A LEGACY OF SACRIFICE

 

I stand in awe of the early priesthood leaders who strengthened the Church through their missionary labours by leaving their families to further the cause of Zion and to gather Israel. Some sacrifices they made are unfathomable for us in this day and age.

Besides Joseph, my favourite person in all of Church history is the Apostle Orson Hyde. I will attempt here to summarise one particular mission of his that embodies such emotion of feeling that my efforts could not do his achievements justice.

“Sometime in 1832, the Prophet Joseph Smith laid his hands upon the head of a new convert by the name of Orson Hyde and told him, “In due time thou shalt go to Jerusalem, the land of thy fathers, and be a watchman unto the house of Israel; and by thy hands shall the Most High do a great work, which shall prepare the way and greatly facilitate the gathering together of that people.” (Daniel C. Peterson, “Abraham Divided”, Prologue/xv)

Until 1840, Elder Hyde spent most of his missionary labours among the Gentiles but in March of that year, a vision opened to him showing him in succession the cities of London, Amsterdam, Constantinople and Jerusalem. A voice said to him: “Here are many of the children of Abraham whom I will gather to the land that I gave to their fathers; and here also is the field of your labours…..” (Prologue/xvi)

In the April conference of that year, the vote for Elder Hyde’s mission to the Jewish people was approved by a unanimous vote. Elder Hyde and Elder John E. Page departed for Jerusalem on 15^th April 1840.

I can’t explain to you what Elder Hyde went through to reach Jerusalem. This was the age before automobiles, steamships and aircraft. The journey entailed different forms of transport. Elder Page lost interest in Pennsylvania and Elder Hyde had to proceed on his own. In Pennsylvania a total stranger approached him with a purse of gold to finance his passage across the Atlantic to Europe where he became the first Church missionary to travel across the continent of Europe and Asia Minor to proclaim the gospel.

From there he travelled by sea and was reduced to eating snails gathered from the coastal rocks due to shortage of food on the vessel. Once arriving in Jaffa, he had to pass through a lawless area where people were often killed or robbed by marauding Bedouins.

It took more than a year and a half in total to reach Jerusalem.

Before dawn on the morning of Sunday, 24 October 1841, Elder Hyde arose from sleep and “went out of the city as soon as the gates were opened, crossed the brook Kedron, and went upon the Mount of Olives, and there in solemn silence, with pen, ink, and paper, just as he saw in the vision, offered up a prayer to HIM WHO LIVES FOREVER AND EVER”. (Prologue/xxi)

The dedicatory prayer of the land of Jerusalem for the gathering of the Jews that Elder Hyde offered is three full pages long in small print in the History of the Church by Joseph Smith. Today, a garden of five and a quarter acres commemorates Orson Hyde’s visit to the Near East in late 1841. The garden houses a large brass plaque with passages from Elder Hyde’s dedicatory prayer in both English and Hebrew. The garden was dedicated by the Prophet Spencer W. Kimball on 24 October, 1979.

Jerusalem housed 20,000 inhabitants when Orson Hyde arrived. Now it has a population of 7.7 million Jewish residents.

It took Elder Hyde three years in total to accomplish his mission to carry Jehovah’s message to His people Israel which He gave him himself: “Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished – that her iniquity is pardoned, for she hath received of the Lord’s hand doubly for all her sins.”  (Prologue/xvii)

Glory be to the Holy One who pardons and forgives and gathers His people Israel……

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Orson Hyde Dedicates the Holy Land by Clark Kelley Price)

A FORGIVING HEART PART 2

 

At times Joseph suffered as much opposition in the Church as outside.

In early 1844 a group of apostates in Nauvoo, Illinois, declared the Prophet Joseph Smith to be a fallen prophet and tried to start a rival church. Some even held secret meetings, during which they plotted to kill him (Glen L. Leonard, Nauvoo: A Place of Peace, a People of Promise [2002], 357-62).

 

One of these people was W.W. Phelps, an author and a poet, who wrote 26 hymns in the original hymnal. He was Joseph’s close associate who left the church for a time with Oliver Cowdery. He became fiercely anti and wrote an incriminating affidavit which landed Joseph and Sidney Rigdon in jail and wreaked deadly havoc on the Church community.

 

W.W. Phelps eventually became wrecked with guilt and had a miraculous change of heart. He desired to repent and wrote a letter to Joseph, asking for forgiveness of all the saints, in the name of Jesus Christ. Note the forgiveness was requested in Jesus’ name, who is the very embodiment of said attribute. Even though he yearned for forgiveness, he didn’t expect the reply he received to his letter.

 

Joseph responded: “Dear Brother Phelps, it is true that we have suffered much because of your behaviour. The cup of gall was filled to the overflowing when you turned against us, however, we are yet alive and I shall be happy once again to give you the right hand of fellowship.  Come on dear Brother since the war is past, for friends at first are friends again at last. Yours as ever, Joseph Smith Jr.”  

 

Joseph re-instated W.W. Phelps into the Church fellowship by the unanimous vote of all the saints in Nauvoo whom he influenced in the matter of forgiveness. Later W.W. Phelps said he struggled to understand Joseph’s capacity for forgiveness and love.

 

The hymn “Praise to the Man” was written by WW Phelps to express love and gratitude for Joseph upon his death, and it was sung at his funeral. What a great tribute to the man who exemplified the Saviour through his forgiving heart.

Some of us have brought with us spiritual attributes we developed in pre-existence. They can never, however, match the Saviour’s level of perfection. Forgiveness is one of those attributes.

For instance, I often hear that we should forgive our enemies and those who hurt us like the Saviour did whilst on the cross. I ask, how many of us are capable of such forgiveness in the midst of such excruciating agony? This kind of forgiveness is on a higher level that we cannot reach on our own.

Forgiveness is central to Christ’s character but not to our own. Not especially in this weakened condition of mortality. Comparing us to Christ is like comparing apples to oranges.

I had a conversation with a dear sister once who told me it took her 12 years of intense therapy to forgive someone. I reflected on my own experience of much needed ability to forgive whilst in excruciating pain due to divorce some years ago, which took only months to gain through fervent and persistent appealing to Christ’s power of the Atonement. I was granted what I asked for and to this day I cannot hold a grudge of any proportion.

By virtue of our discipleship and by being faithful in keeping our covenants, we have ‘increased access to the power of Jesus Christ’ and need not suffer unduly. We can still become free when forgiveness is beyond us. (see President Russell M Nelson, “Overcome the World and Find Rest”, Liahona 2022, p 96)

A true leader who leads masses of imperfect and flawed people would have to have this attribute under his belt for those who claim they represent Him, need to in some way, be like Him. Nobody needed the gift of forgiveness more than Joseph. I am certain that the Saviour knew this and endowed him with this gift, either in this life or before. He must have known from His own experience that Joseph would not survive otherwise.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Joseph the Man by Joseph Brickey)

A FORGIVING HEART PART 1

 

 

Losing support of someone close to you and suffering betrayal at their hands is a terrible experience. Even though the Saviour was fully in control of His death (John 10:17-18), that betrayal sealed with a kiss in the Garden must have stung bitterly (Luke 22:27,28; Mark 14:44,45).

 

Considering the persecution and betrayal that came to Joseph from within the Church and the men he associated with closely, I conclude that he would have been very familiar with such a sting. Two in particular were W.W. Phelps and Oliver Cowdery. I am always amazed about Oliver because he was a scribe, an Elder, and a witness. He and Joseph shared sacred privileges together which would have created a strong bond between them.

 

Oliver Cowdery received priesthood authority from angelic ministers, was one of the Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon plates, helped supervise the publication of the Book of Mormon, was a founding member of the Church on April 6, 1830, led a group on a mission to American Indian settlements, served as the Assistant President of the Church and an Assistant Counselor to the First Presidency, assisted in the publication of the Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants, and witnessed the appearance of Jesus Christ and angelic ministers in the Kirtland Temple.

 

It would seem that Oliver had suffered some terrible blows in life. His mother died before his third birthday and he lived for long periods of time with his relatives. After he obtained his education, he came to western New York on a teaching post near Palmyra. There he met the Smith family and was spiritually guided to become Joseph’s scribe.

 

Oliver also married and had six children out of which only one survived past early childhood. His wife Elizabeth and the daughter Maria Louise died two days apart and were buried together in 1892. He had no other descendants.

 

A year after the Kirtland Temple opening, the failure of the Kirtland Safety Society Bank dealt a crushing blow to Oliver’s finances and he reacted by pursuing his own enterprise rather than continuing to consecrate his property to the Church. From there it was all downhill. He accused the leaders of the Church of mismanaging funds and he spread rumours that Joseph had committed adultery. The High Council investigated his allegations, and charges that were made against him and ultimately excommunicated him.

 

It would have been a terrible blow to Joseph to be betrayed by such a close friend. Nevertheless, he saw Oliver as a prodigal son and was anxious that he repent and return. At one stage he instructed his clerk: 'I wish you would write to Oliver Cowdery and ask him if he hasn't eaten husks long enough'." (Joseph Fielding Smith, "Doctrines of Salvation", 1:227)

 

Some seven years later, Oliver admitted his disaffection had resulted mostly from aggressive Latter-Day Saints in Missouri who were threatening him and not from any personal misgivings with the leaders of the Church. He had had enough of eating husks of the world and wanted to return to the fellowship of the Church.

 

Joseph received a letter from Oliver Cowdery in Carthage Jail just hours before he was killed. He encouraged the Quorum of the Twelve to re-admit him into the Church and Oliver was re-baptised. He made plans to be re-united with the Saints in Utah but he never made it. His health declined and he died in 1850 before he could travel west. He was 44 years old.

 

What fascinates me is Joseph’s forgiving heart. It’s difficult enough to be cut off from someone you were close to but to have that person slander your name is a double blow.

 

Sometime in our life, we might lose trust and support from someone close to us. Our forgiveness, even when not asked for, might be their only path to salvation. Usually, betrayals are born out of personal misfortunes or deep issues we might not even be aware of.

 

We might not know what makes people do what they do, but the Saviour knows and because He knows He can pave the path to forgiveness. We only see the outside while he sees the inside. He understands us completely while still holding us responsible for our actions.

 

The Saviour’s ability to forgive is much greater than ours. It’s a reservoir we can draw from by virtue of our discipleship……but more of that in Part 2.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Joseph and Oliver Pray (D&C 13) by Del Parson)

TWO-EDGED SWORD

 

 

Some of you 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 words, ‘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’ (D&C 6:2). 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 destruction of the soul. 

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). This means that God’s word has the power to bring about spiritual death. This will be most evident when He returns as John the Revelator saw that out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword (Revelation 1:16) symbolising the destruction of the wicked. 

Besides being a symbol of death, the scriptures say the Lord’s word is also quick and powerful. Scripturally, 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 (KJV Bible Dictionary, “Quick”, p 756).

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). Therefore, the word of God not only brings about spiritual death but also gives spiritual life. It all depends on the heed we give to it. 

Nephi and Alma spoke extensively about the word of God and what it can do for us (2 Nephi 32; Alma 32:28-43). 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 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 one hour a day studying the word of God. The time never seemed enough.

Some months after I started, I noticed I was no longer getting depressed. I was gaining spiritual life.  Every time I studied the scriptures and ‘gave heed to His words’ (D&C 6:2), I gained a portion of His Spirit, which healed my soul. I have not experienced depression for 32 years now. Low moments here and there, yes, but not ongoing depression.

This is the power of words. Even the ones we speak build or destroy. An example: I awoke at midnight last night for a bathroom break and made a crucial mistake of visiting Facebook to find something. I came across a critical comment about one of my recent posts on Joseph Smith.

This Church member told me I write ‘at nauseam’ about Joseph Smith, that this is not the Church of Joseph Smith and that I should put the focus on ‘whose name and personage we follow’ and that because of my writing ‘many members and non-members alike are concerned’. Those of you who are familiar with my posts will understand when I tell you that sleep evaded me for the rest of the night……

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: AI Generated)

P.S.  This post does not discredit medical attention deemed necessary by any individual for any physical or mental health issues.

 

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

 

A PROPHET'S BURDEN

 

God has always spoken through prophets. They have always been on the earth to cry repentance, to direct the work of God and to lead people to Christ. They have been listened to, followed, rejected, and even stoned and killed (Matthew 23:37).

Generally, when the world looks back on the prophets of old, they do not remember them as humans with flaws and imperfections. They revere them because they were rejected, reviled and killed and  because they are canonized in the scriptures……except for Joseph.

It would seem that the jaws of hell opened when Joseph was called to be the prophet of this dispensation but what a witness he became of the burden these men carry that even leads them to death!

Dispensations have come and gone and with them the prophets at their head that we now revere: Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Peter but this ‘dispensation of the fulness of times’ in which the Lord will ‘gather together in one all things in Christ’ (Eph 1:10) is still here with Joseph at its head, but not revered yet. Nevertheless, this the Lord proclaimed himself: “This generation shall have my word through you” (D&C 5:10).

It would seem that Joseph’s greatest fault, according to the world, was the non-disclosure of the golden plates. Even now, as in Joseph’s time, some people demand to see the plates for themselves as proof of the Book of Mormon authenticity. They ask if the Church still has the plates or if they are at some museum. When told that Moroni took them back, this automatically becomes proof for them that the Book of Mormon was made up by the pen of Joseph Smith.

“We have learned that people are not converted by miracles or by examining records. If the Lord had placed the plates where the scholars could examine them, they would have scoffed at them just as much as they do today…..

“The Jews witnessed the miracles of our Lord, but this did not prevent them from crying out against Him and having Him crucified”. (President Joseph Fielding Smith, Church History and Modern Revelation, 1:39-40).

President Smith went on to say that people are only converted by their hearts ‘being penetrated by the Spirit of the Lord’. Whether it is because of disbelief or lack of motivation to seek the witness of the spirit, people prefer tangible proof of spiritual matters. However, the fact remains that seeing proof of something can be forgotten but spiritual conversion lasts forever.

I have noticed when someone criticizes what I have written, I ask them to look up the scriptures I have quoted which support my point but they never do. It just seems like too much effort.

To get the conviction of the Spirit though, effort is very much needed. Even the Holy Ghost cannot bear witness if the individual does not allow Him to penetrate his heart:

“The power of the Spirit carries the message UNTO but not necessarily INTO the heart. A teacher can explain, demonstrate, persuade, and testify, and do so with great spiritual power and effectiveness.”

“Ultimately, however, the content of a message and the witness of the Holy Ghost penetrate into the heart only if a receiver allows them to enter. Learning by faith opens the pathway into the heart.”

-        Elder David A. Bednar, “Seek Learning By Faith”, Ensign Sept 2007, 61-68)

Nephi proved this to be true when he said he wasn’t mighty in writing like he was in speaking because when he spoke, the Holy Ghost was with him but the Holy Ghost could only carry his words UNTO ‘the hearts of the children of men’ but because there are many who harden their hearts’ they never receive the witness (2 Nephi 33:1).

I look forward to the day when Joseph will be revered as much as the prophets of the earlier dispensations, when people will have a witness of his divine calling.  Sometimes I feel so sorry for him that I want to shout loud enough for him to hear in the spirit world: “I believe you!!!”

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Revelation Given to Joseph Smith at the Organisation of the Church by Judith A. Mehr)

 

JOSEPH THE MAN

 

Joseph Smith once described himself as ‘a huge, rough stone rolling down from a high mountain; and the only polishing he got was when some corner got rubbed off by coming in contact with something else, striking with accelerated force against religious bigotry, priestcraft, lawyer-craft, doctor-craft, lying editors, suborned judges and jurors, and the authority of perjured executives, backed by mobs, blasphemers, licentious and corrupt men and women – all hell knocking off a corner here and a corner there……..

Thus, he said:  I will become a smooth and polished shaft in the quiver of the Almighty.”   (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p 304)

Persecuted from the age of 14, tarred and feathered, imprisoned, suffering personal tragedy and loss and betrayed by friends certainly made Joseph a polished arrow shaft in God’s quiver.

An arrow shaft is generally polished so that it can fly truer and faster for one’s most important shot. For God’s most important shot, being this last dispensation, He truly did use His most polished arrow shaft, the man Joseph Smith, who willingly rolled down the mountain…….

But what of the woman behind the man? Joseph could never have accomplished God’s purpose for him by the age of 38 had he not had a wife of equal spiritual stature as himself. Perhaps out of all the love tragedies, there is not one greater than that of Joseph and Emma Smith.

Joseph and Emma shared an unbreakable bond of faith. I am certain Emma was foreordained to share in the work that Joseph accomplished as the prophet of the Restoration. She trusted God and joined Joseph in the work despite all odds.

The differences between them were startling: she was rich, he was poor, she was well-educated and he was a farm boy with questionable sanity because of his claims. Her parents were opposed to the marriage but Emma was a woman of faith who made her choice which led her to great tragedy.

Emma was Joseph’s partner in every way. She was with him when he received the gold plates. She was his first scribe and she was deeply invested in their protection. The difficulties she suffered in her life with Joseph are too lengthy to list here. Her greatest tragedy is that she had 11 children, six of which died in infancy. All this by the age of 39 when she became a widow with five children.

When Parley P. Pratt visited Emma, 'a woman of commitment in sorrow', in Nauvoo where she remained after the saints travelled west, she told him 'I believe Joseph was everything he professed to be'.

Emma lived almost 35 years after the martyrdom of her prophet-husband. A few days before she died she told her nurse, Elizabeth Revel, that Joseph had come to her in a vision and said: "'Emma, come with me, it is time for you to come with me'.

As Emma related it, she said, 'I put on my bonnet and my shawl and went with him; I did not think that it was anything unusual. I went with him into a mansion, and he showed me through the different apartments of that beautiful mansion'. And one room was the nursery.

In that nursery was a babe in the cradle. She said, 'I knew my babe, my Don Carlos that was taken from me'. She sprang forward, caught the child up in her arms and wept with joy over the child. When Emma recovered herself sufficiently, she turned to Joseph and said, 'Joseph, where are the rest of my children?'

He said to her, 'Emma, be patient and you shall have all of your children'. Then she saw standing by his side a personage of light, even the Lord Jesus Christ." (Gracia N. Jones, My Great-Great-Grandmother, Emma Hale Smith, Ensign Aug 1992)

In my mind, Joseph was only half a polished shaft in the quiver of our God. The other half was Emma.

“Nevertheless, neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord”

-        1 Corinthians 11:11

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: But For A Small Moment by Liz Lemon Swindle)

THE REVEALER

 

 

Nothing attracts the anti-Mormon activists more than the mention of Joseph Smith’s name. It’s like a moth to the flame. I have written a few posts about Joseph this year and every time I do, I attract some venom……but I cannot help but write again because there is so much to say about this man. So much good….here is more, and not the last of it either…..

The more we know about Joseph, the more we become grounded in our testimony of the Church and the Gospel he restored to the earth. We cannot have a strong testimony of either, if we don’t have a testimony of Joseph’s prophetic calling. In section 5 of Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord repeats more than once: “this generation shall have my word through you” (v 10, 11, 14)

Those who do not accept him, do not accept how God has revealed himself to this dispensation. We owe that revelation to Joseph Smith, the revealer of God. One only has to study the Doctrine and Covenants to understand this truth. This should be the basis of our testimony to the world that believes in a God who has ‘no body parts or passions, and that He is simple and present everywhere in his entirety’. Consider the First Vision and Joseph’s testimony counteracting that absurd belief (D&C 76:22,23).

“As much as we delight in and need to have a testimony concerning the present-day prophet who heads the Church, we must also realise that each prophet subsequent to Joseph Smith has had a testimony of Joseph Smith. The echoing effect of these prophets only reinforces that there is an order and pattern by which that specific 'chosen vessel', the Prophet Joseph, was designed to re-reveal God to us in this day.

“As we teach the gospel in this dispensation, it is important to remember that the reality of God we proclaim to a world of non-members is founded on the knowledge of the prophetic calling of Joseph Smith, the revealer of God......." (Jerry A. Wilson, The Great Plan of Happiness, Insights from the Lectures on Faith, p. 23)

What do we owe to Joseph Smith, 'a disturber and an annoyer of Satan's kingdom' (JHS 1:20), the revealer of God, a martyr in the cause of truth? In my opinion, much more than slanderous words and disregard for his sacrifices, obedience and divine appointment.

And to those who deride, accuse and swear falsely: “Wo unto them….they shall be severed from the ordinances of mine house…..they shall not have right to the priesthood, nor their posterity after them from generation to generation….it had been better for them that a millstone had been hanged about their necks and they drowned in the depths of the sea.” (D&C 121:19-22)

Men may be deceived by our works and by our sins but God cannot. He knows all things and it is Him we must trust in all things, even in regards to a prophet named Joseph Smith upon whom the Saviour himself sealed his exaltation on 12 July 1843 in Nauvoo, Illinois:

"For I am the Lord thy God, 

and will be with thee even unto the end of the world, 

and through all eternity; 

for, verily I seal upon you your exaltation,

 and prepare for you a throne in the kingdom of my Father...."

(D&C 132:49)

 

 - CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: My Servant Joseph by Liz Lemon Swindle)

THE HARVEST

 

In my last post, I wrote about the harvest that followed the end of the Apostasy and began with the Restoration. I have been thinking about it ever since and even though there is great importance in being engaged in such a harvest of spreading the gospel throughout the world and in being profitable servants of God, an even greater harvest yet awaits us.

The gathering of the wheat is taking place in this dispensation in preparation for the last and final harvest that will occur at the Saviour’s coming. This will be the harvest of the righteous souls who will stand to inherit life eternal in God’s Kingdom. It will also be a harvest of another kind, that of destruction of the wicked at the Saviour’s triumphal return (D&C 101:63-68).

The Saviour spoke of this harvest in His parable called The Wheat And The Tares. We may think of it as an assessment of how well the gathered wheat in the first harvest fared by nourishing the seed that was planted in their hearts to withstand the lure of the world.

The Saviour compared the hearts of the men to different soil which received the seed, being His word, and emphasized how that soil should be tended to in order to let the seed grow. It is worth the study of this parable to understand the importance of the soil (Matthew 13:24-30).

In summary, the hearers of the word who have received the seed and nourished it in good soil are metaphorically, the wheat. The hearers of the word in whose hearts the seed does not grow are the tares.

 

The tares which are spoken of in Jesus' parable is the weed called 'bearded darnel' which is very similar in appearance to wheat with the roots of the two often intertwined. The darnel 'is easily distinguishable from the wheat and barley when headed out but when both are less developed, the closest scrutiny will often fail to detect it' (James E Talmage, Jesus the Christ, p. 301). For this reason, even the farmers do not attempt to separate the one from the other whilst it is developing and so the wheat and the tares grow together until the harvest comes.

 

Joseph taught that this separation is applicable to the Church:

 

"Now we learn by this parable (the wheat and the tares) not only the setting up of the Kingdom in the days of the Saviour, which is represented by the good seed, which produced fruit, but also the corruptions of the Church, which are represented by the tares, which were sown by the enemy, which His disciples would fain have plucked up, or cleansed the Church of, if their views had been favoured by the Saviour.

 

“But He, knowing all things, says, Not So. As much as to say, your views are not correct, the Church is in its infancy, and if you take this rash step, you will destroy the wheat, or the Church, with the tares; therefore, it is better to let them grow together until the harvest, or the end of the world, which means the destruction of the wicked...." (Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pp 97-98)

 

Now this is the interesting bit. Before the Saviour spoke of the harvests, He placed Himself at the head of His teachings, as the Sower of the good seed (Matt 13:37)….for this reason: To become golden grain of God we must look to and follow the Sower. Our hearts and our works must reflect the teachings of the Lord of the Harvest. It is not enough to just receive Christ's teachings, but to be valiant in the testimony of Jesus.

 

It behooves us not to allow the tares to choke the word within us lest we also be discarded at the last day. When Jesus came, He brought good tidings of salvation, to disperse the darkness of unbelief and to bring light to the world. He came to give every man as much of the truth as he was willing to receive but most of all He came to gather His own.  

 

He will come back and He will gather His wheat in the greatest harvest of all…..”Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (Matthew 13:43).

 

The day you ploughed the sacred ground of my heart

You scattered Your seeds of love,

Like golden stars along the deepest night.

I water and nurture them gently,

To sow joy in the harvest of my heart.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Ready to Harvest, AI Generated by LeafyTreeCo)

TO SERVE GOD

 

I have very fond memories of my childhood in Croatia. I spent every school holiday with my relatives in the village from which we came. Because of it I am very familiar with the agrarian way of life. I know what shepherds are. I have witnessed harvests, attended yearly village festivals, journeyed in open wagons. It makes the New and Old Testament very relatable. My patriarchal blessing says I have a rich heritage. Indeed.

When I read the Saviour saying to his disciples, “…..look on the fields, for they are white already to harvest”, I recall running my hand through the heavy ripe heads of wheat shining like gold in the sun (John 4:35). I love that the Saviour compared those who are ready to receive the truth to ripe wheat. And I love the imagery of the harvest.  It appeals to my understanding.

The harvest began well and truly in our dispensation with Joseph and the restoration of the Church. The results of the missionary labours in 1800s were astounding. People truly were like ripe golden wheat:

“In the early days of the Restoration, thousands were prepared to receive the gospel. So many came into the Church that the enemies of the work were frightened. It was not one of a city or two of a family who joined; whole congregations united themselves with the work. Wilford Woodruff alone baptized over two thousand converts in less than a year’s ministry in Great Britain.” (Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual commentary for D&C 4:4, p 12)

In Section 4 of the Doctrine and Covenants, the Saviour used the imagery of the sickle for harvesting. This too evokes memories. I remember my grandfather cutting down the wheat with a sickle. Sometimes he would use a small sickle with a short handle and a curved blade. He would cut with one hand and hold the stalks with the other.

At other times he would use a large sickle with a long handle and cut through the field while my grandmother would walk behind him and gather the stalks that fell. It was arduous work. The trick in how fast this could be done lay in the sharpness of the sickle. If the blade was sharp it would cut through the wheat like butter and the work was quicker.

Elder Kevin R. Duncan of the Seventy spoke of the importance of a sharp sickle and how it relates to our preparedness to be profitable servants of God. He pointed out that our spiritual sickles need to be kept sharpened in order to produce a worthy harvest. The qualities needed to qualify for the work are in D&C 4:5,6  (Abandoned Seeds in Rocky Places, New Era, July 2014, 18).

Regarding chapter 4 of Doctrine and Covenants, President Joseph Fielding Smith remarked:  “Perhaps there is no other revelation in all our scriptures that embodies greater instruction pertaining to the manner of qualification of members of the Church for the service of God, and in such condensed form than this revelation. It is as broad, as high and as deep as eternity” (Church History and Modern Revelation [1953], 1:35)

I consider Joseph’s take on service superior to all the rest. While a prisoner in Liberty jail, he wrote to the Church members. Despite the iron yoke of hell, he told the saints that they still owed ‘an imperative duty to all the rising generation and to all the pure in heart….for there are many yet on the earth who are kept from the truth because they know not where to find it….’  Joseph admonished that ‘we should waste and wear out our lives in bringing to light all the hidden things of darkness’ and give the world the truth.

This is being like Christ. This is following in the footsteps of Him who indeed wore himself out in bringing truth to the world, forgiveness to the sinful, love for the righteous and joy un-surpassing for those who endure to the end. Didn’t He descend to the bottomless pit of human suffering for me and you, for the ungrateful, for the unaccepting and indeed for all creation???

He will come and He will make up His jewels from among the righteous and spare them, ‘as a man spareth his own son that serveth him’  (Malachi 3:17)

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Reaping the Harvest by Nathan Greene)

TO KNOW HIM

 

I wept through the early hours of my day yesterday as I mused about my love for the Saviour and what He means to me. I was walking on air when I left the house and headed for the supermarket.

I felt like the Holy Ghost was walking with me and holding my hand…..until I laid eyes on a young man in his early 20s wearing a black T-shirt. On the back of it was written in large letters the most profane, vile and vulgar description of Christ I have ever seen or heard before. I was so shocked that I was sickened and had to avert my eyes to prevent them from burning.

The Holy Ghost was gone and I was left wondering about this experience for the rest of my day. I wondered about the young man and if he understood exactly what he was doing. What kind of a home did he come from? Did he hold a grudge against God? What would possess him to like such an abhorrent saying and want to wear it on his body? I half expected those words to burn through his back and lodge deep into his soul. One thing was obvious, this young man did not know the Saviour. He simply could not have.

As the day wore on different thoughts came into my mind. One of them was God weeping over his children during his encounter with Enoch (Moses 7:28). I half understood the pain. If I was so grieved to see such offence committed against His Son, I cannot fathom how the Father would feel.

I read recently an article about the creation of this earth with a very plausible proposition that the worst and the best of the Father’s children were chosen for this planet. That is evident when we consider that no other group of humanity would crucify their God (2 Nephi 10:3).

Every time I see someone mock, deny, and tread Christ under their feet it makes me feel like we are  crucifying Him afresh. Paul spoke of this concept in relation to those who have the truth and then deny it but I think it applies to most of our society (Hebrews 6:6; see also JST Hebrews 6).

I have always been highly impressed with Joseph’s praise of the Saviour. You cannot read it and not know that Joseph knew Him. It stands in such stark contrast to the T-shirt that I am not surprised it was recalled to me. You cannot read it and not feel it in the depths of your soul:

“Let the earth break forth into singing. Let the dead speak forth anthems of eternal praise to the King Immanuel…..Let the mountains shout for joy and all ye valleys cry aloud, and all ye seas and dry lands tell the wonders of your Eternal King! And ye rivers, and brooks, and rills, flow down with gladness. Let the woods and all the trees of the field praise the Lord; and ye solid rocks weep for joy!....And let the eternal creations declare his name forever and ever……”  (D&C 128:23)

This is what we should feel about Christ. When He comes we will want to be the ones who know Him. When He comes, we will want to kneel before Him and profess His greatness and confess that  He is the Rock of Heaven, the Lord Omnipotent, Alpha and Omega, the Son of God, Wonderful, Counselor, The Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace……Jesus Christ, the Son of God…..

 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Jesus the Anointed by Greg Collins)

OUR MORTAL FOLLIES

 

I am certain that some of us have wondered how is it that Joseph went to the Lord three times to get permission to allow Martin Harris to take home the translated pages of the Book of Mormon. The lesson is twofold….be careful what you ask for and yield to God rather than to the persuasions of men. And not only persuasions but counsels also (D&C 3:6,7).

Lucky for Joseph, the Lord who was overseeing his calling was a God of mercy who forgives His servants in their weakened state of mortality (v 10).

Joseph was forgiven and called back to the work. The Book of Mormon was translated to the end, published and is flooding the earth, minus the Book of Lehi…for now. And all because of the Lord’s un-surpassing wisdom. What the Lord knew over 2,000 years earlier was that the larger plates which were essentially The Book of Lehi would become the 116 pages of the lost manuscript in 1828.

The smaller plates which Nephi was commanded to make, without knowing why, covered exactly the same period as the lost manuscript and basically summarised Lehi's prophecies. The story does not end there either. Mormon, under the inspiration of the spirit, included these smaller plates in his own abridgement. He must have wondered if he was repeating himself by doing so, having just abridged Lehi's account, but Mormon being obedient did as he was prompted to do admitting he did not know all things but like Nephi, he knew that the Lord knew (Words of Mormon 1:7).   

Both of these men were far more experienced spiritually than Joseph Smith was at 23 years of age. Besides the fact that he had the gospel his whole life, Nephi wrote his book 30 years after arriving in America, plenty of time to rise to his spiritual stature (2 Nephi 5:28). Mormon was spiritually endowed from the time he was 10 years of age (Mormon 1:2).  

Between the time of the First Vision and Moroni’s visit, Joseph recounts in his history that he was ‘left to all kinds of temptations and mingling with all kinds of society….which denotes a serious spiritual deficit (JSH 1:28). Martin Harris, being 23 years Joseph’s senior, who believed in Joseph’s calling, assisted him in the work and supported the endeavour financially, would have been of large influence in Joseph’s experience (D&C Student Manual, p 10)

As I re-visited this story I was reminded of many blunders I have made in my life. Some were made because I relied on my own wisdom, some because I turned to my friends for advice and received counsel based on their life experience and paltry wisdom and some because I disregarded my revelations unsure of their authenticity because of my lack of confidence in receiving such.

There have been times when I have received revelation to steer me in the right direction, I would get distracted by the pressing hardships around me and I would forget what I was told. Then I would circle back to the same problem wondering how it is that I am back there…and then the revelation would come to my mind as if the Lord was giving me a second chance.

The Lord knew we would make many blunders in this life due to our dulled spiritual senses and mortal understanding. Should you find yourself with a blunder at your feet, be kind to yourself, not all is lost. God still has faith in you. He can help you repair what is broken and correct your present course.

If you have missed the lessons you are meant to learn, He will return them to you. His mercy and long-suffering is unfathomable. His forgiveness even more so…..

The lessons of my life flowed like a river

Winding through days, months and years;

I rescued a few but missed so many

From the currents as I saw them passing;

They drowned in the daze of my ignorance,

Unwanted and ignored but yet abiding.

I fish them now from the pool of my memory

And give them life everlasting.

 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Joseph by Liz Lemon Swindle) 

 

FOREORDAINED AND CONSECRATED

 

I have been pondering Moroni’s message to Joseph Smith regarding the earth being wasted if Elijah didn’t come to restore the sealing power (D&C 2:2-3). Malachi goes so far as to say that if it were so, the Lord would smite the earth with a curse at His coming (Malachi 4:5).

The more I thought, the more compassionate I became towards this planet we right now call home. As I reflected, I realized this is not just a planet of hard inanimate components but a living organism with a soul as deep as the river.

Elder M. Russell Ballard confirmed that the habitat of our probation is a living organism: “Astronauts viewing the earth from space have stated how incredibly beautiful it is and how alive it is (“God’s Love for His Children”, Ensign May 1988).

Our Mother Earth which gave us physical birth (Moses 2:7) was foreordained and consecrated to establish on its face a family system patterned after the order of heaven and to become the future celestial abode of exalted sons and daughters of God.

Had Elijah not come to restore the sealing priesthood power to bind us together, the earth would not have accomplished its foreordained purpose and would not have been able to answer the end of its creation. All men and women would be forever without root and branch, meaning without ancestry and posterity that would otherwise extend into eternity.

I could not help but re-visit Enoch’s encounter with Mother Earth and what impact it had on him. The grief that took over him made him weep when he heard her call us her children and witnessed her mourn over our wickedness (Moses 7:48). So overcome was Enoch at her suffering that he asked God three times, ‘’when shall the earth rest”? (v 49,54,58).

You think the earth has no soul? Consider how she groaned when the Son of Man was lifted up and all nature suffered at the death of its creator (Moses 7:56; 1 Nephi 19: 12).

Imagine this big beautiful perfect planet with a soul as tender and real as you and I, utterly wasted at Christ’s coming…..it simply cannot be.

It is not our carbon foot print that would destroy our Mother Earth but our wickedness that can destroy her purpose of creation. Elijah came to make that purpose fruitful. It is now up to us.

Imagine how Father Adam and Mother Eve would feel to see this earth wasted after they paved the way for humanity by ‘the sweat of their brow’ (Moses 5:1). You think you have it hard? Don’t kid yourself…..you don’t even have to slice your bread!!!

I am constantly amazed at the extent to which our Father has gone to ensure the success of His sons and daughters, to become celestialized eternal families to receive the fulness of joy in His presence forever (Psalm 16:11), when we shall sit down in His kingdom and be as His Beloved Son, sanctified, perfected and glorified amidst the love and happiness such as we have never known before.  

He has risked the loss of many of His children who will never return to Him but the greatest sacrifice of all was when He lifted up His Beloved Son upon the cross of redemption to atone for those of us who will return to live with Him on this Mother Earth forever.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Adam and Eve by Rose Datoc Dall)

A LINK TO ETERNITY

 

When I wrote a post recently about the coming of Elijah to the Kirtland Temple to restore the priesthood sealing power,  I received a very direct 3 word comment from an unbeliever: “It never happened.”

I get these kinds of comments from time to time from anti-Mormon activists. I have learnt not to try to prove anything to them because they usually come into LDS Facebook Groups to cause contention and not to be converted. When I was a missionary, we missionaries were told not to ‘Bible bash’ when people try to oppose our beliefs, but to only bear our testimony.

I never replied to this comment I received but I have been thinking about it ever since. How would I bear testimony of the spirit of Elijah to someone who is not a Church member? It’s a witness of the spirit and helping others to understand that and believe it is virtually impossible. Even Elder Boyd K. Packer admitted to that (refer to "The Candle of the Lord", Ensign Jan 1983, 51-52)

It has always amazed me that the Spirit of Elijah courses throughout the world prompting people to seek out their ancestors and find their roots yet nobody really knows why. The world at large knows very little of proxy work for the dead. And some who know think it is un-ethical to be baptising people ‘into our religion’ without their consent. In this day and age of human rights, it even becomes problematic to talk about this subject.

I am amazed at the boldness by which Elder LeGrand Richards testified of Elijah’s return:

 "The story of Elijah's return can be found in D&C 110.  Obviously, there is no need to wait for him any longer.  This became the subject of conversation between Elder LeGrand Richards and the Mayor of Jerusalem, Teddy Kollek.  Elder Richards had just dedicated the Orson Hyde Memorial Garden [in year 1979] on the Mount of Olives.  After the ceremony, the two conversed as they ate their lunch:

Elder Richards said:  "Mayor, I want to tell you something".

"What's that?" asked the Mayor.

Looking Mayor Kollek directly in the eye, the apostle said:

"Ten years ago I was here in Jerusalem and one day I went into three synagogues and hanging up on the wall in one of them was a large armchair.  I asked the rabbi what it was there for (I knew but I wanted him to tell me, which he did).  He said that it was so that if Elijah comes 'we can lower the chair and let him sit in it'. 

“Now Mayor, I want to tell you something and what I tell you is the truth.  Elijah has already been.  On the third day of April 1836 he appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in the Kirtland Temple".

The Mayor said:

"I guess I better tell them to take that chair down."

- (LeGrand Richards, Beloved Apostle, p.301)

Maybe boldness is what we all need. I am certain, however,  that Elder Richards would have told the Mayor all about the Church prior to this conversation. I am certain that his conviction of its truthfulness was something that the Mayor could not oppose, hence the respect for the information he was given. If only all people would be so respectful of our beliefs…..

I guess you cannot bear witness of Elijah’s return without bearing your testimony about the whole restoration of Christ’s Church. You cannot have a testimony of family history if you don’t have a testimony of Joseph Smith and the priesthood that was given him; of the scriptures that speak of Elijah’s return; of temples and proxy baptisms; of living prophets that build those temples; of resurrection and eternity, that being the whole purpose for Elijah’s sealing power, and of continuation of families beyond this life.

And most of all, Christ’s power of redemption and His work and His glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man (Moses 1:39). We need to know it all and have an iron clad testimony of it all.

Our testimony needs to be a light to the world and our link to eternity…..like our parents and their parents and their parents and their parents.....You know what I mean.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN