REMEMBERING

 

Have you noticed how often ‘remembrance’ is used in the scriptures? Remembering the history of ‘the fathers’ seemed to have been an ancient method of motivating people to obedience. Nephites were often prompted to remember not only the children of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt but also of Lehi’s journey to the promised land. Both of these events are depicted in the account of King Benjamin’s farewell speech where the people ‘sat in their tents’ during the renewal of their covenants to help them remember Israelites’ living in tents for 40 years and Lehi’s 8 years of tent living in the wilderness. Remembering was anciently the key factor in covenant renewal. King Benjamin speaks of ‘remembering’ 15 times in his speech to his sons and to the people gathered to hear him (Mosiah 1:3,4,6,7,17; 2:40 twice, 41 twice; 4:11,28,30; 5:11,12; 6:3).

 

When I was growing up in the Catholic community of Croatia, I was stirred into remembrance of Christ constantly as every home, including my own, had pictures of Him in every room. I am not exaggerating here. I now paste pictures of Him in my journal and my planner constantly. I have done this for years. I think I have subconsciously wanted to continue that habit of visual remembrance. There are of course many ways we can remember the covenants we have made here. 

 

There is something that King Benjamin said that stood out to me this morning as I studied his speech again. He said we are made of dust but the dust belongs to Him who created us, therefore, we are not our own (Mosiah 2:25). It made me reflect on Paul who took this fact to another level when he said: “….Ye are bought with a price…” (1 Cor 6:20), the Atonement being that price. Christ could not buy us without our consent, the consent which we gave before we were born, when we voted and sustained Him to work out our salvation and uphold the Father’s plan to exalt His children. This is the covenant worth remembering. Some of us think, “it’s my body and my life, I can do whatever I want with it”, but it’s not really, is it? I think we gave up that right long ago. 

 

I pledged my life into thy hands

When by example you showed me how;

I promised my trials to endure

When I was with You and even now.

You dried my tears when I barely coped

And carried me when I could walk no more;

You fed me truths I needed to know

And nurtured my flight into the unknown.

I found you at every turn

In the shadow of my heart;

With eager haste I approach Thy throne

And offer my meagre part.

 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art by Randy Friemel)

THE ROAD LESS TRAVELLED

 

I am amazed how opposition in this life serves a noble purpose, a purpose to lift us out of the comfort zone so we can become greater than what we are. I have been through a situation in my life that has repeated itself over and over seeking my attention to walk the higher road in life, a road I know will propel me to climb another rung on the ladder of my personal growth. Sometimes things have to get really uncomfortable before we recognize this is what is happening. We tend to see adverse situations in our lives as unwelcome adversity that is meant to give us experience of sorrow and grief so that we will know happiness when it comes along. This is true of mortality, and this knowledge most of the time seems to  satisfy us,  however, the higher road is paved with recognition that the adverse situation is offering a learning moment needed to affect change. As Robert Frost said: I took the road less travelled and that has made all the difference…..

 

It is easy to wallow in the comfort zone, even if it is not the ideal situation for us. To reach higher and change things can be overwhelming, especially when we have placed limitations on ourselves. However, faith in God should have no limitations because God is not a god of limits. The universe is His for the giving. 

 

If God’s work and His glory is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man (Moses 1:39), how can He possibly have limits on what He can do with us? His part is to raise us up and our part is to elevate ourselves on the wings of faith to qualify for the rising. That means faith without works is dead. Becoming one of the greats is a partnership. 

 

God will very seldom give us blessings that we do not have to earn through our works and our faith. If He did, we would not require stretching and would become gods solely on His efforts. Can you imagine gods devoid of self-discipline, power, endurance, wisdom, knowledge, experience? All these things are ours for the taking in this life, if we will embrace the power of opposition in mortality to elevate us to higher ground.  Acceptance is everything.

 

A river of peace floods my mortal being;

I struggle to contain such a merciful gift.

With grace You enlarge 

the sparse capacity of my heart

And righteousness moves within me 

as the waves of the sea.

I love You more dearly;

I serve you more freely;

I become what I alone could never be.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Danny Hahlbohm)

 

WORDS OF POWER

 

I am particularly passionate about words and faith. I believe in the beauty of words and I believe in their power. Consider Enoch who was called to his holy calling when he was ‘slow of speech’ (Moses 6:31). The Lord promised him that He will give him ‘utterance’  and He will ‘justify’ all his words (Moses:32-34). So Enoch trusted, his weakness turned into his greatest strength and he became  so powerful that when he spoke the people trembled and could not stand in his presence (Moses 6:47). Enoch fulfilled his calling admirably.

 

Worthy spoken words have the power to resonate with the spirit of God and empower us to achieve things we could not ordinarily do on our own.   An  example of this is calling upon the power of the Atonement to enable us to overcome a certain weakness or to receive a healing. I have had experience to this end and can testify that the power of the Atonement, when prayed for, can heal you, as does hearing His word which ‘heals the wounded soul’ (Jacob 2:8). The vibration of the words with which we plead for help attracts the power we are asking for and need.  When we pray, we create a pathway for manifestation of that which we want in our lives. Admonition to pray is prolific in scriptures for exactly this reason.

 

Spoken word and faith are inter-related. The great exemplar in this is the Saviour himself, who created the world and man by the power of His word (Jacob 4:9; Mormon 9:17; Genesis 1; John 1:1). I believe when the Saviour spoke the words of creation, He spoke by the power of faith. This is evident to me through a small incident in His mortal life when He came upon a fig tree that had no fruit to feed His hunger. He cursed the tree and the tree withered the moment He spoke  (Matthew 21:18-21). When His disciples marvelled at what they saw, Jesus told them that if they had faith and doubted not, if they said the word for mountains to move, it would be so (v21). 

 

Dare to create the life that you want, especially the life that God would want you to have. Be afflicted for nothing but in prayer with gratitude ask for everything (Philippians 4:6). Read how the Book of Mormon came to be because of faith and prayers of ancient prophets who wrote it (D&C 10:44-52). If prayer can achieve something so significant, it can procure what you need to become your best self.

 

Aim higher than you have ever aimed before. The Saviour wants you to be like Him, in every way. He would have you learn to harness the power of faith that you might rise to godhood through your power of creation.  That power is already in you……He made sure of it.

 

 

How godly You were

When You planted the heavens

And laid the foundations of the earth;

How noble and honourable

When You gave me hope

Through the water’s gate;

I bequest to You my earthly deeds

And fly to You

With my arms of faith. 

 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Arms of Faith by Yongsung Kim)

A ZION WARNING

 

I find it fascinating to read scriptural prophecies of the last days. I am amazed by the accuracy of Nephi’s vision of us in 2 Nephi chapter 28. Nobody can dispute it, not only because we can see its reality very plainly but because he states at the onset of this chapter that he was ‘constrained’ by the Spirit (v1), meaning the vision of us came to him from heaven itself, and who can dispute that?

 

Nephi begins this chapter with the importance of the Book of Mormon to the world in the last days because of the corruption of many churches that will be promoting Satan’s value system of selfishness, self-indulgence and immediate gratification, which is basically the doctrine of the prodigal son: indulge now and repent later  (v8). He then brings to our attention Satan’s technique of leading people into ‘carnal security’ by pacifying, lulling and flattering them (vs21,22) but what is particularly interesting about this is that in the course of 4 verses, he makes it plain he is directing his remarks to ‘Zion’. This is a warning to the Church and not to the world. 

 

The ‘carnal security’ Nephi speaks of leads the members of the Church to a dangerous mentality of  ‘all is well in Zion’ (v21). It makes some of us think that we are good enough as it is; that we have enough time to improve; it’s not so bad if we commit a little sin here and there….after all, we are members of the Church, we meant well and we will in the end be forgiven. This is the mentality of the Ten Virgins in Jesus’ famous parable. 

 

As a symbol of our covenant relationship with Christ, Jesus used the metaphor of marriage between Himself and His Church. Therefore, when He comes, He will come as a bridegroom to wed the righteous of His Church. These, He states are the members who have received the truth, have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide and have not been deceived (D&C 45:56,57).

 

When the time of His appearing is here, there will be no reservoir of good works, spiritually building moments, and a sinless slate we will be able to borrow from. We will no longer be able to exist on the testimony of others. The ‘carnal security’ we had wallowed in and been comfortable in will come to an end and all will be lost. Do not be deceived and think you are safe in Satan’s territory. He upholds no one in the end because he will not be able to uphold even himself. His path is futile and has no reward. When the Saviour comes, you will behold Him in His glory and you will want to be with Him. You will want to be with the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. 

 

ODE TO THE TEN VIRGINS

I would gladly give you some oil

Your empty lamp to fill,

If you could glean the sweat

From my furrowed brow

As I worked on the oil press

So diligently until now.

- Cathryne Allen

(Art: Ten Virgins by Liz Lemon Swindle)

TAUGHT FROM ON HIGH

 

I am amazed at how many voices there are in the world today due to technology. I guess I am one of them, for which I am profoundly grateful as expressing my love for the truth is my driving force.

 

What concerns me is that some of the voices out there are replacing the most important voice of all, the voice of the Spirit. Let me explain. I have friends who have given up reading the scriptures because podcasts by people who study them are so much easier to ‘listen’ to. This is a grave mistake, not only because you miss out on being tutored by heaven, which I highly recommend, but also because you are at the risk of being misinformed by people’s well intentioned interpretations of the truth.

 

For example, let me discredit one false theory that is circulating right now concerning the 10 Lost Tribes. For some reason, even some self-proclaimed Church ‘scriptorians’ have decided that it is too hard to believe the 10 Tribes of Israel are really lost simply because ‘we don’t know where they are’. They instead believe that these tribes are merely scattered around the world amongst other people. Many members I know have started to believe this.  Firstly, this is partly true because, not all of the 10 tribes were led away by the Lord into the land of the north (D&C 110:11). When Assyrians attacked the Northern Kingdom of Israel, many fled to the safety of the Southern Kingdom; some remained in the Northern Kingdom and intermarried with Assyrians and thus became the Samaritans; and some abandoned their journey north and were scattered throughout Europe and Asia. 

 

On April 3, 1836, Moses appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in the Kirtland Temple and committed to them the keys of the gathering of Israel, specifically from ‘the four parts of the earth, AND the leading of the ten tribes from the land of the north” (D&C 110:11). Section 133 goes one step further and explains the manner in which they will come back (vs 26,27).  It says that their prophets will hear the Lord’s voice; they shall smite the rocks, and the ice shall flow down at their presence; and a ‘highway’ shall be cast up ‘in the midst of the great deep’. And what is this highway? If you look down in the footnotes, you will see a reference to Exodus 14:29 which talks about the parting of the Red Sea for the children of Israel to walk through on dry ground to escape the Egyptians. Clearly the ‘highway’ then means the Lord will perform the same miracle for the 10 Lost Tribes to come to America to receive their blessings at the hands of Ephraim. This undertaking will be so massive and so grand that Jeremiah promised that the God will no longer be called the Lord who led the children of Israel out of Egypt but the Lord who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north (Jeremiah 16:14-15). These scriptures are discussed at length in the Doctrine and Covenants student manual which I would highly recommend.

 

My point is this: make the scriptures your foundation of knowledge and then when you hear other people speak, you will know what is true. My most favourite section of D&C is section 76. It promises that faithful saints will be given to know the ‘wonders of eternity’ and that their understanding will ‘reach to heaven’ (D&C 76:6-10). This can only be accomplished by the power of the Holy Ghost.  All the general conference talks are backed by the scriptures. Ponder, pray, study and cherish the word of God. It is food for the soul and salve to the heart. Listen to the spirit and trust it.

 

Your truth pierces my soul

And binds me to Your loving heart;

Your teaching moments

Find my hungry mind

And feed me like a bird in flight

Searching for a morsel

That gladdens its hungry heart.

Your mysteries are laid at my feet

And, I come to you Father

Clutching the riches that are mine to keep.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Outpouring of the Spirit by Danny Hahlbohm)

THE HUMBLE GOD

 

Through my study of the scriptures I have counted 18 of Christ’s characteristics, the most prominent of which for me, had been ones of power and mercy. I recently came to understand one of His virtues which I had not paid much attention to before, the virtue of humility.

 

This is the scripture which made me reflect on the extraordinary nature of His character as a God: “Therefore, I command you to build a house unto me, for the gathering together of my saints, that they may WORSHIP ME” (D&C 115:8). Can you imagine the amount of humility it would require to say such a thing for a God of perfect attributes and devoid of pride? It would have to be someone who knows perfectly who he is, is confident in that knowledge and most of all, has a purity of spirit and heart. Compare this to Lucifer’s desire to be worshipped (Moses 4:1-4).

 

It amazes me that someone so powerful who calls himself ‘the king of heaven’ (2 N 10:14), who can create worlds and annihilate them by the power of His word (Helaman 12:9-17; D&C 63:4) can be so humble. Until now I have only seen Christ’s power in His self-declarations but have overlooked the humility. 

 

This is why this is important for us: Christ’s humility made it possible for Him to condescend to be born to a lowly life: in a stable, a carpenter, willing to be subjected to ridicule and unacceptance. You might say he experienced mortal life at ‘ground zero’. And in doing so he ‘descended below all things that he might comprehend all things’ (D&C 88:6). What things? Our difficulties, our sorrows, our sins, our imperfections, our sufferings, our inabilities, our mortal weakness. The added bonus was access to our individual lives through the Atonement where He learnt what it was like to be you and me.

 

Imagine a God leaving His exalted throne and all that comes with it, to be rejected, spat upon, scourged, reviled and crucified. Imagine the humility it would take to subject yourself to all that, despite the power within your grasp. Embrace the beating of your cherished heart, you were worth it. 

 

Did your angels miss You

When you left Your glorious throne?

Did their voices echo in the lowly stable

When you were so humbly born?

Did they weep for you

When you had to suffer alone?

Will they rejoice at Your return

And sound their trumps

To herald their joy?

And will they praise You forever

As you reclaim Your exalted throne?

- Cathryne Allen

THE ALL KNOWING GOD

 

I read a long time ago Joseph Smith's statement in "Lectures on Faith 3" that we cannot have proper faith in God unless we know Him so that has been my goal for many years. I came to understand over time what peace just knowing one of His attributes can give me.

Nephi says that God knows all things and that ‘there is not anything save he knows it’ (2 Nephi 9:20). In other words, God has perfect and complete knowledge. God is not progressing and adding to His intellectual reservoir, like some people have come to believe. Why would this give us peace? Because if God's knowledge was not complete, He could not bring to pass our immortality and eternal life. If it were not so, prophecies would be mere predictions; the Plan of Salvation would always be under review; and the outcomes of our lives would be forever changing according to new knowledge that He would acquire. But God does not make mistakes and He does not create messes….because He is perfect, His knowledge is perfect and He changes not (3 Nephi 24:6; Moroni 8:18; Mormon 9:9-10; Moroni 7:22; Moroni 10:34; D&C 19:11-12; 20:12; 20:17).

But this is not all. This is what gives me the greatest peace regarding His perfection: Because God is perfect in His knowledge, He knows the outcomes of our lives and this enables Him to have patience and tolerance for us throughout our progress. God is mostly concerned with the end product; not what we have been but who we are going to end up. He is focused on the direction we are facing. All that is in our past: repented of, changed because of, and progressed from, is forgotten. God always looks at who we are at this moment, rather than who we have been. Does this not give you peace?

Are you discouraged with your progress? Are you guilt ridden because of your past? Are you ashamed in any way that you are not ‘there’ yet? Time does not exist for God. God is without beginning of days or end of years (Moses 1:3). Past, present and future are continually before Him (D&C 130:7). The merciful sacrifice of one member of the Godhead makes your progress to sanctification and eternal life possible. You are not alone in this. His power is behind you, beside you, in front of you. God sees the polished gem you are yet to become. Let it light your way to believe in yourself.

How commendably patient Thou art

With the slow progress

Of my proud heart;

How great Thy wisdom,

How great Thy mercy,

How great Thy love

That fills my joyful heart;

How very great Thou art!

- Cathryne Allen

(Art: Creator by Greg Olsen)

ENDURING WELL

I have become convinced there is no greater human example of valiancy in this life than that of Nephi.

Have you ever wondered what made him so highly favoured of the Lord (1 Nephi 1:1)? Was it his righteousness or his willingness to undertake what might to some seem like insurmountable tasks? This is a man who was willing to obey any commandment that was given him such as obtaining the brass plates from a ruthless man not knowing how he was going to do it (1 N 4:6); build a ship he has never built before believing it will be good enough not to drown his family (1 N 17:49-51); and built a temple 'after the [elaborate] manner of Solomon' (2 N 5:16), among other things.....Was Nephi a warrior, an engineer or an architect? No, but he was willing to be, because he believed that God could give him power to do anything He commanded him to do (1 N 17:50).

All these things are highly impressive but this is what I feel elevated Nephi's valiancy to the highest level where he could say the Lord had filled him with His love 'even unto the consuming of my flesh' (2 N 4:21). Can you imagine feeling the Saviour's love to the extent that you feel you cannot contain it? Would not any of us desire this? I have not read or heard any other prophet say such a thing and this is, I believe, why: "Nevertheless, I did look unto my God, and I did praise him all the day long, and I DID NOT MURMUR against the Lord because of mine afflictions." (1 N 18:16). I encourage you to read what preceded this scripture.

Both Elijah and Jeremiah wished at one stage of their lives that they had never been born (1 Kings 19:4; Jeremiah 20:14-18) because of their afflictions. That would be my response if I was tied up in a ship with swollen joints with my brothers seeking to kill me. In fact, this has been my wish in life more than once when the trials of my life had thrown me into depths of despair.

Is your life sometimes hard to bear? Are you disappointed it in no way reflects what you always thought it would and should be? Do not be dismayed because in this imperfect life, there is no perfection to be found. The only choice that remains for the valiant is to endure it well, without murmuring, with utmost faith in Him who will one day make all things right. Look upward until the day that you are filled with love 'unto the consuming of your flesh'....

My soul is rent with anguish

In this vale of sorrow and tears;

I dim, I dim

Like a candle in the wind.

My pleas ascend to Thee;

Rising from the ashes of mortality

They seek Thy love to set them free.

• Cathryne Allen

(Art: I Will Give You Rest by Yongsung Kim)

 

ZORAM THE INSIGNIFICANT

 

 

 

Have you ever felt insignificant? Or on the outside? Or like an appendage to someone? Well, there is one person who in the scriptures might appear to have felt like that. His name was Zoram. As we know Zoram was Laban’s servant and he played a part in Nephi and his brothers obtaining the brass plates. 

 

We don’t know much about this man but I am always amazed that he could be persuaded on the spur of the moment to abandon his life in Jerusalem and step on a ship to cross oceans to a whole new continent. Had he known Lehi and his family previously? His persuasion seemed to have been aided mostly by an oath that Nephi swore to him regarding his safety (1 Nephi 4:33). An oath was a very serious promise in ancient world that people would not break even at the point of death. So Zoram trusted and probably appreciated the twist of fate that took him out of Laban’s service to across the ocean to a foreign land. However, one might think that Zoram became an appendage out of necessity and therefore was not all that significant to Lehi’s adventurous journey. He was after all just a servant. One thing we do know though: he was not insignificant to God.

 

This is the point in Zoram’s story that proves to me this truth. When Ishmael joined the party, he provided wives for Nephi and his brothers but the interesting thing is that Ishmael had enough daughters for Lehi’s sons, plus one. The plus one was the oldest daughter who, you guessed it,  married Zoram (1 Nephi 16:7). Is it a coincidence that there was an extra daughter so that Zoram could also have a wife?  I think not. It is obvious the Lord knew way ahead that Zoram would join the party and that He did not expect him to travel to another continent with no provision for his future. In other words, the Lord knew Zoram, he loved Zoram, and He was invested in Zoram's well-being.  When he sent daughters to be born into Ishmael's family, he assigned one of them for Zoram.  Before Lehi died he gave a blessing to all his posterity, including Zoram because he was ‘a true friend to Nephi forever’ (2 Nephi 1:30-32) . Zoram’s posterity became one of the seven tribes of ancient America, called Zoramites.

 

You migh feel that you are like Zoram, not that important. But you are Christ's work and His glory. Not a hair of your head falls to the ground that He does not notice. No matter how insignificant you might feel, you are not forgotten. God has a plan for you. You might feel 'as a sparrow alone upon the housetop' (Psalm 102:7) but Christ's remembrance of you will endure forever (Psalm 102:12). Your turn on earth has more significance than you can presently understand. Each one of us is destined for greatness in the eternal scheme of things. Christ will ensure this is so and He will lift us to eternal realms of godhood to live with Him forever.

 

Do you see me God,

Despite heaven’s vast expanse?

Do You hear the burning beat of my heart

Amidst the numberless host of heaven?

Do You cherish me as much as the stars

That encircle Thy throne?

Thy greatness is endless,

Thy power sublime,

In my appointed hour, carry me home,

In the strength of Thy loving arms.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art by Jon McNaughton)