JOSEPH THE PURE IN HEART

 

"Young man, a thousand miles away from home, can you keep the standards of your mother and father?  One man changed the history of the world by taking into a foreign country these standards: He was good looking, he had personality; he was young.  Because of his physique and general carriage, he carried prestige.  She was a woman of importance….. She tempted him once - she tempted him twice - yes, and many more times.  Each time he remembered the teachings of his folk at home.  He looked sin in the face and stood like a rock….. “ (Bishop Marvin O. Ashton, Improvement Era, Vol. XIviii, December, 1945, No. 12)

 

Joseph's ultimate test of faith came in the form of a woman.  This test of faith became the crowning glory of proof that he would never stray from his faith and commitment to live God's laws.  Joseph referred to Potiphar's wife's invitation as 'great wickedness' (Genesis 39:9).  The following insight into Joseph's character helps us have appreciation of his tenacity and ability to overcome what could have been an overwhelming sense of hopelessness as his life took a turn for the worse.

 

Joseph never failed to recognise that something good always comes out of something bad.  He believed that even his unjust imprisonment was a blessing.  The Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs quotes Joseph as saying: "I gave thanks to the Lord and sang praise in the house of darkness, and how I rejoiced with cheerful voice, glorifying my God, because through her trumped-up charge I was set free from this Egyptian woman".

(James H. Charlesworth, The Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs, The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Apocalyptic Literature and Testaments)

 

Joseph felt it was better to sit in a dark dungeon for two years then to have succumbed to sin. How easy it would have been to embrace a sinful life far away from his family….nobody would have known! But God would have known and this was more important to Joseph….because God sees all and He knows all. And Joseph knew if he was faithful to the God of his fathers, he would have the right to hope for help from Him.

 

It is staggering to think of what lay on the line when Joseph was tempted by his master's wife.  Had Joseph succumbed, his destiny, the destiny of his family and the destiny of his descendants would have all been in peril. Had he chosen the life of sin, he would never have become the man that he became.  This would have had disastrous effects not only on him but on us too.

 

Just as Joseph became a saviour of his family temporally, I am convinced his morally clean life has had an impact on his progeny and their role in becoming spiritual saviours to their brethren of Israel and the rest of the Father's children:

 

"Wherefore thy brethren (the other tribes of Israel) shall bow down unto thee, from generation to generation, unto the fruit of thy loins (Ephraim and Manasseh) for ever; For thou shalt be a light unto my people, to deliver them in the days of their captivity, from bondage; and to bring salvation unto them, when they are altogether bowed down under sin". (JST Gen. 48:10-11)

 

When I consider Ephraim’s responsibility of salvation, I am convinced that the lives that we live have an impact on our generation and on the generations to come: “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 Gensis – 2 Samuel p 243)

 

But there is hope…in repentance and a God who can extend mercy to the penitent….

 

Like a bird in flight

Our sins ascend to Thee;

Rising from the ashes of mortality

They seek Thy mercy to set them free. 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Though Your Sins Be As Scarlet by Greg Collins)

FAVOURED IN IMPERFECTION

 

If there is one thing we can learn from the characters that grace the pages of our scriptures it is that they too were imperfect. Sometimes we tend to remember those who are deceased only for their good qualities. This is where written history helps us see things in a better light. Even those exemplary leaders in the House of Israel had their weaknesses and imperfections.

Herein is the mercy of God. He favours even the imperfect and makes them His chosen people. We are perfect examples of that. We were chosen as the elect of God and assigned to the tribes of the House of Israel before we were even born (see James Talmage, “Articles of Faith” pp 193-94). We were elected based on our capacities, our willingness, our faith and our thirst for the truth:

“…the House of Israel is composed of the spirits from pre-mortal life who there developed a talent for spirituality, and who are therefore entitled to the blessing of heaven in this life on a preferential basis.” (Bruce R. McConkie, “Mortal Messiah Book 3” p 11)

On Judgment Day, our desires, our faith and our love of God and the truth will be considered as much as our good deeds. In writing to Romans, Paul told them that Abraham’s faith was accounted to him for righteousness and that man is justified by faith, righteous works, and grace (see Romans 4).

The Church has given us some guidelines to follow when we study about the House of Israel and consider the covenant people we belong to:

1.      Is there any evidence in the scriptural record that imperfect behaviour was in any way overlooked, condoned, or excused by the Lord?

2.      Can we learn from the faults and failings of our ancestors as well as from their strengths and successes?

3.      Do you see any evidences of growth, development, repentance, and commitment in the record of the earliest covenant people?

4.      Do the human interest details, such as the rivalry between Rachel and Leah, make it easier or harder for you to believe that God is a loving and patient Father, and that you, too, in spite of your own failings, may become a covenant person?

-          Old Testament Student Manual Genesis – 2 Samuel p 90

These guidelines suggest one thing very clearly. God is the same yesterday, today and forever (Mormon 9:9). He cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance so He holds us all to the same standard in that respect (D&C 1:31). As for the human condition of weakness, there is grace.

I marvel that you would love

Such an imperfect being like me.

With thankfulness, You remember the me

That once walked the clouds with Thee;

That You see who I once used to be,

And value me despite my humanity.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Compassionate Christ by Greg Sargent)

THE POWER OF PREPARATION

 

Joseph, the son of Jacob, would have to be the greatest example of the importance of preparation. Joseph started off as somewhat of an insufferable teenager. Not that he was unrighteous but because his advantages in early life were leading him to a possible path of pride. Here’s what I mean by that:

1.       He was favoured and most loved of all of his father’s children. He was the only one who was honoured with a coat of many colours which symbolized not only favouritism but high status in the ancient world  (Genesis 37:3). This alone had the potential of going to his head;

2.       He policed his brothers and reported their evil doings to his father (v 2);

3.       He bragged about his dreams of the prosperous future and leadership that they promised (v 5-10). This earned him the derision of his brothers who named him ‘the dreamer’ (v 19).

The favouritism, the self-righteousness, the revelations, all point to a teenage lack of humility and a slippery slide in the opposite direction. Joseph was 17 when his brothers cut him off from his home and sold him into servitude in Egypt but by the time he was 30 he was Egypt’s ruler (Genesis 37:2; 41:46). When his brothers arrived in Egypt to buy food, we see a different Joseph, a Joseph with a tender heart willing to forgive and yearning to embrace his brothers and re-unite with his family (Genesis 42:24; 43:24-31). This story alone is worth the weeping.

There was something wonderful about Joseph….besides his integrity and righteousness, he had an uncanny ability to make lemonade out of lemons. He possessed a positive attitude and God used this attribute to refine and teach him. Through his optimism Joseph could see and understand that his servitude in Egypt had a higher purpose, that of saving the entire House of Israel (Genesis 45:5-8). There was no pride in this admission, only credit and honour to God.

This was the preparation of Joseph, a prolific figure in the patriarchal line and a prototype of the promised Messiah. His life heralds the exciting and complicated history of the House of Israel that we belong to. Knowing the patriarchs and the people who shaped this history is a privilege we should consider to be of immense worth.

Sometimes God is preparing us for something great when it least seems like it…. “He has the ability to turn everything into something good. This is a godly characteristic. Everything, no matter how dire, becomes a victory to the Lord” (Hartman Rector Jr., “Live Above the Law To Be Free”, Ensign Jan 1973, p 130). It reminds me of this poem by Benjamin Malachi Franklin:

My life is but a weaving between my God and me,

I cannot choose the colours, He weaveth skillfully.

Oft times He weaveth sorrow; And I in foolish pride

Forget He sees the upper and I the underside.

Not till the loom is silent and the shuttles cease to fly

Will God unroll the canvas and reveal the reason why

The dark threads are as needful in the weaver’s skillful hand

As the threads of gold and silver

In the pattern He has planned.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Joseph of Egypt by Michael T. Malm)

THE PROTOTYPE

 

Elder Bruce R. McConkie taught that all prophets are types of Christ (“The Promised Messiah, p 448).  A prophet is one who has the testimony of Jesus and knows by the power of the Holy Ghost that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Who can forget the promises God made to Joseph of Egypt and his prophecies as quoted by Lehi in the Book of Mormon? (2 Nephi 3) I was amazed to read how his life and mission also typifies the life and mission of Jesus:

1.       Joseph was the favoured son of his father; so was Jesus (see Genesis 37:3; Matthew 3:17; Mormon 5:14)

2.       Joseph was rejected by his brothers, the Israelites, as was Jesus (see Genesis37:4; John 1:11; Isaiah 53:3; 1 Nephi 19:13-14)

3.       Joseph was sold by his brothers into the hands of the Gentiles, just as Jesus was (see Genesis 37:25-27; Matthew 20:19)

4.       Judah, the head of the tribe of Judah, proposed the sale of Joseph. Certain leaders of the Jews in Jesus’ day turned Jesus over to the Romans. Judas (the Greek spelling of Judah) was the one who actually sold Jesus (see Genesis 37:26; Matthew 27:3)

5.       Joseph was sold for twenty pieces of silver, the price of a slave his age. Christ was sold for thirty pieces of silver, the price of a slave of His age (see Genesis 37:28; Matthew 27:3; Exodus 21:32; Leviticus 27:5)

6.       In their attempt to destroy Joseph, his brothers actually set up the conditions that would bring about their eventual temporal salvation. By being sold, Joseph became the deliverer. Jesus, by being given into the hands of the Gentiles, was crucified and became the Deliverer for all mankind.

7.       Joseph began his mission of preparing salvation for Israel at age thirty, just as Jesus began His ministry of preparing salvation for the world at age thirty (see Genesis 41:46; Luke 3:23)

8.       When Joseph was finally raised to his exalted position in Egypt, all bowed the knee to him. All will eventually bow the knee to Jesus (see Genesis 41:43; D&C 88:104)

9.       Joseph provided bread for Israel and saved them from death, all without cost. Jesus, the Bread of Life, did the same for all men (see Genesis 42;35; John 6:48-57; 2 Nephi 9:50)

-          Old Testament Student Manual Gensis – 2 Samuel, p 97

How much You must love those

Who bear witness of Thy holy name.

Thy prophets, Thine everlasting friends,

Thine angels who herald

Thy gospel and Thy name;

To the ends of the earth they speak

And their words forever remain.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Jesus by Land of Dreams)

TO SEE THE FACE OF GOD

 

Imagine sitting on a family feud for 20 years. Imagine having to face the person who sought to take away your life because of this feud after all the time you were estranged from them. This was the situation Jacob found himself in when God commanded him to return to Canaan. He knew he would come across his brother Esau and dread took possession of him. So much so that he prayed to God for protection.

Consider his humility in approaching God: “I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast showed unto thy servant…deliver me I pray thee from the hand of my brother…..” (Genesis 32:10) Then he evoked God’s promise of the Abrahamic covenant through which he would be blessed with posterity ‘as the sand of the sea which cannot be numbered for multitude’ (vs 11,12)

Imagine Jacob’s joy when Esau “ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him”…..and instead of animosity, hatred and vengeance, they wept….(Genesis 33:4). And this is the reward of forgiveness in Jacob’s words: “I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God….” (v 10)

This reminds me of that famous quote from the finale of Victor Hugo’s novel “Les Miserables”, “To love another person is to see the face of God”, emphasizing that selfless love breaks all the barriers of contention, hatred and discord and represents the highest, divine and sacred experience.  

I could not imagine life without forgiveness. Living in such immense opposition and weakness, we simply could not survive spiritually without it because the imperfection of this life would canker our souls beyond saving. Forgiveness rescued me from the greatest trial of my life. This forgiveness was what made me ‘see the face of God’ because it came as His gift.

Now in this later stage of my life, I am learning more about self-forgiveness of my humanity. I erroneously and arrogantly expected I was going to be perfect in this life…..my weaknesses taught me otherwise. Self-forgiveness, like forgiveness of others, is a freeing tool that makes something wonderful of us. Consider Alma the Younger who suffered the godly sorrow asked of every repentant sinner (Alma36:18). 

Obviously’, the Saviour didn't require more than that of Alma.  He did not require him to live in the past or the future beating himself up for what he did.  What He did require of Alma was for Alma to become a great man.  A man who would be an instrument in His hands to convince others of His great power to save. 

Alma, who once went about with the intent to destroy the Church became Alma who led the Nephite armies in battle, who sat naked with Amulek in dungeons, who was spat upon by the unrepentant, who dumbfounded an anti-Christ, who baptised thousands of souls unto repentance (Alma 4:4,5), who the Lord in the end took up unto himself (Alma 45:19).  Alma certainly did become that great man that the Lord needed…because of forgiveness.

I am in awe of the ‘Man of Sorrows’……of His mercy and His love. The older I get the more I feel the overwhelming reliance I have on His salvation. He has made my earthly life possible and my eternal life a surety because of His forgiveness of my humanity. I am in awe of His ability to liberate the beauty in me.

 

If I had the might to plant Thee in each heart

Of all that breathes,

In pursuit of such a quest I would walk the earth

With apparent ease.

As I can do so little this desire to meet,

I lay my loyal love at Thy holy feet.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Gentle Saviour by Jay Bryant Ward)

THE CASE OF THE SPECKLED COWS

 

There is an interesting story in the Bible that has given me much reflection. It is the story of speckled cows. You will recall that upon arriving in Haran, Jacob committed himself to serve his uncle Laban for 14 years for his wives Leah and Rachael but after twenty long years of service the Lord instructed him to return to Canaan (31:13).

Laban was reluctant to let him go admitting that the Lord had prospered him because of Jacob, nevertheless, he asked him what wages he can give him for his service (Genesis 30:27). Anticipating this question, Jacob devised a marvellous plan, one that would recompense him for years of Laban's treachery (Genesis 31:6,7).

He told Laban that all he wanted were the speckled and spotted cows out of the flocks of cattle that he tended for Laban. And here unfolds Jacob's clever and miraculous plan. The plan was to make rods out of the green branches of hazel and chestnut trees and carve them randomly so that they appeared speckled. Jacob then placed the rods in the watering troughs so when the cows came to drink, the speckles would be constantly before their eyes (Genesis 30:37-42).

He did this especially with stronger cows. When the cows conceived, they conceived and delivered speckled calves. When Jacob's time came to leave, he was far richer than Laban had ever been. I don't know anyone who would think of such a clever plan or have the foresight and faith that this would work. Some have speculated that this was common superstition of the day and that there is no explanation of it by modern science. It is clear however, that divine intervention played the part since Jacob gave God the credit for this plan and since God instructed him to return to his ‘country’ and promised to ‘deal well with him’.(Genesis 31:7-9; 32:9; see Old Testament Student Manual Part 1 p 88)  

But yes, I do have an opinion on this….Jacob knew we become what we consistently focus on….

I am reminded here of the ‘speckled water’ we drink on regular basis. This water has a far greater image in it. Mirrored in the sacramental emblems is "the bread of life" (John 6:35) and "the fountain of living waters" (Isaiah 12:3; Jeremiah 2:13; John 4:6-15; John 7:37; 1 Nephi 11:25; D&C 10:66; 63:23).  Like the cows who came to drink of the "speckled" water, we drink the sacramental water in which is the image of Christ.

We come to the sacramental table to figuratively eat Christ's body and drink His blood. The Saviour confirmed this when He said: "He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me and I in him...he that eateth me, even he shall live by me...he that eateth of this bread shall live forever." (John 6:51-58).

Like the speckled calves that were products of speckled water, may we drink the living water that we may receive the image of Christ in our countenance.  

 

To my lips I take the cup

With bitter taste I drink it up;

In remembrance of blood spilt

My sins increase the bitter still.

 

The sorrow rends my weeping heart

The contrite spirit hope imparts.

You reach for me with tender touch;

“Weep not, I wept for you so much,

The price was paid, your soul was won

Our hearts now beat as we are one.

 

The price was paid, your soul is mine

Two hearts united in love divine.

 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Fill My Cup Lord by Danny Hahlbohm)

THE OPENING OF HEAVENS

 

In my 50 years of Church membership, I have never read the account of the restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood by Oliver Cowdery. It was a text in small print at the end of Joseph Smith History that I didn’t bother with….until yesterday…when it created such a flutter in my heart I wanted the ends of the earth to read it…….

The date was May 15, 1829. Joseph and Oliver had just prayed to inquire of the Lord respecting baptism for the remission of sins that they found mentioned in the translation of the Book of Mormon. What unfolded had an impact on Oliver such as he had never had before:

“The Lord, who is rich in mercy, and ever willing to answer the consistent prayer of the humble, after we had called upon Him in fervent manner….condescended to manifest to us His will. On a sudden, as from the midst of eternity, the voice of the Redeemer spake peace to us, while the veil was parted and the angel of God came down clothed with glory, and delivered the anxiously looked for message, and the keys of the Gospel of repentance.

“What joy! What wonder! What amazement! While the world was racked and distracted….and while all men were resting upon uncertainty…our eyes beheld, our ears heard…. his voice, though mild, pierced to the center, and his words, ‘I am thy fellow-servant’, dispelled every fear. We listened, we gazed, we admired! ‘Twas the voice of an angel from glory, ‘twas a message from the Most High! And as we heard we rejoiced, while His love enkindled upon our souls, and we were wrapped in the vision of the Almighty!

“….what joy filled our hearts, and with what surprise we must have bowed….when we received under his hand the Holy Priesthood as he said, ‘Upon you my fellow-servants, in the name of Messiah, I confer the Priesthood and this authority, which shall remain upon earth, that the Sons of Levi may yet offer an offering unto the Lord in righteousness!

“The assurance that we were in the presence of an angel, the certainty that we heard the voice of Jesus, and the truth unsullied as it flowed from a pure personage, dictated by the will of God, is to me past description, and I shall ever look upon this expression of the Saviour’s goodness with wonder and thanksgiving while I am permitted to tarry; and in those mansions where perfection dwells and sin never comes, I hope to adore in that day which shall never cease.”

-          Oliver Cowdery, “Messenger and Advocate” vol 1 (October 1834), pp 14-16

 

How can I contain You

In the chambers of my overflowing heart?

Your greatness, Your mercy, Your love,

Are far too vast.

 

All that I am, I give to You:

My heart, my soul, my all,

I lay at Your feet forever more.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Knock and It Shall Be Opened by B. Laura Wilson)