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)
Some years
ago, another divorced, single mother moved into my Ward which made us the only
two women of that marital status in that ward. We struck up a friendship and I
was grateful that there would be someone around who would understand me and my
life. This proved more difficult than I thought.
The sister
in question was vastly different from me. She was a career woman managing her
own business and I was a lowly office worker, with no professional aspirations,
struggling to make ends meet. She was a very strong, independent individual who
handled her four children with ease and trained them well for a life of
independence. I was a self-sacrificing mother who turned herself into a taxi
driver for my young teenagers and who did everything in my power to spare them
any discomfort and difficulty.
With time
it became apparent to me that my new friend and I were reading the same book
but we were not on the same page. In other words, we were two different
individuals in the same situation but with different responses to that
situation. We were different people and the same difficulties were affecting us
differently. This taught me that it is futile to seek understanding from other
people because of our differences.
I also came
to understand another truth. Be careful of turning a close friend into your
mentor. I had a handful of close friends that I used to seek advice from which
I narrowed down to one confidant who I considered understood my spiritual
journey more than anyone else but even though we had a very strong spiritual
connection, our lives were vastly different. She was married and I was single,
she was well and I was sick. I noticed with time that her advice was often, if
not always, from her frame of reference and her experiences in life. I used to
value whatever she said until I noticed that some of the advice she was giving
me was not applicable to me.
When I
became sick two years ago, I retreated into myself a lot and became very
alienated from people I knew because I felt nobody understood what I was going
through. Pain has a way of teaching you that. I had never been in a more
isolating situation before in my life. All of a sudden I was incredibly alone
with something I was dealing with that was very difficult. I knew it was futile
to expect others to understand because nobody else had ever experienced what it
is like to live in my skin……except only one..
I came to
understand the Saviour’s lonely road He trod when He was here. This scripture
seared my heart: “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). I understood a fraction of what He felt during
the crucible of His life when He was forsaken by all. If Christ’s Atonement was
a descent into the ‘bottomless pit’ of human agony, then I know that He alone
understands my life and my sufferings…..because in that bottomless pit was my
agony too.
I
met You on the lonely road
And
heard You say to me:
You
will ever be mine
If
you walk with me.
Your
presence enthralled me,
Your
exquisite love nearly ripped me apart;
I
walked away from all else
Just
to have You in my heart.
I
walk now with Your hand in mine,
The
lonely road paved with tears of love
Oh,
if only everyone knew where to find You
And
long for You to come!
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
(Artist Unknown)
I don’t know how the sun remembers to rise,
Or how the stars remember their places.
I don’t know how the flowers remember to bloom,
Or how in spring the leaves fill their spaces.
It’s enough for me to know who created it,
And I’ll never be the same;
Because I know I have a God who loves me
And a King, who remembers my name.
My King, who remembers my name;
A mighty King, who remembers my name!
He is the Lord of all creation,
And yet, my King remembers my name.
I’m a small creature compared to His greatness;
I’m only one and the same,
But I’ll always be His, and He will be mine –
A King, who remembers my name!
I look at the world today with people
Rushing about without thinking of why;
Why we’re all here, and what is life about
And where we all go when we die.
But I know, and I’ll ever be thankful
That I know from whence I came.
I’ll go home to heaven once more,
To my King, who remembers my name.
- BONNIE LAKE BLOOMFIELD (7/5/20)
(Art: I Have Suffered for You by B. Laura Wilson)
