, inadequacy, effects of abuse or struggle with unrelenting pull of weakness or sin? Do not despair, because for you, who are of the House of Israel and who love Him and want Him to be your God (1 Nephi 17:40), the Saviour’s grace and mercy is endless and ever possible. 

 

After the children of Israel settled into Canaan, they entered into a cycle of apostasy and repentance. When they served other gods, they fell into servitude to the heathen nations around them. Over and over they came to Jehovah to rescue them from their captivities and oppression and not to the altars of the heathen gods they worshipped. It says this for them, despite their state of weakness in apostasy, they believed that Jehovah was the true God and that only He had this power of deliverance. The astounding patience, tolerance and never ending mercy of the God of Israel was repeated over and over even though He knew the people would forsake Him and return to their sin after He delivered them. He did this because ‘his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel’….(Judges 10:16)

 

We are told The Atonement was performed for each person individually and not for God’s children collectively. I myself cannot fully comprehend that but I understand one thing. The Saviour is grieved for our misery and the healing effects of the Atonement are efficacious individually. These effects of the Atonement are already in your life, because they were put into place 2,000 years ago on the hill of Calvary. All that remains is for you to foster faith that it can heal you, empower you, and lift you out of our misery. Believe it, pray for it, and see it. He will come to those who believe He is the one true and living God who can sustain, empower and deliver. You have nothing to fear from the debilitating and crushing effects of mortality. You are meant for greater things. You are meant to be lifted and exalted. You are special. You are loved. You are counted on. You are the House of Israel. Be comforted and believe. 

- Cathryne Allen

THE SONG OF REDEEMING LOVE

 

“One Sunday morning our teenaged son stood with two other priests to administer the sacrament, as they had done on many prior occasions. They pulled back the white cloth, but to their dismay there was no bread. One of them slipped out to the preparation room in hopes some could be found. There was none. Finally our troubled son made his way to the bishop and shared the concern with him. A wise bishop then stood, explained the situation to the congregation, and asked, “How would it be if the sacrament table were empty today because there were no Atonement?”

-       Tad R. Callister, The Infinite Atonement, p 57

 

Doctrinally, if there was no Atonement: there would be no resurrection (2 Nephi 9:7); we would become subject to the devil forever and would even become ‘angels to the devil’ (2 Nephi 9:9); and we would ‘endure a never ending torment’ (Mosiah 2:39). A life with the devil for all eternity is a harrowing prospect none of us would rush to but there is one thing even worse and that is being shut out from God’s presence forever (2 Nephi 9:9).

 

When Adam fell, the Earth physically fell away from God and His habitation. In a way, we became lost. Have you ever felt lost? Either physically or spiritually? Have you ever felt the crushing absence of belonging? Have you ever felt that you were all alone in a world full of people, not belonging to anyone or anything? If so, try to imagine this feeling at its’ most intense level. Imagine feeling totally and utterly alone, and devoid of any human contact. If you can, you can comprehend the feeling of being lost. This is the fate that would be ours if the Atonement never took place. We would be lost forever.

 

After Alma tasted his exquisite pains and looked into the jaws of hell, he beheld God sitting on his throne surrounded by countless angels singing His praises and he longed to be in the presence of God again (Alma 36:22). Even Cain who chose to worship Satan rather than God considered his banishment from God’s presence ‘a punishment greater than he could bear’ (Genesis 4:13,14; Moses 5:38,39). 

 

How can we relate to a tragedy such as being cut off from God’s presence forever if we cannot remember what it was like to live with Him? Ours is a path of faith. When I studied the Fall one year, I came to understood the inexpressible horror of being endlessly lost and I wept as the comprehension of the Atonement flooded my heart feeling the witness of the Spirit in the very marrow of my bones. I think this is something I understood in my pre-existence, before this world was even made. This therefore is our key. We do not need to remember what it was like then. The Holy Ghost can give us understanding and can bear witness to our hearts here and now of the hope that the Atonement gives us; that we can be redeemed from the grasp of hell and the absence of a loving Father and be once again encircled in the arms of His love (2 Nephi 1:15). Does this not make you want to sing the song of redeeming love? (Alma 5:26)

 

This Easter as we contemplate, with gratitude, the absolution of our sins the Atonement affords, may we also consider the blessing of being at one with God again, the reality that only the sacrifice of Christ offers us. May we long for the reunion and the endless sense of belonging to a home we were once lovingly nurtured in. May we eagerly look forward to the time we can meet the Holy One of Israel as the keeper of the gate who ‘employs no servant there’ (2 Nephi 9:41); who waits for us with open arms (Mormon 6:17) to bring us back once again into the presence of our God. 

 

 - Cathryne Allen

(Art by David Bowman, King Print)

 

A TWO-EDGED SWORD

 

Those who read the scriptures will be very familiar with the expression of ‘the two-edged sword’. It is used as a metaphor for God’s word. To be precise, the Lord admonishes His people to give heed to His word, ‘which is quick and powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword’ as an opening to several chapters of the Doctrine & Covenants (6:2; 33:1; 14:2; 11:2).

 

For most of us in this day and age a sword is not within our frame of reference. Basically we can only relate to it by way of the movies we have seen. So what is a two-edged sword? Anciently, swords that were commonly used had only one edge. Obviously, someone with an acumen in warfare invented a two-edge sword which increased the effectiveness of the weapon. A two-edged sword could cut in any direction, no matter how the blow was struck. When you imagine the physical destruction such a sword can cause you can immediately understand what the Lord means when He says His word can ‘divide asunder both joints and marrow’. Bone marrow is crucial to physical life and I dare say, joints equally so. Thus we can assume that God’s word being like a two-edged sword, can bring about physical death. 

 

But there is more. Paul told the Hebrews that God’s word is ‘sharper than a two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit’ because it is a ‘discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart’ (Hebrews 4:12). All this means that God’s word has the power to destroy both physical and spiritual life of man. This will be most evident when He returns as John the Revelator saw that our of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword (Revelation 1:16) symbolising the destruction of the wicked. 

 

What I want to focus mostly on is this. Besides being a symbol of destruction, the scriptures say the Lord’s word is also quick and powerful. In the King James Version of the Bible, the word ‘quick’ does not mean swift but rather ‘living’ or ‘alive’, as in ‘quickened by the Spirit’, which means to be given spiritual life. Thus, the word of God is quick and powerful because it is a source of life, energy, and power. It is also a part of the armour of God which dispels darkness (Ephesians 6:17; D&C 27:18). Thus the word of God not only destroys but also gives life. It all depends on the heed we give to it. 

 

When the Saviour was tempted to eat bread during his 40 day fast, He dismissed the temptation by proclaiming that ‘man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God’ (Matthew 4:4)  Nephi and Alma spoke extensively about the word of God and what it can do for us (2 Nephi 32; Alma 32:28-43) and references to the eternal rewards are endless but I will tell you what it has done for me personally here and now.

 

From the time I was a teenager I used to suffer from periodical depression. At age 36 I became a serious student of the scriptures. Even as a single mother who was working full time, I would spend at least 1 hour a day studying the word of God. The time never seemed enough. Some months after I started, I noticed I was feeling incredibly good and I was no longer getting depressed. I was gaining spiritual life.  Every time I studied the scriptures I gained a portion of His Spirit, which healed my soul. I have not experienced depression for 25 years now. I am convinced that just as ‘the sword of His Spirit’ can destroy life, it can also destroy the maladies of both spirit and body and grant new life. When you consider that the Saviour created this world and gave us mortal life by the power of His word (John 1:1-4), this theory becomes a reality. It became mine.

- Cathryne Allen

(This post does not discredit medical attention deemed necessary by any individual for any physical or mental health issues)