For now I walk unsteady steps
On this earthly soil beneath my feet
But one day I will come to You
With perfect faith in waves of deep.
And when in distance Your glory beckons,
When You come to take me home,
I will run into Your arms
And forever be Your own.
- Cathryne Allen
(Art: Serene Saviour by Ivan Guaderrama)
I
was working at the Church Office in Sydney when Elder Bruce C. Hafen was the
Area President here in Australia. He was generous enough to share some knowledge
with me which I valued highly. He told me that the directive of the Church at
the time given to the leaders was to prepare the members for Zion. That was
some 25 years ago.
This
made me see how important the Church is as an organisation because of its
leaders who are implementing this preparation. We are told certain conditions
need to be met before Zion can be established as ‘the bridge between the world
as it is and the world as God designed it and meant it to be’ (Hugh Nibley,
“Approaching Zion” p 4).
Section
105 of the Doctrine and Covenants speaks in detail of the needed preparation of
the saints before the Lord can ‘redeem Zion’ but the very first requirement is
relative to the elders of the Church which are to be endowed with power from on
high so that we, the members, might be taught more perfectly what God requires
of us (D&C 105:10,11). The structure of the Church is based on leadership.
The leaders are to be taught and trained as much as the members below them. The
leaders are meant to learn to lead and we are meant to learn to follow.
There
are some who believe they can be inactive in the Church and in the end show up
at New Jerusalem’s gate expecting to live a Zion life. Imagine arriving to Zion
without any experience behind you that would have taught you to be obedient to
the leaders’ instructions and to be united with other members of the Church
community. I have wondered how they could become obedient to the leaders overnight
when they didn’t value their leadership beforehand. I know some wonderful and good
members of the Church who are inactive and are highly critical of the leaders. There
are some who do not support the general authorities of the Church and tend to
believe they are ‘nice old men’ but not prophets, seers and revelators.
The
leaders might not be perfect but the Lord values their leadership of His
saints. This is how important it is to honour the administration of the Church in
preparation for the Second Coming:
“The
coming of the Son of Man never will be – never can be till the judgments spoken
of for this hour are poured out: which judgments are commenced. Paul says, “Ye
are the children of the light, and not of the darkness, that that day should
overtake you as a thief in the night.” It is not the design of the Almighty to
come upon the earth and crush it and grind it to powder, BUT HE WILL REVEAL IT
TO HIS SERVANTS THE PROPHETS (Amos 3:7)” (Teachings of Joseph Smith, p 286)
The
leaders of the Church might not know the exact day and the hour but the proximity
of it will be very real to the Church because of the preparation that the leaders
will have put into place for the readiness of the Kingdom. The New Jerusalem
for one will have to be ready and peopled to receive our King.
We,
the children of light, have more information regarding the Second Coming than
the rest of the world. The signs of the times are clear in modern day
revelation as contained in Doctrine and Covenants. We know the sequence of
events that are to take place. We are not dumb sheep without knowledge and
without untrained shepherds. The Lord has not left us unawares and clueless. He
wants His people to be ready and He wants us all in Zion to welcome Him.
There
will be no excuse if we are not there on that auspicious day….
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
(Art: Second Coming by Ron DiCianni)
I pleaded with you on bended knee
My fears to dissolve.
You sat in silence
Hoping I would give You
what You yearned the most to own,
My self-will,
My hesitance to relinquish control.
In the end I gave it up
And found solace to my soul.
Yes, You said,
Now you understand.
I paved the way
In Gethsemane long ago.
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
(Art: Thy Will Be Done by Jay Bryant Ward)
Whereas
ancient Israel’s conquest was a physical one, ours is a spiritual one. Israel’s
charge was to conquer land for the temporal and eternal possession, our charge
is to create a Zion society of God’s chosen people. Both responsibilities
rested on one commandment, to serve God but in two different ways.
Ancient
Israel was to serve God through obedience to His commandments and worship
through the law of Moses, we are to serve God by our obedience to His commandments and to serve one
another to prepare us for Zion. Consider
these two commandments that came long after the conquest of Canaan:
-
Matt
25:40: “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren,
ye have done it unto me……and: Matt 25:45 – when we don’t do it for “the least
of these”, we don’t do it for Him;
-
Mosiah
2:17: “….when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the
service of your God.”
Our
societal structure is more different from the ancient one which depended so
much on possession of land and as a result was more used to physical warfare. We,
however, fight a spiritual battle with the prince of darkness who seeks to
destroy us spiritually in diving us to the point where our hearts have turned cold
one towards another (D&C 45:26,27). This is not to overlook the increase of
wars and rumours of wars in these latter-days as prophesied (Mark 13:7)
This
is why the spiritual battle is more devastating to God’s people today. Zion can
only be built in preparation for the Saviour’s return ‘according to the union
required by the law of the celestial kingdom’ (D&C 105:3-5). It is this union
that enables men to obey the law of consecration whereby they impart of their
‘substance, as becometh saints, to the poor and the afflicted’ (v 3). This was
the success of the city of Enoch. Because they were of one heart and one mind
they willingly met each other’s needs so there was no poor among them (Moses
7:18).
If
God’s goal for the human family is unity, you can be assured that Satan’s is
division. Right now the world is divided into left and right and contention and
disunity is rife. The Church leaders are constantly warning us against this
because our destiny as the Church of Jesus Christ is great.
The
celestial law that will get us to Zion is not just about obedience but also
love. Love leads to unity. The Lord called the city of Enoch, Zion the Pure in
Heart. The people of this city ‘walked’
with God (Moses 7:69) which means they were ‘true’ followers of Jesus Christ
and as true followers of Jesus Christ they were endowed with the ‘pure love' of
Christ (Moroni 7:48).
This
is the key: He leads and we follow. We follow His example of love, compassion,
understanding, tolerance, respect, giving and ministering……today obedience,
tomorrow Zion, the day after, Celestial Kingdom. In Joseph’s words: “We are on
the pathway to eternal fame, and immortal glory.”
I knelt before the throne of God
And asked of Him today:
Lord, when will I become like Thee?
To my feeble self He answered:
When you start to walk with me.
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
(Art: Come Follow Me by Gabriel Heaton)
When Joshua
stood with the strength of a prophet before the children of Israel and delivered
his farewell, he recounted not his power but the Lord’s in deliverance of His
people from bondage and His gifting of ‘the land for which the Israelites did
not labour and the cities which they did not build’ (Joshua 24:1-14).
The
children of Israel became fearless in the strength of God under Joshua’s
leadership. Nations trembled at the mention of their name as they flooded
Canaan and claimed the land. None could stop their conquering spirit. They
earned the name Jeshurun (righteous Israel) because they chose to serve
God under Joshua’s leadership to do so (see The Old Testament Student Manual
Book 1 p 242). The people are only as good as the example they follow….Joshua
was that leader and that example.
As they
entered the promised land, the children of Israel were given three warnings, in
the event that some heathen nations were allowed to remain and live alongside
them: 1. Beware of social intercourse with them (Joshua 23:7; 2. Refrain from
worshipping their false gods (vv 7-11); and 3. Avoid intermarriage with hem (v
12). If these rules were ignored, Israel would fall into the snare of idolatry
and their covenant with Jehovah, along with His protection and prosperity would
be null and void.
As a result
of Joshua’s devotion to Jehovah, we have one of the most instructive and famous
scriptures of all time: “Choose you this day whom ye will serve… as for me and
my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15).
“The Saints
today also face a world intent on their spiritual destruction. Canaan has long
passed from the earth, but Satan, who incited Canaan’s wickedness and
opposition to Israel, is still determined to destroy those who follow the Lamb
of God (see 1 Nephi 14:12-14)…..
“Now during
this critical period, and it is a critical period that we are passing through,
I hope that we will keep ever burning in our hearts the spirit of this great
work which we represent. If we do so, we’ll have no anxiety; we’ll have no
fear; we’ll not worry about the future because the Lord has given us the
assurance that if we live righteously, if we keep his commandments, if we
humble ourselves before him, all will be well.” (Elder Ezra Taft Benson, In
Conference Report, Oct 1950, pp 145-46)
We still
have Joshuas at the head of our Israel today to inspire us to serve the one and
true living God. Today, we have President Oaks. Even though times become
perilous and even though there will be times of insecurity to propel us into
anxiety, the prophets at the head of Israel today, like Joshua will lead us to “be
strong and of good courage; to not be afraid, neither dismayed: for the Lord
thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.” (Joshua 1:9)
We, the children of Israel,
Ever follow the Shepherd
Who would not see us lost,
Who rescued our souls
Never counting the cost.
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
(Art: The Good Shepherd by Del Parson)
I carried my problems in a basket
To every friend I knew;
They rummaged and picked the ones
They thought they could stop me
From feeling so blue.
I carried my basket to the Saviour,
He recognised each problem so well;
He gave me the wisdom to solve them,
My suffering myself to quell.
He knew every fallen tear,
Every minute of fear and dread,
He knew the lonely road I travelled
And gave me solace instead.
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
(Art: I Know You by B. Laura Wilson)
